What’s with the “LOVE” T-shirts seen all over campus on our female students?
Glad you asked. Because we at the Herd pride ourselves on being GCU’s comprehensive information source, we decided to do a little (very little) fashion reporting.
Jodie Johnson, who manages the University’s bookstore, confirmed that the $18 shirts — instantly recognizable with the block letters LOVE across the chest — have been flying out of the store since the start of the school year. She said they’re popular with women of all ages.
The store first carried them in black, then added white. More than 300 have been sold on a campus where T-shirts routinely are given away at basketball games and other activities.
“Everybody’s like, ‘There’s that shirt,’” Johnson said of the LOVE shirt. “Women identify with it. It’s cute, and it’s different from the typical college T-shirt.”
The shirt is a knockoff of the Victoria’s Secret PINK line, which has been popular for a few years now. The number 49 (for 1949, the year the University was founded) and the block letters “GCU” also adorn the front.
Follett’s supplies more than 900 campus bookstores across the country, including GCU’s, and determines how many shirts those stores receive of a certain style.
“Based on what we sell, we get more or fewer,” Johnson said. “We automatically get what the trends are.”
GCU typically receives about 100 LOVE shirts in a single shipment, split between black and white, according to Johnson.
Sara Miller, a junior majoring in athletic training, says there’s something unique about the shirt.
“This shirt is not like the other typical college T-shirts,” she says. “It is trendier and Victoria’s Secret-esque. I like that it looks like the PINK brand. The price is affordable and cheaper than the actual PINK brand.”
Photo by Anissa Rowe
