Aug 29, 2010

Oil couture in fashion in Pensacola areaBy Kimberly Blairpnj.com

Pensacola, FL – Salt Life bumper stickers and T-shirts have been all the rage for years among Pensacola-area residents.

Wearing or displaying the popular logo declares a love for all things the Gulf of Mexico and area bays offer: fishing, diving, surfing, boating, sunbathing and swimming.

These days, though, many of these salt water lovers are donning messages that are more in line with the times after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April, such as “Save Our Gulf,” “Paradise Lost,” “Oiled Shrimp” and “Crude Life” on T-shirts, hats and backpacks.

“It’s a way to express the frustration over the BP oil spill,” said Victor Wright, a charter boat captain and co-owner of Gulf Breeze Bait & Tackle. “Crude Life means you’re taking away our way of life.”

Wright had commercial fisherman Johnathan Tomlison of Pensacola ink his idea, a T-shirt depicting spilled oil dripping from the head of a shrimp and the words, “Gulf Coast Boiled Shrimp,” with the “B” crossed out.

He’s selling his shirts along with other oil-themed apparel that’s being made by locals and national companies alike.

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