The hallways are filled with shirts signifying students’ favorite basketball players or baseball teams, but junior Jill Baer’s wardrobe takes a different approach, revolving around her favorite bands.

Baer has spent the last five years cultivating a collection of 55 band T-shirts. The shirts exhibit her love for classic rock and current indie rock music.

She says she values each shirt with the memory of when she got it, coming predominantly from concerts and secondhand stores.
“I got a lot of them at concerts that were really great memories — like when I saw Modest Mouse and Neutral Milk Hotel,” Baer said. “I’ve gotten some while thrifting, but also from Hot Topic and places like that.”

Baer prizes her band shirts that have the most meaningful back stories, some being surprising gifts.

“I had a Pink Floyd shirt that I got from a garage sale,” she said. “He just gave it to me because I was buying so many of his albums. I guess he figured I could use it. He wasn’t even selling it. He just went inside his house and gave it to me.”

Such a large collection comes with a price. Some shirts were acquired freely, but others retail upwards of $30 on bands’ merchandising sites.

“I’m going to guess I’ve spent between $500 and $600,” Baer said. “That sounds pathetic.”
Baer said that her collection is worth the money and effort.

“To me the significance, like wearing a jersey for your favorite team, is supporting what you love,” she said. “I love music and bands, so I choose to support the bands that I listen to.”