story and photos by Emma Willibey
In the 1980s, hardcore punk produced a strain called straight edge. Followers of the genre, named after Minor Threat’s thrashing single, vowed not to drink. Still, when adolescents under 21 flocked to straight edge club shows, officials grew suspicious. To ensure the concertgoers would not drink, officials marked followers’ hands with ‘X’s. The practice has become many clubs’ prevention device against underage drinking.
Cultivated on the West and East Coasts, the ‘X’ is unrelated to Kansas City. However, the symbol inspired a t-shirt by Krista Scholla, whose husband Kurt Scholla owns the Westport clothing store The Bunker. The design featured an ‘X’ dividing a ‘W’ for “Westport,” a wagon wheel and “1822,” Westport’s year of origin.
According to The Bunker’s manager, Drew Barr, the shirt’s quick sales urged Krista to create another design with the letters “KCMO” replacing the Westport symbols.Released about a year ago, the KCMO design resonated with locals to become the Bunker’s best-selling item, tied with the “KC Heart” t-shirt (the letters “KC” in a heart) from brand Charlie Hustle.
“[The KCMO shirt’s effect] was almost immediate,” Barr said. “People saw it, and they really liked it.”
According to Barr, The Bunker carried few Kansas City brands upon opening in 1997. Even in 2009, the store’s local shirts regarded Kansas City with “anti-pride,” according to the Pitch. Then, the Bunker’s most popular shirt featured Kansas City’s name on the famous Las Vegas, Nev. sign. Around the sign read, “What happens in Kansas City…really doesn’t matter.”
“People used to make fun of Kansas City and be kind of ashamed of being here,” Barr said. “[The attitude behind t-shirts like the Las Vegas one] was kind of mildly poking fun at ourselves.”
Recently, however, Barr said a movement embracing local living has occurred nationwide.
“I’ve heard from friends in St. Louis and Indianapolis [about] shopping local and avoiding Wal-Marts when they can,” Barr said. “[The local movement] started mostly in the restaurant industry with people wanting to eat locally grown products.”
Local interest spread into the clothing industry, Barr said.
“We’re seeing more designers and developers than we’ve seen in the past that fare for local stores,” Barr said, citing Kansas City brands Normal Human, LoyaltyKC, Bandwagon Merchandise and Random Shirt Club.
History teacher Anne Papineau, author of fashion blog “History and High Heels” and owner of two KC Heart shirts, also said Kansas City’s local-clothing trend stems from a national movement. Papineau attributed the surge in Kansas City pride to recent interest in urban living, particularly due to the environmentally-conscious emphasis on walking to shops.
“I think with the millenials, there’s become an increase of people who want to live in the city,” Papineau said. “I think there’s been a reverse white flight, essentially. I don’t think a lot of millennials want to live in the suburbs anymore.”
Aside from national commitment to “going local,” Barr said the shirts’ popularity derives from Charlie Hustle, a vintage t-shirt company with co-founders Josh Riesgo and Chase McAnulty. The brand has produced designs like the KC Heart and the KC Monarchs logo since starting two years ago. Students can find KC Heart shirts at boutiques like West Side Storey and Frankly Basic.
“We didn’t realize how popular the KC Heart shirt would be,” Riesgo said.
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According to Riesgo, Charlie Hustle needed support from its hometown before expanding. Riesgo said he and McAnulty wanted to entice Kansas Citians by capitalizing on their “underdog mentality.”
“Not a lot of people know about [Kansas City], but [residents] take pride in it,” Riesgo said. “A lot of [residents] believe Kansas City can be the next great city, and [the KC Heart] shirt kind of symbolizes that.”
According to Riesgo, the shirt not only hits customers’ universal love of “repping where they’re from” but specifically addresses Kansas City’s underrated culture.
“The city has a lot of art and culture to it,” Riesgo said. “The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum—you don’t really know how cool that museum is until you go into it. People from other cities [don’t] realize the amount of history [Kansas City has]. It can definitely be an Austin or a Dallas.”
Papineau, who has lived in Kansas City for three years, agreed with Riesgo. She cited the Kansas City Royals and Sporting KC as increasing residents’ investment in the area.
“[We love] having a sports team we can root for that especially does well in return,” Papineau said of the Royals.
However, Papineau, a native of Wichita, Kan., said she perceived Kansas City as dull from day trips as a teenager. Only visiting the Country Club Plaza left Papineau thinking the city offered limited entertainment.
“[I wanted the] glamour of being on the West Coast or East Coast, being close to restaurants and shops,” Papineau said. “Now Kansas City is embracing that kind of lifestyle, it’s really kind of kept me here.”
Rap music floats through the Bunker as adolescents browse national brands like Converse and local staples like Charlie Hustle. With the breezy in-and-out of customers, the scene lacks the adrenaline of the straight-edge experience that provided the Bunker its logo. Nonetheless, one customer heads to the “Local” table, selecting a shirt for a friend whose brief stay in Kansas City is ending, as he tells Barr. Hardcore or not, this city deserves to be remembered.
