Sociology, semiotics and a number of other disciplines teach us that what we look like, how we act and whatever other signs we as humans are sending define us as individuals.

One of the more obvious ways of doing so is wearing particular clothing. Something baggy or loose-fitting definitely sends a drastically different message than formal, straight-line attire. Heck, even two hoodies might mean different things if one’s a black affair with an old school rock band’s logo as opposed to a pink hoodie with some #justgirlthings poetry.

But what the following fashion statements in the form of badly-designed clothing might mean in general—I mean, your guess is as good as mine.

#1 This ~$960 Bag Which Looks Like There’s Mold On It

Image credits: –floridaman-

#2 My Girlfriend’s Expensive Jeans That Came With Fake Pockets. Can’t Even Return Them Now

Image credits: meliodas_137

#3 Tie-Dye Design Hoody Just Looks Like Grease Splashes

Image credits: robgod50

It’s a bit hard to explain how design can be bad. Much of it boils down to taste, and you can’t really argue over it. Well, OK, you can, but you ultimately need an objective frame of reference to argue taste. And that demands loads of time on your part to get educated as to what fine art is and is a whole complex story that you can rabbit-hole yourself into by reading an article we wrote about great execution, but poor taste.

#4 Condensation For Days

Image credits: DUDEwipes

#5 My Girlfriend’s Peepi Socks Finally Arrived

Image credits: nizowosa

#6 $600 Balenciaga Shoes Spotted On The Subway

Image credits: eneug

Anywho, in terms of more technical aspects of the execution, bad design becomes more easy to identify. The most obvious one would be misspellings or mislabeled (or even misinterpreted) designs. Think AIDS sneakers, Google Slides slippers, or Captain A’Mario. Here, you can immediately see that something is off—either it’s an allusion to something real or a sad attempt at alluding to something that just makes zero sense thematically.

#7 Think Inside The Box First

Image credits: SpeedDreaming

#8 I’ve Never Seen A Pair Of Dress Shoes With Split Toes

Image credits: tonglongjeff

#9 Heavy Pants

Image credits: EkriirkE

Then there’s an artistic decision made that didn’t really translate well onto the fabric. Someone might have wanted a unique, scattered pattern on this bag over here, but the end result looked like the bag spent three months in a plastic bag, soaking in all the fungus from a loaf of bread someone decided to put in there as well. Same with stain marks on this hoodie—someone might’ve wanted a grease-monkey mechanic’s look, but ended up looking like someone hit the gym in a repair shop.

#10 Found In Kurdistan

Image credits: ninkeyminjaj

#11 The North Face Who?

Image credits: reyren18

#12 The Design On My Girlfriend’s Yoga Pants Makes It Look Like They’re Covered In Fur

Image credits: AstroidSeenByDinos

And then there’s just flat out not thinking it through. Imagine creating a perfectly logical design only to add an element that negates it completely. Thinking outside the box when the box is enough to think inside it is a great example. Or highlighting letters to make a point only to accidentally highlight other letters that make another point.

#13 Backpack Shoe

Image credits: nicolemclaughlin

#14 Sup[er]h[er]oes

Image credits: finnwormser

#15 Not Very Well Thought Through If You Ask Me

Image credits: michellezhaang

So, why is this a thing in the first place? Minus lack of talent and aptitude for design, there’s a bit of a misconception about misspelled trademarks in that they don’t really avoid a lawsuit. One lawyer argued that even if a trademark is misspelled, the actual brand might have power to take it down. If the design is too similar to the original one, it doesn’t matter if it’s for a product for a different industry, the whole idea behind them is to distinguish itself and cause less confusion for customers. Besides, you can never know if YouTube will one day want to branch out into tubs and bathroom accessories with a brand like YouTub.

#16 Happy New Year

Image credits: crudolph0828

#17 Blursed Slides

Image credits: Ben9999999999999999

#18 Brand New Shoes With Their Own Shoelaces

Image credits: reddit_0885

And if we’re talking about trademark infringements, there are those who also avoid it by creating very believable fakes. Why? Because the final price tag is significantly lower than that of the original. Of course, it also comes with its own issues, like lack of quality in the materials and how it’s executed. But if you’re strapped for cash and still want to impress your friends with designer clothes, this is a reality.

#19 The Brand Name Of My Daughter’s Shirt

Image credits: Durph08

#20 They Went Through All The Effort To Add A Working Zipper, But Not Functional Pockets

Image credits: gerrrtastrophe

#21 My Friend Ordered Herself Some New Gloves From Ebay. These Monstrosities Arrived Yesterday

Image credits: Mr_Wassonwheeler

Incidentally, when we think of bootleg products, the culprit is often China. China is the biggest manufacturer of products in the world. And so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that nearly two-thirds—63.2%—of all counterfeit seizures in the world are done in China.

China is home to a lot of skilled workers who can copy and make designs with little effort. And the country’s policies against counterfeits have enough loopholes to make the industry thrive through sneaky channels and open-air wholesale markets.

#22 Tie-Dye Socks That Look Like Someone Used Them As A Toilet Paper

Image credits: Professional_Lunch43

#23 Totoro The Hedgehog

Image credits: all9050

#24 New Model Prototype Leaked?

Image credits: BEX323

But there’s also the issue of luxury companies diminishing in quality, slowly, but surely becoming generic versions of otherwise expensive brands. And so when the Regular Joe can’t really distinguish between the quality of the fake and the real product—or the difference is minuscule—they end up going with the cheaper option.

And then there’s stories like that of Dapper Dan, forcing folks to at least consider for a second how bootlegs might be a necessary evil in progressing fashion.

#25 What Are You Trying To Say?

Image credits: Otherwise_Forever962

#26 The Amazing Tarantula

Image credits: Beautiful_Fishing569

#27 Best Nike Off-Brand Ever

Image credits: teorosso

Long story short, Dapper Dan is a Harlem fashion designer who, back in 1982, opened up a boutique that offered the look and feel of high-end brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, but adapted them to new monogram designs—designs that folks wanted, but these bigger brands didn’t deal in them. Decades later, this became a staple for other designers to reference, thus creating a new kind of fashion.

#28 Found This Bootleg At My Local Thrift Store

Image credits: YuB_is_best_boi

#29 Air Force Juans

Image credits: IForgotAboutDre

#30 Beautiful

Image credits: Scaglio

And, as is also in good fashion, we’d love to hear from you about anything and everything you read here today in the comment section below.

And if you need another design fail fix, look no further than this epic and hilarious design fail listicle brought to you by the Design Failures Instagram page.

#31 My Partner Told Me She Got Me Some Designer Socks

Image credits: criddy33

#32 Complete With Hair And Sweat

Image credits: facebook.com

#33 My Friend Bought A Shirt From Her High School In Lone Grove Oklahoma. She Didn’t Try It On First

Image credits: Battlescarred98

#34 Can’t Really Wear My Favorite Death Metal Shirt In Good Faith Anymore

Image credits: 0stees.com

#35 Why Does Tom On My Shirt Has 3 Eyes? Only Noticed It 4 Months After Buying It

Image credits: HappyNuisance

#36 Its-A Me, Captain America

Image credits: mattythebuoy

#37 Happy Halloween Guys (This Is Supposed To Be Moon Knight)

Image credits: susmansoulsfan

#38 Found These In The Same Store. I Just Can’t Decide Which Should I Get

Image credits: Kubech

#39 Live Your Never Give Life Is Up Boring Time?

Image credits: ShiveryTimbers

#40 Nine: Consider Doing It

Image credits: ObeseMorese

#41 What In The World Is This

Image credits: Witty-Thought8211

#42 Found In Bulgaria

Image credits: dwartbg5

#43 Hope This Asus Jeans I Bought You, Fit You Well

Image credits: logicalOrdinate

#44 I Can’t Even

Image credits: Kimwere

#45 Ah Yes, Just Like How I Remember It

Image credits: NOODENTO

#46 I Am Laughing So Hard I Can’t Even

Image credits: ChillBackroomsMan

#47 I Don’t Think Someone Thought This Through

Image credits: ThatDamnC

#48 New Adidas Sneakers

Image credits: -Intronaut-

#49 Like

Image credits: NikosPRo

#50 Mike

Image credits: ShreksHairyToenails

#51 Iec Christmas Cle Holiday Sweatshirt

Image credits: Jesus_Eh_Christ

#52 Why Can’t Women Get Pockets?

Image credits: Crosseyed_owl

#53 This Piece Of Clothing That Looks Like It’s Wet

Image credits: Murarzowa

#54 These Jean Pants Are Upside Down

Image credits: target_aquired

#55 Wanted To Buy Some Brand Name Flip-Flops But My Wallet Was Like

Image credits: mixxbg

#56 It’s Called Fashion, Sweetie. You Should Try It Sometime

Image credits: Cr0wsbeforeh0ez

#57 He’s Had These Zumba Pants For A While. Hadn’t Noticed

Image credits: thespottedwaffle

#58 Thanks To This Woman’s Amazon Review I Promptly Removed This Dress From My Cart

Image credits: JivyNme

#59 Got This New Hoodie And Everybody Has Asked Me Why I Am Wet And I Have To Tell Them It’s Just The Design Of The Hoodie

Image credits: sirSosig

#60 Mockey

Image credits: Beautiful_Fishing569

#61 Michael Jackson Backpack

Image credits: Heis3nberg99

#62 Anyone Knows What Sport Is This?

Image credits: giannilavapanni

#63 Found It In A Bazaar

Image credits: PreviousNecessary139

#64 My “Facebuk” Flip-Flops

Image credits: DillonSOB

#65 My Mom Bought This For Me

Image credits: Verichi_

#66 Can I Have One Lombarghini

Image credits: whatsthisman

#67 That’s Not A Unicorn

Image credits: DragornFFS

#68 Shrek 2

Image credits: unknown

#69 We Have To Decode What The Shirt Says

Image credits: Insomnicwriter

#70 Ham Socks

Image credits: LonelyAche

#71 Instead Of A Printed Sweater I Received A Sweater With A Print Of Printed Sweater

Image credits: axolotlpaw

#72 I Saw This Backpack That Looks Like A McDonald’s Bag

Image credits: etsy.com

#73 My New Ugly Sweater

Image credits: ebay.com

#74 Something The Grinch Would Sport When He’s Robbing All Your Christmas Gifts

Image credits: vantellikicks.com

#75 My Kid Said Her Pants Were Too Big, So I Went To Tighten The Drawstring. It’s Fake And Does Nothing

Image credits: g-e-o-f-f

#76 Jojo Siwa’s Bizarre Adventure

Image credits: animeware.com

#77 That Design On My Son’s T-Shirt

Image credits: GodHatesUsall1

#78 Found This T-Shirt At A Grocery Store

Image credits: vinciblanco

#79 What Does The Baby Keep In Its Pockets? Wrong Answers Only

Image credits: kangapaw

#80 No Idea What’s Supposed To Be Written Here

Image credits: ta_becheli

#81 “Ddidas”

Image credits: SnooOwls3367

#82 As Seen In Japan

Image credits: inatowncalledarles

#83 Mario Great Rock

Image credits: Beautiful_Fishing569

#84 Morthy Mouse

Image credits: TheOnlyShyG

#85 “Oh No, We’re Running Out Of Pants! We Only Have Nine Pants”

Image credits: MackWasntTaken

#86 Aisada

Image credits: markusalkemus66

#87 Surer Mary

Image credits: Beautiful_Fishing569

#88 New TF2 Merch?

Image credits: ganymedes01

#89 Wait, What?

Image credits: sarhan182

#90 Lies

Image credits: PTP-PATCHI

#91 Victoriu’s Secren

Image credits: memewannabe

#92 These Unusual Pants I Saw At The Mall

Image credits: Cadence_828

#93 What Even

Image credits: TheRealVladimirLenin

#94 I Was Startled At First Because I Didn’t Think It Was Possible

Image credits: Potterybug

#95 It’s Supposed To Say Believe But The Only Letters You Can Really See Are Blee. As A Graphic Design Student This Infuriates Me

Image credits: crazycreaturess

#96 Why Is The Horn There?

Image credits: zdog505

#97 A Nike Sewing Error On A $100 Hoodie

Image credits: DJpetee

#98 Cute Purse But Doesn’t Stay Closed If I Have Stuff In It

Image credits: ATMiceli

#99 Got This As A Present 9 Years Ago. Still Cracks Me Up To This Day

Image credits: Afksrry

#100 Death Grips

Image credits: Trick_Cow3178

#101 My Dad Found A Face As The Pocket Of His Pepperoni Pizza Pants

Image credits: cosmosclover

#102 These Shoes That I Saw On The Metro

Image credits: RedLegend619

#103 Found A Dino With Five Legs On My Kid’s Shirt

Image credits: dixie-pixie-vixie

#104 This Is Always Infuriating

Image credits: Bulletz4Brkfst

#105 Madrid On This Sweatshirt My Coworker Wears Often

Image credits: Ryuktf2

#106 Love I Ca Ts

Image credits: SamubGamer

#107 Hey Now, You’re An All Star. Congrats

Image credits: fitnessbreeze

#108 Nike Got Some Competition

Image credits: battalaloufi12

#109 This Shirt

Image credits: MasterPro9517

#110 I Am A Trigger Pukler

Image credits: BeepBop142