Diplomatic T-Shirts
You could easily buy your way into the sketchy bureaucracy of Banana Republic with a $9 t-shirt or two for $17 as Minister of Finance, Minister of Propoganda, or as a Cultural Attache or Honorary Counsel.
The Diplomatic T-Shirts were first introduced in Spring 1985 with a design of the Stars and Bananas surrounded by circular text on natural colored cotton. The design was quickly updated on khaki for Holiday 1985 with a circular motif and a banner for the minister name. The popular T-shirts were sold in most cases in the order form, the sweet spot for inexpensive impulse buys. They were discontinued in 1986.
From the catalogue: “No Republic, we feel, can have too many emissaries. So in the interest of international relations, we are expanding our cabinet instead of purging it. Naturally, we’ve designed spiffy new uniforms for our crack diplomatic corps; and naturally they’re 100% cotton.”
Some nice photos of a new with tag Minister of Propaganda Shirt from a September 2020 auction.
Thank you.
Loved the catalogs.
Enjoyed the going to the stores while they still sold surplus.
Thank you! Glad you found us.
I loved Banana Republic and I was just telling my husband how my favorite t-shirt growing up was the “Minister of Finance” from BR! I remember you had the neatest gift boxes shaped like a rhino!