TEES WITH 'TUDE SHORT-SLEEVE MEDIUM BECOMING THE MESSAGE-BEARER FOR FOLKS WITH SOMETHING SNARKY TO SAY.

Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer

I'm with Stupid. So Many Men, So Little Time. Instant idiot just add alcohol.

T-shirts bearing cheesy wisecracks have always been a component of middle-class American fashion, but the messages are snarkier these days and the irreverent tops are selling fast among hip teens.

``If someone annoys me, I just tell them to read my shirt,'' said Megan Mangassarian, a Glendale high school freshman. The comment on her shirt?

``Whatever. Yeah ... right, OK ... fine... sure ... yeah ... OK.''

What makes these shirts such a hit among her peers is that they encapsulate sullen teen rebellion at a price ranging from about $10 to $25. It's an irreverence Abercrombie & Fitch has capitalized on for the past decade, said Tom Lennox, the company's director of corporate communications.

Now the trend is proliferating in malls throughout the country.

Sales of the shirts are ``off the charts'' at Forever 21, said Kristi Dunn, spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Forever 21.

``They're really peaking right now,'' Dunn said. Although the shirts are popular with a broad base of customers, Dunn said they jibe particularly well with teen culture. ``It's a way to express yourself without really owning up to it,'' she said.

The vintage tees are being used to spice up the preppier look that's in fashion this season, said Cris Bremner, marketing manager at the Thousand Oaks mall. For example, she said, guys are wearing the shirts under sports coats and girls are pairing them with pleated skirts. The shirts, often worn as vests over button-down shirts and long-sleeve shirts, give the preppy style a fresh, modern twist, Dunn said.

Stores from Target to American Eagle have shirts ranging from sassy to downright suggestive. A girl's tee at the latter store brazenly states ``You might be my backup'' with a picture of a smiling battery. A men's T-shirt at the same store simply declares, ``Take me for a ride.''

When Forever 21 first began carrying the shirts four years ago, Dunn said, the comments were just silly and playful. Now, she said, they have a daring streak; one of Forever 21's newer shirts reads, ``Yes, but not with you.''

The escalating edginess is being matched by booming sales, Dunn said. Taking the tees to the brink of controversy cleared the shelves at Abercrombie & Fitch as well.

Abercrombie & Fitch's shirt stating ``West Virginia: No lifeguard on duty at the gene pool'' even drew fire from the state's top dog; Gov. Bob Wise asked the retailer to take the shirt off shelves and went on national television to slam the derogatory tops. The face-off was the sequel to an earlier squabble about the clothing chain's shirt that read ``It's all relative in West Virginia.''

Controversy may have even helped Abercrombie's sales of T-shirts with Asian caricatures that read ``Two Wongs don't make a right.'' Despite protests and boycotts about the drawing's racist depictions, many stores reported selling out of the shirts.

Although it's not a conscious decision to stir controversy, Lennox said, the brand's edgy image helps sales. The idea is to always be humorous and poke fun - an attitude that captures teen culture, he said.

When a shirt is inappropriate for school, administrators will ask students to turn the top inside out or provide another shirt, said Margaret Kearns, assistant principal at William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills.

But monitoring the shirts is getting tougher, Kearns said; she can only call students out when she ``gets'' the shirt.

``There was one about bowling and having the best balls - I got that one,'' Kearns said. Others she didn't see anything offensive about, like a T-shirt from Abercrombie & Fitch that said ``Love Muscle'' and featured a pink Cadillac.

``I would take that to mean the kid liked cars,'' Kearns said.

Other tops from Abercrombie might be easier to understand; shirts like ``Fast Girls Finish First,'' and ``Grin and Bare It in St. Tropez.''

The shirts don't worry Shoshana Guetta, a Woodland Hills parent with two boys. As long as her sons' clothing doesn't have any profanity on them, she said, it's alright with her.

``It doesn't matter what's on their shirt - it has to do with what goes on at home if you're raising your kids right,'' Guetta said.

Khamil Morente, an 11-year-old from Eagle Rock, said she's been buying more of the shirts recently. While hanging out in The Zone at the Glendale Galleria, she wore one that said, ``I know how you feel ... I just don't care.'' Her backpack was even more direct - ``Hey you make me throw up a little.''

And there's a snarky comment to suit any personality. The style's even making its way down the runway, Dunn said.

``People are mixing it with couture,'' she said. ``They're being worn over long-sleeve shirts and button-downs.''

Still, she said, the bulk of the shirts are purchased by teens and it's not surprising why.

``They're just funny,'' said Koreen Reynoso, 14. She and her cousin own custom-made matching shirts that say, ``Always sweet, never sour.''

Candice Choi, [phone]

candice.choi(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) If someone annoys Megan Mangassarian, 12, of Glendale, she tells them to read her T-shirt for her opinion.

(2 -- color) Desiree Aguirre, 18, of Los Angeles makes a flippant statement with her T-shirt at the Glendale Galleria.

(3 -- color) Khamil Morente, 11, of Eagle Rock sports a T-shirt with a sassy message as she hangs out at the Glendale Galleria.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer