Matt Snow, designer and owner of graphic clothing and accessory company, Ex-Boyfriend, loves t-shirts. Well, let’s back up. He loves art, and even more than that, he loves functional art. And what’s more functional and offers a better canvas than a shirt? They can be bright and bold or muted and subdued; they can be worn as the star of the show or as merely a part of an ensemble, and above all, they’re comfortable—especially as the weather gets warmer.

A good shirt is more than the stylishness of its cut or a tool for protecting your body from the elements; it should provide the wearer with an instant conversation piece, an icebreaker, a way to enrich the lives of the people wearing them and the people observing them. Whether you’re an extroverted, life-of-the party girl or a shy, mumbly guy, a great graphic tee (or hoodie, or messenger bag, or tote) offers up a way to mingle with the world around you.

What’s more, your choice of graphic clothing often doubles as a secret handshake—an entry point for people who share a similar taste/sense of humor/sense of style and like what you’re wearing and are in on the secret or joke or whatever it is that brings two similar minds together.

The classic combo of the white tee, lived-in blue jeans, and Converse All-Stars will always have its place, and blank colored tees can be an essential piece of an ensemble. But in our fast-paced present and in the even faster-paced future, the graphic tee is the wardrobe piece that quickly communicates to the world around you the sort of person you are and the sort of people you’d like to get to know, whether you’re into laugh-out-loud one-liners, clever puns, nerdy humor, muted nature trends, or bold design pieces.

Regardless of where the conversations go or how they end, it’s the graphic tee that gets the ball rolling in the first place.