Following the lead of #1 (which featured that awesome Οβαμα shirt), Greek people love wearing/owning paraphernalia with Greek lettering. There are t-shirts, hats, aprons, mugs, and, of course, the zip-up hoody with “GREECE” or (even better) “ΕΛΛΑΣ” written across the front.
This phenomenon is applicable to both male and female Greek-Americans, but one line in particular, aimed towards girls, is rather popular among the Hellenistic tweens of America. Observe, the κουκλα shirt:
I, myself, owned one of these bad boys (yes, that is rhinestone lettering), courtesy of η γιαγια μου, God bless her. She even got me a matching hat (can’t make up stuff like that). She also happens to be in charge of my home church’s bookstore and, trust me, there was a whole slew of κουκλα apparel in there for a while. Not to say that the trend is over, but I think once every one had one, there was no need to supply so many any more.
For those of you who don’t know, κουκλα means “doll,” something of a pet name for girls. I’ll be 20 soon and my παππου still insists on referring to me as such. Not that I mind. I am his favorite (and only) granddaughter.
It is difficult to say whether this line will ever go out of style. Greek Americans love to show off how Greek they are and what is more validating than a t-shirt with Greek words on it? Needless to say, whoever came up with this is a genius. As long as there are Greek American grandmothers trying to instill some of their ethnic heritage into their youthful Hellenic hellions, there will be some one to purchase and possibly even wear these plastic gem-studded novelties.
