Can I wear graphic tees in my 40s? It would be the first question I would ask God if he was my phone a friend. Second would be will there be a highlights reel of all the great goals I scored during my childhood, played to me as I cross the River of Styx, from this life to the next. Bit like they do when contestants get kicked out of Big Brother. 

I digress. I can't think of a single moment as a man in his 40s, where I've reached for a graphic tee in a store, and thought 'that's a bit of me'. I'll be honest, it even irks me when I see people my age wearing graphic tees, when they should know better. It's a restaurant geezer, put a shirt on. Alright it's a pub lunch, still, put a damn shirt on. 

However, I was with a couple of friends the other day when this question was posed. "Can a 40-year-old man wear a graphic t-shirt in public?" I thought my case was infallible. Watertight. No way could a man in his forties have the hubris, combined with the lack of self-awareness, and the fecklessness to wear a graphic t-shirt. 

Yet, turns out. You don't have to wear graphic tees exclusively to the gym, or in the bedroom, or painting the wall of your studio. You can wear graphic tees, wherever you like within reason. Why? Because it's a conversation stimulator that's why. 

You can be at a BBQ looking as cool as you like in your block colour tee, I know I try, but ultimately you're not oozing fun to your fellow party goers. Why not have a whiff of devilry about you and present some flavour. Maybe stand out a little. 

You can easily pair down a graphic tee over a solid coloured shirt/jacket. Nothing too boisterous, nothing too look at me. The graphic tee will talk loudly enough and does not need to be upstaged. The exception to this rule is seeing Brad Pitt in a Champion Charger Tee over a Hawaiian shirt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Or the yellow Lions Roadster tee, available through a site called Rev Level. 

You can also have a graphic tee be a subtle nod to a cult movie. Rather than photo of Tom Cruise behind a bar, you can have a Cocktails & Dreams logo tee. That's an amazing graphic tee if you're a barman for example, in your 40s. 

In summary, you can wear graphic tees in your forties, so long as you don't go overboard with the rest of the look. The graphic tee should be the only showy piece in the outfit, and worn for the right occasions. I'd still stick to house parties, BBQ's and maybe frolics on the beach. Certainly don't be rocking them anywhere you want to make a good impression. Is that a decent enough compromise? 

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Yours truly, Suzy R.