Get it off your chest

When today's modern tweens and teens have something to get off their chest, they don't have to speak their mind. They can simply reach for a T-shirt that has a message written on the front.

Statement T-shirts, with verbiage that ranges from the smart and sassy to silly and sarcastic, are at the height of popularity. And retailers, like Target, have taken notice. "Fashion is about having fun and expressing your individuality. Beyond patterns and prints, statement tees can help you show off your personality and add a bit of tongue-and-cheek attitude to a basic wardrobe," says Joshua Thomas, trends spokesperson for Target in Minneapolis.

While some of these tees can be witty and even quite topical, the problem is that parents and teachers say there's a fine line between what's fun and what's inappropriate and offensive. Take the t-shirt pictured at left; it's not exactly something that your kid should be wearing to school (or anywhere, for that matter). To that end, many schools nationwide have moved ahead to ban wearing shirts that features suggestive themes, sexual innuendos or contains profanity or references to violence, alcohol and drugs.