Jake Gyllenhaal - wearing a statement and making it hot

All this recent talk of how stars such as Jake, Maggie and Peter can influence us in many areas of life, including if and how to vote, and also on what to buy and what to wear, I thought today I'd take a look at how Jake can express himself through that essential wardrobe item - the t-shirt. Admittedly, nine times out of ten, Jake prefers to wear a simple white t-shirt and this decision is to be applauded. If you live much of your life in the wonderful climate of LA and have a matching wonderful body to boot, then a white shirt, jeans/shorts, boots/Nike mix is just about perfect and not to be sniffed at.


However, there comes a time in everyone's life when - even if it's only for the reason of having completely exhausted one's clean clothing - you want to express yourself and say something a little more than 'Don't I look hot in a plain white v-necked t-shirt?'. Jake Gyllenhaal is a man with pennies in the bank and a penchant for shopping but, even so, he has relatively few decorated shirts. They deserve a post.


One must start such a post with that quintessential Gyllenhaal shirt, known throughout the Gyllenworld and loved by us all as if it were indeed our own shirt given to us by a dearly-loved friend - the Postcard Shirt. While, sadly, this shirt has not been seen for some time, it was a popular choice for Jake from early 2005 right though until Cannes in May 2007. Jake wore it on its own, and even as an accessory, with another shirt underneath.




Jake is well aware that this shirt is so well known and beloved, he doesn't even have to show his face for us to know it's our Jake.


Other recurring favourites include the Waterworld t-shirt (no doubt a gift from Dad) and, my own personal favourite, the Art Alive shirt, from the amazing, if a little bit unfriendly towards the impoverished and unfamous, Fred Segal shop (I hold this store responsible for my dodgy finances whenever I visit LA).



Jake has also been seen on more than one occasion wearing what I believe to be a t-shirted version of the symbol from Peru's flag. A holiday souvenir perhaps, or a gift? An Air Jordan shirt has been worn in both a photoshoot and for a social occasion (a party for Secretary).




Another place that features in Jake's chest art is Texas - a look that is at its best when accompanied by a puggle. And then there's Michigan.




For a while, a couple of years ago, Jake went through a phase of wearing Ace on his chest (no disagreement there).



Other t-shirt designs are a little bit of more of a mystery...



...or downright dubious.


Some t-shirts give us advice, while others are so wordy that Jake needs to stand still for a considerable amount of time while we study his chest.





Jake told Jane magazine back in 2002 that if he could have one superpower it would be to fly: 'But I wouldn't fly to places like the grocery store, that'd be odd. People would be like, 'C'mon, dude, get them to deliver it or walk there. Like, don't fly.'' Jake's wish to fly was also recorded in one of his schoolbooks: 'Unfortunately, I was not that great at flying, so I gave that occupation up.' Maybe for this reason, birds are a feature of Jake's wardrobe.





Rather less easily to explain, body organs are another recurring theme.



And among the other shirts that stand out...









I'm just going to look at this one for a while...


Includes pictures from IHJ.