Neighborhood Fashion For a Good Cause

You might have noticed a surprising number of people walking around Brookline in black t-shirts with the same inconspicuous white lettering across the chest. And if you've gotten close enough to peer discretely at the letters, you know they read "Brookline Village" in a small typewriter font.

The shirts were originally designed by Brookline resident Karen Sutton and sold occasionally through her blog, +bonjourbruxelles+, until an employee at Village Green Renewal, a Brookline Village fix-it shop, spotted Sutton wearing one of the shirts and decided to buy their own.

"I said, 'Let's get our hands on them," said handyman Seth Barrett, who first saw the shirts when the employee brought one into the shop. "It's awesome."

Barrett went to Sutton and convinced her to turn over the design for the shirts – promising to donate all profits to Brookline charities – and got a Brookline t-shirt maker, Evan Webster Ink, to print up a batch.

Since June, Barrett has sold the increasingly iconic shirts from his Davis Avenue shop and donated the profit to a different charity each month, starting with the Brookline Community Foundation and Steps to Success. In August, all profit from the shirts will go to the Friends of Brookline Recreation.

"The response has just been amazing," Barrett said. "Peal are just flooding in, and it's all driven by the organizations themselves."

Barrett has arranged to sell the shirts through next May, though he may release a new design at the end of the year. The handyman will be selling the shirts next Wednesday's free outdoor concert at Emerson Garden, which his shop is sponsoring.