A medium-weight cotton tee showing a Safavid ruler holding a takeaway cup. The cup is the anachronism. The coffee isn't.
It is one image, front only — the full figure, framed in arabesque borders, holding the whole joke in a single composition.
Coffee reached Persia in the sixteenth century, and by the reign of Shah Abbas I the qahveh-khāneh was one of the central institutions of Isfahan. These were not quiet places. Poets recited in them, chess was played in them, storytellers worked the room, and the court paid enough attention to who was talking that the coffeehouse became a political space as much as a social one. Abbas himself is recorded visiting them. The joke on this shirt is only half a joke.
The Design Vision
The figure, complete: Robes, bearing, and the cup held without ceremony, as though this were entirely normal. Which, minus the lid, it was.
The sleeve detail: The embroidery on the robe is drawn at full density rather than suggested, so the closer you look the more the garment in the picture holds up.
Arabesque framing: Traditional scrolling borders enclose the composition, which is what gives the image the authority of a page rather than the looseness of a sketch.
Gold and manuscript tone: Warm metallics and pattern density lifted from Safavid painting rather than from modern graphic convention.
Four hundred years of caffeine dependence, documented.
Size guide
Size
Width
Length
Sleeve
S
46 cm 18″
71 cm 28″
38 cm 15″
M
51 cm 20″
74 cm 29″
42 cm 16.5″
L
56 cm 22″
76 cm 30″
46 cm 18″
XL
61 cm 24″
79 cm 31″
50 cm 19.5″
2XL
66 cm 26″
81 cm 32″
53 cm 21″
3XL
71 cm 28″
84 cm 33″
57 cm 22.5″
4XL
76 cm 30″
86 cm 34″
60 cm 23.5″
5XL
81 cm 32″
89 cm 35″
64 cm 25″
Sleeve measured from centre back. Tolerance ± 3.8 cm (1.5″). Measurements are of the garment, not the body.
Fabric & construction
100% cotton in solid colours, medium-weight 180 g/m² (5.3 oz/yd²) — suited to year-round wear
Heather, marl and grey colourways are cotton-polyester blends
Tubular knit without side seams for a clean, waste-reducing drape
Ribbed elastic collar with shoulder-to-shoulder taping to hold its shape
Tear-away label
Smooth spun-fibre surface, chosen for print sharpness on dense artwork
Care
Machine wash cold (max 30°C / 86°F) with similar colours
Tumble dry low
Non-chlorine bleach as needed
Do not iron
Do not dry clean
Safety & compliance
Blank: Gildan 5000. Made in Nicaragua. For adults.
Two-year EU and Northern Ireland warranty under Directive 1999/44/EC
