erinja:
No one needs to be identified 100% of the time. A pin on the jacket, a pin on your bag, a sticker on your laptop. I wear t-shirts almost never and I would consider someone a little weird if they mostly wore Esperanto shirts. However, an unobtrusive symbol on a garment or accessory that you keep with you all the time (purse, bag, coat, hat, mobile phone cover -- whatever you carry with you) makes more sense to me.

I suggested a shirt only for certain occasions where it would raise your chances of catching the attention of a passing Esperantist. A pin or button would be fine at all other times if you want to do that.

vikungen:

erinja:I think a small pin is a much easier indicator that you speak Esperanto than a shirt. I have a small flag pin on my winter coat with a collar. There's no good place to put a pin on a coat without a lapel or a collar, but at any rate, I've never had trouble travelling with the pin.

Yeah well, but try convincing the general public or more mainstream people who happens to speak Esperanto to wear a flag pin on them at all times, maybe on their backpack or something, but on their clothes I don't see happening.

I have a star pin and a flag pin. I used to wear one or the other every time I went out. As the OP has shown, one never knows!

erinja:
A pin on the jacket, a pin on your bag, a sticker on your laptop. However, an unobtrusive symbol on a garment or accessory that you keep with you all the time (purse, bag, coat, hat, mobile phone cover -- whatever you carry with you) makes more sense to me.

The point is exactly that, many people (including me) don't feel like walking with a pin or other symbol connected to an idea or a language in this case. I am not talking about a t-shirt with a huge green star on it as that would be even worse for what I'm talking about, I'm talking about a totally normal t-shirts with some random text on them in Esperanto.

erinja:
I wear t-shirts almost never and I would consider someone a little weird if they mostly wore Esperanto shirts.

Yeah well, we're not necessarily talking about you here? Why would it be any weirder wearing a t-shirt with random text in Esperanto compared to text in English?

vikungen:The point is exactly that, many people (including me) don't feel like walking with a pin or other symbol connected to an idea or a language in this case. I am not talking about a t-shirt with a huge green star on it as that would be even worse for what I'm talking about, I'm talking about a totally normal t-shirts with some random text on them in Esperanto.

...

Yeah well, we're not necessarily talking about you here? Why would it be any weirder wearing a t-shirt with random text in Esperanto compared to text in English?

I think we're going in two different directions here. You seem to be talking about wearing clothing with the purpose of promoting Esperanto by perhaps provoking questions about it. Which is fine, of course! I am talking about unobtrusive things people can do to make themselves visible to other Esperantists. Also fine (and also no need to emblazon every garment you own with legions of green stars).

If a person owns one or two shirts with random text in Esperanto, the chances are vanishingly small that you will wear one on exactly the day when you encounter an Esperanto speaker, so wearing this shirt to help you meet Esperanto speakers probably would not be a strategy that would get you too far, unless you happen to be at an Esperanto congress.

However -- such a shirt is useful simply for the purpose of encouraging people to ask questions about what's on your shirt, and telling them about Esperanto. If that's your goal, then good deal.

A small symbol of Esperanto has a different purpose. It is unlikely that others will notice or care about your small symbol (I had a lapel flag or star on winter coats for years and was only asked about it a handful of times). But it does make you visible to other Esperantists. Different function, there. And probably worthless for provoking questions about Esperanto.

Fenris_kcf:

Alkanadi:What you meant to say was: "I was looking at her chest and I noticed a name tag and on the name tag there was three flags..." You think we don't know what you were doing?

Hey, c'mon. What could be a bigger pleasure than starring at breasts with a reference to Esperanto on them? Who could resist, seriously?

EDIT: And remember: You can't beat biology

... Just noticed that this was my 700th post. Couldn't have made a better one.

Gratz on the post But I ... ehmmm ... I was totally looking at the language flags!

I did more than 50 T shirts and caps to celebrate the occasion but not just only a word, Esperanto. I naively started with a word and found it is not effective.

There are many occasions that the Esperantujo can celebrate together, but alas, the esperanto associations seem to ignore it or have forgotten the occasion, especially the UNESCO resoltuions, which we can celebrate every 5 years once, to remind the people, associations concerned.

I think the Esperanto flag pin (got mine from E-USA) makes an excellent tie tack. I also pin one to my ID badge at work, along with a Russian flag (for the languages I speak of course...unfortunately, the chances of me running into a speaker of either language is minuscule in the area that I live in (the US/Mexico border).

se:I did more than 50 T shirts and caps to celebrate the occasion but not just only a word, Esperanto. I naively started with a word and found it is not effective.

What does the three fingers symbolize? It is on your icon and on the T-shirt.

There is no way I would wear an Esperanto-themed t-shirt. It's a bit zealous and weird. I've seen all this before going to socialist party congresses: people dressed head-to-toe in promotional clothing, carrying a themed bag and taking notes with a themed pen..!

No thanks. I'd take the unobtrusive, but visible metal pin-badge. I don't want to look like a clown.

Vestitor:There is no way I would wear an Esperanto-themed t-shirt. It's a bit zealous and weird. I've seen all this before going to socialist party congresses: people dressed head-to-toe in promotional clothing, carrying a themed bag and taking notes with a themed pen..!

No thanks. I'd take the unobtrusive, but visible metal pin-badge. I don't want to look like a clown.

Does this mean that you aren't going to get your Esperanto gang tattoo on your neck?