About

"Dan Flashes" refers to a sketch in a 2021 episode of the Netflix sketch comedy series I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, in which a character is obsessed with a store named "Dan Flashes" that sells expensive shirts with complicated patterns. On Twitter, "Dan Flashes" has become a common reference to make fun of a shirt with a notably elaborate or colorful pattern.

Origin

Season 2 of "I Think You Should Leave" premiered on July 6th, 2021, on Netflix. Episode 2 features a sketch where a character played by the series' creator, writer and star Tim Robinson defends his decision to spend all his money purchasing expensive shirts from a menswear store named Dan Flashes, where the price of a shirt is determined by how complicated its pattern is. The sketch ends with a commercial for Dan Flashes, showing customers being driven into a frenzy by the patterns.

The same day the episode was released, Twitter users began joking about other patterned shirts, saying they had been purchased at Dan Flashes. One of the earliest examples of this was Twitter user @MattScalici, who posted a picture of college football coach Gene Chizik in a purple paisley shirt with the caption "when you spent all your per diem at Dan Flashes" (see below).^[1]

Spread

The day the episode was released, The AV Club published an article titled "No one on Twitter will be able to shut up about I Think You Should Leave’s “Dan Flashes”", calling it "a top contender for the next big meme."^[2]

Multiple Twitter users noted a resemblance between Dan Flashes shirts and Bill Murray's shirt in the meme of him with Wes Anderson, Tilda Swinton and Timothée Chalamet at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The earliest and most popular tweet pointing this out was from user @Keaton_Patti, and received over 1,400 likes in 2 weeks.^[3]

On July 14th, the Minnesota Timberwolves' official account tweeted multiple images of Timberwolves players wearing shirts and hoodies with elaborate patterns, with a caption referencing Dan Flashes.^[4] The tweet gained over 2,000 likes in 2 weeks.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References