About

The Clothes He Wears / The Tools He Knows How To Use is an exploitable image macro similar aesthetically to starter packs where the top of the image displays articles of clothing a person would wear and the "tools" that that said person knows how to use in conversation with the clothes that they present themself in. The template originated from a meme posted to both Twitter and Instagram in December 2021.

Origin

On December 30th, 2021, Instagram^[1] account throwingfits posted a meme that had top and bottom captions reading, "the clothes he wears: / the tools he knows how to use" (shown below). Featured in the meme were paint-splattered Carharrts and hiking boots, alluding to hipster and Millennial culture in general. The "tools" featured in it were an Xbox controller, a can of Tecate beer, a dab pen, a bottle opener and a fleshlight. When posted to Instagram, it received roughly 11,500 likes in three days. The meme was also posted to Twitter^[2] by the same creators, where it received roughly 3,900 likes in the same amount of time.

Spread

The template received its first remix a day later on December 30th, 2021, when Twitter^[3] user nogoodtulip replaced the pronouns in the meme to read "she" and changed the "tools" presented in the template with a vibrator, a forklift, a strap-on and a power drill. The tweet (shown below) received roughly 35,600 likes in three days.

The template received its first remix on Instagram two days later when Instagram^[4] account coincellpro2 posted a version on January 2nd, 2022, referencing the Cow Tools meme within their iteration. The post (shown below, left) received 540 likes in one day. An hour later, Instagram^[5] account wipeyadocsoff also posted an iteration of the template, referencing within it Arc'teryx clothing and being a DJ. The meme (shown below, right) received roughly 2,800 likes in one day.

The more the template circulated, different pronouns were edited over the word "he." For instance, also on January 2nd, 2-2022, Instagram^[6] account paranoidhighthought posted a version that replaced "he" to read "he/they." The meme (shown below) received 50 likes in 24 hours.

Various Examples

Templates

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References