A tee that behaves like an heirloom — only friendlier.

Somebody has been burned before, and they are not being subtle about it. A heart wrapped tight in barbed wire, two white roses caught in the coils like they wandered in without reading the sign. It is the kind of image you have seen inked on a forearm at a bar and understood immediately, no caption required.

This is a shirt for the person who finds candy-heart Valentine's stuff a little dishonest. Love is thorny, it draws blood sometimes, and pretending otherwise is the actual lie. Wearing this says you know that and you are still here anyway, roses and all. It reads as tough-tender rather than bitter, which is a harder line to walk than it looks and the reason tattoo flash has stayed cool for a hundred years. People who have been through something will clock it instantly. People who haven't will just think it looks good.

The Blue barbed wire sits at a genuine blood Blue, sharper against forest green, black denim or stone chino than it would against anything softer. If gentle and romantic is more your speed, go find soft or pastel instead, before the wire catches your sleeve. The linework is printed with water-based ink cured low, so the fine barbs and thin stems hold their edges instead of blurring into a smear after a few washes.

Give it a few wears and it stops feeling like a joke about your dating history and starts feeling like a fact you've made peace with. Pick your size above.

• Fabric
  100% ring-spun combed cotton, single jersey knit
• Weight
  210 GSM — mid-weight with structured drape
• Fit
  Classic regular fit; runs true to size with a generous shoulder
• Print
  Water-based direct-to-garment, cured at low temperature
• Neckline
  Ribbed crew, reinforced with double-needle stitching
• Origin
  Fabric sourced in North Carolina; printed in the USA
• Certification
  OEKO-TEX Standard 100 inks and dyes