Aretha Franklin is known for a big presence, a big voice, and more recently a Very Big Hat.  (Or, more accurately, a Very Big Bedazzled Bow on a regular-sized hat.)

Aretha’s Inaugural headwear made about as much an impression as her version of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” which was in such high demand that she’s released it digitally.  Her hat is also in high demand – the Museum of American History (one of the 19 Smithsonians) is hoping that she’ll donate it to them.

Aretha said that she’s considering donating her hat to the Smithsonian Institute, but no decisions have been announced.  The hat itself was made by a Detroit hatmaker who now has a month-long backlog of people clamoring for a similarly bedecked headdress.  Although he won’t make an exact replica, he will be making something close for those who have lined up to remember the Inauguration with a custom-made bling bling lid.

Whether the Big Bow (all fancy hats need a nickname) will be on public display for future generations is up to the Queen of Soul.  If she were to donate it, it would be in fine company: the National Museum of American History also houses Lincoln’s top hat, and with his 200th birthday tomorrow and the significance he’s had for the Obama campaign, perhaps it’s only fitting that Aretha’s Big Bow go to live alongside Lincoln’s top hat.

And so we award Aretha Franklin a slightly overdue Fantasy T-Wearer Award, though in this case we present her with a cap.  While we acknowledge that a baseball hat doesn’t make the same impression that a Swarovski crystal-encrusted headdress does, regrettably we don’t do jewels yet.

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There’s been a lot of requests for the CafePress Inauguration button – this is the free button that we handed out throughout D.C. and on the Mall during the Inauguration festivities.

We exhausted our physical supply, so we’ve put it up in a CafePress shop at Base Price so that those of you who want to remember this day can do so with a groovy, 3.5″ button.

While we’re still consolidating all the pictures and such we took, if you’re interested in seeing a snapshot of the Inauguration crowds we do have a Button Brigade flickr album that gives you a sampling of all the nice, celebrating people we met over our 3 days in D.C. while we handed out t-shirts and buttons.

It was an amazing thing to see not only the sheer number of people out there, but the number of parents who’d brought their kids to D.C. to take part in this historic Inauguration.

The crowds in D.C. were huge, jubilant, actively celebrating and incredibly diverse – much like the CafePress community itself.

We feel very fortunate to have been able to make so many new friends in D.C., and so glad that we were able to provide a free memento to those who braved the cold, the crowds and the prices to get on out there.  This Inauguration was all about being accessible for We the People, and from what we saw that intention was realized.

So for those of you who weren’t able to be there or just didn’t find us among the millions o’ people, we hope that this button provides you with a nice reminder of that day.

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Next week I’ll be blogging from Washington, D.C. during the inauguration festivities.  We’ll be taking lots of pictures and video, so be sure to check out our Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube channels if you want to check out all the craziness that finds us.  We’ll do the best we can to find some down time for uploading and such.

If you’re going to be in D.C., hit our Facebook page with stories and photos of your wild and crazy time.

In any case, in preparing for this trip I figured I’d make a list of the things one might need when traveling to a City of 600,000 that’s about to be filled by 4 million people.  Packing light and being scrappy are a must for this trip given the crowds, so I figured I’d make a list of things I can obtain at work or in transit to make life easier.

1) Obama t-shirts (+ beanie!)

Since my experience on the East Coats tells me that venues in wintertime tend to overheat their interiors to the point of sweltering, layering is going to be a must.  Of course, no self-respecting CafePress employee would leave for a societally significant event without a trusty t-shirt or two anyway.  I’ll be packing a few of the limited-edition Obama inauguration t-shirts (above), which is particularly appropriate given that we’ll be attending the Rock the Vote/Rolling Stone inauguration concert.  The free-with-purchase beanie will also be coming with me, which is good news for my ears but bad news for my hair.

Added bonus: packing extras means that we can trade them in the event of a true emergency.  Like needing the use of a bathroom.

2) Obama sweatshirts

It’s cold in D.C., with today’s “high” being a balmy 19 degrees.  It’s especially cold in D.C. for California people who generally see anything below 40 degress on a ski slope, which means that we’re usually draped in puffy jackets and high-performance pants in such conditions.

With that in mind, I realized that I’d better get some sweatshirts for layering purposes.  I really dug the design I found (at left) – it reminds me of a time when I wore Wonder Woman Underoos.

Speaking of which, given the weather I wouldn’t mind an adult pair of those.  Too bad they don’t make them; I’ll just have to settle for a boring old thermal and long johns.

3) Flip Mino HD

Taking video is a must during our time in D.C., but carrying around a bulky video camera isn’t practical given the crowds, the likelihood of walking everywhere, and of course the size limitation (8×6x4)  on bags.

Thankfully we have the Flip Mino, which can fit in my pocket and not worry me unnecessarily about the various bad things that I’ve been known to do to electronics, such as: dropping them, getting them stolen, accidentally wading into the water with them (unlikely anyway, given the temperatures)…

Let’s just say that the inexpensive and blissfully portable Flip is the absolute best solution for in this scenario for people like me.

4) Peanuts!

Planes may not give us food anymore, but most of them still give us peanuts.  Given the high protein content of peanuts, the portability of those nice little bags and the idea of 2-4 million people trying to find food in a city meant to feed 600,000, I’m thinking that stocking up on plane peanuts isn’t a bad idea.  Added bonus: salty snacks help us retain water, which might help with the bathroom math issue.

Those 4 things plus a pair of jeans or two and my toothbrush, and I think I’m pretty much set.  If y’all have a travel “must” that I’m forgetting, do feel free to share.

And if you are in D.C. next week and you spot us, come say hello!  You never know – you might just bump into us somewhere unexpected.

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Perhaps you already have your perfect Obama t-shirt, but you’re looking for something a little different to celebrate the inauguration – and an Obama thong isn’t really your style.

No worries: as of tomorrow, it’s geek chic time with Marvel’s new edition of Spider-Man #583, Spidey Meets the President.

The plot centers around Obama and Spiderman facing off with a supervillain at the inaugural ceremonies, after the ever-astute Peter Parker notices that there’s an Obama impostor trying to… well, I don’t want to spoil the ending.  Let’s just say he’s a bad dude.

Marvel was compelled to write this story after the President-elect told reporters that he collected Spider-Man comic books as a child, thus earning him the title “Nerd-in-Chief” by Spider-Man editors.

Past presidents have also been featured in comic books – Nixon, FDR, JFK and Bush have all had cameo appearances, with FDR’s issue centering around him cheering on the superheroes as they bravely fought Hitler.

And so we award Obama a Fantasy T-Wearer award this week, with the Comics Code Authority t-shirt here at left.

You can of course choose your own Fantasy T-shirt for this occasion, so if you find a better one feel free to holler.  The comics selection alone is worth a browse, if you’re into that sort of thing.

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You don’t have to get to D.C. to participate in the inauguration – this year, you can dress the part in the comfort of your own home with the Very Official Rolling Stone Commemorative Inauguration T-Shirt That Benefits Rock The Vote And Only Costs $15.

For short, you can call it the VORSCITS.  Or you can just call it the Awesome Obama Inauguration T-Shirt.  Or the Rad $15 Inauguration T-shirt of 2008.  Whatever you call it, you might want to get one now before we run out.  Unlike most CafePress products, this one here’s a Limited Edition T-Shirt and that means that we will actually be out of stock at some point, for real.  Which means that we can say “Act now while supplies last!,”  which is a pretty rare and novel day for us ’round these parts.  So I think I’ll enjoy this new, fleeting freedom and remind you to Get it Now Before It’s Too Late!! (using exclamation points here to underline the sense of urgency).

I also get to say this: Free Gift With $50 Purchase!  Yep, if you spend $50 you do get a cool Obama beanie to go with your Obama t-shirt.  This beanie will come in very handy indeed if you actually attend the inauguration, as the East Coast seems to have been hit of late by temperatures more amenable to a snow yeti than to its human residents.

Of course, if you miss this Limited Time Offer (!!! – urgency, folks) we have a couple hundred thousand other inauguration t-shirts, as well as 2.1 million Obama t-shirts (and growing), and those will be for sale for the forseeable future.   Since that’s a lot of stuff to sift through, we did pick the top 44 T-Shirt designs (seeing as how he’s the 44th President and all) so that looking for the perfect Obama T-Shirt doesn’t give you carpal tunnel syndrome.

The $15 Inauguration Tee is a joint project with Rock the Vote and Rolling Stone – the former is the beneficiary of the proceeds and a partner we’ve worked with throughout the election, and the latter worked with its artists to come up with a hip, memorable design that captures the spirit of the Obama inauguration.  The 2008 election was a historic one for Rock the Vote: 2.5 million online registration forms were downloaded, constituting the largest voter registration initiative in history.  That’s not quite as many forms downloaded as Obama products created by you, but it’s 80 times the number of Obama thongs.

So remember:  Act Now, For A Limited Time Only, While Supplies Last, Commemorative Limited Edition and Free Gift with Purchase!

And hey, if you’re not one to be swept up in Obamamania you could also go retro and start a Reagan or Kennedy t-shirt craze at your own leisure.

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