Nothing makes you look like a music-diggin’ hepcat more than vintage rock T-shirts, those wearable pieces of memorabilia you only wore to bed and the mailbox but now are pricey eBay items. They indicate you were once there, or could’ve been if you were born in the right decade. You can see plenty of these cool signs of street cred displayed alongside photographs, posters and other ephemera at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising’s upcoming “RIPPED: Expressions From the Underground.” Cesar Padilla – a N.Y.-via-L.A. vintage boutique owner – curates the exhibit, which is based on RIPPED: T-Shirts From the Underground, his 2010 photo book of nearly 200 salvaged, stained and stanky collectibles, mostly of punk and indie artists from Grace Jones to The Fall. Padilla’s tome features a forward by Lydia Lunch and more remembrances by Betsey Johnson, Thurston Moore, Will Oldham and musician Judy Nylon. Look forward to seeing Lunch and Retrovirus at the opening-night party at the museum-adjacent Grand Hope Park, in addition to more music and performances by the Ritchie White Orchestra, Phantom Faith Halo, Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum, original Runaways member Kari Krome and Bratmobile singer Allison Wolfe. FIDM Museum & Galleries, 919 S. Grand Ave., Suite 250, dwntwn.; Thurs., Nov. 8, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; thru Dec. 22; free. (213) 623-5821, fidmmuseum.org.

Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Nov. 29. Continues through Dec. 22, 2012

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