Apparel and accessories at museum gift shops intentionally align with exhibits and institutions’ missions.
Wordplay and eye tricks are code-cracking espionage themes that inform much of the apparel and accessories at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., where visitors can explore five floors of secret stealing, covert action, surveillance and spy history. The museum holds the largest collection of espionage artifacts ever placed on public display.
After guests complete an undercover mission experience to test their spy skills at interactive displays, they can peruse an expansive collection of espionage and global affairs books, gadgets, apparel and accessories.
“The exciting thing about the Spy Museum (SPY) store is there is something for everyone of all ages,” says Aliza Bran, a director at the institution. “We offer fun youth tees and onesies you can give to new parents, along with T-shirts in our SPY brand colors — a lot of bright red.”
“The world of espionage is so exciting and all-encompassing,” she relates.
Then there’s the infamous SPY gnome mascot, also a brand favorite that is “incredibly popular” on apparel or as a character, which many consider an accessory in itself. (Pardon the pun.) The figure is known to go on vacation with associates and post selfies from around the world. A T-shirt reads, “You Don’t Gnome Me,” with the red-hatted character sporting a trench coat and sunglasses while holding a top-secret labeled briefcase.
Museum gift shops intentionally align apparel, accessories and other products to exhibits, experiences and artifacts visitors will explore. At the Johnny Cash Museum Store, in Nashville, Tennessee, perusing displays of T-shirts and accessories is more than shopping for a souvenir.
“Not only do we have merchandise and memorabilia for sale, we have many pieces of one-of-a-kind art on display for our guests to enjoy looking at — a custom motorcycle, a bust of Johnny Cash and an antique hutch from Johnny and June’s personal collection, among others,” says Whitney Gibson, executive director of merchandise at the Nashville destination.
Common threadsCustomers of all ages from all over the world shop the Johnny Cash Museum Store, says Gibson. “It’s a true testament to Johnny’s legacy,” she relates. “Johnny Cash is not just a brand for us. We try to honor the man, his career, his life and his spirit in everything we offer.”
The bulk of those offerings are in black, and 85% of Gibson’s buying focus is on apparel. Bestselling T-shirts are staples, and a few of the clothing displays are refreshed every 12 to 18 months.
“We are in a unique position that many of our guests are visiting us for the first time, and just as many are coming back months or years later,” says Gibson. “I want both groups to have a memorable experience and not just see the same gift shop twice but be able to replace their favorite shirt they bought 10 years ago.”
 Nashville name-drop T-shirts sell well at the Johnny Cash Museum Store. Almost all T-shirts are black, which is especially popular because of the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash. T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and children’s apparel come in a variety of designs. But the color is consistent.
“Well, Johnny is the Man in Black, so the bulk of our offerings are black,” Gibson quips. “We’ve tried to spice things up with brighter colors in the past, but the trends overwhelmingly point to black on black on black for us.”
Familiar motifs include a Johnny Cash headshot amid a ring of fire emblazoned with CASH. Other popular picks are messages like “Johnny Cash, American Rebel,” vintage tees, “I Walk the Line,” and a large variety of graphic tees that are wearable art (on a black canvas).
The store carries its in-house Nashville brand by Music City Threads to the left of the entrance by the cash wrap, and Johnny Cash Museum branded apparel to the right of the entrance.
Meanwhile, if shirt decoding was a sport, the SPY store wins. The museum shop also coordinates apparel to the overall guest experience, continuing to pique curiosity and deeper dives into espionage after visitors leave. Others who spot visitors’ souvenir tees often inquire, “Where did you get that shirt?” Bran says.
A top seller reads in all-caps, “I’M TELLING YOU…NOTHING HAPPENED.” Except the bold letters here are white on the shirt so it’s a bit of a secret message: I’m lying.
Other popular messages: “Deny Everything” and “I Was Never Here.”
SPY also creates custom apparel for special exhibits such as the Bond in Motion exhibit featuring 17 iconic vehicles used on-screen by 007 and his allies and adversaries.
Kids’ apparel features messages such as, “Spy Girl,” and “A Ninja Ate My Homework.” For even younger visitors and loved ones, a onesie design says, “Future 007,” in honor of James Bond.
Always accessoriesTo middle school-aged visitors at SPY, a stink bomb definitely qualifies as an accessory. And music lovers who check out the Johnny Cash Museum would certainly call replica guitar straps from Johnny’s Folsom and San Quentin performances a must-have accessory souvenir. Some other accessories that the store offers are Cash-branded harmonicas, lunchboxes and songbooks.
So, the accessory category is all relative and expansive.
At SPY, some jewelry favorites in the $25 or less price range include a combination lock necklace, cute camera earrings and reverse aviator glasses so you can see what’s happening behind your back. “You can bring home a piece of espionage with you,” relates Bran.
Morse Code beaded bracelets offer a decoding challenge: a dot is one bead, a dash is two beads. They reveal words such as Mother, Brave, Friendship and Strength.
The museum also sells some higher-end jewelry, such as a Coco Chanel-inspired necklace. (After all, Coco was a spy. She entered into a relationship with a high-ranking German intelligence officer and became an operative for the Nazis.)
Across the board, museum shops including those at SPY and the Johnny Cash Museum buy intentionally and watch which items customers gravitate toward to inform purchasing.
 A top-selling shirt design at the SPY store has a secret message for customers to decode. “I don’t want to sell something just for the sake of selling it,” Gibson says. “I want to offer our guests meaningful mementos of their experience here.”
Gibson says she enjoys purchasing autonomy and is not tied to “corporate guidelines or planograms,” so she maintains a list of customer suggestions for retail items and vets the ideas every few months.
“We see if there is anything we haven’t tried before that would make sense for us,” Gibson shares. “We aren’t afraid to bring on new items. If they work out for us, great! If not, we try something else.”
She adds, “The only strategy I have really is making sure we have quality products that we are proud of.”
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