The Big Lebowski is not a comic strip-inspired movie, nor is it a sci-fi film or a Kevin Smith vehicle. But you can go online, or to any number of fan fests and Comic Con-type conventions, and find the same amount of Lebowski-inspired merch as you would for those geek-a-riffic cult genres.

Why? It's really a no-brainer. The movie has all the elements needed for a cult following and resultant cornucopia of swag: onion-like layers of mythology and satire, colorful psychedelia, quotable dialogue — all enough to keep obsessed fans philosophizing and bantering for hours.

Much of the Lebowski-inspired stuff out there is likewise fun and cool, tailor-made for the movie fans' uber-savvy sensibilities.

Here's some stuff to wear or bring or just talk about this weekend with real-life Dude Jeff Dowd when you meet him at Lebowski Fest in Tampa:

This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2011.