Is there a wardrobe on the planet that doesn't have at least one t-shirt on its shelves or in its drawers? Today, fashion has began to play a pivotal role in our global cultures creating outward definitions of a persons interests, beliefs and characters. None plays so prevalent a role as the T-Shirt.
T-shirts originally emerged as underwear - not to be seen, not to be noticed, not even an essential in the everyday wardrobe. The formal outing of the T-shirt can probably be attributed to Sailors. Once again, it was intended as an under-shirt to be worn under the jumper to preserve modesty. Thus the shape of the 'T' was discovered and the name 'T-shirt' was born.
'T-Shirt' became an official word in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary by the 1920's and by the 1930's major companies such as Fruit of the Loom and Hanes began to market the T-Shirt.
By World War 2 the t-shirt was standard issue for the navy sailors and before long, photos of the wartime heroes dressed in their 'under-shirts' became the norm. Suddenly, underwear was outerwear. Quickly t-shirt styles and ideals developed. The standard issue white Marine T-Shirt was transformed into the familiar sage green for camouflage. The t-shirt had begun its journey of transformation as the first printed t-shirt emerged. The oldest printed t-shirt on record is from Thomas E Dewey's 1948 presidential campaign, with the slogan 'Dew-It with Dewey.'
The popularity of the t-shirt soared as it grew to become a fashion icon as it was worn by movie stars the likes of Marlon Brando, John Wayne, James Dean and Elvis Presley each adding their own twist to the incredibly versatile image of the t-shirt.
In 1959, things really kicked off with the invention of Plastisol – an ink that stretched. This alone revolutionised t-shirt design, followed by the iron on transfer and litho transfer. The t-shit industry was born in its fullest glory as major corporations began to print, print, print. Through the 60's the tie-dying from the hippies and the increase in corporate advertising on t-shirts made them a huge commercial success. The ink advanced; the designs advanced and advanced into what we now know in this modern age. Popularity increase led to more than 1 billion t-shirts being sold in 1995.
Today the t-shirt is the ultimate epitome of modern fashion and the printed tee is the defining factor for many of their individualism and self-expression. Thus we enter the era of the Printed Tee!
Labels: printed, printed t-shirt, t-shirts
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