Notes

The Definitive History of the T-Shirt
Today the present day T-shirt has spawned a massive textile and fashion industry, worth over two-billion dollars to the world's retail trade. inspiration t shirt of the t-shirt was a fairly unspectacular event, however this humble little bit of attire was set to improve the styles and fashions of cultures for generations to come. Eventually the T-Shirt will be used as a political tool for protest and using times and places in history, a symbol of revolution and change.

At the very beginning the t-shirt was little more than a little bit of underwear, an exceptionally utilitarian one at that. In the late 19th century the union suit, (also colloquially referred to as long johns), was in its hey day, worn across America and northern elements of Europe. Popular throughout class and generation, this modest knitted one-piece covered the whole body, from the neck to the wrists and ankles. The designs pi�ce de r�sistance featured a drop flap in the back for simplicity in the old outhouse. As cotton became progressively more accessible, underwear manufacturers seized the moment to create an alternative to the mainstay and rather cumbersome design. Knitted material is difficult to cut and sew seams and thus with cotton a radical shift towards mass-made fashion could begin.

In Europe times were changing, as the Americans continued to sweat and itch, a simple "T-shaped" template was cut twice from the piece of cotton cloth and both pieces faced and stitched together in a lowly European workhouse. It was half a couple of long johns, but it soon took on a life of its own. As the Industrial Revolution reached its inevitable conclusion, Henry T. Ford created the world's first production line, the ideas of functionalism, efficiency, and utilitarian style entered the mainstream consciousness of societies across the world, and Europe in particular. Many begun to question the Puritanism of the past, Victorian buttoned-down ideas of modesty were starting to cave in to scantier and scantier swimsuits, ankle-bearing skirts, and short-sleeved shirts. As World War One loomed upon the horizon, the t-shirt was going to be conscripted to the army.

Historical researchers define the first recorded incident of the introduction of the T-shirt to america occurred during World War One when US soldiers remarked upon the light cotton undershirts European soldiers were issued as standard uniform. American soldiers were fuming, their government were still issuing woolen uniforms, this wasn't fashion, it was practically a tactical military disadvantage. How could a sniper keep still and aim his rifle with beads of sweat pouring in his eyes, and an itch that just wouldn't go away? The US army may not have reacted as quickly as their troops could have liked, but the highly practical and light t-shirt would soon make its way back to the mainstream American consumer.

Because of their highly recognizable shape, and want for a better name, the word "T-shirt" was coined, and as the word found its invest the cultural lexicon, people across the world began to adopt the brand new and more comfortable alternative to the union shirt. A small number of American experts declare that the name was coined in 1932 when Howard Jones commissioned "Jockey" to create a fresh sweat absorbing shirt for the USC Trojans football team. However the US army contests the origins of the term result from army training shirts, being the military it had been not long before practicality ensured the abbreviation. There is one alternative theory, little known and rather graphic in its interpretation. Basically the idea that shortened-length arms were described as akin to the shape of an amputees torso, a common sight in the bloodier battles of days gone by, though this speculation cannot be verified, the idea includes a gory ring of truth about it. During World War II the T-shirt was finally issued as standard underwear for all ranks in both the U.S. Army and the Navy. Even though T-shirt was intended as underwear, soldiers performing strenuous battle games or construction work, and especially those based in warmer climes would often wear an uncovered T-shirt. On July the 13th, 1942, the cover story for Life magazine features a photo of a soldier wearing a T-shirt with the text "Air Corps Gunnery School".

In the first few years after World War Two, the European fashion for wearing T-shirts being an outer garment, inspired mainly by new US army uniforms, spread to the civilian population of America. In 1948 the brand new York Times reported a new and unique marketing tool for that year's campaign for NY Governor Thomas E. Dewey. It had been the first recorded "slogan T-Shirt", the message read "Dew It for Dewey", closely repeated by the more famous "I Like Ike" T-shirts in Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential campaign.

In the first 1950s enterprising companies located in Miami, Florida, started to decorate t-shirts with Floridian resort names and also cartoon characters. The first recorded graphic t-shirt catalogue was made by Tropix Togs, by its creator and founder, Miami entrepreneur Sam Kantor. These were the original licensee for Walt Disney characters that included Mickey Mouse and Davy Crockett. Later others expanded in to the tee shirt printing business that included Sherry Manufacturing Company also located in Miami.

Sherry began business in 1948, the dog owner and founder, Quinton Sandler, was quick to catch onto the new T-shirt trend, and quickly expanded the screen print scarf company into the largest screen print licensed apparel producer in the usa. Soon increasingly more celebrities were seen on national TV sporting this new risqu� apparel including John Wayne, and Marlon Brando. In 1955 James Dean gave the T-Shirt street credibility in the classic movie "Rebel Without A Cause". The T-Shirt was fast evolving into a contemporary symbol of rebellious youth. The original furore and public outcry soon died down and within time even the American Bible Belt could see its practicality of design.

In the 60's people started to tie dye and screenprint the basic cotton T-Shirt making it a straight bigger commercial success. Advances in printing and dying allowed more variety and the Tank Top, Muscle Shirt, Scoop Neck, V-Neck, and many other variations of the T-Shirt came directly into fashion. During this period of cultural experimentation and upheaval, many independent T-shirt printers made copies of "Guerrillero Heroico, or Heroic Guerilla", the famous portrait of Ernesto "Che" Guevara taken by Alberto "Korda" Diaz. Since which it is said to be the most reproduced image in the annals of photography, mainly thanks to the rise of the T-shirt.

The 1960's also saw the creation of the "Ringer T-shirt" which became a staple fashion for youth and rock-n-rollers. The decade also saw the emergence of tie-dyeing and screen-printing on the basic T-shirt. In 1959, "Plastisol", a more durable and stretchable ink, was invented, allowing much more variety in t-shirt designs. As textile technologies improved, new T-shirt styles were soon introduced, including the the tank top, the A-shirt (infamously known as the "wife beater"), the muscle shirt, scoop necks, and of course V-necks.

A growing number of iconic T-shirts were designed and created throughout the Psychedelic era, including more and more home-made experiments. A tidal wave of tie-died t-shirts began to appear at the burgeoning music festival scenes in Western Europe and America. By the late 60's it had been practically a required dress code between the West Coast hippie culture. Band T-shirts became another extremely popular form of T shirt, cheaply printed and sold at live gigs and concerts of the day, the tradition continues to the present, band T shirts are as popular as ever, however the price of them has risen dramaticall
Homepage: https://inspirationwear.com/