The account of the initial stages of the t-shirt is as just about as long as its arm. Pretty short, you might be inclined to think, but it is quite long and interesting evolution. An evolution Charles Darwin would have been particularly fascinated in, had he been around at that time to chronicle it.
It was only in the early twentieth century that the idea of wearing an under cloth germinated, and in 1901, the P.H. Hanes Knitting Company began the manufacture of men's underwear and this apparel came into existence as an piece of underclothing hidden away under a stratum of other dresses. But its prominence is due to the issue of a piece of underwear that had no collar, with short sleeves that looked extraordinarily like a "T" (hence the name of "t-shirt") to the sailors of the US Navy going to the World War I theater.
It was also the WWI that brought it out into the open when footage of news of the war showed the soldiers clad only in this piece of cloth, to overcome the hot and humid European type of weather. But as always its popularity was really established by Hollywood when it depicted it as a piece of clothing on its own rights. By the 1950s, the popularity of the t-shirt had skyrocketed when it was worn on the silver screen by Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) and then by James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955). As more and more icons of the film industry began sporting it as a dress on its own rights the image of the t-shirt grew in stature.
From then on its development was extraordinary. It had to be worn. There was no discrimination between the sexes nor was it restricted to a certain age. It was considered to be cool - literally and figuratively. It became a national phenomenon and when it became a political tool for propaganda it reached its heyday. For a fact, the Smithsonian Institute boasts ownership of the oldest printed t-shirt on record, a shirt used during the then Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey's 1948 presidential campaign with the phrase "Dew-IT with Dewey" on it.
From then on its growth was phenomenal. Everybody was wearing one. It was something cool - literally and figuratively. Its history even has a political edge to it and the Smithsonian Institute boasts ownership of the oldest printed T-Shirt on record, imprinted with the phrase "Dew-IT with Dewey" from New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey's 1948 presidential campaign.
This simple and inexpensive apparel became a means of displaying opinions, jokes, one-liners, graphic messages and the like. Anything and everything printable would have at one time or another been printed on it. Further developments in printing technology only helped in increasing its overall reputation. Now that the Internet is here, customizing a t-shirt to suit one idiosyncrasies is just a matter of mouse and keyboard use.
Jokes, one-liners, graphically symbolic messages, you name it and they all appeared on the simple, inexpensive piece of dress shaped like a "T". As printing technology developed it became more and more graphical. Mass production techniques just edged it on the more.
What one wears speaks volumes of wearer; this is a well known saying but the humble t-shirt manages to say a lot more that the others. You just can't beat a t-shirt.
It was only in the early twentieth century that the idea of wearing an under cloth germinated, and in 1901, the P.H. Hanes Knitting Company began the manufacture of men's underwear and this apparel came into existence as an piece of underclothing hidden away under a stratum of other dresses. But its prominence is due to the issue of a piece of underwear that had no collar, with short sleeves that looked extraordinarily like a "T" (hence the name of "t-shirt") to the sailors of the US Navy going to the World War I theater.
It was also the WWI that brought it out into the open when footage of news of the war showed the soldiers clad only in this piece of cloth, to overcome the hot and humid European type of weather. But as always its popularity was really established by Hollywood when it depicted it as a piece of clothing on its own rights. By the 1950s, the popularity of the t-shirt had skyrocketed when it was worn on the silver screen by Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) and then by James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955). As more and more icons of the film industry began sporting it as a dress on its own rights the image of the t-shirt grew in stature.
From then on its development was extraordinary. It had to be worn. There was no discrimination between the sexes nor was it restricted to a certain age. It was considered to be cool - literally and figuratively. It became a national phenomenon and when it became a political tool for propaganda it reached its heyday. For a fact, the Smithsonian Institute boasts ownership of the oldest printed t-shirt on record, a shirt used during the then Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey's 1948 presidential campaign with the phrase "Dew-IT with Dewey" on it.
From then on its growth was phenomenal. Everybody was wearing one. It was something cool - literally and figuratively. Its history even has a political edge to it and the Smithsonian Institute boasts ownership of the oldest printed T-Shirt on record, imprinted with the phrase "Dew-IT with Dewey" from New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey's 1948 presidential campaign.
This simple and inexpensive apparel became a means of displaying opinions, jokes, one-liners, graphic messages and the like. Anything and everything printable would have at one time or another been printed on it. Further developments in printing technology only helped in increasing its overall reputation. Now that the Internet is here, customizing a t-shirt to suit one idiosyncrasies is just a matter of mouse and keyboard use.
Jokes, one-liners, graphically symbolic messages, you name it and they all appeared on the simple, inexpensive piece of dress shaped like a "T". As printing technology developed it became more and more graphical. Mass production techniques just edged it on the more.
What one wears speaks volumes of wearer; this is a well known saying but the humble t-shirt manages to say a lot more that the others. You just can't beat a t-shirt.
About the Author:
Kathy Austin is a writer for an online gallery, Red Bubble. Red Bubble sells high-quality t-shirts, funny t-shirts , framed prints, mounted prints and more.
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