HISTORY OF THE T-SHIRT

According to some, the beginning of the T-shirt is credited to the Navy. The US Navy, that is, while other historians say it was The “swabs” in the British Royal Navy who wore them under their uniforms in World War I, some even suggest it was the French Army. American soldiers liked the comfortable lightweight cotton undershirt compared to the wool uniforms American soldiers wore and the rest is history.

Connection with the sea Again, there seems to be some discrepancy over dates, although most have the U.S. Navy issuing not only crew-necked, and short-sleeved but also white cotton undershirts around 1913. However, the newly created shirt allowed ease of movement and quick drying.

As a matter of fact, by the 1920s the T-shirt had become an official term in the American English Dictionary. By the late 1930s, a couple of US retailers were marketing them, namely Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom, as well as Sears and Roebuck & Co. this blossoming fashion did have one setback – in 1934, Clark Gable took off his clothes to reveal no t-shirt at all in the comedy ‘It Happened One Night.’. Nothing but a bare chest. This it seems sent t-shirt sales plummeting for a while.

Then, by World War II both the US Navy and Army were wearing standard-issue t-shirts as underwear. However, it was really in the 1940s that the t-shirt got going with returning US servicemen. The Smithsonian Museum has ‘the oldest printed T-shirt’ on record in their collection and on display. It is a campaign shirt for New York Gov. Thomas Dewey’s 1948 presidential campaign.

T-Shirt Printing

Furthermore, Hollywood inevitably had the biggest impact on the classic tee with such iconic images as Brando’s T-shirt in the 1951 ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and James Dean’s unforgettable white tee in ‘Rebel Without a Cause’ in 1955, which certainly made t-shirt wearing cool and rebellious. This was followed by Elvis Presley and others adding to its popularity. Protest issues. The 1960s saw the birth of the tie-dye craze in T-shirts and by the late 1960s, the introduction of screen printing guaranteed its success as a fashion accessory.

Additionally, the shirt became a vehicle for publicizing social change and political unrest. Eventually, fashion-wise, the classic tee soon spawned several variations, such as the tank top, together with the V-neck and scoop neck, as well as the muscle shirt.

Similarly, during the 60s and 70’s it was also music that capitalized on the popularity of the t-shirt. In the same light, Rock bands began selling them at concerts with images and slogans and merchandising soon became a big money spinner. The surfing T-shirt. Surfing has left its mark on the history of the t-shirt and fashion.

Back in 1961 a Californian surfboard maker Floyd Smith is often credited as the first. Smith asked local surfers to bring their white t-shirts to his shop and he would screen print the company logo across it.

Later that year, t-shirts were made to advertise the Makaha International Surfing Championships. But, within a few years, the landscape had changed completely, with thousands of surf company t-shirts appearing.

Therefore, they quickly became “symbols of the casual and free-spirited surfing lifestyle.”. Today, more than 300 million surfing t-shirts alone are produced across the globe. At present, Cheap T-Shirt Printing.