T-shirt
|
T-shirt showing its characteristic "T" shape |
A
T-shirt (or
tee shirt) is a
shirt, usually buttonless, collarless, and pocketless, with a round neck and short sleeves, that is pulled on over the head and covers most of a person's torso. There are also
long-sleeved T-shirt and
sleeveless T-shirt variants.
T-shirts were originally worn as undershirts. This still occurs, but T-shirts are now also frequently worn as the only piece of
clothing on the top half of the body (except that women usually wear a
bra beneath it).
A T-shirt typically extends to the waist, although one
fashion is for "oversized" T-shirts. A more recent trend in women's clothing involves tight-fitting "cropped" T-shirts that are short enough to reveal the lower
abdomen including the
belly button. T-shirt fashions include styles for men and women, and for all age groups, including baby, youth and adult sizes. T-shirts are often decorated with text and/or pictures.
T-shirts are manufactured by the
textile industry. They are typically made of cotton or polyester fibers (or a mix of the two), knitted together in a jersey stitch that gives a T-shirt its distinctive soft texture.
The idea of the T-shirt came to the
USA during
WWI when US soldiers noticed the light
cotton undershirts European soldiers were using while the US soldiers sweated in their
wool uniforms. Since they were so much more comfortable they quickly became popular among the Americans, and because of their design they got the name T-shirt. During
WWII the T-shirt had become standard issue
underwear in both the
U.S. Army and
Navy. Although the T-shirt was formally underwear, soldiers often used it without a shirt covering it while doing heavy labor or while stationed in locations with a hot climate. As a result, the public was frequently exposed to pictures of members of the armed forces wearing pants and a T-shirt. As an example, the cover of the July 13, 1942 issue of Life magazine, features a picture of a soldier wearing a T-shirt with the text "Air corps gunnery school" ([
1]).
After WWII the T-shirt started appearing without a shirt covering it in civilian life. According to the
New York Times, the 1948 presidential campaign of Thomas E. Dewey produced a "Dew It for Dewey" T-shirt, which was followed in 1952 by "I Like Ike" T-shirts in support of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
John Wayne,
Marlon Brando and
James Dean all wore them on national
TV. At first the public was shocked, but by
1955 it had become acceptable. The T-shirt became cool when
James Dean wore it in the film
Rebel Without a Cause. |
T-shirts with bold slogans were popular in the UK in the 1980s |
In the
1960s, the
Ringer T-shirt appeared and became a staple fashion for youth and rock-n-rollers. People also started to
tie-dye and
screen-print the basic T-shirt and variants such as the
tank top,
A-shirt (with the nickname
"wife beater"),
muscle shirt,
scoop neck,
V-neck etc. became popular.
Since then T-shirts have become a medium for self-expression and advertising, with any imaginable combination of words, art and even photographs on display.
Other methods of decoration used on T-shirts include
airbrush,
applique,
embroidery, and the
ironing on of either flock lettering, heat transfers, or
Dye Sublimation transfers.
Laser printers are capable of printing on plain paper using a special
toner containing sublimation dyes which can then be permanently heat-transferred to T-shirts.
The most common form of commercial t-shirt decoration is
screen-printing. In screen-printing, a design is separated into individual colors. Plastisol or water based
inks are applied to the shirt through mesh screens which limits the areas where ink is deposited. In most commercial t-shirt printing, the specific colors in the design are used. To achieve a wider color spectrum with a limited number of colors, process printing (using only cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink) or simulated process (using only white, black, red, green, blue, and gold ink) is effective. Process printing is best suited for light colored shirts. Simulated process is best suited for dark colored shirts.
In the
1980s, thermochromatic dyes were used to produce T-shirts that changed colour when subjected to heat. This brand of T-shirt,
Global Hypercolour, was a common sight on the streets of the
UK for a few years, but has since mostly disappeared. These were very popular in the United States as well in the late 80's among teens. A downside of color-change garments is that the dyes can easily be damaged, especially by
washing in warm water.
Since the late 1980s and especially the
1990s, T-shirts with prominent brand-name logos have been popular, especially with teenagers and young adults. These garments allowed consumers to flaunt their taste in designer brands in an inexpensive way, in addition to being decorative. Examples:
Calvin Klein,
FUBU,
Ralph Lauren,
The GapThe late 1990s saw the renewed popularity of T-shirts with slogans and designs, with a strong inclination to the humorous and/or
ironic. The trend has only increased in this decade; embraced by celebrities, such as
Britney Spears and
Paris Hilton, and reflected back on them, too ('Team Aniston').
The story of the message tee embraces the modern phenomenon of "
personal branding" (indicating, in this case, the wearer's sense of humor), as well as a climate in which statementsâ€"political or personalâ€"are generally preferred to be catchy than true . Notable was the popularity of political slogans and messages on T-shirts coinciding with the
presidential election.
The political and social statements that T-shirts often display have become, since the
1990s, one of the reasons that they have so deeply permeated different levels of culture and society. The statements also may be found to be offensive, shocking or pornographic to some. Many different organizations have caught on to the statement-making trend, including chain and independent stores, websites, and schools.
The early 2000s used the internet to continue the modern phenomenon of "personal branding". Companies such as
Threadless,
T-bar T-shirts,
ArtApart.com, and
CafePress make it easy for people to create their own designs, while creating online communities of fellow T-shirt designers and consumers.
By 2006 NewAttire had been introduced to T-shirts
* Wet T-shirt contest
* Ringer T-shirt
* Black Concert T-Shirt
* Inkjet transfer
*How to fold a T-shirt. (www.howtofoldashirt.net) Comedic website involving T-shirts.
*T-Shirt Search Engine Directory. Great collection of all types of t-shirts and services for free public consumption
