Trends come and go, but t-shirts are timeless. In fact, they’ve been around for more than 100 years, barely changing in design – unlike many other pieces of clothing. There is a very fascinating origin for everyone’s favorite apparel. Originating in the USA sometime in the 1800s, t-shirts were initially worn exclusively by men as undergarments, first by turn-of-the-century workers and later on by US military men as well.The t-shirt soon became widely accepted as outerwear. In the decades the followed, its popularity was likely fueled by Hollywood actors Marlon Brando and James Dean prominently wearing the iconic white shirt on classic films A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Rebel Without a Cause (1955), respectively.

Trends come and go, but t-shirts are timeless. In fact, they’ve been around for more than 100 years, barely changing in design – unlike many other pieces of clothing. There is a very fascinating origin for everyone’s favorite apparel. Originating in the USA sometime in the 1800s, t-shirts were initially worn exclusively by men as undergarments, first by turn-of-the-century workers and later on by US military men as well.The t-shirt soon became widely accepted as outerwear. In the decades the followed, its popularity was likely fueled by Hollywood actors Marlon Brando and James Dean prominently wearing the iconic white shirt on classic films A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Rebel Without a Cause (1955), respectively.

A T-shirt (or tee) is a style of unisex fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a crew neck, which lacks a collar. T-shirts are generally made of a stretchy, light and inexpensive fabric and are easy to clean.

Typically made of cotton textile or jersey knit, it has a distinctively flexible texture compared to shirts made of woven cloth. Some modern versions have a body made from a continuously knitted tube, produced on a circular knitting machine, such that the torso/chest has no side seams. The manufacture of T-shirts has become highly automated and may include cutting fabric with a laser or a water jet.

Evolution of T shirts

The T-shirt evolved from undergarments used in the 19th century and, in the mid-20th century, transitioned from undergarment to general-use casual clothing.

A V-neck T-shirt has a V-shaped neckline, as opposed to the round neckline of the more common crew neck shirt. V-necks were introduced so that the neckline of the shirt does not show when worn beneath an outer shirt, as would that of a crew neck shirt.

The T-shirt evolved from undergarments used in the 19th century. First, the one-piece union suit which is a type of one-piece long underwear, was cut into separate top and bottom garments, with the top long enough to tuck under the waistband of the bottoms. With and without buttons, they were adopted by miners and dockworker during the late 19th century as a convenient covering for hot environments.

As slip-on garments without buttons, the earliest T-shirt dates back to sometime between the 1898 Spanish–American War and 1913, when the U.S. Navy began issuing them as undergarments. These were a crew-necked, short-sleeved, white cotton undershirt to be worn under a uniform. It became common for sailors and Marines in work parties, the early submarines, and tropical climates to remove their uniform jacket, wearing (and soiling) only the undershirt. They soon became popular as a bottom layer of clothing for workers in various industries, including agriculture. The T-shirt was easily fitted, easily cleaned, and inexpensive, and for those reasons, it became the shirt of choice for young boys. Boys' shirts were made in various colors and patterns. The word T-shirt became part of American English by the 1920s, and appeared in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

By the Great Depression, the T-shirt was often the default garment to be worn when doing farm or ranch chores, as well as other times when modesty called for a torso/chest covering but conditions called for lightweight fabrics. Following World War II, it was worn by Navy men as undergarments and slowly became common to see veterans wearing their uniform trousers with their T-shirts as casual clothing. The shirts became even more popular in the 1950s after Marlon Brando wore one in A Streetcar Named Desire, finally achieving status as fashionable, stand-alone, outerwear garments. Often boys wore them while doing chores and playing outside, eventually opening up the idea of wearing them as general-purpose casual clothing.

Printed T-shirts were in limited use by 1942 when an Air Corps Gunnery School T-shirt appeared on the cover of Life magazine. In the 1960s, printed T-shirts gained popularity for self-expression as well for advertisements, protests, and souvenirs.

Current versions are available in many different designs and fabrics, and styles include crew-neck and V-neck shirts. T-shirts are among the most worn garments of clothing used today. T-shirts are especially popular with branding for companies or merchandise, as they are inexpensive to make and purchase.

Recent Trends

T-shirts were originally worn as undershirts, but are now worn frequently as the only piece of clothing on the top half of the body, other than possibly a brassiere or a vest. T-shirts have also become a medium for self-expression and advertising, with any imaginable combination of words, art and photographs on display.

A T-shirt typically extends to the waist. Variants of the T-shirt, such as the V-neck, have been developed. Hip hop fashion calls for tall-T shirts which may extend down to the knees. A similar item is the T-shirt dress or T-dress, a dress-length T-shirt that can be worn without pants. Long T-shirts are also sometimes worn by women as nightgowns. A 1990s trend in women's clothing involved tight-fitting cropped T-shirt or crop tops short enough to reveal the midriff. Another less popular trend is wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt of a contrasting color over a long-sleeved T-shirt, which is known as layering. T-shirts that are tight to the body are called fitted, tailored or baby doll T-shirts.

The rise of online shopping in the early to 2000s caused a proliferation of new T-shirt ideas and trends. While several brick-and-mortar chains included these items in their inventories, many of these shirts were pioneered by online start-ups. Innovations included the flip-up T-shirt, which the wearer can lift and stretch over their head to display an interior print, and all-over print clothing.

With the rise of social media and video sharing sites also came numerous tutorials on DIY T-shirt projects.

Since the 1960s, T-shirts have flourished as a form of personal expression. Screen printed T-shirts have been a standard form of marketing for many big companies since the 1970s. It has also been commonly used to commemorate an event, or to make a political or personal statement. Since the 1990s, it has become common practice for companies of all sizes to produce T-shirts with their corporate logos or messages as part of their overall advertising campaigns. Since the late 1980s and especially the 1990s, T-shirts with prominent designer-name logos have become popular, especially with teenagers and young adults. These garments allow consumers to flaunt their taste for designer brands in an inexpensive way, in addition to being decorative. Licensed T-shirts are also extremely popular. Movie and TV T-shirts can have images of the actors, logos, and funny quotations from the movie or TV show. Often, the most popular T-shirts are those that characters wore in the film itself.

Designer Katharine Hamnett, in the early 1980s, pioneered outsize T-shirts with large-print slogans. The early first decade of the 21st century 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 later in this decade, embraced by celebrities, such as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, and reflected back on them, too ('Team Aniston'). The political and social statements that T-shirts often display have become, since the first decade of the 21st century, 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. Examples of T-Shirt stores and designers known for using offensive and shocking messages include T-Shirt Hell and Apollo Braun. Many different organizations have caught on to the statement-making trend, including chain and independent stores, websites, and schools.

T-shirt exchange is an activity where people trade the T-shirts that they are wearing. This practice is also seen in some of the countries.

Artists like Bill Beckley, Glen Baldridge and Peter Klashorst use T-shirts in their work. Models such as Victoria Beckham and Gisele Bundchen wore T-shirts through the 2000s. Paris Fashion Week 2014 featured a grunge style T-shirt. Contemporary T-shirt designers like Balmain and Street People Atelier produce new styles of T-shirts.

World record

The current holder of the Guinness world record for "Most T-Shirts Worn at Once" is Sanath Bandara, with a record of 257 T-shirts. The record was set in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on December 22, 2011. The record was attempted on stage in front of a crowd of people in a public park in Colombo. Bandara surpassed previous record-holder Hwang Kwanghee from South Korea, who had held the record at 252 shirts. Sanath was victim of the 2008 Weliveriya bombing in Sri Lanka and has attempted to break Guinness World Record ever since.  It took him 1 hour, 7 minutes and 3 seconds to get to 257.

Source: Internet