The t-shirt is a standard item in anyone’s wardrobe. From your average joes to models and movie stars, the t-shirt is beloved by all for its comfort, versatility, and its infinite potential for expression. It is the clothing item for any and every occasion, so ubiquitous that you may be hard-pressed to narrow down the exact date of its invention. But the past of this fashionable, yet practical, old faithful is actually more outrageous than you might think.

Notes on a scandal

Before it was the t-shirt, it was the union suit, a one-piece undergarment that was practical and popular in the 1800s. Just before the turn of the century, underwear manufacturers saw the sense in cutting the union suit into separate top and bottom garments. The top (still with buttons) was still long enough to tuck under the waistband of the bottoms. This innovation was quickly adopted by miners and dockworkers as a convenient, light covering for working in hot environments.

In 1904, the Cooper Underwear Company marketed a plain, white crewneck without buttons as a new must-have product for men who had neither a wife nor sewing skills – the “bachelor undershirt”. Keep in mind, this convenient innovation was still considered underwear by most people at this stage and to wear one in public was simply not the done thing. In fact, lawmakers in Havana went so far as to ban the public display of any sort of top that resembled an undergarment, forcing labourers to sweat it out in long-sleeved work shirts with buttons.

Going mainstream…

The undergarment gradually gained in popularity, due in no small part to being reborn under its current name, christened by none other than American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in his 1920 novel, This Side of Paradise. T-shirts were also issued by the U.S. Navy as part of the standard uniform for new recruits around the time of the first World War.

By the 1940s, t-shirts were a common enough sight in American high schools, with some teenagers even beginning to modify the otherwise plain shirt with patches and fringe. Even the first printed tees began to surface around this time, popularised on the cover of a 1942 issue of Life Magazine. Disney’s famous Mickey Mouse logo soon followed suit.

But the t-shirt truly made its mark when it appeared on the stage and silver screen in the 1950s, sported by the likes of Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire and James Dean’s Rebel Without A Cause. The positive reception for the characters portrayed by Brando and Dean in their respective films cemented the t-shirt’s functional status as an item of everyday clothing in its own right and as a symbol of rebellion in a culture that still generally viewed these shirts as undergarments.

… doesn’t mean having to conform

Toward the end of the 60s, t-shirts began to take on a different role. Still keeping in off-beat step with the spirit of rebellion that was sparked in the United States in the 50s, t-shirts became more colourful, more varied in style, while also functioning as the canvases for many pop culture motifs and political statements – think back to the famously stylised portrait of Che Guevara for example. Meanwhile, across the pond, Vivienne Westwood was capturing the essence of Britain’s punk movement with powerful designs created on and around simple tees.

While the graphic tee was nothing new as a method of advertising services, entertainment and political campaign slogans, it had a very different presence in the pop culture landscape of the 70s. Veteran designer, Katherine Hamnett, quickly found her niche with her signature slogan t-shirts, creating “something to believe in that you could wear on your chest that could be read from two-hundred yards”. Hamnett can be credited with some iconic t-shirt designs, including the “Choose Life” tee that rocketed to prominence in the Wham! “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” promo and the Trainspotting series.

And now?

With its plain beginnings and controversial journey, the t-shirt is a mainstay in any wardrobe the world over and that is unlikely to change any time soon. In fact, these clothes still have much to say. After all, who could forget Dior’s 2017 show-stopping “We Should All Be Feminists” design?

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