History of the Plain T-shirt

The T-shirt as we know it now - short-sleeved, buttonless, round collared and (usually) made of cotton - has changed little in design since it first appeared a hundred years ago.

The origins began in the late 19th century when the one piece standard underwear of the day was customised by labourers into a separate top and bottom. Miners and dock workers began wearing the top as an outer garment, tucked into trousers, for comfort when working in hot conditions.

Around the time of the American Spanish War in 1898 the U.S. Navy were issuing a white, short-sleeved crew neck top to be worn as a soft shield under the harsh material of the uniforms. It then became common practice for sailors to remove their jackets so only the quicker drying and lighter 'T' shirt shaped undergarment got soiled and to help ease of movement. When the First World War broke out the British Royal Navy and the French Army were also supplying their men with T-shirt shaped, flexible soft cotton under garments.
In the 1920's 'T-shirt' had become an entry in the American-English dictionary and was being worn by many more labourers employed in various industries in the U.S. By the end of the thirties clothing manufacturers retailers began producing them.

American servicemen in the Second World War made it commonplace and fashionable to wear T-shirts as an outer garment and amongst 'mixed' company and back home it quickly became popular to wear them in this way.

Slogans

In 1948 the New York Governor, Thomas E. Dewey, promoted his (unsuccessful) presidential campaign with a "Do it for Dewey" T-shirt, one of which can be seen in the Smithsonian museum, laying strong claim to be the oldest printed T-shirt. Four years later and Dwight D. Eisenhower got in on the act by distributing an "I Like Ike" T-shirt in his successful bid for President. The age of the T-shirt slogan had begun.

Hollywood

In 1951 Marlon Brando appeared as Stanley Kowalski in Tennesee William's play A Streetcar Named Desire - later earning his first Oscar nomination as he became the first tough iconic image in white T-shirt on the big screen. Later, in 1953's The Wild One, he played Johnny Strabler's rebel on a Harley Davidson Motorcycle and his on-screen image of anti-hero in a white T under a black leather jacket became the standard look for young men of that generation. The plain white T-shirt was now quickly becoming the must have garment for every young man who wanted to be part of this new, style conscious youth movement that was evolving.

Big Business

To feed the growing demand American clothing manufacturers began producing the new garments - branding became integral to sales with Fruit of the Loom T-shirts and Hanes T-shirts, and later Canadian manufacturer Gildan, dominating the market and still doing so to this day.

Variations On A Theme

The modern T-shirt has evolved into several variants including the crew neck, the scoop neck, the cropped, the fitted, the tank-top and the longsleeve. But the most in demand style today is still the classic 'T' as worn by Brando over 60 years ago.