Where Does T-shirt
History Begin?
 It
is impossible to say exactly where and when t-shirt history commenced.
There is speculation by Archaeologists, that Roman Soldiers wore a short tunic like a modern day t-shirt
under or over a separate kilt.
And there is no information available to indicate who was the
first to wear the garment that today we know as the t-shirt. However it would
appear that the Americans got the idea from the British navy during WW1.
The British Navy is reported to have been wearing the t-shirt as
an undergarment since the late 1890's.
The Germans and the French also wore an undergarment during WW1
which resembled the t-shirt. Exactly when it graduated to an outer garment and a
“true t-shirt” is unknown.
There is reference to a “sweater or t-shirt” in F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s 1920 novel, This Side Of Paradise. It is most likely a reference
to a garment made from a heavy fabric like wool - hence "sweater" -
and not a true t-shirt
The
1920's and 1930's T-shirt History
By the end of the 1920's the t-shirt appeared in the American Webster’s
dictionary.
We know that a couple of US retailers were selling them by end of the 1930's and
Warner Brothers distributed “Wizard of OZ” t-shirts in 1939.
It was also wide spread as I have seen a photo taken in the late
1930's of an Australian man wearing a white t-shirt. There was an established
textile industry in Australia at that time so it is a fair assumption that the
t-shirt was manufactured locally.
One of the most accurate ways to gather t-shirt history
is to observe old photographs as there is very little documented information.
The
1940's T-shirt History
Life magazine adds to t-shirt history with a photo of an American soldier wearing a t-shirt with the text “Air corps gunnery school”
on the cover of it’s July 13, 1942 issue.
Whether it's myth or creative myth I don't know but the Spanish
lay claim to the idea that signals the beginning of the wet
t-shirt contest.
The 1948 presidential campaign of Thomas E. Dewey produced the
“Dew It for Dewey” political
t-shirt.
The
1950's T-shirt History
The 1952 campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower produced the “I Like Ike”
political t-shirt. 
Marlon Brando in the 1951 film ‘A Streetcar Named Desire”
and James Dean in the 1955 film ‘Rebel without a Cause” both wore t-shirts.
By now the t-shirt was well out of it’s infancy and it was being embraced by
cultures all around the western world. It was far from unique to American
culture.
The James Dean culture wore white t-shirts with a sleeve rolled
up around a packet of cigarettes. This later paved the way for a t-shirt with a
pocket on the sleeve but it was not a popular design.
Just about everybody was wearing t-shirts. One notable group was
athletic teams, they planted the seed and spawned the way for the huge
promotional t-shirt industry of today.
The Beatniks in the late 1950's and early 1960's made the t-shirt
part of their uniform.
In the late 1950’s Southern Californian drag racing
enthusiasts took great pride in airbrush decorating, done in flames pinstripes
and exotic lettering, a few turned their air brushes to their hot rod t-shirts.
This was most likely the nursery to the well established airbrush t-shirt
industry of the 1960’s and beyond.
From here on each decade is given a page of its own. This gives
us plenty of space to expand each decade as more information becomes available.
Our quest for t-shirt information is on going.
Please go to the
1960's t-shirt page to continue this journey through to the end. Alternatively
click on the decade of your choice (see below).
During this decade we saw the introduction of tie dying, screen printing, the long
sleeve t-shirt, ringer t-shirt, tuxedo t-shirt, Beatles t-shirts and the wet
t-shirt contest......
This decade the black concert t-shirt, bands,
sport, surf, punk, star wars and promotional
t-shirts move into fashion......
Hypercolour t-shirts, humorous t-shirts, Japanese
designers and more .......
The t-shirt heads in all directions. Hip hop, rap bands,
t-shirt cannons, gay fashion and sexy belly shirts for women are some examples......
Politics,
President Bush and the Iraqi War blow the t-shirt out of the water in the US and the UK. The Beatles
are still favourites, the internet is in full swing with promotional
and Christian t-shirts remaining popular; personalized t-shirts are now possible and viral t-shirts may be next......
"A policeman in plain clothes is a man; in his uniform he is ten. Clothes
and title are the most potent thing, the most formidable influence, in the
earth. They move the human race to willing and spontaneous respect for the
judge, the general, the admiral, the bishop, the ambassador, the frivolous
earl, the idiot duke, the sultan, the king, the emperor. No great title is
efficient without clothes to support it"
-Mark Twain
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