Surprisingly enough, shirts in some form of another have been part of human culture since the ancient Egyptians, including what we now call t-shirts. It wasn’t used as a form of underwear until the 1900s when being modestly clothed became the norm. No one truly knows the origin of the t-shirt in the United States but there has been speculation that US troops in the trenches in World War I saw European soldiers wearing them and adopted the practice to gain some relief from their hot woolen uniforms.

Even the origin of the name t-shirt is somewhat speculative. Some people claim it was due to the shirts shape, a ‘T’ when the arms were laid out horizontally. Others claim that it is short for ‘training shirt’, a term once used by the army. It could have also come from the short length of the arms, tee coming from the word ‘amputee’. No matter where the name came from, it has stuck even with the appearance of styles like the tank top.

By World War II, the t-shirt had been adopted as underwear for both the army and navy. Those servicemen made it common for everyone to wear their t-shirts without an outer shirt. Actors like James Dean and Marlon Brando made it cool to wear on television and by the 1950s t-shirts were sporting logos and sayings and promoting goods.

Since arriving in the United States, t-shirts have become one of the biggest and longest lasting clothing trends. Characters such as Davey Crockett and Mickey Mouse began appearing on them and they soon became one of the hottest souvenirs of theme parks, rock concerts, and beaches. With the invention of the hot iron press, t-shirts were no longer limited to plain embroidered logos. Iron on transfers of anything imaginable is still popular item for t-shirts today. Other popular trends include the oversized shirt, crop tops, and wearing a long sleeved shirt beneath a t-shirt and layering them.

T-shirts will probably always have a place in pop culture as they have made one of the biggest impacts in clothing. As manufacturing techniques also improve, we are finding t-shirts that no longer have tags in the neck, do not shrink, and are softer than ever before. They can easily be dressed up or down, and are the common clothing item people lounge in. Almost every household has a t-shirt in it, whether it’s your grandfather’s undershirt or your favorite concert shirt. T-shirts will always provide a medium for promotion and advertisement, be it political or not, and one day we may all find ourselves able to where our t-shirts to the office without the button-down shirt and tie that goes with it.

About the Author Jeremy Miller is author of this article on Punk Rock T-Shirts!.  Find more information about band t shirts here.

Article Source: DesireToRetire.com