International T-shirt Day: From an undergarment to a daily essential - the timeline of a T-shirt
Perhaps you have never seen the packing list of Amory Blaine, a 15-year old who was heading to St. Regis, a boarding school in Connecticut (USA). Ignore Amory's summer and winter underwear, notice there's a T shirt. Perhaps, you'd scoff a 'so what?'. But this was 1920 and it was the first time the word T-shirt was set down on page by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his book This Side of Paradise. Fitzgerald did not invent the word, he kinda gave the bachelor's undershirt a casual push. The name T-shirt made sense - when laid flat, the shape of the T shirt looked like T, the 20th letter of the English alphabet.
And if you were to stick to Amory's packing list, it is T-shirt, not a tee, not a t-shirt. The Online Etymology Dictionary will reprimand you, if you say t-shirt - 'the form t-shirt is incorrect', the dictionary will tutor you.
How was the T-shirt, now a unisex essential, born? Well, the ubiquitous T-shirt began life as an undergarment for men - neatly hidden under proper shirts. In the Middle Ages, it was common for wealthy men to wear woven cotton or linen T-shaped garment under their shirt. But there was a twist in the T. Actually, a tail. These Middle Age undergarments had long shirt tails tucked between the legs! That did not make for a handsome picture and soon the shirt tails were snipped and the garment acquired more fitted seams.
Since then, the T-shirt underwent several alterations. And names, too. In the 19th century, British sailors started wearing white flannel T-shirts under their woollen uniforms and soon they were officially permitted to wear T-shirts on the deck. It sure was comfy and not surprisingly, it became the favourite outerwear of working class men during weekends. Just before World War I, the US Navy included a loose-fitting flannel shirt with a square neck in its uniform - a white, cotton-knit T-shirt became the official underwear of the US Navy. Until then, the T-shirt was mostly a gob (British slang for sailors) shirt.
That garment between the skin and shirt on top gradually metamorphosed from woven cotton and linen to calico, jersey and wool. In early 20th century, T-shirts became big business and were being marketed as bachelor's undershorts, crew neck shirts - an essential for men who could not sew shirt buttons (another theory hypothesises).
Now, the T-shirt was being talked of much more. On June 29, 1922, an article (Comfortable Togs for Your Vacation, Rutland (Vermont) Daily Herald) made a special mention of the T-shirt: 'Special mention should be accorded the sweat shirt, or "T" shirt, which has been used for a good many years among athletes and which is bound to be as popular with outers, having just recently been 'discovered.' A 'T' shirt will do everything a sweater does and more, while it costs fully a quarter less.'
And then a few drop-dead gorgeous Hollywood men gave the T-shirt the much-deserved glamour. Handsome men wearing impeccable white T-shirts appeared on the silver screen. Ah!Montgomery Clift wearing a T-shirt in the 1951 studio photograph for A Place in the Sun. When Marlon Brando took off his wet body-hugging T-shirt in A Street Car Named Desire, half of womankind swooned in adoration. And when he stood on the 70 mm screen with a fresh T-shirt in hand, his chest bare, his hair ruffled, the other half of womankind got muzzy. James Dean made rebellion and T-shirt fashionable in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). The T-shirt had finally arrived as an outerwear. Rockstars started performing in them and luxury clothing brands invested in, well, ultra-luxury T-shirts that men and women happily strutted around in.
This International T-shirt Day (June 21), wear one and remember how an undergarment conquered the world's wardrobe. The Most Iconic T-shirts
The Rolling Stones: The tongue and lips logo for The Rolling Stones was designed by the English art designer John Pasche in 1970.
Superman: The red/yellow 'S' shield that Superman wears on his costume was originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Charlie Brown: Everyone loves Charlie Brown's yellow and brown stripes who was created by Charles M. Schulz.
Che Guevara: Taken by Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960, in Havana (Cuba), Che Guevara's iconic photograph is every rebel's T-shirt statement
Jurassic Park: The logo was seen extensively in the 1993 film and some T-heads call it the logosaurus.
The Ghostbusters: The 'No Ghosts' emblem references the movie's namesake team.
I love NY: The logo was designed by graphic designer Milton Glaser in 1976 and its red heart has been an all-time favourite for tourists worldwide.
Keep Calm & Carry On: Originally printed as 1930s British World War II propaganda.
Nirvana's Smiley Face: A staple of the grunge movement, rockband Nirvana's logo has a stylised, tongue-out smiley face with Xs for eyes.
Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon: Features the album's iconic prism and rainbow design.
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