04-06-2025
People are only just realising what the loop on the back of shirts is for
There's a tiny loop on the back of shirts that, unbeknownst to most men and women, has a specific purpose.
Found between the shoulder blades, where the yoke (upper back) of the shirt meets the pleat, the loop is not, however, a new design feature.
Rather, it has a long history and, while its principal purpose has remained the same over time, it has also had other, very novel uses at various points.
A feature of both men's and women's shirts, the loop tends to be overlooked by people today.
But, according to a number of online sources, including website Mental Floss, the loop's origins lie with the US Navy and, specifically, sailors' close quarters.
Since sailors didn't have wardrobes to hang up their shirts - they simply had space-saving lockers - the garments were designed with loops that could conveniently slide onto hooks on the wall.
In this way, the shirts would not only be stored neatly but would also dry more quickly - and usually without creases.
The loop, therefore, came to be known as the 'locker loop'.
The locker loop was then co-opted by US fashion brand GANT, which was founded in New Haven, Connecticut - the home of Ivy League university Yale.
According to Gear Patrol, the quintessentially American brand added the design feature to its Oxford shirts, initially placing the loop on the collar, to make life easier for Yale students.
They would, after all, be able to hang up their shirts easily, without requiring hangers.
As the official fashion brand for Yale, GANT's shirts were ubiquitous on campus and equally informed popular men's style across the country.
By the 1960s, though, the locker loop had taken on a new - much less practical (though no less important) - purpose.
It became a way to indicate romantic intent, with women tearing the loops off the shirts of the men that they fancied.
Men would equally remove the loops from their shirts to signal that they were off the market.
The trend quickly gathered pace, leading one mail-order company to send customers just the loops, according to Mental Floss.
Not everyone, however, was so earnest, with some people simply ripping off others' shirt loops for the fun of it.
Worse still, an 'intact loop was used as a way to stoke homophobia and imply that not only was the wearer not in a relationship but they were gay'.
It was described as a 'fruit loop' and 'fairy tag', amongst other offensive names.
While locker loops on shirts are often ignored today, they can still work as a helpful space-saving hack by eliminating the need for wardrobe hangers.
When the design feature was discussed on Reddit's 'todayilearned' subreddit, one user admitted they went down a 'rabbit hole' - suggesting they became particularly curious about the origins of the locker loop.
They wrote: 'Thank you for that rabbit hole I've now fallen into!'
Another user suggested an alternative purpose for the locker loop - though it's not difficult to see why it didn't catch on.
The person wrote: 'I put a carabiner [clip] with my keys on mine. I want everyone to know I have keys. Because my loud big keys mean I'm important.'
