We like funny t-shirts, offensive t shirts
and cool t shirts.... in fact we like all t-shirts so here
is a history of the humble cotton tee shirt.
A T-shirt is much more than a cheap article of clothing, the
t shirt is a portable advert with it's wearer declaring their
political, musical or social affiliations for everyone to see.
T-shirts will never go out of fashion because they are cheap,
cool and comfortable. As a walking billboard provocative tee
shirts and funny t-shirts inspire reaction, be it shocking, controversial
or humorous images or graphics that offend or amuse or simply
make a statement. The t shirt started off as a piece of underwear
and thanks to teen idols like Marlon Brando and James Dean the
tee has become standard wear for the young and the graphics,
slogans and logo's have all had their part to play in maintaining
this status. Cool t-shirts were in.
Opinions on were the t-shirt originated are divided. T-shirts
definitely started out as underwear but some think that T-shirts
started out in the First World War when American soldiers copied
Europeans who wore them under their uniforms to keep warm and
the U.S. troops started calling them T-shirts because of their
shape.
Others maintain that the first record of the t shirt's existence
is in 1899 when a plain white cotton shirt formed part of the
US Navy uniform. What is known however is that by the 1930's
white T-shirts became standard sporting wear for many American
universities while in 1939 printed t-shirts were, for the first
time, used with slogans and logo's as part of the promotion for
the film The Wizard of Oz although they were not very popular
at the time, these were the first funny t-shirts printed.
After the second world war the practice of putting graphics on
t shirts became widespread but during the war GI's posted to
the Pacific had worn t-shirts, then known as "T-types",
as outerwear to help them cope with the tropical heat. Most of
the tee's were plain white but others were printed with the names
of camps or divisions - the idea of a t-shirt as a kind of uniform
was born.
In the 60's people began to tie dye and screenprint the basic
cotton T-Shirt making it an even bigger commercial success. Advances
in printing and dying allowed more variety and the Tank Top,
Muscle Shirt, Scoop Neck, V-Neck, and many other variations of
the T-Shirt came in to fashion. T-shirts were soon seized upon
by marketing professionals all over the world. In 1965 Budweiser
was the first to use the t shirt as a widespread marketing tool,
and companies have been producing funny T-shirts with logo's
and slogans ever since.
The T-Shirt was inexpensive, in style,
and could make any statement you cared to print. The American
T-Shirt came into it's own during the late sixties and seventies.
Rock and Roll bands began to realize that they could make significant
amounts of money selling their T-Shirts. Professional Sports
caught on and soon the officially licensed T-Shirt became hot
merchandise.
While Tee shirts became acceptable as
everyday clothing in the 1970's it was punk rock that really
sealed their position as the standard clothing of a disenfranchised
youth. Designers Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren chose
the t-shirt as a uniform for their followers. "The t shirt
was the foundation, the one thing that defined a look, if you
were dealing with the street culture of the new generation.
The T-shirt was the beginning of every shop we had in London.
We always started with ' What's the T-shirt going to look like
? ' That was the defining moment"
Wearing a t shirt is the simplest, cheapest and easiest way to
make a statement about your state of mind". Just as Brando,
in black leather and a plain white cool T-shirt, and the chain-smoking,
T-shirt wearing James Dean had both played their part in making
it essential wear for a cool, rebellious youth, punk sealed the
t-shirts status as acceptable clothing for the new generation
of rebels.
The beauty of T-shirt design is the love at first sight nature
of the idea/buyer relationship, from the coolest, funkiest graphic
to the most profound philosophy. Since about 1990 the shape of
the tee shirt has evolved to outsize, unisex baggy clothing as
well as tight and skimpy t-shirts. Amusingly, a new trend in
Japan has random English words on T-shirts which usually don't
actually make any sense but sell well in Asia. But it's tough
in tshirt land as one proud American owner of a t-shirt bought
in Japan with some rather nice Japanese writing on it later discovered
that it in fact said "stupid American tourist"
Everyone has a favourite t-shirt because the tee remains, literally,
a cool thing to wear.The t-shirt is inexpensive, always in fashion
and is a great way to make a statement with a slogan, logo or
picture
Our top quality tee's and are built and designed to be worn.
We've always got over 100 designs in stock with new logos and
slogans coming on line all the time. The t-shirt is inexpensive,
always in fashion and is a great way to make a statement.
itiswhatitis Ltd only use top quality
materials. Our pre-shrunk t-shirts are manufactured with shoulder
to shoulder taping and a tubular body for shape retention.
The weight of the 100% ring spun cotton cloth is 180gr/m² and
the thread is tightly woven fine knit gauge so that it is smooth
and strong. The inks and silk screens we use are also of the
best quality as are the soft woven labels that do not stick
into your neck. The t-shirts are sent out to you by 1st class
post.
Our classic pre-shrunk girls fitted t-shirts
are top quality round neck tee's. They are manufactured using
100% combed cotton interlock weaving for great fit and shape
retention. The weight of the cloth used is a tight knit 220gr/m².
The inks and silk screens are all of the highest quality. These
girls fitted t-shirts are very comfortable to wear.
Our range of funny T-shirts make great
gifts and with a tee you can offend, amuse or annoy your friends
and fiends.
You can get more t-shirt history here , how t-shirts are made
, trends over time
, messages on tees
, different types
and marketing use
T-shirt information in Danish ,
German ,
Spanish ,
French ,
Italian ,
Dutch ,
Norwegian and
Portuguese
