Compendium of Heavy Metal

When Did The T-shirt Really Take Over The Fashion World   by Jane Kenton

The advent of the cultural approval of the T-shirt as upper body covering is relatively current in the immense historical context of Western society, but still it has quickly become a tool in every designers’ collections in addition to the closets of the fashion forward, not to mention fashion illiterate. The T-shirt achieved popularity in the early 1950s, specifically with the portrayal of famous brooding men on screen which include, James Dean donning that white undershirt below his leather jacket in Rebel Without A Cause, or Marlon Brando sporting a white wife beater in the end of A Streetcar Named Desire.

The use of the T-shirt alone, unaccompanied by over shirt or jacket, was a straight reaction against the collared shirts of the white collar middle classes in the 1950s, whom portrayed economic oppression and social invalidation of the blue collar working classes, who had to wear jumpsuits to work. But, you better believe that every single jumpsuit hid beneath its cloth an undershirt, which would be exposed in times of climatic necessity or on work breaks.

The custom of the T-shirt became more of a declaration when the counterculture revolution of the 1960s added to the lexicon the tie-dye and iconographic T-shirts. People could declare how they felt about society with their preference of shirt, and the rest of society became increasingly more receptive. In the 70s, they might don fashionable graphics, like the “smiley face” and the “I heart New York” shirts. These kinds of shirts placed into the minds of society that it’s possible to put on a shirt, convey one’s personal ideology, and belong to a community all at the same time. These fashions of the 70s simply grew to take on the cultural identity of the T-shirt in the 80s. “Frankie says relax” is viewed on the shirts of both men and women. Clever text, fads (just like thermochromatic -heat sensitive color changing- T-shirts), and market branding of T-shirts with the logos of manufacturers or designers made the T-shirt a visual social statement, unveiling socio-economic status as well as interest in pop culture.

If someone had a lame T-shirt, either they couldn’t afford a better one, or did not care. This develop into the contemporary status of the comical text shirt, stating some clever ‘unique’ ideas such as “Sorry ladies, the shirt is staying on”, political commentary like caricatures of politicians, or a juxtaposition of text and image creating a pun, like “Pez-bians” featured over the image of two female pez dispensers kissing. The level of popularity of these shirts has declined throughout the past decade, and now shirts designed by visual artists and silk screened onto T-shirts for sale by way of independent distributors are the new craze.

To wear an announcement on your shirt is one thing, but to wear a bright, unique, artistic vision on your clothes, the payment of which goes to support the artists to make more shirts, is a more socially responsible and visually pleasing outcome. The T-shirt is simply not just a means of covering. There are some cotton T-shirts, just like the one by designer Balmain, that is worth $1625 dollars. Be it to work in the garden or to go to the MTV Music Video Awards, the T-shirt is more than a must have. It’s a part of our cultural heritage.

About the Author

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