A T-shirt, as you can see on the Tilteed home page, is a garment worn by women and men; an expression of style, mood and art. Today... that is. But the American tee wasn’t born today, or yesterday for that matter, and regardless of what your tees mean to you now, it's historically rooted in the military.
The T-shirt evolved into American culture, say historians, after the U.S. Navy saw British Royal Navy men wearing the lightweight garb under their uniforms. According to a CBS news article about T-shirt history, the Navy “borrowed” the idea of the tee from the British, and began wearing these white, cotton T-shaped designs in about 1913. According to an army historian interviewed in the piece, the army “unequivocally” borrowed the T-shirt from the Navy--creating what was then called a “quarter-sleeve undershirt” for U.S. servicemen. G.I. Joes often came home wearing their army attire, and unknowingly began a brand-new trend.
When 50s-era stars such as James Dean and Marlon Brando showed up on the silver screen cast in white T-shirts, the trend was solidified as a fashion statement.
A decade later, T-shirts began being utilized for different purposes. First, they were tie-dyed. And when screen printing became popular, tees of all shapes and sizes were printed with statements advocating for social change. Moving into the 70s, Rock ‘n Roll seized the opportunity of the tee; bands began printing iconic logos on T-shirts--and fans began buying (and wearing them). The classic tongue and lips Rolling Stones tee is still printed and sold today.
In 2008, according to CBS, a whopping two billion T-shirts were sold in the U.S. We’re not sure how many tees have been bought in 2011, but we’re pretty certain they’re as popular as ever. Check out Tilteed’s one of a kind tees and wear one to keep tee history alive!
