The History of T-Shirts

Check out my substack post for the full article with pictures. The blogging platform I use makes uploading pictures quite tedious.

Much of menswear has a functional origin. Every garment has a story, every detail has a purpose. T-shirts are a great example of this. What’s perhaps the most widespread garment worn today - in the cafe I’m editing this piece in more than half the patrons are wearing t-shirts - started as an undergarment more than 100 years ago.

The history of the t-shirt starts in the late 1800s with the Union suit. The union suit was a one-piece garment that covered the entire body with a buttoned flap at the back for easy access in the washroom. It was used as a warm base layer for colder months and sweat absorption in warmer months.

It was common for men to cut their union suit in half and wear the top portion separately. This top half of the union suit was a precursor to the modern t-shirt. However, wearing this “shirt” publicly was seen as indecent, and it was banned in places like Havana, as they didn’t want people wearing what was essentially underwear in public.

Inspired by the union suit, the Cooper Clothing company made their own version called the “Bachelor” shirt in 1904. The shirt was easy to put on, easy to care for, and affordable. They marketed the bachelor shirt towards single men without wives who didn’t know how to sew - again this was the early 1900s when women had strict gender roles. In the advertisement above, the left photo showed a man with a traditional buttoned top struggling with safety pins, and on the right showed a man confidently wearing a bachelor shirt. “No safety pins - no needles - no threads - no buttons.” was their slogan.

The US Navy took notice and 1913 made the t-shirt standard issue as part of the uniform. Sailors would wear their shirts underneath their uniform as a base layer.

Not long afterward, the first documented use of the word T-shirt emerged. F Scott Fitzgerald used the term in his book This Side of Paradise:

So early in September Amory, provided with “six suits summer underwear, six suits winter underwear, one sweater or T shirt, one jersey, one overcoat, winter, etc.,” set out for New England, the land of schools.

The term “T-shirt” refers to the T-shaped silhouette of the garment when laid flat. The word was quickly added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 1920.

Still, the t-shirt was seen as an undergarment and it wasn’t common to wear it casually. The T-shirt needed another push to change its perception.

Then WWII happened. The US Army made the cotton white crewneck t-shirt standard issue. Now, 16 million American men completed basic training in a t-shirt. It was wartime and these men had little concern for social norms around clothing, and would often wear their T-shirts casually when off duty. After the war, these men continued to wear their T-shirts casually, as they had become accustomed to the comfortable and practical garment during their military service.

The status of the t-shirt was slowly rising. What was seen before as underwear now became a symbol of rebellion and subversion to the dominant culture. But the t-shirt needed one more push for it to reach the mainstream.

The T-shirt’s breakthrough moment came with the 1951 release of the film A Streetcar Named Desire. In the film, Marlon Brando wore a plain t-shirt. After the film’s release, Brando’s career skyrocketed, and so did the t-shirt. The t-shirt officially reached mainstream status.

In the decade that followed, screen printing technology became widely available. The T-shirt was a blank canvas. It was a canvas that allowed anyone to easily print their desired designs on t-shirts. Companies, brands, social movements, and political campaigns quickly capitalized on this newfound accessibility, using printed t-shirts as a medium to convey their messages and branding.

T-shirts have become a ubiquitous part of modern fashion. Major designers now offer their own interpretations of the classic t-shirt. In the supermodel era of the 80s and 90s, supermodels like Kate Moss would effortlessly style t-shirts and Jeans. The rise of hip-hop culture and streetwear has elevated the t-shirt to new heights. They are a staple item in most people’s wardrobes and show no signs of declining in popularity.