A ubiquitous item of clothing for people of all ages and of all shapes and sizes for more than a hundred years, the history of the T Shirt is an interesting and historically relevant one. It's general knowledge that T Shirts are now not only seen as simple items of clothing and fashion statements but as a subtle form of expression, but the birth of the garment is a rarely told, conflicted and humble tale. These days certain T shirts are worn in order for individuals to express specific ideals, tastes and cultural beliefs or even ironic statements but 200 years ago they were simply undergarments worn for sheer convenience.
Rewind a couple of hundred years however and the garments origins are revealed to be far more humble. The origins of the slip-on, button-less T shirt stem from undergarments worn in the U.S.A in the 19th Century which were eventually adopted by miners in the late 1890's as convenient overalls that provided minor comfort in hot climates. The name T Shirt derives from the shape of the shirts outline and it grew in popularity throughout the 20th century as a preferred item of clothing for agricultural workers. It's easy to see why it was so popular with labourers as it was easily fitted and cleaned and made from relatively inexpensive materials.
By the time of the Great Depression, the T Shirt had been established as a young workers garment of choice and following the second world war it found a new lease of life as a fashionable and functional item of clothing thanks to icons such as Marlon Brando and James Dean wearing them in their movies. This trend continued apace throughout the second half of the 20th Century as people (especially teenagers) started using T Shirts as a staple fashion, especially in the 60's with the advent of tie-dying.
Methods of T Shirt printing are deceptively diverse. Screen printing is the most common, with water-based inks applied to the shirt through a mesh screen. There are two methods of screen printing, namely 'process printing' and 'simulated printing', which use different base colours. As a rule process printing is generally used on light coloured shirts and simulated printing is used on dark coloured shirts. Other printing methods include embroidery (which is more expensive but generally of a higher quality), laser print and airbrushing. Designs can also be ironed onto T Shirts, though the quality is debatable compared to screen printing and designs often fade in the wash, many black market T Shirt printers will use this method.
After 200 years of progress the humble T Shirt has evolved into an item of both convenience and high fashion suitable for all people. The breadth and variety of shirts available has grown exponentially over the decades and they are now just about the most ubiquitous pieces of clothing on the planet.
Rewind a couple of hundred years however and the garments origins are revealed to be far more humble. The origins of the slip-on, button-less T shirt stem from undergarments worn in the U.S.A in the 19th Century which were eventually adopted by miners in the late 1890's as convenient overalls that provided minor comfort in hot climates. The name T Shirt derives from the shape of the shirts outline and it grew in popularity throughout the 20th century as a preferred item of clothing for agricultural workers. It's easy to see why it was so popular with labourers as it was easily fitted and cleaned and made from relatively inexpensive materials.
By the time of the Great Depression, the T Shirt had been established as a young workers garment of choice and following the second world war it found a new lease of life as a fashionable and functional item of clothing thanks to icons such as Marlon Brando and James Dean wearing them in their movies. This trend continued apace throughout the second half of the 20th Century as people (especially teenagers) started using T Shirts as a staple fashion, especially in the 60's with the advent of tie-dying.
Methods of T Shirt printing are deceptively diverse. Screen printing is the most common, with water-based inks applied to the shirt through a mesh screen. There are two methods of screen printing, namely 'process printing' and 'simulated printing', which use different base colours. As a rule process printing is generally used on light coloured shirts and simulated printing is used on dark coloured shirts. Other printing methods include embroidery (which is more expensive but generally of a higher quality), laser print and airbrushing. Designs can also be ironed onto T Shirts, though the quality is debatable compared to screen printing and designs often fade in the wash, many black market T Shirt printers will use this method.
After 200 years of progress the humble T Shirt has evolved into an item of both convenience and high fashion suitable for all people. The breadth and variety of shirts available has grown exponentially over the decades and they are now just about the most ubiquitous pieces of clothing on the planet.
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