Since the dawn of the 1960's, T-Shirts have been used not only as simple and convenient items of clothing but as a form of expression. An individual can align him or herself with a particular band, label or ideology by wearing a particular T Shirt and when marketing companies began to understand this they started to take full advantage of it. Certain images (for example the Coca Cola logo or the image of Walt Disney mascot Mickey Mouse) have become synonymous with certain lifestyles and are now viewed as much as a statement of the wearers likes, dislikes, thoughts and beliefs as they are as advertisement.
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.
The popularity of the T Shirt really picked up during the Great Depression due to the afore-mentioned cheap production costs, and they became popular items of clothing for soldiers during the Second World War. Following the war, veterans were afforded a large amount of publicity and as such so were their garments of choice, this led to T Shirts becoming even more popular in the late 40's and early 50's, a popularity exacerbated by the advent of 'teen' cinema and television. Miami, Florida was an important destination in the history of the T Shirt. in the 50's various companies settled there due to cheap land prices and set about decorating T Shirts with national holiday resort names and characters. These companies were the first to license character T Shirts for the Walt Disney company and their 'vintage' designs are still popular to this day.
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.
In just over 200 years the T Shirt has gone from being a convenient undergarment to the most popular and diverse item of clothing in our wardrobes. The common T Shirt has certainly come a long way it would seem and to be honest, now who could imagine a world without them?
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.
The popularity of the T Shirt really picked up during the Great Depression due to the afore-mentioned cheap production costs, and they became popular items of clothing for soldiers during the Second World War. Following the war, veterans were afforded a large amount of publicity and as such so were their garments of choice, this led to T Shirts becoming even more popular in the late 40's and early 50's, a popularity exacerbated by the advent of 'teen' cinema and television. Miami, Florida was an important destination in the history of the T Shirt. in the 50's various companies settled there due to cheap land prices and set about decorating T Shirts with national holiday resort names and characters. These companies were the first to license character T Shirts for the Walt Disney company and their 'vintage' designs are still popular to this day.
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.
In just over 200 years the T Shirt has gone from being a convenient undergarment to the most popular and diverse item of clothing in our wardrobes. The common T Shirt has certainly come a long way it would seem and to be honest, now who could imagine a world without them?
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