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Tee-Time Travels: A Brief History of the T-shirt
Peel the Union
To peel back the layers of t-shirt history, we must set our time machines back to the 19th century and hit rewind. A curious garment called the “union suit,” patented in 1868, is arguably the precursor to the t-shirt. The union suit, or chemiloon, was something like a modern-day onesie: full-coverage with a row of buttons down the front. Union suits not only laid the groundwork for the t-shirts of today, but, at the time, they were also a rather revolutionary development for women. Dubbed the “emancipation suit” in 1875, the union suit provided women with a more comfortable alternative to constrictive corsets. But by the end of the 19th century, a new adaptation of the union suit emerged: to combat the heat, workers began cutting their union suits in half…and thus, the t-shirt was born.
Bachelor in Tee-adise
The t-shirt as we know it today traces its origins to the Spanish-American War of 1898, where it was adopted as the standard-issue undershirt in the US Navy. Its popularity amongst military personnel and veterans established the t-shirt as a symbol of masculinity and thus broadened its appeal to civilians. Seizing upon this cultural shift, in 1941, Sears department store advertised the slogan, "You don't need to be a soldier to have your own personal T-shirt.”
The t-shirt was also hailed as the quintessential garment for bachelors. In 1904, the Cooper Underwear Co. popularized the t-shirt as the perfect undershirt for single men using the catchphrase, “no safety pins—no buttons—no needle—no thread” (aka no hassle if you don’t have a woman looking after you).
The term "t-shirt" itself was immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "This Side of Paradise" in 1920, where it was listed as part of a college student's wardrobe essentials:
“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.”
During this period, t-shirts also transitioned from underwear to outerwear. In 1938, Sears advertised a t-shirt, colloquially known as a "gob" (slang for a sailor), with the slogan, "It's an undershirt, it's an outershirt," highlighting its dual functionality. This transition was further solidified during World War II, with the US Army and Navy issuing short-sleeved cotton t-shirts to their soldiers as standalone wear.
Then came the rebels.
Rebel Without a Cause
In the 1950s, the humble t-shirt underwent a seismic shift in popular culture, propelled into the limelight by iconic figures like Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause," both of whom wore t-shirts as standalone garments. Brando and Dean’s depictions of rugged, defiant characters capitulated the t-shirt into a symbol of rebellion and nonconformity. During this period, women also began to embrace the t-shirt. Actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe contributed to its mainstream acceptance, often pairing t-shirts with high-waisted jeans or skirts in their iconic film roles.
And now, t-shirts are everywhere.
And they’re not just clothing—they’re also blank canvases for political expression and capitalist enterprise. In fact, graphic tees emerged when companies realized that people in printed tees were basically walking billboards! At Tamarind Chutney, t-shirts are not rebels but they definitely come with a cause. All our t-shirts are either surplus tees originally destined for the landfill or they’re made with organic cotton, which is better for both humans and the planet.
Check out our tee-riffic t-shirts at our store.
Sources:
https://www.vogue.in/content/vogue-fashion-encyclopaedia-the-history-of-the-t-shirt
https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/news/t-shirts-101-part-2
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