A history of T-shirts design

Regardless of the T-shirts design, a T-shirt usually has no collar, no sleeves and no buttons. The sleeves are very short, under the shoulder, but not completely down to the elbow, and the collar is rounded and smooth. In other words, it is a rather simple item of clothing.

It is usually elastic, as the main, regular material is cotton, polyester or a combination of the two. Styles and sizes vary, able to cover the needs of any buyer, regardless of age or dimensions. In any case, T-shirt logos are the aspects that make the difference from one T-shirt to another.

Long before the mere concept of T-shirt logos even appeared, T-shirts were becoming more and more popular, namely around the 1800s. Actually, its popularity developed together with that of underwear in itself, and although credit for its spread frequently goes to the hands of Britain or of the U.S., what is sure is that the present T-shirts design became popular in itself somewhere between 1919 and 1950. Moreover, they seem to be bearing a connection to the American army, who invented such clothing either for personal use, or got the idea from the Europeans – such details leave only small traces in the blur of history.

The modern T-shirts design also becomes more associated to the US army as the name comes into discussion – although the generally accepted idea is that the T in T-shirt stands for its actual shape, there is also the possibility of it being an abbreviation for the phrase “training shirt”. Although originally designed as underwear, T-shirts gained popularity among American soldiers particularly when doing some sort of physical labor or when stationed in unusually hot areas, when they wore it with nothing else. The idea became more acceptable for the public once such a picture appeared on the cover of a U.S. magazine.

In addition, the concept of T-shirt logos came out quite early and, of course, had a connection to politics. A series of T-shirts came out as a sign of support of Dwight Eisenhower, and although shocking at first for the public, they became acceptable by 1955 after several famous actors wore them in public. Decades later, the T-shirt turns into an independent piece of clothing and a great support for anything from advertising to art.

T-shirt logos also became popular when several seaside resorts began printing shirts with their names, then when Walt Disney print T-shirts appeared (Mickey Mouse became an icon nationwide thanks to this). The oversized T-shirts design bore a connection to two things: either sleeping, or hip-hop fashion. There are even references to such aspects in certain songs.

Years later, the ringer T-shirts design also became popular (the T-shirt with rings around the collar and sleeves), as did the trend of wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt with a slightly larger short-sleeved one over it. An addition to this was the classical black band T-shirt, still accessible and very successful, which became immensely popular somewhere around 1975.

Any T-shirts design whatsoever has one single purpose: to help its wearer stand out in a crowd. Whether it is a company logo or a strong color, an interesting character or band, a hilarious or politically strong message written in big bold letters, it has to make you look special.