When was the first t shirt made?

T shirts are so common today that perhaps you can’t imagine a time when they didn’t exist, but there actually was indeed a time when a garment like this was considered underwear and wearing it in public without anything else on top would have been scandalous. So, when was the first t shirt made?

To answer that- we need to go back many decades. T-shirts were introduced in the United States around the time of the Mexican-American War which took place between 1846 and 1848. They were given to the members of the US Navy to be worn as undergarments beneath their uniforms and were called a “union suit”.

The union suit was a one-piece white garment with buttons in the front. Today, it equals a modern onesie and back then became very popular, leading to the textile company P.H. Hanes Knitting releasing their own version in 1902. They changed it from one piece to two pieces.

Then, in 1904, the Cooper Underwear Company announced a new product for bachelors called the “bachelor undershirt” in a magazine ad. This new garment had no buttons, it was easily pulled over the head and it was created thinking about men with no sewing skills. A year later, the US Navy specified that sailors should wear undershirts with no buttons under their uniforms.

Where does the name T-shirt come from?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the new name for the bachelor shirt, “t-shirt” was first used by F. Scott Fitzgerald who used the term in the novel “This Side of Paradise” published in 1920 in a list of accouterments that a character carries with him to boarding school. It is assumed that the name derives from the shape the shirt has, which resembles the letter “T”.

Later, in 1938, Sears launched their own version of the t-shirt which they called a gob shirt and could be used as an undergarment as well as an outer garment. However, the following year would be the year where we saw the first promotional t shirt ever, used in the movie “The Wizard of Oz”. In it, a trio of Ozians wear green shirts to bring attention to the wizard of Emerald City.

By the 1940s, t-shirts were popular in high schools and a newspaper columnist named Nancy Pepper even wrote that teenagers owned closets full of t shirts which they customized with sew-on patches and fringe. That same decade also saw the first political statement t shirt (and customized promotional item) when New Yorker Thomas E. Dewey ran for governor. The shirt read: “Dew it with Dewey”.

T-shirts in Hollywood

It didn’t take long for t-shirts to make its way to Hollywood and the big screen, which became evident when actor Marlon Brando used the garment in the movie “A Street Car Named Desire”. Of course, this only caused t shirts to become even more popular and other celebrities like Elvis Presley and James Dean followed as well.

Today, it is very common for bands and artists to create custom merch for their fans, back then, not so much, which is probably why some of the most iconic t-shirts can still be seen worn around today.

In the late 1950s we saw screen printing becoming mainstream thanks to Tropix Frogs and their iconic Mickey Mouse shirt, which also helped bring more attention to Disney’s films and theme parks. The 1960s would be the tie-dye decade when plastisol was invented and bright colors were a popular fashion trend. The t-shirt would become a means of self-expression and was commonly used for slogans, protests and commercial ads.

That is the case, for instance, of The Rolling Stones, whose iconic logo was printed on a t-shirt and is incredibly recognizable today. Other bands followed in their footsteps, such as The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd.

T-shirts and pop culture

The 1970’s and 1980’s were all about the customized t-shirt. Also, new methods such as the litho-transfer was invented, making the process of t-shirt printing much easier. On-the-spot printing also became available at various establishments in several shopping centers.

Today, t-shirts are still on trend and don’t seem to be going anywhere. You have so much to choose from, depending on your individual style. New technology has also emerged adding more ways to print and produce t-shirts both easier and faster. With this, custom t-shirts have become a powerful and regular branding tool for companies and people in general.

Your brand today can never go wrong with custom promotional tees. Did you know that there are more than 30,000 promotional distributors in the world? The good news is that you only need one good one, and for that, you have Crooked Monkey.

Promotional t-shirts can be seen everywhere you go: a concert, a football game, a picnic. People love them for their purpose as a wearable statement that brings attention to their brand. They are a form of self-expression and a great promotional product. 

Did you also know that approximately 2 billion t-shirts are sold each year in the country? They were also the top promotional items of 2016 and 58% of US consumers own at least one. Also, 90% of Americans have at least one t-shirt they refuse to throw away because of sentimental attachment (we are sure you also do). 

According to The New York Times, 86% of the people in America wear a t shirt at least once per week and 95% of the people in the United States wear t-shirts.

If you are looking to create your own custom t-shirts, you may want to read about what can’t be added to a promo t shirt, what type of t-shirts you need for your event and how to figure out your t-shirt size. If there’s something else you need to know, don’t hesitate to contact us!