Throughout human history people have always found ways to express their
ideas to others. Handbills and flyers have covered city walls since the
advent of the printing press. Graffiti has been around since Roman
times.
In the 20th century, a new form of self expression emerged: the
t-shirt. Originally introduced by the Navy in 1913, it took widespread
use by soldiers in World War II to introduce the crew neck t-shirt to
the public. The 1950’s were also important in the history of the
t-shirt, being worn as outerwear by such stars as Marlin Brando and
James Dean. In the 1960’s the t-shirt began to be used as a palette for
expression. The first corporate advertising on a t-shirt was a can of
Budwiser beer. There’s even a phrase for the ubiquitous nature of
t-shirts as expression: “Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt”
T-shirts can be used to express political views or show musical tastes,
or lack thereof. Someone wearing a John Deere t-shirt is sending a very
different message from the person in the t-shirt with a character from
Japanese animation. And what business doesn’t have their logo available
on a shirt? People use shirts to tell others about which sports teams
they like, a favorite movie or book, who their favorite NASCAR driver
is, or to stop looking at their breasts. T-shirts are seen that
commemorate any possible event; birthdays, weddings, (and divorces),
vacations, summer camps, family reunions, the possibilities are
endless.
The technology for custom t-shirt expression has never been more
abundant. Kiosks in malls with full-color photo transfers, airbrush
artists, online designers for custom screen printed work, they are all
easily accessible and affordably priced. Whatever you want to say,
there are multitudes of ways to say it on a t-shirt for everyone to see.
