Comfortable, Casual and Always in Style.
THE ALL AMERICAN FASHION
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the humble T-Shirt quickly became popular as Americans started to discover the comfort and versatility of this simple piece of underwear. Now, a century later, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the T-Shirt remains as popular as ever.
The first introduction of the t-shirt in America seems to be it's use by the United States Navy as part of it's official uniform. Then during WWI, American Army troops noticed European soldiers wearing a similar comfortable and lightweight cotton undershirt during the hot and humid European summer days. Compared to the wool uniforms that the American soldiers wore, these undershirts were cooler and more comfortable and they quickly caught on with the Americans. Soon, the t-shirt was added as standard issue underwear of the U. S. Army as well.
Due to their simple design, these shirts became known in the USA as "T-type" shirts or, as we know them now, "T-Shirts".
By the 1920's, "T-Shirt" had become an official word in the American English language with it's inclusion in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.
In the 1930's the t-shirt became popular at sporting events, gyms and universities. Then in 1939, a printed t-shirt was produced to promote a new film, The Wizard of Oz. It was becoming real fashion. By W.W.II, some Army divisions began printing their camp name or division emblems on their T-shirts This began a new era for the popular "underwear".
The T-Shirt soon came in to it's own on the big screen as well. John Wayne, Marlon Brando and James Dean all shocked Americans by wearing their underwear on national TV. In 1951, Marlon Brando created quite a stir in his film "A Streetcar Named Desire" when his T-Shirt was ripped off of his body revealing his naked chest.
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By 1955, the T-Shirt was tolerated being worn without another shirt covering it. Then James Dean made the T-Shirt real cool in "Rebel Without A Cause". James Dean made the T-Shirt a contemporary symbol of rebellious youth.
In the 60's, people began to tie dye and screen print the basic cotton T-Shirt making it an even bigger commercial success. About this time, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth began to put his exaggerate hot rod artwork on to T-shirts and started selling them at car shows and to car clubs. Demand led to innovation and he built a machine to produce multi-color screen prints on T-shirts Today, many commercial t-shirt presses are still based on his original machine.
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Advances in knitting, printing and dying allowed more variety and the Tank Top, Muscle Shirt, Scoop Neck, V-Neck, and many other variations of the T-Shirt came in to fashion. In 1965, Budweiser began to market T-shirts with their logo on them and the logo t-shirt was born. It is still thriving today.
The T-Shirt is inexpensive, comfortable and always in style, plus you can make any statement you care to print. The American T-Shirt really came into it's own during the late sixties and the seventies. Rock and Roll bands began to realize that they could make significant amounts of money selling their T-shirtsProfessional Sports caught on and soon the officially licensed T-Shirt became hot merchandise.
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During the 80's and 90's the production of T-shirts and the mechanics of printing on them increased the volume and availability. Soon the American T-Shirt was being called a commodity item in the apparel industry.
At the beginning of a new millennium, the t-shirt has entered cyberspace and is now about to become a worldwide fashion favorite. The American T-Shirt is well built and it is made to be worn. The printed artwork symbolizes the cultural and social climate of our times. It allows people to be individuals and with the huge variety of designs available, it is the antithesis of The Gap and Old Navy.
The t-shirt is... Comfortable, Casual, and Always in Style.
The staff at T-Shirt King is proud to bring the American T-Shirt to a worldwide audience. We know that, with your help, T-Shirt King can make fashion history. We hope you enjoy our collection of T-shirts
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