The humble beginnings of the T-shirt

In the eighties Madonna took corsets from underwear to outerwear. Popular culture applauded her for the daring move and leading a significant cultural shift.

But, contrary to popular legend, she was not the first to do so. Around a century ago, the T-shirt, as we know it today, was also an undergarment first.

The United States Navy and farmworkers changed the garment’s fortunes from practicality to utility.

James Dean and Marlon Brando made it sexy in the Sixties. Politics turned the humble tee into moving billboards and concerts immortalised experiences on cotton knit.

These days, the free the nipple movement uses fitted tops to make a point, and in between it all, everyone expresses their individuality by donning long—and short-sleeve variations.

T-shirts used to be underwear

It all started when miners and dockworkers wore cut-off union suits, which, while unglamorous, proved both comfortable and durable.

The U.S. Navy made it official in 1913 when issuing short-sleeved, crew-necked white cotton undershirts.

Sailors stationed in steamy submarines and tropical heat soon ditched their uniform jackets, exposing their T-shirts to the world.

By the 1920s, it had earned its place in the dictionary, and by the Great Depression in the thirties, it was the go-to for farmhands, ranchers, and working-class boys looking for an easy, inexpensive cover-up.

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Then, after the Second World War, returning soldiers took their undershirts into everyday life.

Two decades later, Hollywood got hold of T-shirts. Then the hippies. Followed by protest. Then, corporate branding with the likes of Coca-Cola and countless others.

The Rolling Stones’ tongue and lips were shaped into a tee iconography.

Fashion designers fell in love with it on the runway in various incarnations.

Since shape shirting away from its paring with jocks, the T-shirt has seen trends from oversized hip-hop baggies to figure-hugging sexiness, from ironic slogan tees to socially conscious statements. They’re a cheap, adaptable at home and Fashion Week kind of garment like no other.

In South Africa, the T-shirt was more than just a wardrobe staple.

In the struggle years, it was a symbol of defiance. Throughout the anti-apartheid period, it became a tool of protest.

The End Conscription Campaign printed bold slogans on T-shirts, rallying against mandatory military service.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) used T-shirts to unify resistance movements, with images of Nelson Mandela, still imprisoned at the time.

The 1980s saw an explosion of politically charged T-shirts, from the striking colours of the African National Congress (ANC) to the famous Free Mandela prints that called for the release of the world’s most famous political prisoner.

From protest tees to sexy

At a time when media was heavily censored, T-shirts allowed the movement for freedom to spread its message publicly.

It was protesting theatrics on the streets. They were confiscated, outlawed, and even deemed subversive by the finger-wagging apartheid government, yet they persisted.

Who, of a certain age, could ever forget the Market Theatre Flea Market, a protest T warehouse.

Wearing the wrong T-shirt in the wrong place could have meant arrest or worse, but that didn’t stop people from wearing them. T-shirts helped bring about change.

Simple. They carried the weight of a nation’s struggle and later, in elections after 1994, the triumph of democracy.

Beyond politics, the T-shirt has been a symbol of rebellion of all sorts. Feminist movements have used slogan tees to challenge outdated norms, from the “We Should All Be Feminists” shirts made famous by Dior to the natural-shape declarations of the free the nipple movement.

Organisations like Amnesty International and Greep Peace took socio-environmental campaigning to tees.

Love is expressed, love is denied, and cartoons are merchandised. The story of the T-shirt is the narrative of our lives in almost every aspect.

Of course, these days, they are cropped, oversized, strappy-topped, or printed with provocative statements and adorned with everything from retro rock to Kanye West.

T-shirts exist to shatter taboos, call out inequality, and celebrate music, love, and emotion.

Whether it’s a Nirvana emoji or a catfish and cleavage, the tee you wear is the ultimate expression of who you are.

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