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Shirt Crossed

The Evolution of T-shirts from Wartime Europe to Present Day Tampa FL

T-shirts seem to be the favourite casual wear of everyone from day to day in Tampa FL. They are sometimes called tee shirts or tees. In fact, t-shirts are being used not only for casual wear but also as uniforms in companies, institutions and schools. Embroidered shirts with the company, organizational or school logo are often used as uniforms. Furthermore, they are favourite promotional items, just like polo shirts and golf shirts. Because of this, custom wholesale t shirts with either embroidery or printing are widely available for purchase. But did you know that t-shirts have evolved all the way from wartime Europe to present day Tampa FL?

Many sources say that the t-shirt was first seen early in the 1900s as light cotton undergarments worn by soldiers in Europe during World War I. By the 1920s, the English dictionary already contained the word “t-shirt.” In the United States, American soldiers took the cue and found the undershirts of European soldiers to be much cooler and comfortable than their wool uniforms which tended to be scratchy. By the time Word War II came to be, the t-shirt was already being used as underwear in the uniforms of the US Army and US Navy.

The t-shirt crossed over as a slogan bearer in 1948. At that time, New York governor Thomas E. Dewey used the t-shirt with the slogan “Dew it with Dewey” for his election campaign. In a short time, by the middle of the 1950s, the t-shirt was worn not as an undershirt but on its own onscreen by Hollywood superstars John Wayne, Marlon Brando and James Dean. In fact, in 1955 James Dean made the t-shirt an iconic teenage fashion item when he used it in his film Rebel Without a Cause.

In the 60s, the rock and roll and hippie era found young people practically living in t-shirts. By then, various specialty inks have been developed especially for t-shirts. Plastisol is stretchable and, therefore, not liable to crack on t-shirts. It has also been found to be more durable than its earlier counterparts. Today there are also shimmer inks, metallic inks, puffy inks and novelty inks that change color when the temperature changes.

T-shirt printing processes also evolved. From silkscreen printing, digital printing is now the preferred method. With digital Direct to Garment (DTG) printing, it is possible to print even the most complex design and color combination on t-shirts. It is also possible to print only one t-shirt or hundreds, even thousands, with the same design. Aside from printing, there is the iron on heat transfer method. This also uses digital technology. Any design can be specially printed out with special inks on special paper and then ironed on to a t-shirt. Of course, t-shirts today are also adorned with airbrushing, appliqué and embroidery.

The basic form of the t-shirt still remains. As the name implies, this means a t-shaped shirt with a collarless round neck, short sleeves and no buttons or pockets. Aside from this, though, other variations on the design of t-shirts have evolved. There are collarless v-neck t-shirts, scoop neck t-shirts and boat neck t-shirts. There are also collared t-shirts with short plackets in front, which may or may not have buttons. All these variations on t-shirts are popular in Tampa FL.

After going up a long way in history, we can probably safely say that t-shirts are here to stay as part of the clothing choices of people throughout the world. Whenever we come across custom embroidered t shirts as uniforms or casual wear, we should remember that it has evolved from war time Europe to peaceful Tampa FL. Let us hope that we will continue to wear them in times of peace and goodwill.

About the Author

Florida Shirt Company
Robert Mims
3103 W Parkland Blvd
Tampa, FL 33609-4635
Phone: (813) 837-4478
Fax: (813) 875-4407
Email: floridashirt@gmail.com
Website: www.floridashirt.com

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