Retro T-Shirts

By Kathy Austin

The t-shirt can be said to have its origin in the Navy when it issued, in 1913, as standard wear to its sailors a short sleeved, collarless undergarment having an extraordinary resemblance to the alphabet “T”. And it remained thus till it was raised to the status of an apparel on its own rights when Hollywood’s icons were seen wearing them.

Printing technology changed its entire course of history and skyrocketed its popularity when simple messages began appearing on them. Now there is just no field left untouched by this simple and usually inexpensive dress.

Just as history is said to repeat itself, one of the best things about fashion is that it also has the tendency to revert to an older style, sooner or later – retro, in other words . This is inevitable. Some t-shirts would have necessarily gone out of fashion. These may be political ones, like the one in the Smithsonian Institute that houses the oldest known printed t-shirt with the message “Dew-IT with Dewey” from New York Governor, Thomas E. Dewey’s 1948 Presidential campaign.

T-Shirts were and are extensively used during elections. In support of a candidate or to spread a political ideology. It has also been used to ridicule another candidate and/or his policies. Once that particular election is over, those messages usually pass into oblivion. An example would be the “Dew-IT with Dewey” t-shirt used in NY’s then Governor, Thomas E. Dewey 1948 Presidential campaign. Others would have carried a joke that was relevant to that particular era or a message or a quote. Some would have pictured an actor, a musician or some such personality.

This is where the concept of “Retro” comes into play and which refers to anything that was once in fashion but had slowly faded away to give place to more contemporary designs and material but are now making a come back. There are retro dresses, there are retro shoes AND there are retro t-shirts. These shirts, like the “Flash Gordon” t-shirts and those that pictured some of the great rock and roll singer or jazz musician of the yesteryears could create a reminiscence that weaves a magical fabric in one’s mind’s eye. So might some quotes, jokes, pictures or graphics.

Retro t-shirts are just as fashionable as the current ones with their fancy catchphrases and, courtesy the computers, the psychedelic graphics. Some might even make a craze. Fashion is as unpredictable as the weather. Every retro-t-shirt has a message from the past that could be relevant today.

In as much as there is no discrimination of age in the wearing of t-shirts, one with a picture of Louis Armstrong could cloud the eyes of some senior citizen and there lies the potential for great gifts. The demand for these t-shirts shoots up during carnivals and sports events.

In as much as retro t-shirts are staging a strong comeback, they can be purchased off the shelf or if a person happens to find a picture, joke or catchphrase from those days of yore that one thinks is relevant to the present times or could make a unique statement, then al one has to do is get on the Internet and get a customized retro t-shirt made and delivered. Could make a happy time travel too.

Kathy Austin is a writer for an online gallery. Red Bubble enables you to retro t-shirts, and graphic tees and more.
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Topics: Fashion | Comments Off

Tags: clothes, Clothing, Fashion, kids and teens, t shirt, t-shirts

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