A Tee Shirt May Make You a Walking Billboard
Copyright 2005 Anthony Palladino
Tee Shirt History
The tee shirt is nearly a century old (origin 1919) and is well
becoming one of the most enduring symbols of youthful culture
and expression. The walking advertisement of late
twentieth-century American culture got its start as a humble
item of men's underwear and got its name because when spread
flat it formed a stubby letter T.
Its little sleeves and round collar distinguished the tee shirt
from the standard sleeveless undershirt of the day. The sleeves
may also have helped bring the tee shirt out of hiding in the
1930's and 1940's, since they offered a gesture toward modesty
as well as a cache for a pack of cigarettes.
Dressing Up the Basic Tee Shirt
Once they were in view, tee shirts became canvasses for images
and messages. In addition to basic white, they soon came in all
colors and sizes; and equally important, they displayed first
the emblems of schools and teams, and then every design or
slogan imaginable.
Today a public event is hardly complete without its accompanying
tee shirt. Whether it's a rock concert or a walk for cancer,
you'll be sure to find a tee shirt commemorating the event.
Cold weather doesn't slow us down; we just cover the tee shirt
with a sweatshirt, a 1925 American invention; or layer a tee
over a long sleeve shirt. Some even refer to the long sleeve
version of the short sleeve original as a "Long Sleeve tee
shirt". Short or long, today, the tee shirt is a staple in just
about everyone's wardrobe.
The Walking Billboard
And why do tee shirts never seem to fall out of favor? Because
the tee shirt is the single most powerful form of individual
expression for the average person.
When you wear a tee shirt with an embellishment on it, everyone
may not interpret the embellishment the same way, but one thing
is for sure, there is no question as to who is delivering the
message. In today's world, there are lots of powerful tools that
are accessible to those with something to say.
There is the Internet and all of its devices such as email,
personal websites, blogs and forums, chat rooms, etc. And the
more traditional forms of expression still exist such as writing
- stories, letters, poems; or even art such as painting or
sculpting. But with all of these aforementioned mediums through
which one may express itself, there is none as powerful as the
"Walking Billboard".
When you sport a tee shirt, you can't hide who you are and what
you are thinking. If you wear a shirt that says "eat shit and
die" everyone who crosses your path will know that you are a
really angry person or a person with a very sick sense of
humor...or maybe both.
Tee Shirts Online and Buying Trends
Now, hundreds upon thousands of tee shirts are available to us
all, online. Whether you are looking for a novelty tee shirt
with a raunchy saying or a political tee with a strong message,
you will find no shortage of inventory in cyberspace.
The most popular sectors of the custom tee shirt market include
Novelty tees, Skate and Surf tees, Hip Hop tees, High Fashion
tees, Famous People tees, and Design It Yourself (DIY) tees.
At present, the fastest growing niche in the market seems to be
that of Design It Yourself tees. While consumers are not getting
tired of what the designers and retailers are offering, an
increasingly large number of consumers seem to want to let their
own creative juices flow and design their own.
Famous People Tees are Hot
Another emerging niche in the custom tee shirt market is Famous
People tees, which offers original works of art that interpret
icons of past and present. Some of the more popular icons to be
featured are Bob Marley, Madonna, Che Guevara, and Al Pacino as
Scarface.
Whatever your taste in tee shirts, just be prepared to take
criticism, comment, or praise from those who view whatever it is
you're advertising!