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Less than a century ago if you had been wearing a t-shirt you would’ve been thought of as a manual labourer.
The t-shirt started as an undergarment but evolved to being worn on its own when hard work required covered midriffs but the weather made full sleeves unbearable. They exploded on to the fashion scene in the mid 19th century thanks to the revolution of self-expression.
As the order of things usually go advertisers and political parties were the first to take proper advantage of the t-shirt sporting their logos, political slogans or messages on as many pieces of clothing as they could get their hands on. The clothing labels followed suit not long after with Calvin Klein, FUBU and Ralph Lauren being notable early movers.
Many of the notable T-shirts from this time have become timeless. Some of the more memorable ones being The Rolling Stones and their ‘red lips and tongue’ logo or numerous other rock band t-shirts from the time – probably owing to their anti-establishment nature.
The T-shirt may have humble beginnings but it has undoubtedly risen to the very top of the clothing hall of fame.
