This classic American garment, now worn worldwide, has become an icon of the 20th century. Crew-necked, short-sleeved, white cotton undershirts were first issued by the US navy to sailors and Marines in the early 1900s. By the 1920s, "T-shirt" officially became part of American English with it's inclusion in the Merrian-Webster Dictionary.
Printed T-shirts were initially uncommon and only in saw limited use by the 1940s, most notably by the Air Corps Gunnery School on the cover of Life magazine. By the 1960s, printed T-shirts were very popular forms of clothing becoming staples of advertising, concerts, souvenirs, protests, and general self-expression.
Today they're a part of our everyday life. We've grown up with them, and we all have our favorites among a rotating collection in our closets.
