| "You came out in that?" | | | | shirts, ties and coats. The dress code was relaxed a |
| It seems that you can never outgrow being | | | | little (button-up shirt and slacks) so that the |
| questioned by your parents about your fashion | | | | employees could be more productive. |
| choices, even years after you've moved out. We | | | | During the 80's and 90's, an interesting shift occurred. |
| have all heard our parents proclaim that "back in the | | | | T-shirts were still casual and dress shirts were, for |
| day," most people didn't go out without at least a | | | | the most part, formal, but more and more t-shirts |
| button-up shirt, sometimes a tie, if not a coat as well. | | | | served as marketing for formal wear. Calvin Klein and |
| A t-shirt was long considered underwear; and | | | | Armani Exchange are the more famous examples, |
| wandering around town in just a t-shirt was the | | | | but they were soon joined by Gap and Abercrombie |
| modern equivalent of wandering around a public place | | | | & Fitch, among many others. A person wearing |
| in just a pair of boxers. | | | | a CK t-shirt seemed to say, "I'm dressed casually in |
| He wasn't really far off the mark. Americans were | | | | this inexpensive t-shirt now, but I can afford its more |
| first introduced to t-shirts while they were fighting in | | | | expensive counterpart." I always thought of it as like |
| Europe during the two World Wars. Military men | | | | driving a Honda with a bumper sticker that said, "My |
| preferred the cotton crew-neck t-shirts to the | | | | other car is a BMW." |
| woolen undergarments that were standard-issue at | | | | A few years ago, t-shirts made the jump into more |
| the time. | | | | formal settings. |
| Soon after that however, t-shirts became a symbol | | | | They began to appear more and more at clubs, |
| of rebellion. | | | | restaurants and other places you would consider |
| Marlon Brando wore one to show off his physique in | | | | "going out." Beginning with plain ribbed t-shirts and |
| "A Streetcar Named Desire." James Dean wore one | | | | v-necks during the late 90's to now, higher-end |
| to show off his indifference in "Rebel Without a | | | | designer t-shirts emblazoned with "Obey," "Affliction," |
| Cause." T-shirt sales skyrocketed after those movies. | | | | and "Ed Hardy" are a not uncommon sight. |
| A few years later, countless hippies and activists | | | | Over the years, the T-shirt has evolved from a |
| became rebels WITH causes and used t-shirts to | | | | symbol of rebellion into an acceptable article of |
| display slogans and political interests. | | | | clothing for even some of the most formal settings. |
| At the same time, formal wear was evolving as well. | | | | Where you would once get looked down on for |
| Many corporations relaxed their dress codes during | | | | wearing a T-shirt in public, it is now much more |
| the energy crisis in the 70's; they couldn't blast their | | | | common to see T-shirts being worn than formal |
| air-conditioners so their employees were suffering in | | | | wear. |