| For many children, the t-shirt emblazoned with a | | | | t-shirts with prominent designer-name logos were |
| current favourite TV icon normally ranks amongst | | | | also extremely popular and allowed consumers to |
| their most prized possessions, and for t-shirt | | | | exhibit their taste in designer brands in a less |
| manufacturers, producing such garments can be an | | | | expensive manner, while retaining their sense of |
| extremely lucrative market. In fact, think of any | | | | fashion. Among the many major brands to produce |
| cartoon character - from the Mr. Men to Walt | | | | t-shirts for a massed public included Calvin Klein, FUBU |
| Disney's Donald Duck - and you'll likely find a t-shirt to | | | | and Ralph Lauren. |
| match. | | | | There have been many fashion trends involving |
| Although the origins of the t-shirt can be traced back | | | | t-shirts. Although they were originally worn as |
| to the First World War, it wasn't until the 1950s that | | | | undershirts, often in place of vests, t-shirts are now |
| the garment moved away from its plain exterior, as | | | | more frequently worn as the only upper body |
| companies in the United States began experimenting | | | | garment. T-shirts have also become a standard for |
| with adding letter and character decorations to the | | | | expressiveness and advertising, with an unimaginable |
| material. The 1960s saw the introduction of the | | | | combination of words, graphics and photographs |
| 'Ringer'-style t-shirt, a t-shirt where the jersey is one | | | | being utilised to decorate garments for wear. Other |
| colour, while the ribbing around the collar and sleeves | | | | t-shirt fashions include wearing over-size t-shirts, as |
| is a different, contrasting colour quickly became | | | | seen in modern hip-hop fashion, tight-fitting 'girly-fit' |
| popular with youths and rock-n-roll fans. The style | | | | t-shirts which are short enough to reveal the midriff, |
| enjoyed another brief renaissance in the early 2000s. | | | | and wearing a short sleeved t-shirt over a long |
| The same period also saw the emergence of | | | | sleeved t-shirt of a different colour. |
| tie-dyeing and screen-printing which led to a massive | | | | For adults, perhaps one of the most notable fashion |
| boom in customised t-shirts, especially throughout the | | | | trends in recent years involves wearing t-shirts which |
| heavy metal era of the 1970s, once bands of that | | | | feature cartoon and TV characters which hearken |
| era realised the commercial opportunities available to | | | | back to the wearer's childhood. With the |
| them. Bands and musical groups began to mass | | | | much-touted 80s revival and the current resurgence |
| produce t-shirts to promote themselves, many of | | | | of yesteryear's TV being remade into Hollywood |
| which would feature album covers and logos on the | | | | blockbusters or enjoying a TV renaissance, men's |
| front, while on the back fans would find tour details | | | | t-shirts have seen increased demand for t-shirts |
| and concert dates. These proved to be hugely | | | | proclaiming the wearer to be a fan of the latest |
| popular with concert-goers and this trend has | | | | incarnations of Transformers, Spiderman, Dukes Of |
| continued on with unwavering popularity into today's | | | | Hazzard, The A-Team and Knight Rider, among many |
| subcultures. | | | | other 80s favourites. |
| During the early 1980s, some musical bands chose | | | | However, t-shirts featuring cartoon characters from |
| instead to emblazon promotional t-shirts with slogans | | | | the 80s and even earlier have proven to be equally |
| instead of graphics. For instance, the Frankie Goes To | | | | popular with young adults, both men and women |
| Hollywood 'Frankie Says…' and Wham!'s 'Choose Life' | | | | alike, eager to revisit their younger days with ranges |
| t-shirts became synonymous with 80's pop culture | | | | including Thundercats, Mr Men, Teenage Mutant Ninja |
| and could be seen in every town and street in Britain. | | | | Turtles, He-Man and M.A.S.K also readily available and |
| From the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, | | | | waiting to be seen on the High Street! |