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The Role of Artistic T-Shirts in Fashion
| The introduction of the cultural approval of the T-shirt as torso covering is fairly current in the huge traditional context of Western society, but still this has quickly become a staple to all designers' product lines in addition to the closets of the fashion onward, not to mention fashion illiterate. The T-shirt achieved popularity in the early 1950s, especially with the depiction of signature moody men on movies which include, James Dean donning that white undershirt beneath his leather jacket in Rebel Without A Cause, or Marlon Brando sporting a white wife beater in the end of A Streetcar Named Desire.nnThe utilization of the T-shirt alone, unaccompanied by over shirt or jacket, was a direct response against the collared shirts of the white collar middle classes in the 1950s, which portrayed economic oppression and social invalidation of the blue collar working classes, that had to wear jumpsuits to work. However, you better believe that each jumpsuit hid beneath its cloth an undershirt, which would be exposed in times of climatic necessity or on work gaps. nnThe custom of the T-shirt became more of a declaration when the counterculture revolution of the 1960s added to the lexicon the tie-dye and iconographic T-shirts. People were able to express how they felt about society through their selection of shirt, and the rest of society became gradually more receptive. In the 70s, they could be dressed in popular images, such as the "smiley face" and the "I heart New York" shirts. These types of shirts put into the minds of society that it is possible to wear a shirt, express one's personal ideology, and belong to a community all at the same time. These fads of the 70s only grew to assume the cultural identity of the T-shirt in the 80s. "Frankie says relax" could be seen on the shirts of both men and women. Clever text, gimmicks (such as thermochromatic -heat sensitive color changing- T-shirts), and business branding of T-shirts with the logos of manufacturers or designers made the T-shirt a visual social assertion, unveiling socio-economic status as well as enthusiasm in pop culture. nnIf someone had a lame T-shirt, possibly they couldn't afford a better one, or did not care. This develop into the present status of the quick-witted text shirt, stating some clever 'unique' comments such as "Sorry ladies, the shirt is staying on", political commentary such as caricatures of politicians, or a juxtaposition of text and image creating a pun, like "Pez-bians" featured over the graphic of two female pez dispensers kissing. The popularity of these shirts has declined throughout the past decade, and now shirts designed by visual artists and silk screened onto T-shirts for sale by means of independent distributors are the new craze. nnTo wear an announcement on your shirt is one thing, but to wear a colorful, exclusive, artistic vision on your clothes, the payment of which goes to support the artists to make more shirts, is a more socially responsible and aesthetically pleasing outcome. The T-shirt isn't just a way of covering. There are some cotton T-shirts, for instance the one by designer Balmain, that's worth $1625 dollars. Be it to work in the garden or to go to the MTV Music Video Awards, the T-shirt is more than a must have. It's a part of our cultural heritage. |
About the Author
For the last several years Tshirt have begun, not only a fashion statement, but a way to express oneself. Fashion artists T shirts is the new trend for today and since they are limited editions they can only be discovered at specific internet sites. If you are interested in taking a look at the new t-shirt trend check out www.finroo.com.
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