Graphic T-Shirts and the Birth of T-Shirt Printers
By the time the 1950s rolled around, a number of companies in Miami, Florida began experimenting with garment decoration, but the field was still far from what would later turn into a multi-billion dollar industry of t-shirt printing.
Thomas E. Dewey, a Republican presidential candidate, created what was perhaps the first ever slogan t-shirt with his “Do it with Dewey” campaign, but outside of that, there were not many instances of embellished t-shirts.
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Later in the 1950s though, one of the aforementioned printing companies, known then by the name Tropix Togs, held the original license to print Walt Disney characters. Around this time people began to realize the profit that was to be made in graphic t-shirts, and in the 1960s, innovations to the print field, including the birth of screenprinting, would help turn the t-shirt industry into what it is today.
“The Medium for the Message”
Though graphic t-shirts and t-shirt printing began in the 1950s and 1960s, it wasn’t until the ’70s that t-shirts became the powerful messaging platform that we know them as today. For this, we can thank the punk movement.
Rising popularity in rock band logos, along with protests of the Vietnam War, really helped solidify the t-shirt as a messaging platform. It was “about shocking and outraging people and challenging the status quo,” says Nothdruft.
The New York Times perhaps said it best, when the rise of the graphic t-shirt lead them to name it “the medium for the message.”
Nothdruft, in his description of the exhibit, calls the t-shirt a “blank canvas … [that] associates you with a specific cultural movement or tribe.”
Certainly, the t-shirt’s fluid nature plays a part in its wide appeal. A blank canvas, a t-shirt can be seen as high fashion or casual wear, disruptive or unassuming, all depending on how you wear it.
“In its most pure form, it’s the most democratic garment,” says Northdruft to BBC.
Not Going Anywhere Soon
All of this to say, the t-shirt has become not only an American staple, but an essential garment worn around the world, and their unique ability to convey a message hasn’t gone anywhere.
From SNL hosts’ various viral t-shirt moments to Dior’s famous “we should all be feminists” design, t-shirts are proven to be a preferred medium for sharing messages ranging from rebellious to joyful and everything in between.
Do you have a message you’re ready to spread on a t-shirt? Let us know! At DJB Specialties, we print super soft custom t-shirts that people love to wear and talk about, and we’d love to help you spread your message to the world.