50 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About T-Shirts

A most loved essential

Yes! You heard it right, we are talking Know About T-Shirts. Who doesn’t like it right? Everybody has our own favourite t-shirts or if not favourite at least we have one that we prefer the MOST. Hush! You probably don’t want to make others feel sad, shush! Zip it.

It was there for you

Well, why shouldn’t you love your t-shirts, right? They are more relaxing and comfortable than any other clothes you ever owned. Certainly, your black dress is pretty but your t-shirt is your pal. Agreed! It has been there for you on your lazy days, and days you were spending working out to fit into that pretty black dress. And, not to forget days when you couldn’t afford any extravagant cloth, your t-shirt saved you from embarrassment.

An indispensable one

We cannot deny the fact that it is “a must have essential” in everyone’s wardrobe but what we didn’t realize is how it became a ”most loved essential” in the blink of an eye. Indeed, Time flies! So just put your favourite black t-shirt on those days when you don’t have time to dress up and TA-DA! You are good to go. Simple yet iconic!

It has always been an inseparable part for college and school goers. Trendy, quirky, stripped, plain, colored, cropped, oversized, name it and you get it, it comes in different shades. You just have to pick your style. Easy to style, easy to maintain and pocket friendly. What else do you want?

A book, a cup of coffee and you are in your pajamas and super comfortable oversized tee. Is there anything else you need at all?

A warm and sunny day out with your family or friends and you are lying down in a lawn relaxing in your favourite white tee. Can it get any better? I bet.

So, when your t-shirt means so much to you, wouldn’t you like to know about it, a little more? I am sure you are aware about many facts regarding it but all of it? There must be something left, no? Let’s find out some interesting facts about t-shirts.

50 things you didn’t know about T-shirts
1. The most common material that is used to make t-shirts is cotton. It has been grown by humans over 7000 years with China and India being two largest cotton producing countries in the world with a combined production total of 61 bales annually.

2. Over the history, t-shirts have been made from a wide variety of materials like alligator leather, cotton, yarn, polyester, gold and even human hair.

3. More than 2 billion t-shirts are sold worldwide.

4. T-shirts were first marketed in the year 1904 by the Cooper Underwear company as “bachelor undershirts”.

5. Earlier, tees were considered as undergarments, and not something that can be worn as above.

6. T-shirts were not something considered as fashionable back then, rather, they were primarily worn for utility purposes like sweat absorbers for, say, college soccer teams.

7. In 1905, it became a part of the US Navy’s uniform. Later, during World War 1, it was adopted as a uniform for the United States Army.

8. The word “T-shirt” was first used by author F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel, ‘This side of Paradise’ in the year 1920.

9. T-shirts were named as “skivvies” and “jimshirts” around the 1930s.

10. T-shirts were originally sold as undershirts for bachelors who didn’t know how to sew or change buttons.

11. In the 1930s, t-shirts were much lighter than they are today.

12. The first promotional t-shirt was produced in 1939, for The Wizard of Oz.

13. For many years, T-shirts were only worn by men. Those tees were designed as tight fit and wide necks to show off the male physique.

14. The word “T-shirt” became an official American-English word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary in the 1920s.

15. Around the 1940s, the first wet t-shirt contest was held in Spain.

16. Earlier t-shirts were not that popular but after the invention of more durable and stretchable ink called Plastisol in the year 1959, more variety of designs were created which hike the sale of t-shirts and turned it into a money maker industry as it is today.
17. When the ‘rock and roll’ bands professional sports team started to print their t-shirts in the 1960s, the sell of t-shirts spiked and quickly became a mainstream fashion and some of those styles are still popular today.

18. The record for the most expensive t-shirt in the world goes to Hermes, the French luxury clothing house. The crocodile leather t-shirt is worth $91,500.
19. It requires 6 miles of yarn to make one t-shirt, while it only takes one acre of cotton to yield over a thousand T-shirts.
20. The t-shirt industry is growing at a face pace as over 2 billion t-shirts were sold World wide in the year 2010, compared to 1 billion in 2005 and 500 million in 1985.
21. It is said that 91% of American agreed that they have a favourite t-shirt in their closet.
22. According to a survey it has been found out that 62% of Americans claim to own more than 10 t-shirts, which is when added together, is 1.5 billion.
23. A man from Sri Lanka named Sanath Bandara has made a Guinness Book of World records for wearing the most 257 t-shirts at one time.
24. Each year several million t-shirts are donated to the Salvation Army. These t-shirts are shipped off to third world countries.
25. Today varied t-shirt design is available but white plain t-shirt is still preferred by many.
26. The world’s most expensive t-shirt design costs $400,000. It’s made up of organic cotton and has 16 diamonds sewn into the fabric, which amount to 9 carat.
27. Datta Phuge, who is also called as “The Gold Man” owns a t-shirt of more than 3 kilograms of solid gold. The t-shirt is worth $250,000.
28. The world’s largest T-shirt is approximately 306 feet long and 206 feet wide.
29. 56 million medium sized t-shirts would be needed to make a full circle around the world.
30. The first t-shirt brand promotion was done by Coca-Cola.
31. Polyester is the second most popular fabric for t-shirts after cotton.
32. June 21st is celebrated as international t-shirt day.
33. It takes 2700 litres of water to make a cotton t-shirt.
34. Top 5 most selling t-shirt colors are White, Black, Navy, Grey and Red.
35. Over 2 billions t-shirts are sold each year.
36. “I Heart NY” which was designed by Milton Glaser in 1970 is the most popular and iconic t-shirt.
37. The first printed t-shirt appeared on a Time Magazine’s cover in July 1942 issue.
38. The T-shirt is named such because of its shape ‘T’.
39. The T-shirt industry grew more than 24.2 percent from the year 2009 to 2014.
40. Union suits, which were also known as “long underwear” in the 19th century, evolved to what we know today as t-shirts. This was achieved simply by separating the top and bottom into separate halves.
41. During the 1950s, t-shirts were popularized in movies by John Wayne, Marlon Brando and James Dean.
42. Today, t-shirts are used as self expression as well as play a crucial role in commercial messaging.
43. 34% of people claim white as their favourite color for t-shirts.
44. 5 billion textile waste can be prevented from entering landfills each year if Know About T-Shirts are made from recycled cotton.
45. Personalized t-shirts are in trend these days. You can create your customised t-shirts with online Custom t-shirt makers like Designhill, design4prints.com, Design’N’buy, Shirt tools, InkSoft and many more.
46. One of the most popular t-shirts is the Polo t-shirt.
47. T-shirts were used to make statements as they were very inexpensive. Bands and professional sports teams used to print their logos on T-shirts.
48. World record was set by Graeme J. by folding 23 t-shirts in one minute.
49. Know About T-Shirts are produced by many world renowned luxurious brands like Gucci, Chanel, D&G, Prada, Armani, Versace, Guess, Valentino, and Fendi.
50. The t-shirt business is very lucrative and the industry has grown more than 24.2% from the period of 2009 to 2014.

T-shirts have come a long way and today they are used for a wide variety of purposes.

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