The shirt is possibly the only garment that everyone owns. It is known for its comfort and now, its style. Did people always have shirts that they could pull out of a drawer and wear on a laid back day? Not necessarily.

The t-shirt is said to be a product of evolution. One source says it came from the 19th century one-piece union suit, which was a garment that was worn as underwear. The top part was long enough to be below the waist of the bottom part. Although the union suit was initially one piece, it later became two pieces. From there, those who wore union suits, such as the miners, began to wear their underwear as an outer garment.

Others say that the first shirts emerged or perhaps were only popular during the Spanish-American War. During this time, they were delivered to the US Navy.These military-issued shirts had a crew neck, short sleeves, and were made of white cotton. They were designed to be worn under a uniform. With this, T-shirts became commonplace. It didn’t take long for the military to wear their shirts as clothing, discarding their uniforms on hot days, while working.

The shirt got its name from its shape. The shirt was popular because it was comfortable, it fit well, it was easy to clean, and best of all, it was cheap. While the men wore white, the boys could find T-shirts of various colors and patterns.

Because it was cheap, the shirt was quite popular during the Great Depression. It was the default garment to wear when you were doing housework or working and you didn’t want to ruin your good clothes, or you wanted a lightweight fabric because of the heat.

By WWII, men, mostly veterans, wore T-shirts as casual wear with pants. After the movie A Streetcar Named Desire, where Marlon Brando donned a T-shirt, the T-shirt became quite fashionable as a standalone garment.

The t-shirt remained largely the same until the 1960s. Pop culture began to influence the t-shirt with colors and images such as big, bright smiley faces. People wore shirts to express themselves, they could have shirts with comments and phrases, or the shirt displayed the name of their favorite band or team.

With increasingly sophisticated printing came the evolution of all possible designs on the t-shirt. The printing changes took place as early as 1959 with the invention of plastisol, a durable and stretchable ink. In the 1960s, the discovery of tie dyeing and screen printing became fashionable.

Newer inks began to arrive on the scene, including inks that glittered, swelled, and were metallic. Then came airbrushing, application, embroidery and flock letter printing or ironing. While one had to go to a specialty T-shirt store to receive custom prints, it wasn’t long before laser printers were able to print iron-on transfers onto their T-shirts. This was followed by the design and printing of t-shirts entirely online.

Designer brands such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and The Gap also began selling their own designer t-shirts during the 1980s and 1990s. This was followed by independent designers who created unique and stylish t-shirts that celebrities gravitated towards.

Then there were those who just wanted their vintage style of t-shirt, something unique but comfortable – this is where companies like The Original Retro Brand flourished. This company created jerseys that reproduced the sports jerseys worn by athletes around the world while maintaining the soft comfort everyone loved.

T-shirts may not have been around forever, but now that they have been discovered, it is unlikely that they will ever go out of style.