Forward to the Past - Retro T-Shirts | UniqueArticleDirectory.com

Forward to the Past - Retro T-Shirts

Filed Under Fashion |

by Kathy Austin

The t-shirt can be said to have its origin in the Navy when it issued, in 1913, as standard wear to its sailors a short sleeved, collarless undergarment having an extraordinary resemblance to the alphabet “T”. And it remained thus till it was raised to the status of an apparel on its own rights when Hollywood’s icons were seen wearing them.

Printing technology changed its entire course of history and skyrocketed its popularity when simple messages began appearing on them. Now there is just no field left untouched by this simple and usually inexpensive dress.

In the fifty years since it became a popular item of wear, the t-shirt has been used in umpteen number of ways, leaving its mark on just about any subject under the sun. It is a media of expression of practically everything that you can think of and some more. Touching every possible human emotion, it has endeared it self in such a way that it is a national phenomenon. From infants to seniors every one sports them. It has evoked good healthy laughter, raised serious issues, made people smirk, ridiculed just about any topic and has also been blatantly nasty.

Fashion, inexorably, has to travel in circles; that is they revert back to an older style. Something like going forward to the past. Trends in dress design appear, fade away and make a recovery. They necessarily have to. The reasons are many. In the case of t-shirts, the jokes, messages, catchphrases, pictures that appeared on them become irrelevant as times change.

This is where the concept of “Retro” comes into play and which refers to anything that was once in fashion but had slowly faded away to give place to more contemporary designs and material but are now making a come back. There are retro dresses, there are retro shoes AND there are retro t-shirts. These shirts, like the “Flash Gordon” t-shirts and those that pictured some of the great rock and roll singer or jazz musician of the yesteryears could create a reminiscence that weaves a magical fabric in one’s mind’s eye. So might some quotes, jokes, pictures or graphics.

These t-shirts imitate those designs that were once popular. There might just be a saying or message or joke or some picture that might find relevance to the present. For a person with a penchant for oldies songs, a t-shirt with just the lyrics of some long lost favorite printed on it could bring out the “Agony and the Ecstasy” of that era. This is more so for the elderly, for whom a retro t-shirt could make a wonderful gift, a souvenir.

In as much as there is no discrimination of age in the wearing of t-shirts, one with a picture of Louis Armstrong could cloud the eyes of some senior citizen and there lies the potential for great gifts. The demand for these t-shirts shoots up during carnivals and sports events.

Retro t-shirts are now flooding the shelves of t-shirt stores. But if the ones on sale are not attractive, and if it just happens that one stumbles across a quote, a joke, a picture from some bygone era that one thinks might make a statement relevant to the present then all that has to be done is to get on the Net, use the mouse and the keyboard, ask for a customization and get just one unique retro t-shirt made or make a corporate gift. The rich heritage of the printed t-shirt makes anything possible. Are you going to get one?

About the Author:

Kathy Austin is a writer for an online gallery. Red Bubble enables you to retro t-shirts, and graphic tees and more.