I, like many, believe in the power of the graphic tee. Few can resist the pull of a funny
slogan or a dazzling design. Despite the many we hoard away; each one is seemingly too unique
to pass up. There desirability resting in their juxtaposition; simple yet loud, crude yet classic. It’s
a garment which breeds endless possibility, making the perfect one so elusive. In operating as the great and ever universal canvas, its humble origins have since morphed, becoming a medium for character and an agent of chaos.
Graphic tees first arrived on the scene out of functionality. Used in World War I and II,
branches of the military and training programs were printed on T-shirts, aiding in recognition
and ranking. These uniforms followed the men into their post war lives, a phenomenon that
landed itself on the cover of Life Magazine in 1942. While the graphic tee had a brief cameo in
the 1939 film, the Wizard of Oz, the real movie magic happened at the hands of the 50s
heartthrobs. Marlon Brando sported a T-shirt in a Streetcar Named Desire and James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause, these performances breathed a new life into the white tee, heralding its rise into the mainstream (Common Threads).
These roles framed the T-shirt as an act of rebellion, setting the stage for further
subversion through the graphic tee. Bands such as the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin
harked on its casual coolness, championing these garments that quickly became the uniform of a generation. This ability to capture the ideas and beliefs of its wearers prompted its use to evolve beyond concert venues. By embodying a portion of the wearer’s personality, the youth felt
embolden to show the world who and what they believed in.
The graphic tee was no longer just a uniform, it was an object of disruption and
revolution. In becoming a new forum for socio-political discourse, phrases of opposition couldn’t
be silenced, rather the power was in the print. Political campaigns, anti-war protests, feminist
movements and other cultural turning points were bleeding into the world of fashion and graphic
tees were becoming the medium of choice. Katharine Hamnett, an eco-designer, most notably
explored this with bold type political comments such as “World Wide Nuclear Ban Now” and
other issues involving the climate crisis (Hess).
While expression had taken a new form, it aimed to capture every and all emotions of the
wearer, ranging from insightful to satirical. Celebrities of the early 2000s pioneered the hotness
of humor through slogan tees with tongue and cheek captions. Paris Hilton and the “Stop Being
Desperate” graphic T-shirt became a fixture of the culture while Brittany Spears’s “Dump Him”
top is still heavily replicated today. The blunt and snarky nature of these shirts drove them to
their it girl status. While much of the popularity lies in the shock value, even in the absurd is
community and personality created. Madison Sinclair, the creator of BUGGIRL200, built her
online shop around this notion. Her designs are equally funny as they are ridiculous, creating a
form of self-expression that pokes fun at the wearer.
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