T-Shirt Research Paper

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Pathway Project: Fashion Design

FDN 105

Archana Raj (2200)

Section 1

23rd December 2014

DEFINITION

With the name derived from it’s ‘T’ shape, T-Shirts are used as casual outerwear by both men and women as well. A common T-Shirt has no collars, short sleeves and round neck. HISTORY

Although it is being used as a casual outerwear presently, T-Shirts evolved in 19th century from USA through the ‘union suite’ (a one piece long undergarment used by army officials) by cutting it into two pieces in order to separate the top and bottom. The union suites were used by Army officers to wear it underneath their uniform. After the World War II it was very common to find veterans wearing T-Shirts along with their uniform trousers.

Being

Some of the more iconic designs include the Yellow Happy Face, The Rolling Stones’ logo (tongue & lips), St. Patrick’s Day catchphrase Kiss me, I’m Irish and the most popular I ♥ NY. The I ♥ NY was so popular that there were many variants and parody of it. Image (left to right): The I ♥ NY T-Shirt with original logo (first); An Arabic spoof of the former worn by late actor Robin Williams (second); Yellow Smiley Face T-Shirt worn at a 5SOS Concert by guitarist Luke Hemmings (third); Rolling Stones T-Shirt worn at One Direction Concert by Vocalist Harry styles (fourth)

 A typical T-Shirt extends to the waist. But in Hip Hop fashion there’s a knee long T-Shirt called Tall-T.

 Long T-Shirts were also used by women as nightgowns.

 In contrast to the Tall-T, there was a trend in the 90’s where the T-Shirt which was tight fitted and so short enough to reveal the midriff. It’s known as Crop Top and was very popular among women.

 Meanwhile, Layering was a less popular trend where a short sleeve T-Shirt was worn over a long sleeve T-Shirt of a contrasting color.

Other variations of cuts and styles of T-Shirts include crew neck, raglan, ringers, tanks, baby doll (a body tight fitted type of T-Shirt), spaghetti (noodle) strap, V-neck, A-shirts, camisole, polo

It falls below the elbow. The length may vary though i.e. it can be below or above the wrist. These sleeves can be fitted but then they are also seen to be worn in a lose style. Dolman sleeve also known as Batwing sleeve is a variation of 3/4 sleeve. It is lose and flowy at the upper arm and becomes warm around the elbow.

• Cap Sleeve

This type of sleeve covers the top of the shoulder but it does not extend to the further part of the arms or under it. The shape of the cap can be puffy and exaggerated (giving a feminine look) and is used only by women.

• Raglan Sleeve

It’s much more of a style of sleeve rather than the length. Since it’s used most commonly as a baseball uniform, it’s known as Baseball T-Shirt. The sleeve is attached to the shirt diagonally rather than a straight up and down seam. The look is most often linked with a athletic fashion for men and women and it uses different colors of materials for the sleeve and bodice to stress the lines. FABRICS

 Organic Cotton

It’s grown with minimum fertilizers. Organic cottons are much softer and less expensive than treated cotton.

 Combed