The statement t-shirt. Got something to say? Say it on a shirt.

People have been using t-shirts to express their opinions and preferences for decades. Although early versions of t-shirts have been around since at least the 1890’s as undergarments, it wasn’t until a few decades later that people started to wear them on their own as a piece of clothing.

Some credit US soldiers during the world wars with wearing some of the first t-shirts that had words and images printed on them. Pretty soon, this moved on to other now iconic images, like Mickey Mouse, and important messages. As part of its collections, the Smithsonian Institute has a campaign shirt from 1948 with “Dew-IT with Dewey,” which is still considered the “oldest t-shirt with a printed slogan.”

During the 1950’s wearing a t-shirt became more commonplace, with actors James Dean, John Wayne and Marlon Brando popularizing them onscreen by wearing them as part of their tough guy uniforms. In the 60’s and 70’s, during the decades of politics, rebellion and free love, the t-shirt was a key method of expressing one’s self. Anti-war slogans abounded, as did peace symbols and tie-dye. It didn’t take long for companies to get in on the game and emblazon shirts with their product names (like Coca-cola) and slogans.

“Frankie Says Relax” is forever remembered as the t-shirt representing the 80’s best and “I’m with Stupid” seems to sum up the 90’s. It might still be too early to identify the most popular statement tee’s of the millennium, but that also might be because retro T’s resurfaced in a big way. Che Guevara t-shirts were everywhere and there seemed to be a direct correlation between how vintage your t-shirt was (or just looked) and how cool you were.

Regardless, the statement t-shirt is an awesome way to say something. What does your t-shirt say?