The T-Shirt: From Navy Undershirt to the Most Worn Garment on Earth

Few garments are as universal — or as underestimated — as the t-shirt. It began, quite literally, as underwear.

From undergarment to Navy issue

In the late 1800s, workers took to cutting their one-piece union suits in half to stay cool in the heat. In 1904 a buttonless pullover undershirt was marketed to men who "couldn't sew on a button," and by 1913 the U.S. Navy had made the white cotton crew-neck standard issue — light, breathable, and quick to dry. In hot climates and below deck, sailors began stripping off their jackets and working in just the undershirt. That was the first quiet step from under to outer.

How it got its name

The word arrived before the garment was respectable. F. Scott Fitzgerald put "T-shirt" into print in his 1920 novel, and it entered the dictionary that decade. The "T" is simply the shape it makes when you lay it flat.

The leap to icon

After the Second World War, veterans kept wearing their tees casually — and then Hollywood made the plain white shirt a symbol of raw, rebellious cool in the early 1950s, and demand exploded. To survive as outerwear, the tee had to be re-engineered: heavier cotton, a ribbed neck that held its shape, taped shoulder seams to survive washing. What had been designed for invisibility was now built to be seen. By the 1960s, screen printing turned it into the most democratic canvas in the world.

What makes a great tee

Weight and hand come first — a heavier, ring-spun cotton feels and wears like a real garment, not a napkin. Then the details that decide whether it lasts a decade or a season: a neckline reinforced so it won't stretch out, shoulder-to-shoulder taping, and honest, sturdy stitching.

The Black Bear Brand take

Our Original Logo T is a piece of graphic history you can wear: designed, cut, sewn, and printed in Seattle, in 9 oz. cotton, carrying the historic Black Bear graphic used from the 1920s through the 1950s, printed in our own custom green tint with a water-discharged dye that sinks into the fibers for a soft hand. Our garment-dyed "LIVES" tee is built in 12 oz. cotton, made in the USA, with a 1x1 ribbed neckline and shoulder-to-shoulder self-tape reinforcement — the tell of a tee meant to last.

Find yours in the T-Shirts collection and browse the full Black Bear Brand store.