The t-shirt began its journey in the world of fashion, in 1901, as a humble underwear and, aided by the helping hand of the US Navy and the icons of the tinsel world, is now ruling the roost of haut couture in every nook and corner of the world. There is no field which has not found the t-shirt as a medium of expression.
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.
There are a few sayings that old is gold and that history repeats itself. Fashion is not an exception to these sayings. Fashion also has the inclination to go back to an older style. A “Retro”spective step, so to speak. Clothing do get out of fashion. An unavoidable fact. They have to.
Others would have depicted some famous bygone actor, actress, musician, baseball player or some other such celebrity in some field or another. Yet some others could have carried a quote or a unique message or even a joke relevant to that particular era but which is not pertinent in the present context.
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.
Retro t-shirts are just as fashionable as the current ones with their fancy catchphrases and, courtesy the computers, the psychedelic graphics. Some might even make a craze. Fashion is as unpredictable as the weather. Every retro-t-shirt has a message from the past that could be relevant today.
Retro t-shirts can make an impression just as much as the modern ones can, inspite of all the advances in printing techniques and computer generated fonts, patterns and graphics. A slogan used to protest some event or product ages ago might just be reused again. Joke can be recycled. The demand for these t-shirts peaks during the happenings of related pageants and games.
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?