Here’s a little trivia question. Where did the undershirt originate from?
For those inquiring minds, interestingly enough, the origins (in the U.S.) of the undershirt start with the t-shirt and seem to date back to the early 1900’s during World War I. Our friendly neighborhood Wikipedia definition tells us this:
Most research mentions this possibility that the idea of the T-shirt came to the United States during World War I when US soldiers noticed the light cotton undershirts European soldiers were using while the US soldiers were sweating in their wool uniforms. Since they were so much more comfortable they quickly became popular among the Americans, and because of their design they got the name T-shirt. Other experts credit the U.S. Navy’s “light undershirt” from 1913, described with “elastic collarette on the neck opening, called “crew neck”.
Dang, now it’s got us wondering where “v-necks” came from….
During World War II the T-shirt had become standard issue underwear in both the U.S. Army and the Navy. Although the T-shirt was formally underwear, soldiers often used it without a shirt covering it while doing heavy labor or while stationed in locations with a hot climate, just like their former underwear. As a result, the public was frequently exposed to pictures of members of the armed forces wearing pants and a T-shirt.
Well thanks Wikipedia. We really appreciate the information! It’s just too bad those folks didn’t have RibbedTee undershirts back then.
