We love T-shirts: Readers submit their favorites
Readers share the stories behind their favorite tees.
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
This year is the 100th anniversary of the T-shirt. The beloved garment, named for its “T” shape, is a staple of every wardrobe.
A great website called tshirtbirthday.com celebrates the T-shirt and gives a timeline of everything related to its impact.
According to the site, the T-shirt was first introduced in 1913 by the U.S. Navy, issued to be worn under the uniform. In 1920, the Merriam-Webster dictionary added it as a “collarless short-sleeved or sleeveless usually cotton undershirt.”
The T-shirt became a fashion statement in 1932 when students at the University of Southern California started stealing athletes’ T-shirts. Soon after, people started printing things on them, such as the Air Corps Gunnery School logo, which appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1942, and Thomas E. Dewey’s “Dew-it-with-Dewey” for the 1948 presidential election. The T-shirt’s popularity grew further when Marlon Brando wore a white one in the 1951 film “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Since then, T-shirts have been customized to feature company logos, iconic pop culture characters, sports teams and everything in between. Some even paint or dye them. People have even broken records with T-shirts. For example, the most T-shirts worn at once is 257 and the largest T-shirt ever made is 281 feet by 181 feet.
Last month I asked readers to send me pictures of themselves wearing their favorite T-shirts. We received more than 60 different photographs by email and mail. Among the many great entries, here are a few that we really liked:
Lillian Buckner
Buckner, 83, of Vinton, said she got her shirt as a Mother’s Day present. All nine of her grandchildren signed the shirt.
“My oldest daughter Judy instigated it,” Buckner said. “She bought the shirt, the cardboard, and the markers.”
This shirt is white and blank, but has each children’s name in different places on the front. The names are written in a lot of neon colors, along with some other drawings such as flowers and hearts. The back says, “This is the best Granny ever!”
Buckner said that most of her family lives in the area, but had to mail it to Georgia at one point to get all the signatures because one of her grandchildren was there at the time.
“This was a great gift to get,” Buckner said.
Edward Mitchell
Mitchell, 69, was the pastor of the Emmanuel Tabernacle Baptist Church in Roanoke, where he is closing out 31 years of service. He said that his favorite T-shirt has his slogan on it: “What I do is about you, you, you.”
“I’ve used it for years,” Mitchell said. “I close out all my radio shows with it.”
Mitchell hosts the Roanoke Southern Christian Leadership Conference radio show on WTOY radio, (1480 AM) from 4 to 4:30 p.m. every Thursday.
Mitchell said he got the idea to put it on a shirt from actress Marion Ramsey, know for playing Officer Hooks in the “Police Academy” movies. In 2003, Ramsey came to Roanoke as a co-host of the Miss Virginia competition and Mitchell interviewed her for his radio show. Once she heard the quote, he said, she told him that he should put it on a T-shirt.
To date, Mitchell said he’s sold more than 200 of the shirts in different colors.
Ronnie Clay
Clay, 50, of Roanoke, said that he had a bumper sticker with the same acronym on it. He says his wife found the T-shirt version online.
“I have two pretty teenage daughters,” Clay said. “One is 16 and one is 17, so I think it’s self explanatory.”
Clay added that the key to it all is to scare boys.
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
THE ROANOKE TIMES
