ABSTRACT
The insatiable demand for T-shirts of every strip appeared to owe much to their low cost as well as their compatibility with jeans. Larry Farrell, a Cal-Berkeley student, provided another reason: It's a more graphic way of displaying our feelings. Since its days as regulation issue for sailors, the T-shirt known during World War II as the skivvy shirt has been a fixture on the American scene. Its popularity reached new heights when Marlon Brando wore one in A Streetcar Named Desire in 1947. By the mid-1970s, however, the T-shirt evolved beyond old mainstays such as advertising slogans, iron-on glitter, tie-dye designs, and clever one-liners to embrace a dazzling array of new concepts. Visually arresting creations included the T-shirt as a tuxedo jacket, a simulated blazer and bow tie number complete with a flower on a lapel; and the Body Language series. Also available was the Shirt-O-Gram, which depicted a Western Union-style message in large capital letters.
