Band T-Shirts: Your Closet is Full of Them, And This is How it Started
The origins of band T-shirts are rooted in the 1940s.
Teenage “bobby-soxers,” who were rabid fans of popular music, started scribbling names of their favourite bands on plain t-shirts, wearing them proudly.
Enter The King of Band T-Shirts
The earliest band t-shirt came from an Elvis fan club in the 1950s.
Band names started appearing on children’s clothes throughout the 60s.
The Beatles and The Dave Clark 5 were early adopters of the trend.
Hippies caught on and discovered tie-dye looked pretty cool paired with a band logo.
Mass distribution added fuel to the band t-shirt trend, according to Johan Kuegelberg, general manager at Atlantic Records.
In the late 1960s, a group of men founded the Monster Company in Mill Valley, responsible for producing fine art-designs for t-shirts.
The company’s shirts focused on bands such as the Grateful Dead and marijuana culture.
Political movements of the 1960s also made t-shirts part of their campaign.
Why We Wear Band T-Shirts
There is psychology behind branding yourself with a musician’s name.
Band t-shirts broadcast your support and love for a particular musician to the public.
Band t-shirts allow people to be unique through their musical taste, and fit into a group of peers who appreciate the same genres.
And as we grow up, holding on to our favourite t-shirts, they become artifacts of nostalgia, reminding us of our youth.
Modern Band T-Shirts: Supporting The Culture
Recently the fashion industry absorbed band t-shirts.
Big hair 80s bands like AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses, and Kiss all have merchandise proudly displayed in H&Ms, TopShops, and Urban Outfitters.
These shirts appeal to a new generation who might be more concerned with developing their looks than supporting an artist.
In reality, it doesn’t matter if they listen to the bands.
The art-work and designs are another form of the band’s artistic expression.
Though they might be marked as posers, people who buy the shirts and ignore the music buy into rock, punk, and alternative culture as a form of artistic expression.
While this agitates many fans of these genres, the mass market appeal helps keep the culture alive.
So if you see someone wearing an Anthrax t-shirt, instead of quizzing them on the band’s catalogue, thank them for their support.
