Graphic tees are wildly popular and have created a vintage market in which they are highly valuable. Some rare survivors of days gone by can fetch high dollar amounts in online sales and vintage clothing shops.
Graphic tees have been wildly popular since they first appeared almost a century ago. Research has been done to try to pinpoint when graphic tees became popular to wear. Some say the history of graphic tees traces back to the 1930s.
Many early graphic tees advertised local businesses or were used as part of a work uniform. The first mass appearance of graphic tees happened in 1939. That is when extras on The Wizard of Oz wore graphic tees that said “Oz” in the classic and widely beloved film. The workers appeared only briefly in the great fictional land of Oz. But the graphic tee gained its first widespread exposure and
Other widely viewed examples of graphic tees would follow. Many local radio stations produced graphic tees that advertised their broadcast services, for example. And for some time, the graphic tee mostly served as a marketing tool for various goods and services. They also promoted brands noted for selling particular products.
Graphic Tees Support Individual Expression
Graphic tees enable their wearers to express their individuality and make bold statements about themselves. The original style of tee shirts generally remains today. They were white and had short sleeves.
Some tee shirts included a breast pocket, and colors helped to make them into viable work shirts. The original tee shirt was not meant to be seen as much as worn beneath dress shirts. If it was seen, it usually was in a work environment and might have had grease, dirt, or other contaminants. It helps to make a white shirt look white while blocking out skin color.
Colored tee shirts became popular items and were no longer relegated to work shirts or undergarments. The practical nature of tee shirts and their generally simple design and construction made them popular. Affordability made them indispensable parts of people’s daily wear. Graphic tees add to the simple tee shirt design with very colorful flair and make bold statements.
Vintage Market for Graphic Tees Blossoms
Despite the recent emergence and growth of fashionable graphic tees, old-fashioned graphic tees are as big as ever. The market for vintage graphic tees is incredibly popular and makes them more accessible through online retailers. Some shirts are extremely valuable and could sell for many times more than they originally did.
Some of the most sought-after graphic tees are those that promoted particular concert tours by very popular rock bands that might not exist anymore. Whether you love them or hate them, a vintage Grateful Dead tour graphic tee could fetch a lot of money.
Reproductions of vintage tees make it easier for more people to show their admiration for the vintage graphic tee. It also makes it easier to obtain current versions of popular vintage graphic tees.
But many people prefer the original items with their minor flaws from prior wear and tear. A genuine vintage graphic tee can be very rare and highly desirable among collectors and enthusiasts. Whether seeking a genuine vintage model or one that is a current production, the graphic tee remains highly popular.
Graphic Tees Build Upon a Common Product
Tee shirts generally are utilitarian forms of clothing that are not intended to be seen as much as worn underneath. The popular style gained universal acceptance. And the tee shirt’s affordable price made it desirable for anyone with a task to do. If you had to get a shirt dirty, it might as well be a tee shirt.
The tee shirt slowly morphed into a rebellious symbol that young men and women alike wore. Adding some leather and blue jeans to the ensemble helped to affirm the rebellious statement. Movie stars helped to affirm the rebellious look that included leather coats with white tees underneath.
Today’s tee shirts come in a variety of colors but are loyal to the original style of no collar and sometimes no sleeves. Some are specially designed for women, which helps to add to their appeal.
Graphic Tees Become High Fashion
Graphic tees helped to spur the recent emergence of high-fashion graphic tees, which have made the tee shirt market highly lucrative. New bold designs by many of the best fashion designers are altering the traditional tee. New and costly versions of the old tee-shirt are meant to be worn as fashion on occasions where tee-shirt wearers formerly would have been shunned.
The current market for fashionable tees is very strong and causing many people to rethink what the graphic tee is capable of doing. Different textures and designs help to add flair to the more graphic elements of the modern graphic tee. Highly fashionable examples of graphic tees are selling in large quantities for high prices.
