How Sunspel has aided the evolution of the T-shirt

Having been founded by Thomas A Hill in 1860, Sunspel (http://www.sunspel.com/us) – still today maintaining a strategic presence in its native Nottingham, UK in the form of its long-established Long Eaton factory – is better placed than most to observe the changes in mens designer clothes down the years. This is especially true in the case of the humble T-shirt, which has been made in some form by the company since it first came into being.

But of course, even amid the pioneering fervor of Victorian England, the popularization of the actual term ‘T-shirt’ was still some way from realization. It is, instead, the term ‘cotton undershirt’ that would have been recognized by ‘Old Thom’. It was a different story for his company successors, however, and by the 1950s, the Sunspel quality T-shirt had finally reached its iconic form that it would retain, remarkably unaltered, for many decades to come.

Whereas the ancestors of this shirt had sported long sleeves as well as buttons below the neck, the new version was shorn of not only these, but also any other such decorative features as collars, cuffs and pockets. The T-shirt had finally reached a design that would last the test of time, with even the T-shirts of Sunspel’s present quality clothing range barely any different except for some minor edits and the latterly-introduced Q82 fabric.

The invention of the Q82 fabric was a major event in the history of Sunspel’s British clothing. This fabric is created with the twisting together of two threads of the finest long staple, 80s count Egyptian cotton. The result is a very fine cotton thread that is smooth, strong and resistant to the tangling that can occur with other fabrics when they are worn or washed. The twisting makes for a cleaner yarn, while its subsequent double spinning eradicates any remaining impurities. The final jersey is as long-lasting as it is light and fine.

However, T-shirts were not always as instantly recognizable as those in the present Sunspel clothing range. The modern-day T-shirt only really began to evolve when Victorians switched from one-piece ‘union suits’ to woolen shirts and long johns for sleeping in. By about 1913, both the US Navy and the Royal Navy were using a vest-type undergarment and cropped sleeve undershirt in preference to the older square-necked, shoulder buttoning shirt.

However, the T-shirt – not as yet named as such – still had to be made more comfortable, lighter and softer if it was to gain much chance of widespread popularity. Luxury clothing specialists Sunspel (http://www.sunspel.com/us) was one of the few firms to take on this challenge, and in the years after World War II, the T-shirt finally began to win favor with the rebel and freedom fighter. The likes of James Dean and Marlon Brando helped to affirm the T-shirt’s ‘rock and roll’ associations – a development that surely wouldn’t have happened without the refining work of companies like Sunspel that continues unabated today.

Editor’s Note: Sunspel US (http://www.sunspel.com/us) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.