The T-shirt was invented in 1904 and marketed to bachelors who couldn't sew or replace buttons.
In 1904, the Cooper Underwear Company ran a magazine ad announcing a new product for bachelors. In the “before” photo, a man averts his eyes from the camera as if embarrassed; he has lost all the buttons on his undershirt and has safety-pinned its flaps together. In the “after” photo, a virile gentleman sports a handlebar moustache, smokes a cigar and wears a “bachelor undershirt” stretchy enough to be pulled over the head.
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| photo credit Chris |
In 1904, the Cooper Underwear Company ran a magazine ad announcing a new product for bachelors. In the “before” photo, a man averts his eyes from the camera as if embarrassed; he has lost all the buttons on his undershirt and has safety-pinned its flaps together. In the “after” photo, a virile gentleman sports a handlebar moustache, smokes a cigar and wears a “bachelor undershirt” stretchy enough to be pulled over the head.
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| image courtesy American Digest |
“No safety pins — no buttons — no needle — no thread,”
ran the slogan aimed at men with no wives and no sewing skills.
[source: The New York Times Magazine]
