'Modest T' evolution

CLOTHING: WAS AN UNDERGARMENT A CENTURY AGO

- Hein Kaiser

In the '80s Madonna took corsets from underwear to outerwear. Popular culture applauded her for the daring move and leading a significant cultural shift.

But, contrary to popular legend, she was not the first to do so. About a century ago, the T-shirt as we know it today, was an undergarment too. The United States Navy and farmworkers changed the garment's fortunes from practicality to utility.

James Dean and Marlon Brando made it sexy in the Sixties. Politics turned the humble tee into moving billboards and concerts, immortalized experiences on cotton knit.

These days, the free the nipple movement uses fitted tops to make a point and everyone expresses their individuality, donning long and short sleeve variations. It all started when miners and dockworkers took to wearing cut-off union suits, a move that, while unglamorous, proved both comfortable and durable.

The US Navy made it official in 1913, when it issued short-sleeved, crew-necked white cotton undershirts.

Sailors in steamy submarines and tropical heat, soon ditched their uniform jackets, exposing the T-shirt to the world.