What kind of prints on T-shirts do we wear?
Муниципальное бюджетное общеобразовательное учреждение гимназия №2 города Георгиевска
Проект по английскому языку на тему:
«What kind of prints on T-shirts do we wear?»
Выполнила ученица 10 «Б» класса
Арапиди Божена Александровна
Наставник – учитель английского языка
Чистякова Наталья Анатольевна
Table of contents.
Introduction.
Main body.
The history of the T-shirt.
The history of prints.
The social survey.
Conclusion.
Приложение.
Reference list.
Introduction.
Undoubtedly, everyone has a T-shirt in their wardrobe. But do people take into account the meaning of inscriptions on clothing, especially if they are written in a foreign language? My research is aimed at finding an answer to this question.
The topic is relevant because T-shirts have become the main part of the modern wardrobe and a way to tell the world about your personality.
Hypothesis: after investigating the meaning of T-shirt prints people will be more responsible about the choice of clothing.
The aim of the project is to find out what the most popular kind of prints is and establish the dependence of the semantic load of inscriptions on T-shirts on the English language proficiency.
The main body.
The history of the T-shirt. A T-shirt, or tee shirt, is a style of fabric shirt named after the shape of its body and sleeves resembling the letter "T". Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a crew neck. T-shirts come in different styles, colors and sizes to suit the unique tastes of global citizens. But something we seldom think about is the history of T-shirts - how did the T-shirt originally come into being?
The T-shirt, now unisex and all-purpose, began its life as an undergarment worn by veteran men beneath their uniforms. These shirts were easy to wash and provided a hygienic barrier for the skin. The shape of the shirt - large rectangular pieces of cloth sewn into a "T" shape with long shirt tails that tucked between the legs - changed in the 19th century when the tails were removed and the body of the shirt slimmed down to a tighter fit. The T-shirt underwent several significant changes in the 19th century. New knitting technology meant that it could be mass-produced in a more form-fitting shape with added refinements and in a wider range of textiles such as calico, jersey and wool.
During and shortly after World War II many veterans were coming home disheveled and confused. Left with post-dramatic stress disorder or disability, it became common to see veterans dressed similarly to how they casually dressed while still in the army. This outfit typically consisted of their uniform trousers and their white T-shirts. At the time, this type of dress wasn't socially accepted but allowed because nobody was going to tell a veteran how to dress.
It wasn't until the 1951 film "A Streetcar Named Desire" premiered that people began to see T-shirts in a different light. Marlon Brando's portrayal of a lower class, brute, yet handsome man was commonly seen wearing sweaty T-shirts and not much else. As Brando was a bigger actor of the time, the T-shirt was finally seen as a fashionable, stand-alone, outer garment. Soon after the movie's. ФОТО1
Credit of the first printed tee (at least being worn in a photo) often goes to the Air Corps Gunnery School T-shirt featured on the July 13th, 1942 cover of LIFE magazine. ФОТО2 In the late 1960's, the T-shirt became a means of self expression as wearable art as well as to convey commercial advertising, souvenir messages and protests.
1960's. The first slogans. This decade became the period of prosperity of the hippie culture and white T-shirts literally absorbed all the colors of the rainbow. The idea of making tee shirts a weapon in the political struggle and using them to express ideas belongs to this subculture. As a sign of protest against the Vietnam War, the famous pacific icon and slogans for peace appear on T-shirts (e.g. "Make love not war"). ФОТО3 ФОТО4
1970's. Epatage. The heyday of rock culture in the 1970's brought T-shirts to a new level of popularity. The first band to print its symbol on the T-shirt was The Rolling Stones, printing the famous picture of the tongue, drawn by the artist John Pache. Until now different clothing brands sometimes put this print on T-shirts of new collections. ФОТО5 Soon other rock bands followed the example of The Rolling Stones - and the T-shirt became a way to show the world your musical preferences without saying a word. ФОТО6
1980's. Against drugs. Perestroika.
Here begins the history of the "D.A.R.E. To Keep Kids Off Drugs" print which is still regularly worn by American celebrities. D.A.R.E. - stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education - is an education program that seeks to prevent use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs and violent behavior. The program was (and is) completely ineffective in preventing drug use but the public liked the T-shirt. The inscription on it was perceived as ironic because of the word "dare". This message seemed witty to many people. ФОТО7
The second half of the 80's was the period of perestroika in the Soviet Union. At the same time Soviet symbols were gaining popularity in pop culture. Hammer and Sickle banners, editorials of "Pravda" and other symbols of Soviet power became fashionable prints for tees.
1990's. Irony. Besides the "D.A.R.E." print, which remained popular for several decades, T-shirts with other ironic inscriptions and prints were catching on. Clothes with the portrait of Che Guevara were at the peak of popularity. The image of a revolutionary who fought against capitalism became one of the best-selling in the world. Michael Casey, author of the book "Che's Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image", considered that situation ironic and perfectly reflecting the situation in the world after the Cold War rather than inspiring: "As Cuba has shown, revolution is more of a brand than a real goal". ФОТО8
2000's. Social campaigns. The design of the "I Love New York" T-shirt was invented in the 70's as part of a tourism development program. In the early 2000's, after the tragedy of September 11, people from all over the world put on T-shirts with this inscription to express sympathy to those who lost their loved ones because of the terrorist attack. So the souvenir for tourists turned into a sign of solidarity and grief. ФОТО9 After that, T-shirts and hoodies with similar symbols of different cities began to take on additional significance if tragedies occured there. It happened to the "I Love Madrid" T-shirts in 2004 and the "I Love London" ones in 2005. In the late noughties, famous designers began to increasingly use T-shirts as a way to draw attention to socially significant phenomena and ideas. So, Marc Jacobs took part in a large-scale campaign against skin cancer releasing a collection of T-shirts with the slogan "Protect the skin you're in" and prints of nude celebrities. Thanks to the participation of such stars as Victoria Beckham, Winona Ryder, Eva Mendes, Jason Thompson, Heidi Klum and many others, the campaign attracted huge attention and the design became a cult.
2010's. Feminism and Cyrillic. In 2014, the new creative director of Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri, in her first collection for this fashion house, released a tee with the quote from the speech of the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: "We should all be feminists". After Rihanna and Natalie Portman appeared in public in such T-shirts, the print became very popular. ФОТО10 Then other clothing manufacturers began putting various feminist slogans on T-shirts. Curiously one of the most popular inscriptions - The future is female - appeared much earlier: the original "The future is female" T-shirt design was made back in the 70's for Labyris Books, the first women's bookstore in New York City. ФОТО11
Streetwear and underground fashion of the 2010's will be remembered for T-shirts with Cyrillic inscriptions. This trend was started by the Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy. His collection of tee shirts and other items with the print "Рассвет не за горами" cemented the status of the Cyrillic alphabet as a new symbol of street style around the world. Many A-list celebrities immediately appreciated a post-Soviet influence throughout Gosha's uncomplicated garments, and later on, it was possible to see everyone wearing Rubchinskiy's oversized hoodies, sweatpants and even underwear. Russian-style embroidery with shouting inscriptions embraced everyday celebrities' wardrobe and turned into recognizable pieces of the leisure-day (and not only) outfits. ФОТО12 In 2016, the trend spread to the mass market: the Spanish company Zara released its own collection of T-shirts with inscriptions in Russian.
A social survey. I decided to conduct a social survey among young people under thirty to find out what prints on T-shirts they usually wear. Firstly, I asked if they understand the meaning of inscriptions in foreign languages when they buy a T-shirt. Out of 60 respondents, 66,7% understand the meaning, 9,5% do not and 23,8% sometimes do. ФОТО13 Then I asked people what is more important for them when they buy a tee with a print. 8,5% of the respondents consider the meaning of the print the main part while 24% of them think that the way it looks is more significant. 67,5% of the respondents prefer choosing T-shirts which are both meaningful and pretty. ФОТО14 At last, I classified prints according to their themes: quotes, social problems, protection of the environment, brand logos, funny words or phrases, merchandise, symbols of subculture, patterns. Merch turned out to be the most popular kind of prints. ФОТО15
Conclusion.
The research shows that prints on T-shirts are common among people of all ages. Unfortunately, some people do not understand the meaning of inscriptions in foreign languages on their tee shirts. It is important to remember that we are responsible for the information we carry.
Приложение.
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Reference list.
http://www.teefetch.com/history-of-the-t-shirt/
https://www.livescience.com/33795-effective.html
https://theundressed-mag.com/2019/03/19/celebrities-in-gosha-rubchinskiy/
