History of custom t-shirt slogans and its impact on marketing

A t-shirt is probably the most comfortable and casual attire anyone would choose. It has been in vogue for many years but has never ceased to step down from the fashion stage. The slogan t-shirt has become a weapon of choice for people to say their thoughts. Be it a bold statement or a sassy slogan, slogan t-shirts highlight your personality in style. Powerful slogans and words play a vital role even in politics and are called a political t-shirt.

Slogan t-shirts have been in the apparel line for a very long time. The first-ever slogan T-shirt dates back to an election campaign in 1950. That was the first political T-shirt which later came to be called as a slogan T-shirt. The president of the Republican Party in the 1950s, Thomas E. Dewey ran a campaign called “Do it with Dewey”. He printed this slogan on t-shirts instead of play guards and banners to run his campaign. He gets the credit as the first-ever person to use a slogan T-shirt for his cause.

The history of the slogan tees continued in the 1960s with a shop called Mr. Freedom on the King’s Road in Chelsea selling Disney-inspired slogan tees. The power of the slogan t-shirt was at its peak in the 1970s when most people used it as the best medium to spread their messages. The trend was taken a step further by Vivienne Westwood the next decade with his politically motivated T-shirts, but it was in the 1980s that Katharine Hamnett’s infamous designs made the slogan tee catch everyone’s attention. Hamnett’s T-shirts were largely about an ethical or political message.

The ‘We should all be feminists’ white tee of Grazia Chiuri in her first collection for Dior in October 2016 outshone even the most beautiful of the tulle gowns. Many popular brands like Vetements, DKNY and Alexander Wang have also been on the slogan-T-shirt bandwagon for the last few seasons. Apart from political slogans, there are funny and humorous slogan t-shirts which are a bit more fun and a way for the people to laugh at themselves.

Wearing a customized slogan t-shirt is like branding oneself. With customers addicted to whacky or message-driven slogans, it is considered to be a very powerful marketing tool. Use the right words and it can be used as a moving free advertisement to get your product across to the people. Marketers smartly use the emotional bonding people have with clothes to create something unique with these slogan t-shirts and cleverly use it as a marketing tool. The low-cost, versatile, easy-to-wear slogan t-shirts are the best way to make a fashion statement with a purpose and a great marketing tool. Combined with good quality material and a great appearance, they can be worn way past the campaign period, extending the life of the message and etching your brand in the people’s mind for a long time to come.