What happened to white tee shirts?

fmdog44 said:
Recall rolling up your cigarettes in you T-shirt sleeve?. That was a few years ahead of me.
Click to expand...

That was a 50's thing for the bad boy types and bad boy wannabees. The favored trousers of that set was jeans. Meanwhile, the preppy type dressed in a style they called "Ivy League."

By 1960, the white tee and jeans look had vanished in my town.
 

Worn t-shirts, V-necks for the most part. Always felt that they helped soak up perspiration during hot weather or gave you an extra layer of clothing when it was cold.

Most of my career I worked outside as a surveyor/engineer on interstate highway construction projects. No fancy dress required for that type of employment and the only A/C or heat (in winter) you ever felt was in the field offices for brief periods.
 
I wore white T-shirts as undergarments, but in retirement transitioned to white or colored A-shirts for the same purpose. I'll sleep in a colored T-shirt...
 
Damaged Goods said:
As VietNam experience advanced, they required green T-shirts. Also, white name tags and unit emblems became green and as did identification of rank. No more white or yellows.
Click to expand...

That was needed, as nobody wanted to make it easier for the enemy to target us. Heck, in the field, nobody wanted to wear their rank at all as Charlie always wanted to nail leaders first. :(
Imagine if you will, a soldier wearing bright stripe rankings or bright unit insignia's in this environment. He'd stand out for sure. Oh yeah, if you look closely, (up and slightly to the left) you'll see his buddies hand showing up. Thus the reason to wear camouflage on any exposed portion of your body. Different world back then.

hand.jpg
 
Last edited:
Same for socks. Not too many guys wearing white socks these days. Mostly black has taken over.

I wore a fresh clean t-shirt each day under my white dress shirt. Since I had to pay for my own laundry to have my shirts washed and pressed, I had the shirts pressed with a military press.
 
In my HS years, white T shirts were de rigueur. In the Navy, they were also mandated for all uniform combinations. When I got out of the Navy I quit wearing undershirts of any kind and have never resumed the practice. These days I wear Carhartt pocket tees in a variety of colors but not as undershirts.

Here are some of my old shipmates wearing the Tropical White Long uniform....complete with white T shirt. These uniforms were starched to the extreme and the trousers were ironed inside out. You would put on a fresh uniform and step outside into the balmy climate of SE Asia and in two seconds your fresh uniform would be limp as a noodle.

USN 001[1].jpg
 
Last edited:
fuzzybuddy said:
I'm a guy, and growing up, I always wore a white tee shirt under my shirts.. I was cleaning out stuff from my bedroom that I no longer wanted, when I ran across a drawer full of white tee shirts-dozens of 'em. I can't tell you when I last wore a white tee shirt under my shirt. When did that change?
Click to expand...

Possibly when they became acceptable to wear as regular shirts?
Just guessing.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top