Pop culture T shirts are an effortless expression of human values, events, beliefs, feelings, and attitudes. Although the messages change constantly, the shape of the medium used hardly changes. According to the dictionary, the first recorded use of the T shirt took place in the early 1940s. Back then, the shirt, so-called by virtue of its shape, was the kind of garment worn mostly under the main clothing.

Eventually, somebody would think of transforming the lowly undergarment into a canvas for conveying all sorts of messages, coded or otherwise. This development would go hand in hand with the development and the popularity of silk screen printing, although these days, many other printing technologies are used. As a result, the light cotton shirt would go into the mainstream of pop consciousness, taking the center stage by being worn by itself.

As many people would soon realize, pop culture T shirts have a way of coming out on their own and grabbing attention. Celebrities and artists would be largely responsible for this coming of age. In comparison, canvas grew in popularity with print art in all shapes and sizes made possible by Desk Jet printing. These icons of pop culture would, however, remain relegated mostly to living room walls.

After all, nobody feels comfortable with wearing canvas even though it’s made of 100% cotton. Also, T shirts make better advertising vehicles because aside from being easily worn, they are also easily taken off. Tattoos have also left prison cells to become part and parcel of mainstream consciousness.

However, because the most popular form of body art entails some pain, cost, and time to imprint on the human body, the T shirt business continues to trounce the tattoo industry year after year. And why not, there’s always a big problem the older the human canvas gets. Also, removal can become such a pain.

With a shirt as canvas, you never have this kind of problem. In addition, shirts could be washed an innumerable number of times. Once they accumulate an indecent number of holes or otherwise get worn out, they can be used as rags. With the bargain basement prices of these shirts, nobody really has to worry too much about losing one’s favorite appendage either through constant usage or theft.

Either way, shirts are so easy to replace. They’re the fastest way of making a statement on a low budget. That’s why companies love to use them as advertising vehicles. Their future looks bright as it is simply endless.

Human history can even be told from the shirts that people wear. Especially with the advent of selfies, memorable shirts are not only permanently etched in the collective memory of humanity. They will continue to support books and other literature to add meaning to existence.