The T-shirt is one of the most common clothing items in the world, yet many people never stop to wonder how it got its name. The explanation is surprisingly simple. A T-shirt is called a “T-shirt” because of its shape. When the garment is laid flat on a surface, the body forms a vertical line while the short sleeves stretch outward horizontally, creating the clear outline of a capital letter “T.” That basic silhouette is what inspired the name people still use today, more than a century after the garment first appeared.

The history of the T-shirt dates back to the early 1900s. At that time similar shirts were mainly used as undershirts rather than everyday outerwear. The United States Navy issued lightweight cotton crew-neck shirts to sailors because they were comfortable, breathable, and easy to wash. These shirts were worn underneath uniforms and were not considered appropriate to wear publicly by themselves.