Shirt

A shirt is a cloth garment designed for the upper body. It typically covers a person from the neck down to the waist. The term "shirt" can mean different things depending on where you live. In American English, it is a broad term for many upper-body garments. In British English, the word is more specific. A British shirt usually features a collar and sleeves with cuffs. It also has a full vertical opening in the front using buttons or snaps.

Many people wear a necktie tucked under the shirt collar for formal occasions.

Shirts are built using many specific parts and construction methods. The sleeves can vary greatly in length and style. Some shirts are sleeveless, like a tank top or an A-shirt. Others have short sleeves, such as cap sleeves that only cover the shoulder. Long sleeves can extend to the wrist or even slightly beyond it. The cuffs at the end of long sleeves also differ. A button cuff might have one button or multiple buttons in a barrel cuff style. A French cuff is more formal and is folded over to be fastened with cufflinks. Some shirts even use detachable collars that can be removed for easier washing.

There are many distinct types of shirts used for different activities. A dress shirt is a formal garment with a stiff collar and a full button front. In contrast, a T-shirt is a casual option made of stretchy, knit fabric. For tropical settings, one might wear an Aloha shirt or a camp shirt. The Guayabera is a specific embroidered dress shirt featuring four pockets. Athletes often wear specialized clothing like a polo shirt or a rugby shirt. Some shirts are designed for specific jobs, like the "thousand-miler" shirt worn by traveling salesmen.

The history of the shirt stretches back thousands of years. The oldest preserved garment ever found is a linen shirt from ancient Egypt. It was discovered by Flinders Petrie in a First Dynasty tomb at Tarkan. This shirt was highly sophisticated for its time. It featured fine pleats on the shoulders and sleeves to allow for movement. The designer even added a decorative fringe along the neck and side seams. For much of history, the shirt was considered an undergarment. Until the twentieth century, it was an item that only men wore as underwear.

As centuries passed, the social meaning of the shirt changed. In the Middle Ages, shirts were plain, undyed garments worn next to the skin. They were often only visible on humble people like shepherds or prisoners. By the seventeenth century, showing a shirt became seen as quite provocative. In the eighteenth century, men used the long tails of their shirts to serve the function of drawers. Even as late as 1879, wearing a shirt without anything over it was considered improper. In the nineteenth century, colored shirts appeared but were seen as casual wear for lower-class workers. It was not until 1920 that a sky-blue shirt became a standard choice for gentlemen.

Women's relationship with the shirt also evolved through specific historical moments. While women wore closely related garments like the chemise, the modern shirt was primarily a men's item. This changed in 1860 when Empress Eugénie of France popularized the red Garibaldi shirt. This allowed European and American women to begin wearing shirts as well. By the end of the nineteenth century, shirts were often made of cotton with linen bosoms. These parts were often prepared with starch to keep them stiff. In 1827, a woman named Hannah Montague invented the detachable collar to make laundry easier.

Today, shirts serve many roles in our global culture. They can be tools for personal expression or even forms of advertisement. They connect to various social systems, from formal business settings to athletic competitions. Even our language is shaped by these garments. The idiom "to give the shirt off one's back" has been used since 1771. It describes someone who is extremely generous or in a state of desperation. From ancient Egyptian linen to modern stretchy T-shirts, the shirt remains a fundamental part of human life.