October 14th, 2025

It's a classic, practically iconic.  A plain white tee-shirt.  Is there anybody who doesn't have at least one of these in their wardrobe?   Historically, in my mind, I immediately harken back to the 1950's ala James Dean. The Lords of Flatbush.  Marlon Brando.   But also Fonzie, right?

To my surprise when I checked to see the origin of the white tee it goes back a LOT farther. I mean a Lotalot!  Like all the way back to Medieval times!  I was shocked!  Of course it wasn't exactly the same nor was it worn the same way. It was never outerwear but under.  Initially it was the garment worn beneath armor and fancier, more ornate clothing,  And of course, it was made of silk, wool or linen as jersey not  yet having been invented.  

That didn't happen until the US Navy contracted with Hanes (yup those nice underwear people) to create the iconic easily washed, durable, lightweight white cotton tee worn by soldiers and sailors from the beginning of the twentieth century!  The white cotton tee really hit it's stride with regular folks in the 1950's - as I suspected.

I was surprised to learn that tee-shirts never had designs or graphics until the 1970's.  Oh  those fanciful Hippies and their anti-war protests. Peace!  I checked multiple sources and they all agree that's when it started.  Nowadays of course,  tee shirts can be plain, coloured, whimsical with designs or used as messages as to the wearer's interests or, essentially, walking billboards.  They can be seen in car repair shops and on fashion runways.   Variety is the spice of life, as they say.

I've never really been a 'message' tee-shirt kind of girl and I particularly do not care for tee shirts with pockets. Actually, it's usually just the one.  I refer to them as boob pockets coz that's where they sit on the shirts and they serve absolutely no purpose at all. Not a fan.  

I prefer either a scoop or a vee neck tee-shirt as the crew neck feels to me like it's choking me!  Almost, but not quite, as bad as a turtleneck. Just thinking about it makes me gag a little. Short sleeve is great for most of the year around here. If it's gets too chilly I can put a sweater or sweatshirt on overtop. Sort of like those old medieval folks eh?

As fond as I am of tee-shirts, right now I seems that other than my hiking tees, I only own the one white tee in the photo at the top of the page.  And that ought to be enough except that, it has begun doing that thing that tee shirts always do. It's beginning to disintegrate.  No really, that's what it's doing!  Every time it comes out of the wash, it's a little closer to its end as an article of clothing and its new life as a dust cloth.

I'm talking about the teensy tiny itty bitty little holes the keep cropping up.  Not tears, not cuts, actual separation of fabric just from being worn and washed.  sigh.  It's very sad.  This is what I'm talking about.  The photo is a little blurry but I think you can see it.

The only way it can be worn anymore is under something else. Dang.   I decided it was time to find myself a new white tee shirt (and if other colours happened to jump into the shopping cart, so much the better)

I guess I knew, from experience, that it wouldn't be a one store shopping trip. The likelihood of immediate success is very slim.  I am a rather picky, I will admit that freely.  I do NOT want boob pockets. I do not want crew neck. I specifically am seeking a white tee but again will accept other colours IN ADDITION not in place of white. And most importantly, I would like it to fit even somewhere close to my actual body shape and size.  That's the hardest part.  

I'm short. We all already know this.  I'm only 5'2" and most of that length is my legs.  I look basically like a box on sticks. Too long, disproportionate clothing is one of my arch nemesis'.  And they are legion!

I told Tim of my wishes and he was agreeable so we I headed out and decided to start with a store called Beall's.  It's nice store and a big one with Lots of choices.  There are loads of Beall's in Florida.  Sadly, their petite section is small. Very Very Very small. (to be fair it's small in most stores). I can get away with buying regular pants as my legs are quite long for a short girl but a regular tee-shirt on me would be closer to a nightgown in length.  I wish I was joking.  Therefore, I knew that I had to stick with the petite section if I had any hope of finding what I was seeking.

So there we are in the petite section. Very Few Tee-shirts in the already limited selections petite section. And in fact, as I looked them over, they seemed quite long for petites.  I held a singularly noxious shade of yellow tee  up to me and yes, as I suspected, it was Far Too Long. Not all the way to nightgown status but definitely mini-skirt length.  I do not want a mini-skirt length tee-shirt.   I suppose if I tucked it in it wouldn't matter so much but I strive for options. Again being picky, I want a tee-shirt that can be tucked in or not and still look good. It's possible.  I know it's possible because my one sad little disintegrating tee-shirt is the perfect length.

So Tim suggested that we just look at other shirts that could maybe serve the same purpose. Ok. I was disappointed, but open minded.  We divided, Tim headed to a few racks and me to my favourite - the sale rack - and we just started selecting solid colour tops in medium which is my size.  I tucked into the changing room and in very short order learned that, at least at Beall's, I am no longer a medium.  (gasp!)  I was horrified! But determined. "It's just a number, Sam", I told myself. "It doesn't matter."

I took a deep breath and we tried once again this time with size large.  Guess what, those didn't fit either !   What the actual heck?   Every single shirt was too tight across the bust and way too long. I was.... so.... hmmm, what was I? How do I describe how I felt?  I was disappointed of course. A little confused because every single shirt I own at home is a medium and it fits me perfectly. I guess honestly, I was starting to get a little pissed off. And not at the store, but at me.

Look, I've never felt good about how I look, not ever, not once in my entire life.  Moments like this in stores make me feel even worse about myself and nobody needs that. So without saying a word, but I'm sure my face looked like a storm cloud, I careful hung everything on the return rack and with Tim quietly walking beside me, we left.  When we got to the car he asked where I wanted to go next. I said "home. I want to go home". And so we did.

But I do still really need a white tee-shirt so at some point, I will have to get tough and get out there and try again, just at a different shop this time.  Beall's is clearly not my store.