UNION+ SUIT

Born in Detroit

Clothing has long been a reflection of self-expression and individuality.  One's clothing characterizes visual identity. Clothing is an outward communication of fashion sense and lifestyle.

The t-shirt is arguably the most popular outer garment in the entire world today. Coming in a range of styles, colors and sizes there is quite literally a t-shirt for everyone. But where did this iconic garment come from and how did it become so popular?

Relatively speaking, the t-shirt is a fairly new addition to our collective wardrobes and it has only been an acceptable piece of clothing in its own right for around half a century. While the garment itself has existed in a recognizable form (albeit with wider necks and shorter sleeves) since the early 20th century, it was almost universally considered to be underwear and it was rarely, if ever worn in public.

So where did the t-shirt come from? It actually evolved from a kind of all-in-one underwear made from red flannel known as the “Union Suit” which was popular with workers in the 19th century. The union suit was patented in 1868 in New York and was based on a similar kind of underwear that had been popular with women. While the Union Suit excelled at keeping men warm, it was all but useless at keeping them cool in hot weather, unless that is, it was cut in half, which many workers did. In so doing, they inadvertently created the top half of what many would recognize today as “T-Shirts.”

Union + Suit communicates the self-expression of today’s trendsetters.  

Today's fashion allows us to cross social status, economic class, age, ethnicity and countless other categories.

Labels are obsolete. Our diverse self-expression gives us the ability to communicate our individual lifestyle. Enjoy our interpretation through the medium of Union + Suit.