It was Mark Twain who said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” That saying still rings true, as our society has developed into one that uses apparel as a way to convey one’s social status. Simply flip through the pages of a woman’s fashion magazine to read breathless coverage of the fashion statements being made on the couture runways of Paris, Milan, and New York. Listen to a gaggle of high school girls decrying the must-have fashion accessory of last season as “so last year.” Even men aren’t immune to the whims of the fashionistas – particularly those fashion moguls who were once (or still are) hip hop moguls.
If both men and women use apparel to convey social status, they also use it as a means of self-expression. The fictitious fashion editor in “The Devil Wears Prada” always accessorized with a white Hermes scarf. Donald Trump is known for his colorful neckties. And Woody Harrelson is known for wearing hemp.
Beginning in the 1960s, T-shirts became a means of self-expression. Back then, plain white T-shirts transformed into tie-dye works of art proclaiming...