To many, the white t-shirt is a forgotten mark on the fashion of a generation. However, many B-A students have striven to bring the white t-shirt back into style by initiation white t-shirt Fridays.

Junior Sawyer Kline stated, “It all started on a Friday, and I think it was mostly a joke, but it caught on.”

This is important today more than any other because today is National White T-Shirt Day.

The white t-shirt is made of an inexpensive and light fabric that is typically easy to clean. The white t-shirt even dates back to a time between 1898 and 1913 when the US Navy issued them as undergarments.

It became popular to see World War II veterans wearing white t-shirts with their uniform trousers as casual clothing.

The white t-shirt became a fashion sensation in the 1950s following Marlon Brando’s role in A Street Car Named Desire. It was often to see young boys wearing white t-shirts while doing simple tasks or even as casual wear, launching the idea of wearing the white t-shirt as general-purpose clothing.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that printed t-shirts were popularized due to advertisements, protest, self-expression, and souveniers.

This holiday, however, originates from the Flint Sit-down Strike of 1937. White t-shirt day is a day to honor the women and men who, you guessed it, took action is a sit-down strike at General Motors. These men and women set the United Auto Workers (UAW) union for General Motors autoworkers to become the sole bargaining agent.

The traditions, according to the UAW’s website, are as follows:

• Everyone must wear a white shirt or blouse
• Your white shirt must not get dirtier than your boss’s shirt
• Safety and work rules must be followed

Since its creation, this UAW event has most likely been lost and forgotten. However, BA students have been able to make it their own special day on every Friday.

This all began when junior Jason Shade made a proclamation to classmates Ryan Moore and Sawyer Kline, to wear white t-shirts on Fridays.

Shade enlightened the BluePrint with his reasoning for the white t-shirt.

He preached, “It’s a classic. It’s timeless. You can’t go wrong with a white t-shirt. When you wear something as classic as a white t-shirt there’s a new way people look at you. You come off more confident and it make others want to feel confident too.”

Whether you indulge in a greaser life style or just love that plain white tee, go out into the world in your white t-shirt and enjoy white t-shirt day!