Why did we make ourselves into walking advertisements?

[GHT]

Should Shakespeare's decedents (if they could be identified) have ownership of his writing five hundred years after he wrote them? Probably not - don't know where the line is, but almost certainly, it's shy of 500 years.

Actually, you couldn't be more topical. Not wishing to be seen correcting you, Shakespeare died 400 years ago tomorrow: April 23rd 1616. 52 years after his birth on 23rd April 1564. Some argue he was born on the 26th but records show that the 26th is the day he was baptised. As you might expect, it's party time in Stratford.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

Somewhere I have a picture of me in 1964. I'm in 11th grade in Richardson, TX. I'wearing an Alligator shirt. I think Alligator was the first garment company to put its logo right on the front instead of on the back collar label, out of sight.

 

[skydog757]

I can understand the need to control or protect your brand. When I lived in Detroit, there was a huge mural on the side of party store that showed Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble carrying a case of liquor bottles and a keg of beer (Fred might even have been saying "Yabba-dabba-do!). I'm sure that the store hadn't cleared it with Hanna Barbera.

 

[2jakes]

One of the earliest & favorites was the 100% cotton tennis shirt by Perry.

Another favorite was the Lacoste all-white tennis shirt when it was made in
France with the “crocodile” logo on the front of the shirt.
The Story Behind the Lacoste Crocodile Shirt | Arts ...

 

[Stearmen]

Somewhere I have a picture of me in 1964. I'm in 11th grade in Richardson, TX. I'wearing an Alligator shirt. I think Alligator was the first garment company to put its logo right on the front instead of on the back collar label, out of sight.

That is the Izod brand. On a funny note, twice within two years, I was rear ended while on my motorcycle siting at yield signs. Both times I was wearing my yellow Izod alligator shirt! I am not superstitious, but, needless to say, I never wore that shirt again after the second incident! I did hang onto it for over a decade before I finally threw it out.

 

[2jakes]

That ”green icon of preppiness” is actually a crocodile logo!

Izod Alligator Shirts | Best of the 80s

 

[Fading Fast]

In general, I avoid logos because I don't like advertising for someone for free and I don't feel any desire to say "this is the brand I'm wearing." I think they mess up the look of an item.

But two exceptions to that for me are (1) the crocodile because I like its history (from Rene Lacoste because he was known as the crocodile owing to his style of play) and because I just like its look and (2) Paul Stuarts "man on the fence" logo (see below) because it looks great (like it is right out of a '30s illustrator's sketchbook) and very few people even know it's a brand's logo.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It occurs to me that the rise of logoed-wear accompanied the decline of the lapel button. It was very common in the Era for people to wear such buttons not just to promote their political preferences --

but also their favorite products:

And their favorite celebrities and pop-culture personalities:

And even snappy wise-guy remarks and slogans:

And so on and on and on. The same sort of thing you see on T-shirts today. Because T-shirts don't have lapels, so where would you put a pinback button? Just go ahead and print your message right on the shirt.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I tell you, since years, a real german classic seems to be the middle-aged man ( often 45 to 50) with a more or less potbelly and the bigger Tommy Hilfiger-logo on it, looking through the opened jacket. Often mustard or beige-coloured autumnal pullovers.

 

[MisterCairo]

I avoid proper clothing with logos, but have a few printed tees, usually received as gifts or souvenirs. Great for working out, camping, yard work.

 

[Inkstainedwretch]

I'd forgotten Poll Parrot shoes. They used to sponsor kids' shows in the '50s and had a catchy jingle:

"Poll Parrot, Poll Parrot are the shoes you ought to buy
They make your feet run faster, as fast as I can fly"

I probably haven't thought of that in 50 years.

 

[2jakes]

..... the crocodile because I like its history (from Rene Lacoste because he was known as the crocodile owing to his style of play)

I liked the original Lacoste polo shirts when made in France. The quality & comfort was excellent,
especially when playing tennis.
The originals were 100% cotton with the back extending.
The tiny “crocodile” on the left front was a signature that you were getting the original, the best.

(original) They don’t make these anymore.

The shirts made today are not of the same material or quality
& some have a super huge logo of the crocodile on the front.
Just in case you have a hard time figuring out what it is!

 

[Trenchfriend]

I got a grey Lacoste Piqué-Poloshirt from their "Sport"-line. I like it very much. Maybe not A+ quality, but surely A.

But the big problem for Lacoste are my favorite basic Piqué-Poloshirts from lovely chain store-storebrand, costing 9,99 Euro.

 

[2jakes]

I got a grey Lacoste Piqué-Poloshirt from their "Sport"-line. I like it very much. Maybe not A+ quality, but surely A.

But the big problem for Lacoste are my favorite basic Piqué-Poloshirts from lovely chain store-storebrand, costing 9,99 Euro.

9,99 Euro ?
That’s about $1,122 USD

That’s a very pricey polo unless you meant 9.99 Euro !

 

[MisterCairo]

9,99 Euro ?
That’s about $1,122 USD

That’s a very pricey polo unless you meant 9.99 Euro !

The french use a comma in place of the decimal point we use. Even in Quebec, $9.99 would be 9,99$ (yes, the dollar sign comes at the end).

I think some other continental countries use the comma as well.

 

[2jakes]

The french use a comma in place of the decimal point we use. Even in Quebec, $9.99 would be 9,99$ (yes, the dollar sign comes at the end).

I think some other continental countries use the comma as well.

My dog thinks that’s cool although some might consider
his tee shirt a bit gauche!

 

[Zombie_61]

...In the ‘50s, the tee-shirts were mostly plain white, even if you were sometimes considered a rebel without a cause!

Some people credit Ed "Big Daddy" Roth for changing the fate of the plain white tee shirt when he started painting faces on plain white tee shirts at car shows in the late 1950s. He used an airbrush to paint a caricature of the shirt's wearer and their car club name onto their shirt--for a small fee, of course--and once he realized there was money to be made he started making tee shirts featuring his own "monsters in hot rods" artwork (eventually including his now-iconic Rat Fink character) and selling them at car shows and in car-themed magazines. Within a few short years, plain white tee shirts were deemed "uncool" among the "car culture" crowd here in the U.S..

 

[Wesslyn]

I chalk it up to laziness. It's less effort to put on a tee shirt than a tie. I wear tee shirts when the occasion calls for it, for example when my band has a show, I tend to move and sweat a lot. But it's rare I won't at least wear slacks and a button down shirt.

 

[sheeplady]

It occurs to me that the rise of logoed-wear accompanied the decline of the lapel button. It was very common in the Era for people to wear such buttons not just to promote their political preferences --

but also their favorite products:

And their favorite celebrities and pop-culture personalities:

And even snappy wise-guy remarks and slogans:

And so on and on and on. The same sort of thing you see on T-shirts today. Because T-shirts don't have lapels, so where would you put a pinback button? Just go ahead and print your message right on the shirt.

Did ladies wear these buttons as well?

Personally I love t-shirts. I do a lot of grimy dirty work that necessitates throwing them out after wearing them for awhile. I collect the free ones, normally I snag 2 to 3 a year, which keeps me in good supply. Then I don't feel bad when I need to toss them because they got too much soy stripper or latex paint on them.... or glue, or tar, etc.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Women commonly wore political, labor union, charity, and sometimes advertising buttons, and younger women//teenagers/"fun girls" might wear some of the novelty ones. I've got a Johnson Smith novelty catalog from 1935 which offers dozens of these latter types of pins, and there are a number of them that seem targeted to women, including "Mama Loves Papa," "Kiss Me Daddy," "You Can Kiss Me Dear," "I'd Get Fat If I Got Married," "You're A Wonderful Boy," "Come Shimmie With Me," "It's Not My Face But My Shape," "Take Me In Your Arms," and one with a picture of a chicken on it that interprets to "Come To The Hen Party."

There are many, many others which could be worn by either gender, including "Let's Jazz," "Everybody's Doing It," "Oh Honey Give Me Some," "I Could Jazz All Night," "It's Naughty But It's Nice," "Kiss Me, I Won't Bite," and "Ain't It Hell To Be Poor."

The ad copy for these listings says this: "These Buttons provide subjects for pleasant jokes and amusing conversation and thus smooth the way to a more familiar acquaintance and cordial friendship. They are wittily worded and quite unobjectionable. Wear one and see the effect. 2 for 10 cents, 6 for 25 cents, 12 for 45 cents, or 100 for $3 postpaid."

I have a number of pinbacks I rotate on my jacket or coat, but most often wear a UAW Member pin. Right now I have "UNITED MAY DAY 1937"