The origins of the t-shirt date back to the late 19th century, when laborers would cut their jumpsuits in half to keep cool in warmer months of the year.
The first manufactured t-shirt was invented between the Spanish-American War in 1898, and 1913 when the U.S. Navy began issuing them as standard undershirts.
Though the t-shirt was created in the early 20th century, it was rare to see it worn as anything other than an undershirt.
It wasn’t uncommon to see veterans wearing a t-shirt tucked into their trousers post-World War II, but outside of that, t-shirts were almost exclusively used underneath “proper” clothes.