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History of Custom Clothing and Its Impacts On The Fashion Industry

by Alice Jackson Tweet - in Tshirt Design

History of Custom Clothing

You can find customized clothing everywhere today since people of all ages increasingly prefer to wear clothes that fit their bodies while expressing their inner selves. Custom apparel lets people express their personality and feelings without uttering a word. Personalized clothes have dramatically transformed the entire fashion industry in so many ways over a couple of decades.

Gone are the days when you had no choice but to go to a departmental store and buy whatever clothing was available. But fashion-conscious people get frustrated seeing many others wearing the same clothes in terms of colors, styles, prints, etc. That ruins the individuality and personality of the wearer.

However, you can opt for custom clothing in today’s fashion world. You can visit a website and get clothes with your own custom design and quotes. For example, if you’re looking for an exciting tee, visit an online store and design it on your own with the choice of images, text, font, style, etc. You don’t need to be a designer or obtain specific skills to make a custom shirt.

Custom clothing has influenced the fashion industry in a significant way. It is the chief reason behind today’s thriving fashion world. Fashion designers can now develop various designs based on choices, cultures, and occasions.

But customized clothing has a history of its own that dates back to ancient times. It would be interesting to know the history and its role in shaping the modern fashion industry and world.

What actually is custom clothing?

Custom clothing is tailor-made garments that are stitched to a person’s specifications. As an individual, a buyer asks the tailor or manufacturer, or designer to make custom apparel per some needs and likings.

For instance, a customer may ask the manufacturer to provide a t-shirt with a specific photograph. Another individual may ask for a t-shirt with a particular slogan or motivational quote printed on the shirt. Similarly, a customer may order embroidered shirt designs in specific colors.

We can spot custom clothing when sports teams wear certain types of t-shirts or schools have uniforms. NGOs also use custom clothing as giveaways. Today, a whole range of custom clothing or apparel exists, with businesses exploring this as a cheap but effective promotional tool.

Today, custom clothing such as high-quality custom hoodies is a famous brand awareness marketing item that businesses distribute free to people. Such t-shirts and accessories enhance engagement and loyalty for businesses. Even company employees wear this apparel for brand promotion. You can even design your own clothing.

Custom apparel for brand awareness includes t-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, fleece, hoodies, jackets, caps, hats, visors, and workwear.

The History of Custom Apparel

With woodblock printing, you can trace the history of custom clothing back to ancient China. At that time, during the Han Dynasty, custom apparels were in the form of silk, typically with three flowers printed in colors. It then reached other parts of Asia and Africa, where the clothing technique traveled to Europe.

Gradually, with time, the printing process, embroidering, and treading became part of society.

The History of Custom Apparel

By the mid-1800s, custom signs and garments were used to promote businesses. Also, the use of printing textiles was common. To print, they stamped Ink directly onto materials. Or, they dyed fabrics and arranged them in a particular way.

Nowadays, the silk screen printer is the latest technology, entirely different from the old techs of print shops.

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Custom T-Shirts Arrive At The Scene

People started wearing custom t-shirts as a fashion in the 1950s. In that decade, some Floridian resort owners first made good use of T-shirts to advertise their services. After ink printing technology had advanced and became commonly available, T-shirts and other clothes appeared in finer intricate designs.

When the US Navy issued t-shirts during World War I, these clothes became popular with the American public. In 1920, the word “t-shirt’’ was included in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Custom T-Shirts Arrive At The Scene

In 1969, the Woodstock era led to the tie-dye style of printing. It became a popular medium for self-expression as even beginner t-shirt printers could print attractive designs. So they started using dyes easily.

From this point, custom-printed t-shirts were seen as a typical western outfit and style. Many people of those times boast of their collection of such iconic custom apparel. Branded t-shirts such as Beatless shirts and Pepsi tee were prized collections.

The use of t-shirts for brand promotion has become common amongst small businesses. Many businesses partner with t-shirt printing services to produce shirts for product marketing.

Custom Clothing Today

In the modern world, customizing clothes has become much easier, thanks to the new digital technologies. People now have more choices to make due to printing technologies. You can even make your customized jackets based on your specifications online.

Custom clothing

Customized clothes such as t-shirts are amongst the most popular apparel today. A majority of people of all ages wear t-shirts. Even families wore the same t-shirts in colors and messages at family reunions. This daily casual wear is also a fashion statement for young people. For businesses, t-shirts are the cheapest promotional items with a massive reach.

New Digital Technologies

Today, custom clothing printers use technologies such as Direct-to-Garment (DTG). This technology is popular for generating HD image prints on t-shirts. Such images appear sharp and full of life on the apparel. Many clothing design websites provide customers with customized fashion wear based on their choices.

With sophisticated machines known for their precision, businesses can utilize embroidery to stitch designs like golf shirts. Such machine embroidery on shirts uses computer technology to create images accurately.

Impact Of Custom Clothing On The Fashion Industry

For centuries, young people have expressed their personalities and unique styles through fashion. Just by wearing distinctive clothes, people can differentiate themselves from previous generations. Sometimes, fashion also is symbolic of the changing times.

Impact Of Custom Clothing

Once in the near past, shoppers used to give their look and style to the shirts they bought from departmental stores. You cannot make a great fashion statement by wearing clothes from these stores because they are the same for everyone.

Therefore, custom clothing has entered the fashion scenario. Fashion designers are mostly the ones who determine the fashion of the day for stylish people.

Fashion Became Common

When custom clothing started, many fashion-loving people wore it to appear stylish. Then, many such shops for fashion enthusiasts opened everywhere, including in the malls and other places. That was the time in the 90s when shops could create airbrushed shirts.

People could select a design and make it personalized as a quick solution to have customized clothing. However, the quality of the dress and design could have been better.

Because of easy access to technology, personalized clothing has become the norm of the day for the last few years. Now, the software used by most garment printers has ensured high-quality custom clothes. As a result, vendors selling such wares through e-commerce sites are common these days.

The Emergence of New Fashion Trends

Custom clothing has also enabled the fashion industry to develop new trends frequently after a few years. Easy access to new printing technologies has led to many fresh trends in the past few years. This is because every custom clothes manufacturer can now develop new design ideas.

New Fashion Trends

Consequently, instead of mass production of clothes, fashion designers can now quickly create clothes as per the ongoing fashion. They can make their unique fashion clothes. A customer can easily visit a website to create clothing.

Custom T-Shirt

Cut Down On Inventory Losses

One of the changes brought about by custom clothing is that it has eliminated the need for the fashion industry to maintain a prominent inventory position. Previously, during the one-size-fits-all days, manufacturers and fashion makers had to maintain an inventory to meet the demand.

They are no more worried about keeping the inventory and how to deal with unsold merchandise. This also has cut the losses of the industry and business. Personalized clothes are the norm in the fashion industry.

Any person can now pick colors and fabrics for clothing. Many fashion businesses now produce custom t-shirts online and made-to-measure suits for their clients.

Encourages Clients’ Creativity

As technology is improving with each passing day, it has freed clients from the stagnant ready-made clothes of departmental stores. Now, clients and individuals can have their say in choosing a style of their own.

Digital technologies allow consumers to customize clothes with a swipe of the finger. So, shoppers can have those fashion pieces such as t-shirts as per their choices. That is why today’s fashion clothing world is full of variety, unlike in the bygone days of similar fashion dominating everywhere.

Custom clothes are popular today, but this clothing type has a great history that has enriched its development.

If you are a fashion-conscious individual looking for a new style of clothes, you should create apparel to suit your personality.

You can create your own t-shirt, hoodies, and other apparel easily. All you need to do is to access a design tool online and give your brief. The tool will then let you design your shirts and have them right at your doorstep.

The Designhill t-shirt maker is a time-tested tool that many thousands of users have explored. This software allows you to choose colors and media, such as a tagline or a motivational line. That is all you need to do. The site will then create the t-shirt of your choice. You can order the shirt and deliver it to your home address.

Are You Looking for a New Graphic Designer?If Yes, Call Us on +1-855-699-2851 [times for calling 9am to 6pm EST (US)] or Register for a Free Design Consultation

Wrapping Up

Custom clothing is a popular option for individuals to wear t-shirts, jackets, hoodies, and other fashion wear as per their choice of colors, style, and fabric. Due to modern printing technologies, personalized clothing has influenced the fashion industry. It has lowered the cost for businesses and the industry and given rise to creativity.

Create Your Own Custom Design

Alice Jackson is a business consultant, blogger, social media enthusiast, online market analyst, amateur designer and an avid author at Designhill. She has written on several topics including social media marketing, SEO, content marketing, startup strategies and e-commerce. When she’s not writing, she loves spending her time reading romantic novels, Connect with her on Twitter: @jackson_alice1

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