THE BIRTH OF THE T-SHIRT
The T-shirt, or at least the T-shirt as we know it, was born in the theatre. When Tennessee William's play A Streetcar Named Oesire opened in New York in December 1947, a young actor (1) ____________ Marlon Brando went (2) __________ stage wearing a (3) _________ of blue jeans and a bright, white, capped-sleeve T-shirt. It was the first time the T-shirt had been seen publicly as anything (4) ____________ an item of underwear and it set a fashion trend that was to last through (5) _____________ the end of the century. The idea for the T-shirt came (6) __________ Brando himself. He had worn one at rehearsals for the play. The director was so impressed by the look that was created that he asked Brando to wear the shirt in the play itself. Brando may have seen the shirt being advertised by the American company Sears Roebuck. They had decided to market the shirt (7) ___________ a fashionable garment in its (8) ____________ right, rather than just something to be worn (9) __________ warmth beneath a denim workshirt (10) ___________ an army uniform. It was Brando, however, who popularized it, especially with the release of the film version of Streetcar in 1951. A short leather jacket completed the look that was to be adopted by teenage rebels in many countries for decades afterwards.
