The Britney Spears Factor: Celebrities & Custom T-shirts

Message T-shirts have been a popular part of American culture since the 70’s when Americans were looking for new ways to protest the Vietnam War. Britney Spears played a role in repopularizing this trend and is perhaps the best known celebrity for communicating to the public and playing off of the press via the t-shirt.

Some of Britney Spears's screenprinted comments have been offensive to many and others have been subtle and humorous. Over the past few years she has been seen sporting phases such as “Soon to be Mrs. Federline” and “I am the American Dream.” When her ex, Justin Timberlake, started dating Cameron Diaz, Spears was seen wearing a shirt that had "Dump Him" written across the front.  Most recently, she appeared at the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory premiere sporting a custom tank top that said "I have the Golden Ticket" with and arrow pointing down to her pregnant belly.

Britney Spears seems to have started a trend among A-listers and other celebrities such as music icon, P. Diddy. P. Diddy used the t-shirt as a way to convince younger citizens to vote in the 2004 presidential election. Large letters across the front of the t-shirt he made popular spelled out “Vote or Die.” Leonardo DiCaprio, Jay-Z, Paris Hilton, and Ashton Kutcher were all seen wearing a “Vote or Die" T-shirt in public. 

Celebrity influence and trend setting may have contributed to the success of many online custom t-shirt companies such as DesignAShirt.com.  Such company websites allow visitors to design and order customized t-shirts entirely online without ever needing to speak to a customer service representative.