playcash777 Why We Love a Movie Star in a White T-Shirt

This is the first installment of Visual Studies, a series that explores how images move through and shape culture.

I consider the white T-shirt to be a star maker.

Whether it’s on Marlon Brando or James Dean, Glenn Close or Glen Powell, we’ve seen how a white T-shirt at just the right moment can burn its way into an audience’s memory — as happened this summer when a showstopping scene featuring Mr. Powell in a wet white T-shirt in “Twisters” became a sensation.

What’s more, the white T-shirt onscreen and on celebrities has become a symbol of how Americans want to imagine ourselves: unfussy, hardworking, laid-back and egalitarian.

As a costume designer, I see the white T-shirt as the ultimate blank canvas. I’ve cut up white tees to define a character’s unique style; I’ve used their simplicity to accentuate the silhouette of a suit. I always start by thinking: Will I find a way to create an iconic moment, as so many white T-shirts from cinema’s past have done?

It’s the perfect garment for the heroic figure who bears our dreams and aspirations. Its simplicity and adaptability make it a powerful tool, communicating understated sexiness and absolute coolness, a combination that’s birthed many a cinematic legend.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.playcash777

• Why
• Love
• We
• playcash777
• Movie