The 5 Most Famous T-Shirt Wearers of All Time

Cheap T-shirts are our bread and butter. If it were not for the universal love of this particular piece of clothing, 5-Dollar Tees wouldn't exist. As such, it is with deep gratitude that we honor the T-shirt wearers of the world with a tribute to the most famous of them all.

To that end, we present our T-shirt Hall of Fame. Here are the five most famous T-shirt wearers of all time:

1. Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook creator and CEO Mark Zuckerberg takes the top spot for single-handedly making plain T-shirts a pop-culture icon among the millennial class. Zuckerberg is rarely seen wearing anything else above the waist. It is T-shirts or nothing for the social media guru.

We can't help but wonder if Zuckerberg wears a T-shirt to bed. And what about his closet? How many collared shirts and polos would we find if we went looking? It probably wouldn't matter anyway. We are so used to seeing him in a T-shirt that he would look out of place wearing anything else.

2. Steve Jobs

Long before Zuckerberg was in diapers, there was Steve Jobs. The iconic computer programmer and business wizard was known for his love of black T-shirts and jeans. Like Zuckerberg, the plain tee was the anchor of his work uniform. He never went anywhere without it.

In fairness, Jobs' T-shirts were actually more like long sleeve mock turtlenecks. But they were close enough. Chop off the sleeves just above the elbows and you wouldn't be able to tell that his shirt wasn't an inexpensive tee from the local department store.

3. Mr. Clean

Mr. Clean is the T-shirt wearing hero of people who are obsessed with cleanliness. He is the creation of two Chicago ad execs who brought him to life in 1957. Interestingly, the product Mr. Clean represents wasn't originally intended for household cleaning. It was created for ship owners looking for a tough cleaning solution for their decks.

The thing about Mr. Clean is that he never wears anything other than white. Perhaps that's no different than Steve Jobs' penchant for black. In fact, the two together could represent the light and dark sides of the T-shirt universe.

4. James Dean

Actor James Dean is credited, along with fellow actor Marlon Brando, with making tees mainstream in the 1950s. Dean's role in Rebel Without a Cause saw him sporting a plain white tee throughout the film. His rugged good looks and muscular build made it hip to wear T-shirts as outer garments rather than hiding them under collared shirts.

It would have been cool to see Dean's character wearing a political T-shirt. An art or UFO T-shirt would have been funny too, albeit out of place. But back then, plain white was the only game in town.

5. Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh, often known as Pooh bear, has the distinction of being the only member of our Hall of Fame who wore nothing on his lower half. Do with that as you will. As for above the waist, Pooh bear is always dressed in a red T-shirt that seems two sizes too small.

And there you have it: the five most famous T-shirt wearers of all time. Each one deserves our respect for adding to the conversation. If it were not for fashion icons like them, who knows what cheap T-shirts would be like today?

Here's hoping other famous T-shirt wearers carry the mantle moving forward. And if not them, how about you? Play your cards right and you could be inducted into the T-shirt Hall of Fame.