A Quest for James Dean’s White T-Shirt

People are always curious what their favorite actors (male and female) were wearing on a show, in a movie, on the red carpet, and even every day. One such coveted thing is James Dean’s white T-shirt.

The number of “what t-shirt” questions I’m getting have compounded over the years, and the search for answers can be very complex.

Case in point, here’s an email from a reader wondering what white t-shirt the legendary James Dean wore in the 1955 Classic Rebel Without a Cause:

Subject: James Dean’s Undershirt

Hey there Tug!

I’m Carl, I’m doing a short film based on James Dean, and I need to get the same type or as close as I can get to the classic James Dean white tee.

I heard somewhere it was a white JCPenny Towncraft crew neck. Now I’m not completely sure, and wanted to ask an expert in undershirts.

Thank you very much. I very much do like your website.

Have an awesome day!

-Carl

James Dean’s White T-Shirt: Rebel Without a Cause Wardrobe

Considering this was a movie, the first logical place to start an investigation is the film’s wardrobe.

While there are tons of references to the denim jeans and red jacket Dean wore, the reference to his shirt in the 60+ articles I read through online was simply a “white t-shirt”.

In a unique find, I did discover a few websites that auctioned the original white t-shirt James Dean wore in the movie, which included a letter of provenance.

Heritage Auctions had it for sale back in 2006. There were 14 bidders, but no sale.

After that, LiveAuctioneers tried to auction the Dean white t-shirt off back in 2008. But the starting bid was $5,000, and it appears there were no takers.

Then just under a year ago, around September of 2012, the original white t-shirt worn by James Dean was auctioned and sold on Nate D. Sanders for a little over $6,000.

While those were great finds, none of the sites mentioned the actual brand of the t-shirt.

All three websites used the same description:

White t-shirt worn by James Dean in ”Rebel Without a Cause,” the film that cemented Dean’s reputation as a cultural icon and one of the most popular stars in the history of American cinema.

T-shirt sales soared after Dean was shown wearing this shirt in the film.

T-shirt was originally obtained from make-up artist Gordon Bau who did Dean’s make-up in three of his films, and shirt is accompanied by an 8” x 10” black & white photo of Dean wearing the shirt on set.

Shirt shows mild discoloration due to age and wear along neckline, else near fine condition.

With provenance from The James Dean Museum archive, Heritage, R&R, and a letter describing its original procurement from Dean’s makeup artist.

White T-Shirt Photos from Auction(s)

james dean's white t-shirt -dean-white-t-shirt-rebel-without-a-cause-4
White T-Shirt Worn by James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause.”
Front side of Dean's tee shirt
Front side of the t-shirt.
james-dean-white-t-shirt-rebel-without-a-cause-3
Dean's Screen Worn T-Shirt

1955 Undershirts

Another angle for the search is to see what companies were making and/or selling white t-shirts (white undershirts) in Los Angeles back in 1955, the film’s production year.

The problem here is that there were many companies making them.

I don’t have the complete list, but here are a few: Johnstown, Pilgrim, Munsingwear, Green Mills, Jockey, Hanes, Sears, Mandate, Velva Sheen, Champion, General Athletic Products and of course the coveted Towncraft.

It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Nearly impossible.

The Speculation (Towncraft Undershirts?)

In the Could James Dean save J. C. Penney? article, CNN Contributor Bob Green makes a strong argument, though speculative, that James Dean was most likely wearing a Towncraft Undershirt from J.C. Penney:

For years after Dean’s death, scads of American young men went to Penney’s for one reason:

They believed the widespread rumor that Dean’s t-shirt was a Penney Towncraft.

Plain. White. No logo or words on it.

No special tailoring.

It was what James Dean — born in Marion, Indiana, smack dab in the middle of J. C. Penney country — favored.

Or, at any rate, that was the legend — what today might be called an urban legend.

One guy heard it from another, without being sure about the original source.

Back then — I can vouch for this — young men fervently believed it, and it brought them to Penney’s.

Penney’s, at least in their minds, was James Dean Land.

The conviction among the 60s’ young Americans about Dean and the Penney Towncraft T-shirt was similar to the unshakable belief that “Louie Louie” lyrics were dirty.

Because of the pervasiveness of the belief, it became accepted reality.

James Dean’s White T-Shirt?

Although I don’t yet have the definitive answer, I have a bunch of inquiries out to folks that just very well may know.

In the meantime, this was my response to Carl

Heya Carl,

Good to hear from you buddy and thanks for sending in your question!

You know, I haven’t run across anyone that definitively knows what white tee James Dean regularly wore. But it would not surprise me if it were a vintage JCPenney Towncraft “undershirt”.

They were hugely popular back then, as were the undershirts from the Union underwear company (aka: Fruit of the Loom), and Hanes.

At the time, the wardrobe department purchased some of the items from a local store called Matson’s on Hollywood Boulevard, so it’s possible they grabbed up some white t-shirts at the same time.

If they were indeed vintage Towncraft, the two closest undershirt/t-shirt products available today would be the Retro Fit from RibbedTee (originally modeled after the 50/50 Towncraft undershirt) or the replica white Skivvy t-shirt made by Mister Freedom.

The retro fit is semi-sheer, so it might not be as opaque as you may want for your short film.

The skivvy is not cheap at $59.95.

The other option would be to find some deadstock undershirts from that era at a vintage store or online.

However, keep me posted on the progress of your film.

I’d love to see the finished product and possibly share it with my reader-base!

As I learn more, I’ll update this article.

5 thoughts on “A Quest for James Dean’s White T-Shirt”

  1. The shirts worn in the movie are actually easily identifiable based on their cut and the collar.
    The specific banded collar is visible at multiple points in the film, and it was a proprietary collar made by Hanes at that time. I have many examples both worn and deadstock of this exact T shirt as well as 100+ other examples of blank t shirts from the same era. Hanes is the only brand to ever have that collar.

    Reply
      • Howdy! I stumbled across your page here looking for information on a different James Dean t shirt actually, haha. Glad to offer some insight. The ones pictured that were sold at auction aren’t the ones from the movie for sure, and I doubt they were worn by Dean at all. I also provided some screen captures and information a while back about the Red jacket somebody was trying to auction off as the one from the movie that resulted in it being pulled.

        As far as the t shirts, I collect and wear them for myself, but occasionally have some for sale. I tend to collect blanks, whereas many folks like old printed tees. Those I sell, to fund my own collection. If you’re looking for anything in particular, let me know.
        I started buying tees when I was a teenager working at a vintage shop and nobody wanted them.
        Now they’re much harder to come by, and the prices have gone a bit wild.
        So I’ve been discussing possibly making my own brand of affordable classic T shaped tees with a friend of mines clothing brand. There should be an option for a true classic cut T shirt, that is actually T shaped, and is a price affordable enough to make them an every day casual wear item again. So let’s stay in touch.

      • heya eddie! thanks for the additional information (:

        if you ever want to try and sell some of your classic tees here through my site, i’d be willing to give it a go. i’ve posted other vintage tees/tanks for others, and they’ve sold like hotcakes!

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