If you’ve ever taken a close look at your clothing, you might have noticed that some of them have a loop on the back.
Shirts for men often have these loops. If you happen to come across them, there’s a potential use for them that you may have only recently realized. Button-up shirts are typically worn casually.
When paired with matching jeans and additional accessories, they can become an elegant piece. For individuals who frequently go to the gym, a small loop has been added at the back.
Instead of searching for a closet or making sure there’s a place for the shirt before meeting with others somewhere other than at home, it’s easy to take off the shirt and hang it up.
Another use of the loop was to indicate a person’s relationship status. Removing the shirt’s loop signifies that the wearer is in a committed relationship and doesn’t need to hang the clothing anywhere else.
The loop is now just an additional piece of material sewn into garments, so its original meaning has been lost.
American fashion has changed significantly over the past century, and it’s often fun to take a trip down memory lane to learn a bit about the past. You’ll find that certain things haven’t changed at all, actually.
This is especially true for men’s clothing. One undoubtedly true but subtle piece of information you may have overlooked is the loop on the back of the shirt.
It’s there, staring at you from the center of the yoke, daring you to grab it or use it to twist the shirt around your finger.
Often referred to as a « Fairy Loop » or « Locker Loop, » it is sewn onto many button-up shirts and Oxford shirts. The purpose? The loops are intended for hanging the shirts, as you might have suspected.
In certain circumstances, the origin myth of the locker loop is associated with American sailors who used them to hang their shirts on board ships.
Ultimately, they became a standard feature of « preppy » clothing worn by college students in the 1960s as part of mainstream men’s fashion.
According to clothing manufacturer Gant, this button-up shirt is said to trace back to Ivy League campuses across the country. The man who founded the company initially offered the shirt designs to Yale’s male trainees, and eventually, the word spread.