The classic shirt is such unobtrusive staple of people’s wardrobes that it’s easy not to give it a second thought. However, the history of the shirt is a tale riven with issues of technological development, gender equality and class struggle.Despite seeming like a quintessentially post-industrial item, the earliest known example was discovered in an Egyptian tomb, dating back to 3500BC, and for millennia was considered underwear.

Over the years, the shirt became something of a pick-and-mix item, with detachable collars, sleeves and bibs. Men would send just the starched collars and cuffs to be laundered, as these were the parts on display. In fact, it was only with the dawn of home washing machines, as cleaning became simpler, that the one-piece variety regained popularity.

The neck would take on particular significance in the 1920s, when low-paid workers began to wear shirts with a blue collar, which disguised dirt for longer, while more affluent staff could afford the short turnaround of the white, leading to the terms – you guessed it – blue- and white-collar worker.

Meanwhile, the women’s equivalent, the blouse, traditionally buttons to the left, despite right-sided buttoning being easier. Folklore would have it that this is because blouses were designed for the well-heeled female customer who would be dressed by someone else, buttoning in reverse. Consequently, feminism has gradually pushed the classist and less practical version to one side.Will you ever look at your shirts in the same way again?