The 50 Greatest Streetwear T-Shirts of All Time
Jeff Staple has put together the 50 greatest streetwear T-shirts of all time, and it might surprise you.

Blank pixel used during image takedowns

As told to James Harris.
If anyone were to ever take on the daunting task of thoroughly documenting all the players and personalities that have enabled the world of streetwear to prosper in just a few decades, certain names would require a lot more ink than others. James Jebbia, Eric Brunetti, Bobby Hundreds, Nigo, and so many others have been instrumental in creating a global industry that has adapted to and thrived within changes in political climate, advances in technology, and survived all manner of fleeting trends. Another name that deserves authoritative status and multiple pages when telling the story of streetwear: Jeff Staple.
Jeff's knowledge of streetwear's past and present, and his participation in molding its future all afford him the title of expert, and when it comes to a Herculean task like cobbling together the 50 greatest streetwear T-shirts of all time, he's one of the few dudes who can be trusted to execute.
At his own admission, ranking from the fiftieth best to number one would be an impossible task. Instead, he chose 50 tees that either represent strokes of genius design, conveyed powerful messages that went beyond streetwear, and pieces that set new benchmarks for the entire game. Roughly chronologically ordered, the T-shirts he chose cover four distinct eras in streetwear's existence: Streetwear B.C.; The Wonder Years; The Streetwear Explosion; and Streetwear 2Day. Any historian will note that these distinctive periods do bleed into one another in terms of time, but the beauty is that these trace the ongoing evolution of streetwear, a genre that always blurred lines and never stuck to set definitions imposed by others.
You may have owned a few of these T-shirts. Others, you may be seeing for the first time. But with each one, Jeff Staple gave the reasoning why it's deserving to be called one of the greatest ever. Each one of them has a story, and each one was an integral part in the evolution of streetwear, and the legacy that it leaves in influencing future creations. These are The 50 Greatest Streetwear T-Shirts of All Time, as Told by Jeff Staple.
RELATED: The 50 Greatest Streetwear Brands
RELATED: The 40 Best Streetwear Brands of the 2000s
RELATED: The 10 Best Online Shops for Streetwear Clothing
RELATED: Green Label - The 10 Best Streetwear Brands Right Now
PNB Nation "89 Tec9 Stretch and Bobbito"

Rawkus Records "Black Star"

Milkcrate "Illson"

Stussy "Logo"

PNB Nation "Intention and Deed"

Wu-Tang "Logo"

PNB Nation "My Name Is"

Project Dragon "Subway"

PNB Nation "Uptown Dons"

Milkcrate Athletics "OG Crate Logo"

Triple Five Soul "Brooklyn"

PNB Nation "Don't Test"

Fuct "Logo"

Obey "Andre The Giant"

PNB Nation "Proud Nubian Brothers"

Phat Farm "Logo"

Supreme "Box Logo"

Charizmatik "Listen to Your Heart"

Irak "I Heart NY"

Double Down "SixTrain"

SSUR "Rebel Ape"

Fuct "Jaws"

Staple "Chinatown Gun Shop"

Bape "Camo"

Supeme "Astronaut"

W)Taps "Tiger Stripe"

Absurd "Ewing Twin Towers"

aNYthing "Post 9-11"

Supreme "Dipset"

aNYthing "Logo"

Rogue Status "Gun Show"

Staple "Pigeon"

King Stampede "Dashiki"

Hundreds "Hip Hop is Dead"

Huf "Etch a Sketch"

Undefeated "Hardwood"

Mighty Healthy "Mad People In New York Are Hustlers"

Diamond Supply Co. "Iron Maiden"

Nom De Guerre "Arabic"

Comme Des Garcons Play "Heart"

Opening Ceremony "LETTERS by Aurel Schmidt"

UNDRCRWN "Bedstuy Bandit"

Nike Gyakusou "Running Monks"

Rocksmith "Notorious 81"

No Mas "Strawberry"

Stussy x Neckface "World Tour"

SSUR/The Cut "COMME des FUCKDOWN"

Reason "Go Love Your Own City"

Rocksmith x UNDRCRWN "Keep Bouncin'"

Supreme "Hanes Tagless"
