Icons of StyleBehind nearly every item in the modern wardrobe is a first of its kind the definitive item, often designed by a single company or brand for specialist use, on which all subsequent versions have been based. Originals of these items are now collector's items in the booming vintage market. The T shirt, for example, may now be an innocuous, everyday item, but was created by the American company Hanes for US Navy personnel at the turn of the 20th century