Men's Underwear Basics: Underwear, Undershirts

[Ranger01]

I wear one every day, my main reasons have been:
1. When I wear a white shirt i dont want ppl to be able to see under it (modesty I guess)
2. When working I commonly have my shirt un tucked (so I dont have to worry about tucking it in constantly). Also I have a fondness for big belt buckles, so it helps me keep from getting buckle rash, and there isnt a plumbers crack showing when I bend over.
3. They actualy DO help soak up sweat.
4. T-Shirts just feel constricting under a button up shirt... Something about the sleeves... it irritates me (I have OCD by the way)
5. I believe they look better under a button up... I dont like undershirts showing.. there is a reason they are called "under shirts" yaknow.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

I've never quite been able to work out whether the undershirt was intended for:

1) protection of the overgarments from sweat

2) layers for insulation in colder weather

3) prevention of unsightly nipple showing through the overshirt.

Maybe it was for all 3. The only one which a vest is useless for is the first, since the armpits are the greatest sweat producers in the upper body.

I had asked myself the same question, and answered it with 1) and 2) mainly, where 1) includes protection from seeing sweat on a shirt.

I never wore one, always what they call a gob style vest or "T-shirt". People who know wonder why in the heat of summer I put on another layer, and if so, why not an A shirt. The obvious answer is that well-made cotton undershirts aren't that warm, but keep the sweat off the shirt, and it would be not half as useful if you spare out the armpits.

So, one of the things where I decidedly don't go vintage-style.

 

[shortbow]

Well I just lost a long post in response, frustrated and disinclined to re-write it, let me just say thanks for all the replies.

 

[Edward]

As of a few months ago, I've been wearing an 'A' / vest daily. I did wear them as a child, way, way back, for an extra warming layer in the winter. For many year thereafter, I simply wore whatever regular t shirt. This changed last Spring - shortly after I saw one of the Addams Family movies yet again, and became very taken with the image of effortless cool projected by a housebound Gomez Addams sitting around in one. I guess the vintage style (and ready availability of cheap and AFAIK ethically sourced examples in my local Sainsburys) appealed to me... There's just something I prefer about the look of the 'A' type over the 'T' style. I understand the argument re armpits, though I don't find that much of a problem. (Maybe I'm just lucky enough not to stain badly with underarm sweat). Into the Summer now, I decided to give them a go following recommendations on the loun ge, and I've been pleantly surprised at the difference it makes. It definitely helps keep me cooler, and sweat over the back of my shoulders (which does happen - outside of my own home and office, I very rarely remove my jacket) soaks into the vest instead of showing through the shirt. The A design also avoids, as mentioned above, any feeling of being 'constricted' in the arms, which I like. Of course, it probably helps too that I tend towards white shirts which don't show up a sweat mark as easily as ,say, a pale blue - some T styles might become necessary if I do end up gonig for different colour shirts at a later stage.

 

[shortbow]

Thanks Ed, good insights. Speaking of white shirts, why would anyone wear anything else ever?

 

[univibe88]

They already have those now - it's called a bra. lol

 

[Mike in Seattle]

They already have those now - it's called a bra. lol

Well, on Seinfeld, "the Bro" was the name Jerry Stiller christened his version...

 

[John in Covina]

TANK Top?

The A-shirt when it is a printed or picture bearing shirt or in non-white color, and therefore not an undershirt is called a tank top in some areas.

 

[Edward]

The A-shirt when it is a printed or picture bearing shirt or in non-white color, and therefore not an undershirt is called a tank top in some areas.

I hear that here with some ranges, though I think that's a US import. What I understand by "tank top" is a sleeveless sweater....

"Two countries divided by a common language" and all that! lol

 

[dr greg]

in the beginning

here's where it all started
http://www.essortment.com/all/legendsshearing_rvha.htm

 

[tonyb]

I just assumed they serve much the same purpose as a woman's slip -- to render what lies beneath less visually conspicuous. In the case of the undershirts, what is concealed is chest and/or back hair, as well as those (sometimes) perky little man nips.

Being as hairy of torso as your average gorilla, I can tell you that the hair does indeed show through some lighter weight shirt fabrics. Not that I'm much concerned with that, but if I were, I might resort to wearing undershirts.

 

[Maguire]

I've decided to start using some wife beaters recently and although i find them more comfortable, i've had to stop- they've ruined nearly every dress shirt i own because the sweat stains simply don't go away. I don't understand how anyone can wear them under a dress shirt and not end up with the messed up, stained, yellow armpit look. Its disgusting and frustrating, since it looks unclean despite my showering daily and maintaining good hygiene.

 

[BellyTank]

I never wear an "undershirt" beneath a shirt.

After hearing the undershirt-under-dress shirt-necessity discussion
about 100 times, I remain unconvinced.

I've never had a situation where a shirt looked bad when worn due to sweating, never had the shirt become sweat stained, much less ruined.
It seems a strange notion, wearing an extra layer to protect your shirt
from sweat- that sounds Victorian thinking at work.
A visible undershirt looks tacky- especially a T-shirt.

Surely a "good", white dress shirt is opaque enough, due to it's
"good" quality, that an undershirt doesn't need to be used for reasons of
modesty/perceived good taste.

Maybe this is part of the reason that many Americans seem to wear dress shirts on the large side- to accommodate this extra layer.
I notice quite often, the collar being a size or two too big and cranked down
with the tie.

There must be laundry products available, to remove sweat stains, if normal washing isn't good enough.

Undershirt wearing sounds like such a drag but it seems to be a cultural norm in some places,
even if not always practical

I know, I know...


B
T

 

[shortbow]

Hey Doc, thanks for that link, it's good to know where the dang things come from and they certainly make sense in that context. How they ended up being so widely used as an undershirt remains a mystery. Can't speak for OZ of course, but over on this side of the pond it seems that you shouldn't be allowed to wear one in public unless you are prepared to stand in the middle of the street and shout "Stellaaaaa!" at the top of your lungs.

 

[Shaul-Ike Cohen]

It seems a strange notion, wearing an extra layer to protect your shirt from sweat- that sounds Victorian thinking at work.

The idea is if it's well made, it adds only little warmth, and so, sweat, while it soaks up the sweat that'll be there anyway. Might even provide a cooling distance between skin and shirt, and so reduce sweating. Probably so with a good cotton fabric, maybe profiled, and a bad polyester shirt.

 

[dr greg]

uniform

Hey Doc, thanks for that link, it's good to know where the dang things come from and they certainly make sense in that context. How they ended up being so widely used as an undershirt remains a mystery. Can't speak for OZ of course, but over on this side of the pond it seems that you shouldn't be allowed to wear one in public unless you are prepared to stand in the middle of the street and shout "Stellaaaaa!" at the top of your lungs.

It's quite acceptable in this country to wear them as a single garment during the day, but at night one would have to be hanging out at either a mining camp or an inner city gay bar to get away with it. The G&L crew really adopted a lot of 'working class' apparel over here and make up a lot of my customers for most of the sort of stuff we discuss here....and they've always got money, the pram-pushers wistfully fondle the vintage gear, and move on as the wife glares at me for tempting the breadwinner with illicit pleasures

 

[shortbow]

Take a woman with you shopping for your clothing? When hell freezes....

 

[MPicciotto]

I'm an HVAC tech and am in house, under houses on roof tops and in attics all day long. Our "uniform" at my company is a polo or t-shirt with the company name and logo and blue pants. I wear an undershirt under the polo and the t-shirt every day of the year. I find it's an extra layer in the winter and in the summer it wicks away the sweat and I feel cooler. It also lets me twist and turn and slide as I climb through crawl spaces and attics without binding up, the other day short on laundry I wore just a t-shirt without an undershirt to work. UGG!! Can't stand it now. As an added bonus the undershirt keeps my belt from digging into my excess gut when I'm wearing shirts not meant to be tucked in like my Cubavera shirts. And yes I do find it cooler to wear two shirts even when its 100 degrees!! And one attic I went into was 127.

Matt

 

[shortbow]

Thanks for the contribution Matt, I'm going to give it a try.

 

[WideBrimm]

I've decided to start using some wife beaters recently and although i find them more comfortable, i've had to stop- they've ruined nearly every dress shirt i own because the sweat stains simply don't go away. I don't understand how anyone can wear them under a dress shirt and not end up with the messed up, stained, yellow armpit look. Its disgusting and frustrating, since it looks unclean despite my showering daily and maintaining good hygiene.

Sweat Stains?
Try switching deodorants. Sometimes its the ingredients, such as in the roll-ons (as opposed to sprays) which leave the stains.