Men's Underwear Basics: Underwear, Undershirts

[Bugsy]

Okay... now I'm back to Briefs... Skinnier legs means the legs of the shorts stay put.

Congratulations on the weight loss. :eusa_clap :eusa_clap As one who lost almost 50 pounds about five years ago, I know how good you must feel. And what a great excuse to get new clothes. Be well.

 

[kpreed]

Christmas comes early, my friend! Look what I just spied in the the JCPenney Fall/Winter 2006 Catalog...

Available in sizes 32-44 even ($16.00/pkg. of 3) AND sizes 46-54 even ($21.00/pkg. of 3) for us bigger guys! Order them now and maybe they will keep this item permenantly in stock!

Can it be...traditional men's fashion becoming mainstream once again?? Who'da thunk it??

I wear these every day and no problem, (sale long gone) I did replace the use less snaps on the front they come with,with buttons, but other then that I think they are great.

 

[davestlouis]

My mom put me in undershirts from the time I was little, and I've never stopped wearing one every day. I wear white dress shirts at work, but take off my suit coat frequently, and EVERYONE there wears undershirts...the one fat, sweaty hairy guy who didn't got made fun of until he started wearing one.

I just had another thought too...bleach will tend to make white fabric take on a yellowish tinge over time...liquid bluing in the wash water keeps white fabric a "colder", bluer white color.

 

[cco23i]

I found at Target an A style shirt made by Marona that's as close to the original you can get. The collar is clothe not ribbed and the fabric is sort of a knit. Man are they comfortable too!!!

Scott

 

[Bugsy]

!!

That Merona brand at Target is much better than I would have ever thought. AND one can't beat the prices.

 

[Bill Taylor]

I don't think T shirts existed during the 1930s and before. I think perhaps they were an outcome of WWII, or maybe a little before. As a kid in the 30s, I know I never wore or saw a T shirt. Young boys under 5 or 6 wore short pants(ironed and starched) summer and winter, with ironed and starched short sleeve shirt in summer, long sleeve in winter, with an undershirt(wifebeater) under. After 6 or so, young boys wore knickers, undershirt, shirt and maybe a sweater. Getting those first knickers about 1939-1940 ("secretly buckled low") was a milestone, as were long pants later on (after age 12). I recall having a striped T shirt (but not an undershirt) about 1943 or 44, but by then I was 12 or 13 years old. That was the year I started to high school (8th grade). I know about the T shirt from a picture of me, my brothers and sisters from that time. Both my older brother, (who would have been about 16) and I are wearing one.

I'll have to google T shirts to see when they did come into being, if that kind of information will show up.

Any maybe I'll even explain "secretly buckled low", too. Hey, I had an older brother.

Bill Taylor

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Right here in River City. Trouble with a capital "T"

Mothers of River City!
Heed the warning before it's too late!
Watch for the tell-tale sign of corruption!
The moment your son leaves the house,
Does he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee?

 

[Bill Taylor]

Regarding my post above on T shirts, it looks like the US Navy specified a "type" of T Shirt style in 1913, but it was not a "consumer" product. T shirts did appear in the mid 1930s but suffered the same fate as other under shirts due to the 1934 Clark Gable "event". Then in the late 30s, about 38 or 39 T Shirts were offered by 3 retailers: Hanes, Fruit of the Loom and Sears, Roebuck & Co., but still didn't sell.

In 1942, the US Navy specified white T shirts as part of regulation gear, and the other services followed shortly. I think the army T shirts were olive drab, though. Does anyone know if that is correct?

The popularity of T shirts really came into being after the end of WWII with the return of 11 or 12 million servicemen who had been wearing T shirts during the war. Further popularity occurred about 1951 when Marlon Brando wore a T shirt (not a Y shirt), as I remember from "A Street Car Named Desire". "Stelllllllaa"! And then in 1955, James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause" wore a white T shirt which again enhanced their popularity.

There were even some "printed" or "message" T shirts in earlier years. The Thomas Dewey Presidential compaign of 1948 used some political message T shirts.

Bill Taylor

 

[Tomasso]

Where's Marc?!?!

 

[Lou]

I wore undershirts as a boy because my father did, but stopped wearing them sometime in my teen years. I was reacquainted with them when I was in the Air Force and have worn them since. I wear crew-neck with a shirt and tie, v-neck with an open shirt, and a-shirt with a short-sleeve shirt.

I also had sock garters when I was in the Air Force (bunched up socks look terrible with a dress uniform). I thought they were uncomfortable, but maybe the ones I had weren't of the best quality. I'd prefer to have good socks that stay up.

Update: A note from an FL poster reminded me that the shirt garters weren't the kind that loop around the calf, but were a long elastic band that attached the sock to the shirt tail. Depending on how you move your leg, the elastic band presses a thick, unsightly line through the trouser. I'm sure the calf-loop kind would be a vast improvement.

 

[carebear]

You can eliminate much of the garter line by running it around your leg, back of shirt to front and vice versa rather than straight down.

It will pull more hair but won't distend your pant leg.

 

[Lou]

You can eliminate much of the garter line by running it around your leg, back of shirt to front and vice versa rather than straight down.

It will pull more hair but won't distend your pant leg.

I tried that, and it did work to an extent. It was still uncomfortable though.

 

[carebear]

Yeah, you still get the "back of the knee" issue when you sit, takes care of walking pretty well though.

And the discomfort is apparently why we were issued "bearing".

 

[Bugsy]

Calf garters solve all of those problems and are still the most comfortable to me.

 

[Sir RBH]

Couldn't agree more. I put on Sock suspenders in the morning and don't think twice about it until I take them off at bed time...

RBH

 

[carebear]

The shirt suspenders we're talking about are designed to keep the shirt pulled down to prevent blousing over the waistband on a military uniform, the socks provide the anchor point, keeping them up is a side benefit.

I've seen shirt suspenders with loops that go under the heel of the foot (rather than clipping to the top of the sock) and the sock is worn over it.

 

[Widebrim]

I wear crew-neck with a shirt and tie, v-neck with an open shirt, and a-shirt with a short-sleeve shirt.

With an open shirt (almost always short-sleeve), I also wear a V-neck. With long-sleeve and necktie, though, I'll wear a crew-neck in cool/cold weather (which is about four months here in SoCal), but an athletic shirt in warm/hot weather (about eight months out of the year).

 

[cco23i]

O.K all,
I have a question. I am trying to find out if the "sleeveless Henley" style undershirt was used in the early 1900's (WW1) by the British army under the "greyback" shirts.

Scott

 

[KenDale]

RE: Athletic Undershirts

Sorry to bump an old thread. CCO23i, does the military allow you to wear athletic undershirts? I always see photographs of military personnel wearing the crew neck t-shirt and assumed that was all that was permitted. If so, you might also try the Hanes ComfortSoft Athletic Undershirts that Target carries. These are a bit more expensive than their regular ones but still very affordable. Also, they are not too deep cut under the arms so you do have some absorption of underarm sweat.

I have been wearing athletic undershirts since my junior year in high school (over 25 years ago) when I was the only one wearing them and wear them every day with my suit and dress shirts and also with casual or polo shirts. Really not sure why there are such negative stereotypes associated with them. It seems to be really a matter of comfort and preference as I prefer the look and really dislike the feel and constriction of a t-shirt or v-neck. Some underarm protection is provided if you do not purchase the brands that have too deep cut underarm holes. As an added bonus, they are the perfect accompaniment to my boxer shorts.

 

[scotrace]

Sorry to bump an old thread.

No problem. We encourage it.