Wifebeaters?

[Jovan]

I suppose it is a hold over from the day when men wore one piece underwear all the time so in summer they would wear an abbreviated version, then at some point it continued on as just a matter of habit. I still wear them sometimes because it seems like the right vintage thing to do, but as my pants have gotten a little snugger, they are the first thing to go. I can't stand to have all those layers in there.

Honestly, I think we worry a little much about the proper "vintage" thing to do sometimes rather than what's comfortable or practical. For example, the ladies had a thread where they were discussing whether to wear stockings in summer. As one pointed out, we have a slight advantage in that we can pick and choose from many looks now. As such, a skirt/dress from the 1930s or 1940s would look fine without them, and no one would say you are being "indecent" these days.

 

[poetman]

This all makes sense, but I thought that one great advantage to something under your dress shirt is that it covers the armpits and absorbs sweat therefrom -- which a tank shirt don't do.

I don't sweat much from my armpits. Also, I'm a drummer, and I sweat when I play--can' help it--but the tank keeps my clothes clean, and makes me feel fresh, something a t-shirt couldn't do for me.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

No tank you.

With or without a dress shirt over it, I've never cared for singlets. I wear a v-neck t-shirt under button-down shirts - the V avoids the dreaded collar visibility and the sleeves protect the shirt.

I also prefer sleeved t-shirts because they cover a nasty scar I have just below my right shoulder.


Lee

 

[Dr Doran]

I also prefer sleeved t-shirts because they cover a nasty scar I have just below my right shoulder.


Lee

Women love scars on men.

 

[Bama Mike]

I wear them during the summer when I'm wearing light weight short sleeve shirts made to be left untucked. When wearing a suit I cannot wear one during the summer here. The heat and humidity is just too intense and I need more coverage from an undershirt to protect my dress shirts. Even during the winter I wear a crew neck or v neck undershirt with my suits to keep from staining my nice dress shirts.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

everyday! but i call 'em "beaters"...

 

[ohairas]

I haven't read ALL replies, but I just hafta say that I think wifebeaters are SEXY.

I understand that they don't absorb underarm sweat, but I like how you don't see a t-shirt sleeve line through dress shirt sleeves with a wifey. They are less bulky that regular t-shirts as well, but I also had to convince my hubby that he should get a smaller size T to wear underneath dress clothes, not big sloppy ones like he's ready to play sports.

I buy them for my two year old son and I think they are so darn cute!
Nikki

 

[Edward]

I wore A shirts for years on end as a child - in Ireland, as is the norm in the English-speaking world on this side of the Atlantic, we called them vests. They were worn in the winter as an extra layer for heat. From about the age of 12 or 13, they became regarded as geeky and were rapidly replaced with my regular t-shirts. For years, a t shirt (plain or printed) was my underlayer of choice. In essence, a t shirt became the default top half item of clothing, with other layers added or removed as necessitated by temperature. More recently, I have come back to the idea of the benefits of an undershirt and am about to purchse some more to be worn under dress shirts instead of a t. I'm intending to pick up some in both a T and an A style. I love the look of the A style when worn round the house, Golden era lounge-wear style... I also find them to be great for comfort under a shirt offering that extra layer for warmth but without adding an extra level of bulk round the shoulders - leaves more freedom for the arms to move. I can see the point re underarm sweat, though what ages my shirts long before anything else (and typically means I can only get one day out of a dress shirt before washing) is the necks getting grubby. Ain't no undershirt that will stop that.

The idea of an undershirt to help keep cool in warmer weather is somewhat alien to me, though it's something I've read on here several times since I first joined the lounge. I plan to experiment with this in Summer 08 to see whether it works for me.


fftopic: =>

Onslow is a great charector, I like that he is always concerned with how Richard is holding up.

A much deeper character than often given credit for - I loved how when he was reading in bed it was alway heavyweight stuff like Financial Times or Stephen Hawking's latest book. Onslow was certainly a slob, but he wasn't thick with it.

You look fabulous!

" Bring out your Dead".......lol

"I'm not dead yet!"

 

[Bill Taylor]

I think the word "wife-beater" is a "relatively" new term and probably has been around maybe only 25 to 35 years. I definitely never heard the word when I was younger back in the 60's and earlier. It was just referred to as an undershirt or sometimes a singlet. Also, as far as I know, T shirts did not exist during the 30's. Not sure when they came into being, but somehow, I think they were a WWII introduction for the military. I never saw a T shirt in the 30's or early 40's that I can remember.

Regarding undershirts, in the 1934 movie "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, during the motel scene, Gable takes his white shirt off and he is wearing nothing underneath. As a result,as the story goes, undershirt sales plummeted and the clothing industry was devastated.

Also, in the 30's and 40's, one was really never supposed to "see" an undershirt and it sure wouldn't be worn as a shirt. Under garments (men's and women's) were supposed to never be seen even on the clothesline. The "rule" was that undergarments were hung between where the sheets were pinned on the clothesline, or they were hung inside pillowcases. It was considered to be really trashy to be able to see them, even though most people couldn't see into back yards anyway. There was no such thing as a home electric clothes dryer during those times. (or automatic washer either-one made do with the the old square Maytag and three tubs in a separate wash house in the backyard, along with a cast iron pot on a wood fire to boil the white clothes in). The weekly wash day was not a pleasant day and being the youngest, I got stuck with helping. My older sisters and brother could disappear so effectively on wash day, it was like they never even existed. It actually wasn't all that bad, as our housekeeper did the wash and I adored her and she spoiled me rotten, I think; although she was not above giving me a good tanning every now and then for known and unknown transgressions and as a result, I still have the toughest butt in the whole country. I transgressed a lot.

Bill

 

[SamMarlowPI]

Regarding undershirts, in the 1934 movie "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, during the motel scene, Gable takes his white shirt off and he is wearing nothing underneath. As a result,as the story goes, undershirt sales plummeted and the clothing industry was devastated.

then along came Brando in "Street Car" and the industry reversed gears again...as the story goes...

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Women love scars on men.

Battle-scars, yes. 3-1/2" X 1" incision-to-remove-fatty-tumor-got-infected-and-now-looks-like-shiny-strawberry-cheescake scars, no. lol


Lee

 

[Edward]

Bill Taylor.... That's a fascinating story - I love hearing about those little period details like hiding the underwear on the line. Really brings the past to life, and I think sets a lot of the movie images in context for those of us who weren't there and sometimes maybe forget that the movies weren't necessarily wholly reflective of the way most folks lived.

 

[Fletch]

Also, as far as I know, T shirts did not exist during the 30's. Not sure when they came into being, but somehow, I think they were a WWII introduction for the military. I never saw a T shirt in the 30's or early 40's that I can remember.

Here's a fun web hit on the origins of the tee:

History of the T-shirt
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By Virginia Linn, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Early prototypes of the T-shirt emerged as an undergarment during World War I, although accunts of its origin vary -- some sources peg it to the "light undershirts" worn by U.S. Navy sailors starting in 1913; others say they were worn by European soldiers during the hot summers and were the envy of American troops clad in wool uniforms.

Whatever the case, the T-shirt became an official word when it was included in Merriam-Webster's dictionary in the 1920s.

Jockey International Inc. developed what became the modern T-shirt in 1932, at the request of the University of Southern California Trojans football team. Officials were looking for an inexpensive undergarment to absorb sweat and to prevent a player's shoulder pads from causing chafing.

Robert Benchley refers to tees in a short story from 1930, about outfitting a boy for one of the more prestigious New England boarding schools. They probably were a leisure wear item in the '30s, like penny loafers, back when only the leisure class wore such things.

 

[Dr Doran]

Battle-scars, yes. 3-1/2" X 1" incision-to-remove-fatty-tumor-got-infected-and-now-looks-like-shiny-strawberry-cheescake scars, no. lol


Lee

Oh.

(Just hide it with a tattoo! See tattoo thread.)

Sorry.

 

[catsmeow]

Apologies re the title of this thread!

Do the guys here wear 'em?

I know a guy that seems to have been born in one. It's almost his signature look. Wifebeater at dance class, at every social gig, wifebeater with different images on them. :eusa_doh: sheesh.

 

[Jovan]

Slightly fftopic:, but American Apparel make a women's version called "the boy beater."

Link.

 

[SamMarlowPI]

here is the stereotype right here:

sexy? hahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahaahhaahahahahahahahahaa... *ahem*

 

[Brinybay]

I had no clue what a "wifebeater" was when used in this context, I had to google it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeveless_shirt

A really awful name, but whatever. The term I'm familiar with is "muscle shirt" or "tank tops".

No, I don't wear them anymore. I used to when I was a slim, trim, buffed 20-something. Now I prefer V-necks, and then only when I'm wearing my work clothes. When not at work, I mostly wear sweatshirts or golf shirts, no undershirt.

 

[Brinybay]

Slightly fftopic:, but American Apparel make a women's version called "the boy beater."

Link.

I just might enjoy a good thrashing from her...

 

[reetpleat]

Here's a fun web hit on the origins of the tee:
Robert Benchley refers to tees in a short story from 1930, about outfitting a boy for one of the more prestigious New England boarding schools. They probably were a leisure wear item in the '30s, like penny loafers, back when only the leisure class wore such things.

That might be a good guess, but I would have a different one. I would say that the t-shirt was an undershirt that working men, and maybe working class boys, started wearing, and it may well have been quicly adopted by the leasure class as a bit of an affectation like levis.

Earlier in this thred is a photo that I think is verified as 37 in whih a boy is wearing a printed t-shirt.

I have seen footage of ww11 recruits going to boot camp from new yourk and a few guys are wearing t-shirts as shirts. i have seen photos from the 40s of t-shirts, the snug kind with slacks. A pretty cool look actually. But have never seen such with a tank style worn as a casual shirt, not even in the 50s.

By the way, why is it called atank top style?