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Sleeveless shirt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A sleeveless shirt, tank top, singlet, or vest is a shirt manufactured without sleeves, or one where the sleeves have been cut off. Sleeveless shirts can be worn by either gender, depending on the style. These sleeveless undershirts do not prevent sweat stains from showing through. Tank tops are often worn by athletes in sports such as track and field and bicycling. Tank tops have been popular warm-weather casual wear in the United States since the 1980s, and are regarded as acceptable public casual dress in some locales. They are mostly preferred in hot climates since the arm holes provide ventilation and the thin fabric provides comfort.
In American English, a tank top is a sleeveless T-shirt-like garment that can be worn by either sex. It is often worn under the shirt as underwear, though more colorful and well-designed tank tops are usually worn as an outer shirt. The term is also used in Australian English, although the term singlet is commonly used to refer to the garment. In British English, the term vest is used, while tank top refers to a sleeveless pullover. The name tank top, recorded in English since 1968, is derived from its resemblance to a tank suit, a style of one-piece women's swimsuit with shoulder straps. Its name derives from the 1920s term swimming tank, which is an obsolete term for what is now called a swimming pool. There is a female swimming version of the tank top, the tankini (a portmanteau of the words tank top and bikini)
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A halter top is a backless, sleeveless shirt that ties around the neck. Haltertops are worn mainly by women.
A tube top is a shirt with no sleeves or shoulders, and is, basically, a tube that wraps around a woman's torso. In Great Britain, Australia and in slang it is called a "boob tube".
Also known as wifebeaters or a-shirts, a muscle shirt is a type of sleeveless t-shirt or undershirt that gained popularity as worn by men, but is now often worn by women as well. The neck is usually similar to that of a regular t-shirt.
Muscle shirts can be worn as an undergarment or as a single outer layer. They are meant to be worn as fitted tops, in that their accepted purpose is to showcase physique. However, oversized muscle shirts are often used as nightshirts and, when loose, are generally considered to be a fashion faux pas.
The build of a muscle shirt is simple, but efficient. The neck and armholes (or ends of sleeves) are often reinforced for durability. In almost all cases, they are buttonless, collarless, and pocketless. The fabric is traditionally a stretch cotton or cotton mesh. Calvin Klein is one of the more well-known muscle shirt designers.
The shirt's nickname, "wifebeater", originates from frequent depictions in popular culture of aggressive American men, usually living in poor conditions (such as living in a trailer) and having low income, beating their wives and/or children while clad in this shirt.
A spaghetti-strapped shirt is a tank top with strings or thin material on the shoulders to hold up the shirt. It is usually worn by young or teenage women. It is thought to have originated in 1920s England, fashioned by rich upper class men.
A cutoff shirt is a shirt with the sleeves cut off. The original shirt is usually a t-shirt, but it can be any kind. They are most commonly worn by men.
A T-back shirt tank top that is much narrower in the back than the front. It is similar to a male variant of the halter tops.
- A Sleeveless, Ribbed White Cotton Undershirt by Booth Moore, Press & Sun-Bulletin, January 13, 2003