Wearing undershirts under dress shirts/casual shirts?

[style140]

22 male here. I dont wear dress shirts for work b/c i do not work. But i do have button up shirts for going out that i wear that are stripe shirts that goes with jeans and shoes.

The thing is i have ALWAYS weared wifebeaters under my shirt. Is this wrong? Reason is i read that if it shows it is horrible according to some people. Pretty much i always wear wifebeaters all year round whether its winter or summer under what i wear.

Some people wear t shirts under their shirts. Is that bad? When should you be wearing wifebeaters under a shirt and when you shouldnt? What about t shirts? I always wear jeans by the way and loafers when i wear my button downs with these shirts.

Thanks.

 

[sygyzy]

I don't wear wifebeaters but I always wear an undershirt, preferbly with a low collar so you can't see it even when I am not wearing a tie.

 

[style140]

can you give me a picture of what you mean by an undershirt low collar? How many different types of undershirt are there?

 

[style140]

anyone else have opinions? Is there a "rule" on this?

thanks all.

 

[RedScarf7]

I dont think any rule applies here other then: whatever it is you are wearing under the dress shirt shouldn't in anyway interfere with the proper look of the shirt. Anything that is discreet and works for you is fair game here, me thinks...

 

[grimslade]

What purpose is the wife beater serving?

I almost always wear undershirts, but they're v-neck t-shirts. There is no rule.

 

[keikun13]

I wear just regular cut undershirts when I'm wearing a shirt with a tie and vnecks when I'm not.

 

[Osprey Guy]

I've always preferred to wear undershirts. I find that they help to make me feel cooler in the Summer and warmer in the Winter (not to mention they protect my expensive shirts from perspiration...especially on a warmer day). I used to primarily wear white, v-neck undershirts with a sport shirt and white crew necks when I was wearing a tie (I used to make a point of picking up a couple of the Barney's "house" brand T's whenever I was in New York).

But these days I spend most of my time by far, in casual attire. And over the last few years I've developed what I sometimes refer to as my "signature look"... I always wear a crew neck t-shirt that is in a contrasting or complimentary color to the sport shirt I'm wearing. And I make certain that at least a bit of the colored t-shirt peaks out from under my open shirt collar.

I'm in a never-ending quest for the perfect t-shirt....One that's not too tight in the body (at the end of the day I sleep in my t-shirt and don't like it to be overly constricting), and yet it needs to fit well around the neck with little or no drooping in the collar (This is a harder order to fill than one might think). Along the way I've probably acquired a couple hundred t-shirts in every conceivable color and shade. I keep them (mostly) stacked in piles of blues, reds, yellow, greens...and a whole lot of "various" (Might make for a fun photo...I'll try to remember to take a pic tomorrow).


Dennis

 

[Hengo]

I wonder if the use of t-shirts under shirts is particularly popular in America. I work in Europe, but at a place with numerous nationalities. I have noted that the ones I observe with t-shirts under their shirts tend to be from the US or Canada (not always, but definitely overrepresented). In my view, it looks bad. I would compare it to white socks. I realise that there may be a function to it as someone mentioned above, but then I'd make sure that it is a slim fitting under shirt with a very low cut collar, so that it cannot be seen.
Speaking of nationalities and under shirt habits, I have also noted that the wearing of wifebeaters tend to be popular among south Europeans (again, at my work place). Again, when you can make out the undershirt through the shirt (as you can if you are wearing a slim fitting shirt), I think it looks bad.

 

[tokyodandy]

Originally Posted by style140

The thing is i have ALWAYS weared wifebeaters under my shirt. Is this wrong?
I wear a snug-fitting white T-shirt with a U-neck under my dress shirts. I started doing this the first summer I was in Japan (summer here is very hot and humid). The T-shirt wicks perspiration away from the body and you feel less sticky and sweaty, plus you avoid generating huge sweat patches on your back and under your arms.

However, I found myself wearing them in winter too. You cannot see the neck of the T-shirt but unfortunately with some shirts (especially white shirts made of a light fabric) you can just about discern the sleeves of the T-shirt. On the other hand, many people do this in the Far East so it isn't seen to be a massive faux pas. It might be where you live though.

TD

 

[Mr. Potato]

I wear wifebeaters year round myself. For casual wear, I usually wear my wifebeaters or v-necks under shirts/polos. For work, it's crew neck undershirts unless it's sans tie.

There's really no rule against wearing wifebeaters, but seeing the outline of an undergarment through a shirt is usually not favourable. Sometimes it's just too hot to wear a full t-shirt under your shirt while still trying to prevent overexposure of your manliness (or just too lazy to change in my case). During such occurrences, I always try to wear striped and coloured fabrics to prevent the outline from showing too much.

 

[Golf_Nerd]

There was a similar thread with a poll in May:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=63055

 

[mensimageconsultant]

Originally Posted by grimslade

What purpose is the wife beater serving?

Good question. It's likely for cooling, especially after the proper shirt is removed. Many men probably sleep in wife beaters.

 

[randomax]

I feel wife beaters in general fit more snugly than inners - makes a difference if you're wearing a fitted shirt.

 

[supercarl]

this is a fashion crime in my eyes