white dress shirt with or without undershirt?

[zack.deqo]

Hi guys,

In spring I will have a wedding to attend. I will be wearing a white dress shirt and most likely in some point I will be ditching my suit. I wanted to ask what kind of undershirts do you wear if any. I tend to sweat a lot so I would prefer to have some layer there to prevent the shirt to get soaked with my sweat.

so do you have any recommendations what kind of undershirts to wear, or should I just have an extra white dress shirt with me to change if needed?

 

[MrBorland]

Wear a white undershirt. Go to Target or Walmart and pick up a multi-pak of Hanes or Fruit of the Looms. If you want nicer ones, check out Ribbed Tee.

It's my personal opinion that men should, in general, always wear an undershirt. And the collar of the undershirt shouldn't be seen when wearing an open collar, so rather than a crew neck, the undershirt should have a v-neck.

I also think a gentleman should keep his jacket on at wedding receptions .

Enjoy the wedding

 

[kazusano]

I have to agree with MrBorland on both accounts. Wear an undershirt under a dress shirt. Keep your jacket on when wearing the suit.

I would add some additional suggestions. If you are wearing a shirt where you will be keeping the top button buttoned (i.e., you are wearing a tie or a tuxedo and bowtie at the wedding), I would wear a crew neck undershirt. I have seen men wearing a V-neck undershirt with the top button buttoned, and many times you can see the “V” of the V-neck through shirt material, which I find distasteful. (And while I believe you should keep your jacket on, I relax the rules late at night about seeing the undershirt so that you can take off your tie or your bowtie and unbutton the shirt for comfort. But this is around 1am as the party is winding down!)

If, however, you will be wearing that shirt with the top button unbuttoned (e.g., it’s a more casual wedding, and no one is wearing either a tie or a bowtie), I also agree with Mr. Borland that the collar of the undershirt should not be seen, so in this instance, wear a V-neck undershirt instead.

Also, I think the reason to wear an undershirt is to prevent as much sweat as possible from soaking through and being visible like this https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-ph...lot-looking-surprice-spot-shirt-image34098753. An undershirt will prevent a lot of the underarm sweat from showing, as long as it has sleeves. Therefore, I would never wear a sleeveless undershirt like this https://www.jcpenney.com/p/hanes-co...t=na&cjevent=0d4212194a7911e980c000930a1c0e0b

Finally, if you know that you are a very heavy sweat-er, bringing along fresh replacement shirts is not a bad idea. Oh, and you can pick up Hanes undershirts from Amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005SN5I74/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Have fun!

 

[MrBorland]

If you are wearing a shirt where you will be keeping the top button buttoned (i.e., you are wearing a tie or a tuxedo and bowtie at the wedding), I would wear a crew neck undershirt...If, however, you will be wearing that shirt with the top button unbuttoned...wear a V-neck undershirt

Good catch, and I'd completely agree. Ideally, you'd have crew- and v-necks in your drawer.

 

[breakaway01]

Wear a white undershirt.

something you can do to reduce the visibility of an undershirt under a white shirt is to pick an undershirt color closer in darkness to your own skin color. For most people that means a non-white undershirt. I personally like the light grey Uniqlo undershirts.

 

[kazusano]

something you can do to reduce the visibility of an undershirt under a white shirt is to pick an undershirt color closer in darkness to your own skin color. For most people that means a non-white undershirt. I personally like the light grey Uniqlo undershirts.

Interestingly (and sorry to the original poster for giving conflicting advice), I would prefer the opposite. Assuming that you are wearing a white shirt,j I would wear a white undershirt. I think that this makes the white shirt look more white because it helps to block out your skin tone.

And actually, for the same reason, I tend to wear white undershirts under all color dress shirts because it prevents my skin tone from changing the color of the shirt.

Sorry Zack. Maybe someone else will weigh in and break the tie!

 

[MrBorland]

Maybe someone else will weigh in and break the tie!

No need to break the tie, since I already voted “white”

Wear a white undershirt

 

[MrBorland]

double tap

 

[breakaway01]

Interestingly (and sorry to the original poster for giving conflicting advice), I would prefer the opposite. Assuming that you are wearing a white shirt,j I would wear a white undershirt. I think that this makes the white shirt look more white because it helps to block out your skin tone.

And actually, for the same reason, I tend to wear white undershirts under all color dress shirts because it prevents my skin tone from changing the color of the shirt.

Have you tried wearing an undershirt closer to your skin tone? You don't see the transition between your skin and the undershirt nearly as easily as you can see the transition between a white undershirt and your skin -- unless you have very fair skin, in which case maybe it doesn't matter. I can wear a light grey V-neck undershirt under a white shirt + tie and you can't see the "V" as you apparently can with a white shirt.

 

[NnamAries]

An undershirt should do really

 

[johng70]

So, yes to undershirt. But, if you're wearing a tie, wear a crewneck undershirt. Most v-neck undershirts you really see the v-neck - it's quite noticeable with your shirt all buttoned up. So, I prefer a crew neck with a tie. If you're going to ditch the tie during later hours you're off the traditional fashion page and no longer care if the undershirt is showing. But, for the time when you do have the tie the crewneck will look better than v-neck.

In this situation the only real transition spot is the sleeves. Yes, white undershirts are more noticeable than skin colored but it's not distracting - 99% of people have that. I wouldn't bother buying a darker undershirt for that reason. For what it's worth, I wear some U-neck undershirts with casual summer wear and have them in grey because it's less noticeable than white. But, I just don't bother with the darker when I'm in a suit. And, by the way, for the same reason I wouldn't wear a v-neck with my tie, I wouldn't wear the u-neck either. Crewneck looks better because the shirt collar/tie hide it.

 

[kazusano]

Have you tried wearing an undershirt closer to your skin tone? You don't see the transition between your skin and the undershirt nearly as easily as you can see the transition between a white undershirt and your skin -- unless you have very fair skin, in which case maybe it doesn't matter. I can wear a light grey V-neck undershirt under a white shirt + tie and you can't see the "V" as you apparently can with a white shirt.

Hmmm. Now you have me intrigued. Although I agree with johng70 (the next comment after this one to which I am replying) that the transition at the sleeves happens to everyone so that I really don't see it anymore, getting rid of even that would be nice. I will have to try a light grey T-shirt and report back!