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A sleeveless shirt, singlet or vest, also known as a wife-beater, yankton or tank top (USA), is a shirt manufactured without sleeves, or one whose sleeves have been cut off. Sleeveless shirts are worn by either sex, depending on the style. They are often worn by athletes in sports such as track and field and triathlon. Sleeveless shirts have been popular warm-weather casual wear in the United States since the 1970s,^{[citation needed]} and are regarded as acceptable public casual dress in most warm weather 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 garment that can be worn by either sex. It is often worn under the shirt as underwear, although more colorful bright 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 usually used to refer to the garment, which likewise is an unused term in American English. 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. The tankini – a portmanteau of the words tank top and bikini – is a women's swimming version of the tank top.

Types of sleeveless shirts[link]

Halter top[link]

A woman in a halter top

A halter top is a sleeveless shirt in which a strap goes around the back of the neck, leaving the upper back uncovered. Halter tops are worn mainly by girls and women.

Spaghetti-strapped shirt[link]

A spaghetti-strapped shirt is a tank top with strings or thin material on the shoulders to hold up the shirt. It is thought to have originated in 1920s England, and made fashionable by rich upper class men^{[citation needed]}, but is now worn mainly by girls and young women. Also referred to as a vest top in British English.

Camisole[link]

A camisole is a sleeveless shirt for women, normally extending to the waist. The camisole is usually made of satin, nylon, or cotton.

Tube top[link]

A woman in a tube top

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 and Australia, it is called a "boob tube" (not to be confused with the identical American slang for television set).

T-back shirt[link]

A T-back shirt is a tank top that is much narrower in the back than the front. The style for women varies greatly from those worn by men (primarily weightlifters). Female T-back shirts cover more of the back, are less narrow, and come together higher up the back, in general. Male shirts are designed to expose the shoulder blades, useful for men at the gym.

A-shirt[link]

A man wearing an A-shirt

Woman in a more formal tank top

The term "A-shirt," which is preferred by manufacturers, such as Hanes, is short for "athletic shirt" because it is often worn in sports, such as basketball and track-and-field events. In the United States, it is also known colloquially as a wife beater, Guinea tee, or Dago tee (from guinea and dago, ethnic slurs against Italians).^{[citation needed]} In British English an A-shirt is known as a vest.^[1] (compare American usage of "vest".) Another term, used in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, is singlet. In India, it is referred to as Baniyaan, Ganji. In Scots it is a semmit,^[2] In Colombia it is known as a busca pleitos meaning trouble seeker, in reference to its usage by violent individuals.^{[citation needed]} In Spain they used to be called camiseta imperio (Imperial t-shirt). In Peru it is sometimes called "bividí" after the BVD brand.

In addition to athletic usage, A-shirts have traditionally been used as undershirts, especially with suits and dress shirts. They are sometimes worn alone without a dress shirt or top shirt during very warm and or humid weather; mainly in North America where the climate is warmer and more humid in the Summer. A-shirts may be worn alone under very casual settings, as lounge wear, and or while completing yardwork or other chores around the home.

The build of an A-shirt is simple: the neck and armholes are often reinforced for durability. One usually has large armholes and neck holes and a neckline that can reach down as far as mid-chest. They are also sometimes made long to make tucking into a pair of pants easier. In almost all cases, they are buttonless, collarless, and pocketless. An A-shirt is designed for a tight fit and made of ribbed cotton or other fiber.

The string vest has fallen from favour in the United Kingdom,^[3][4] but a string semmit as an underclass fashion item was made famous by Rab C. Nesbitt, leading character in the TV sitcom of the same name.^[5]

String Tank Top[link]

In places like Venice Beach, Miami Beach bodybuilders used to take regular t-shirts and rip them by hand, forming improvised tank tops. The result was a shirt that allowed them to watch their muscles in the mirror as they worked out and provided plenty of unrestricted freedom of movement.

Sleeveless T-shirt[link]

A sleeveless T-shirt, also called a muscle shirt and colloquially called a shooter shirt by basketball players, is the same design as a T-shirt, but without sleeves. They are primarily worn by men since the large open sleeve holes would expose the female breast under certain circumstances. They are often worn for/during athletic activities. They were quite popular in the 1980s and were stereotypically associated with surfers and body-builders (hence the name "muscle" shirt) who often bore the logo of their gyms on these shirts. Also called "Tenement T-shirt".

Sports tops[link]

Specialized tank top styled shirts are the main focal point for many sports uniforms and jerseys. Basketball uniforms almost always consist of a tank top style jersey with the team logo and player numbers. Track teams typically use a tank top shirt, tight fitting for less drag on the runner and made of moisture evaporating material, they come in many different lengths from full length to full midriff showing. Woman's volleyball and field hockey teams sometimes use tank styled tops in warm climates. Tank tops are the main design of the top for cheerleading uniforms. They are usually made out of polyester and worn simply over a bra, in a snug fitting, waist length style. More modern styles tend to utilize a sport fabric blend keeping the wearing cooler. These tops, known as shell tops, can also be custom ordered for midriff/crop top style, and can even be worn over a long sleeve top in cool weather.

Gallery[link]

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  Tye dyed sleeveless shirt.

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  Sports undershirt.

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  Various styles of halterneck attire.

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  Andrea Petkovic wearing a sleeveless shirt.

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  Man wearing an A-shirt, usually worn simple in the festival periods

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  Woman wearing a spaghetti top.

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  Man wearing a tank top.

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  A woman wearing a yellow tank top over a white undershirt.

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  A-shirt undershirt.

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  Woman wearing a tube top.

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  A man in a ribbed tank-top.

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  Woman in a more formally-laced tube top.

References[link]