RibbedTee Undershirts – Blog

A reader on Men.Style.com asks Glenn the Style guy this question about what kind of undershirt to wear:

Q: I recently graduated from college, am entering the professional workforce, and can’t figure out which undershirt is appropriate with a suit—a wife-beater [a-shirt] or a regular variety. I live in Florida, and it’s hot; therefore, I like the feel of a wife-beater. But is it inappropriate to have it show through a white dress shirt?

A: One advantage of wearing an undershirt is that it absorbs perspiration, and the old spouse abuser doesn’t catch any underarm drip. I think you should wear a regular or V-neck undershirt or nada, no? In la vida loca de Florida, tank tops are outerwear.

Glen, we think that’s great advice {considering that question was asked back in 2006 when RibbedTee undershirts didn’t exist}.

Since our undershirts are made of the same light, cool fitted ribbed cotton that a-shirts (aka “wifebeaters”) are made of AND they have sleeves to provide underarm protection and will absorb perspiration, your readers (and everyone else) can get both of these benefits in one RibbedTee undershirt. One additional benefit of our undershirts is that we’ve specially designed the collar, sleeve, and bottom trims so they don’t show through your outerwear. They’re so versatile, you can wear them for almost any occasion.

So next time a reader asks you a question about what type of undershirt they should wear, be sure tell them about RibbedTee undershirts!

Here’s a little trivia question. Where did the undershirt originate from?

For those inquiring minds, interestingly enough, the origins (in the U.S.) of the undershirt start with the t-shirt and seem to date back to the early 1900′s during World War I. Our friendly neighborhood Wikipedia definition tells us this:

Most research mentions this possibility that the idea of the T-shirt came to the United States during World War I when US soldiers noticed the light cotton undershirts European soldiers were using while the US soldiers were sweating in their wool uniforms. Since they were so much more comfortable they quickly became popular among the Americans, and because of their design they got the name T-shirt. Other experts credit the U.S. Navy’s “light undershirt” from 1913, described with “elastic collarette on the neck opening, called “crew neck”.

Dang, now it’s got us wondering where “v-necks” came from….

During World War II the T-shirt had become standard issue underwear in both the U.S. Army and the Navy. Although the T-shirt was formally underwear, soldiers often used it without a shirt covering it while doing heavy labor or while stationed in locations with a hot climate, just like their former underwear. As a result, the public was frequently exposed to pictures of members of the armed forces wearing pants and a T-shirt.

Well thanks Wikipedia. We really appreciate the information! It’s just too bad those folks didn’t have RibbedTee undershirts back then.