Undershirt

>Umm.  Here is American men's wear terminology, from the inside out:
>undershirt: the garment nearest the skin, sometimes in the form
>of a T-shirt, sometimes in the form with two shoulder straps
>("tank tops", though that term is also applied to shirts in this
>form).
Just to clarify, for those that are still confused. Nobody actually wears=20
these anymore,  (except my grandfather) at least not where I'm from.=20
(Northwestern U.S.)
They are not like long johns (they have short sleeves or no sleeves and are=
=20
much more light weight). They are not part of the "layered" look either. Th=
at=20
is, it's not just a regular T-shirt or tank top that you would wear under a=
=20
sweater or something to keep you warm.=20
My mom always called them under T- shirts, and they look kind of like that,=
=20
except that (at least the ones I've seen) are always white, and are clearly=
=20
not meant to be seen by the general public. They are underwear (or=20
underpants) for the top half of your body. Most similar to briefs.=20
They are not just for men either. My mom made my sister and I wear them unt=
il=20
we were old enough for bras.
Finally, I read once that they went out of fashion when Marlon Brando did t=
he=20
movie, "A Streetcar Named Desire." He was clearly not wearing an undershirt=
=20
in that film so it became "cool" and "manly" not to wear them.