# What's the function of "wife beater" undershirts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071 "2008-10-29T13:36:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/41 "2008-10-31T15:18:37Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Cooler than a sleeveless undershirt? Or did you wear long-sleeve undershirts in the winter? I don’t think I’ve ever worn a long-sleeve undershirt. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. In colder climates, wearing long-sleeved undershirts can mean the difference between comfort and misery. Same thing goes for longhandle underwear. When I was first married, I learned to sleep in longjohns AND a flannel nightie, because our cruddy apartment didn’t have good heating. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/42 "2008-10-31T15:32:14Z")
I wear sleeveless (sometimes) because I perspire heavily year round. In fact I can pit-soak a dress shirt thru a tee, so sometimes I wear a sleeveless just to be cooler. Almost never will I wear a dress shirt over nothing; it’d have a huge heart-shaped dark splotch inside of 5 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/43 "2008-10-31T15:58:14Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Maybe I live in my own little PC world (too much, I’m sure,) but do people actually go around calling them “wifebeaters?” I haven’t heard the term aloud since the early eighties. I just call them tank tops. Man, where have you been? 😃 I worked at a clothing store a few years ago (women’s clothing) and we got wifebeaters in. We were all lectured that we _can’t go calling them wifebeaters in front of the customers, that is rude!_. Then when we asked what to call them, the manager had no clue for a bit. 😃 She ended up saying to call them “Muscle shirts”. _Every single person_ who came in asking for them would say, “do you have the wifebeaters in yet?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/44 "2008-10-31T17:50:41Z")
I find them lighter and more comfortable under other clothes than a regular t-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/45 "2008-11-02T14:08:52Z")
I’ve frequently heard them called “Guinea Tees” due to their association with the sweaty, hairy chested and adorned with gold chains stereotype/caricature of Italian-Americans, especially those in Brooklyn/Staten Island/New Jersey. > [@zweisamkeit](#): > > She ended up saying to call them “Muscle shirts”. I always though muscle shirts had more of a traditional crew-style neck and were simply a sleeveless tee. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/46 "2008-11-02T20:32:52Z")
WB wearer checking in. I wear them because I like an extra layer of fabric between my nipples and my shirts, especially t-shirts or oxford knit polos, but I hate two layers of fabric over my arms. I also like to wear them just by themselves around the house. Yes, with some kind of pants, smartass. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/47 "2008-11-02T23:32:00Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > I worked at a clothing store a few years ago (women’s clothing) and we got wifebeaters in. We were all lectured that we _can’t go calling them wifebeaters in front of the customers, that is rude!_. Then when we asked what to call them, the manager had no clue for a bit. 😃 She ended up saying to call them “Muscle shirts”. Funny thing is that (and maybe this is just regionalism) where I grew up in the Pacific Northwest we used “tank top” to refer to the ones with the narrow (1" or so) shoulder straps, and “muscle shirt” to refer to what was basically a T-shirt without the sleeves. The first time I heard the term "wifebeater’, it was specifically referring to the “muscle shirt” variety, and I was surprised when I first heard it applied to “tank tops” by people in other parts of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/48 "2008-11-04T07:28:04Z")
[http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=wifebeater&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=wifebeater&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2) WARNING: some images may not be SFW ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/49 "2008-11-04T10:34:41Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > WARNING: some images may not be SFW Wow there’s a website that caters to people that want to buy dirty clothing worn by prisoners. > [@](#): > > My sweaty wifebeater > > Have you ever had your face buried in the armpit of a real black man? Have you ever worn the same slingshot that he worked out in? Now is your fucking chance! Buy it! ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/50 "2008-11-04T10:43:52Z")
> [@Clivas](#): > > I wear them for two reasons. > > 1. because my nipples are always hard and it’s embarrassing to be a guy walking around with pokies all day long. > > 2. I am fairly thin but have a little extra beer weight in my belly and chest. the tightness of the wifebeater smooths it out so my man boobs look less round like man boobs and more flat like a bit of muscle. Deceptive I know and it’s not perfect but it works to an extent. As far as the belly goes, the wifebeater does nothing for that, still have to suck it in. Yup, what he said. Exactly. Are you me? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/51 "2008-11-05T04:56:57Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Wow there’s a website that caters to people that want to buy dirty clothing worn by prisoners. Which site was that? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/52 "2008-11-05T06:37:21Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Which site was that? prisonstudstore dot com (NSFW) which seems to have a rather large showing in a google images search for “wifebeater” (with safe search off) ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/53 "2008-11-05T17:16:44Z")
Used sweaty prison clothing? What is going on here…? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/54 "2008-11-05T17:21:54Z")
> [@kasuo](#): > > Used sweaty prison clothing? What is going on here..? People have been selling used underwear online for years. It’s not that surprising. I just wish I had the balls to set up a business like that. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071/55 "2008-11-05T18:56:11Z")
We call them ‘vests’ here (Ireland) (and what some of you probably call ‘vests’ we call ‘waistcoats’). I would concur with the nipples and chest/ body hair hiding reasons. For this reason my husband should wear one but doesn’t. :o Oh well… : [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-function-of-wife-beater-undershirts/470071.md?page=2)