Welcome to War on Normal Size , where we highlight interesting trends and stories from around the world of menswear. In today’s column we’re revisiting the white tank top – a decidedly unsexy piece of clothing you’ve definitely slept in more times than you can count. Few items of clothing are as fundamentally uninspiring as the plain old white tank top.
They’re something you sleep in or secretly hope your boyfriend wears under his shirts so you can see an accidental flash of skin when he leans over. Men’s fashion’s mostforward-thinking insiders are currently wearing them casually out in public as outerwear, and they look incredible. Sure, it might not sound sexy, but you have to admit that white tanks in unexpected styling contexts kinda make you go hmm.
I first became aware of this trend last autumn during New York Fashion Week. Between shows I ran into Evan Phillips, a buyer for one of downtown Manhattan’s coolest menswear boutiques.
Evan was wearing, as far as I could tell at first glance, a pretty standard outfit: wide leg khakis, loafers, chocolate brown suede blouson jacket.
Then I looked down. Instead of an oxford shirt or even jumper beneath the jacket he was rocking a basic white tank top. Not a designer tank top or something upscale—just a regular old Hanes brand ribbed cotton tank that you’d find in any drugstore three-pack.
The ensemble was utterly annihilating every other outfit I’d seen all day. It looked modern and minimalist but not stuffy or expensive. The tank provided a stark, crisp contrast to the suede jacket while keeping the whole look slightly casual.
I asked Evan where he got it and he shrugged. “I don’t know man, I’m just wearing tanks all the time,” he replied. “They feel really good.” Later that same day I clocked three separate stylists wearing versions of the same look backstage at fashion shows. One wore his with vintage Levi’s jeans and classic Chuck Taylors. Another had it on under high waisted pleated trousers with designer workout gear.
The final offender? Eddie Borgo, fashion director of Barneys New York, was rocking his with an unstructured linen suit at a dinner following the show. When Eddie told me he got his tank at H&M, I started paying attention.
If you do menswear blogs, magazines, and streetstyle sites the way I do you know exactly what happened next. Models wore tanks under suits at fashion shows from designers who would never traditionally be considered “cool.” Influencers popped up on Instagram wearing tanks in the same story as vintage leather jackets and high fashion trainers. A full-blown tank trend had been born.
Before we go further: When I say tank top what I am specifically talking about is the ribbed cotton classic-American underwear tank. Also sometimes referred to as an “A-shirt” or a “singlet.” I am not talking about tight tight “muscle shirts” with crazy amounts of spandex. Those shirts have their own tortured history in menswear and are not what we’re discussing here.
The irony of this story isn’t lost on me. We’re talking about the most basic, boring piece of menswear clothing there is somehow becoming a thing. But what makes this trend so fascinating is how antithetical it is to what we usually think of when something “becomes a thing.” There are no designer versions being sold at retail for hundreds of dollars.
Stylists aren’t wearing it because some big name blogger told them to wear it. Hell, it’s not even being worn by most guys I see on the street – the majority of people are still sleeping in their tanks instead of wearing them out in public. So where *is* this trend coming from?
The short answer is from really stylish men’s clothes obsessed people who’ve decided the cotton tank is the ultimate blank canvas for mixing high and low menswear pieces. The long answer is that I talked to a bunch of really stylish men’s clothes obsessed people and compiled their thoughts. Read on for the full story.
I will fully admit that I was late to the party on this one. I’ve owned tanks for as long as I can remember, but like most men in the western world I’ve always treated them as underwear, or workout clothes. The idea of intentionally wearing one in public sounded to me like stepping over the line of masculine dressing too far.
It’s kind of like wearing your pyjamas out in public, but try telling that to your friend David who thinks that’s the coolest look around. As someone who’d been sleeping in tanks longer than he cared to admit, Evan’s enthusiasm was all the recommendation I needed. The very next day I wore a basic white tank under olive cargo trousers I’d bought on eBay and an old chambray shirt I’d partially unbuttoned.
The outfit felt cleaner and more unexpected than my typical t-shirt and got me plenty of compliments. It was then I realised just how versatile tanks could really be. Dress them up with a suit and they look appropriately informal.
Throw them under your favourite jacket and they let the real stars of your outfit shine. Pair one with jeans and trainers and it’s suddenly more laidback than a t-shirt without trying too hard. What’s not to love?
This all might sound crazy coming from someone who writes about men’s style for a living but hear me out. The tank is the new white t-shirt. Except it’s actually cooler than your typical white tee thanks to some key differences that make it better suited for today’s highly stylized version of men’s wardrobe building.
First, the shape. Slim but not tight, revealing but not vulgar, masculine without veering into buffoonery. Second, it actually has some history as workwear and vaguely mid-century connotations without being costume-y. “There are no class connotations with a tank top,” one stylist told me. “Whether your grandpa wears them or Kendall Jenner wears them, they wear them the exact same way.
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Everyone wearing them is sort of the point.” “It’s one of the only really gender-specific things you can wear that doesn’t have any ties to class,” added Alex Rodriquez, a designer with deep knowledge of American masculine archetypes. “Guys’ tanks always looked different than women’s tanks. It has this purity to it.” But what about that uber-masculine stereotype of the tank being something dumb jocks wear? Aren’t we scared of that a little bit too? “Honestly I don’t think that stereotype matters anymore,” said Marcus Rivera, stylist whose work has appeared on the pages of several ultra-cutting edge menswear publications.
We live in an age where men’s fashion celebrates the male body in ways that would have been scandalous even twenty years ago. From bow chest tattoos to Instagram models posing naked next to their motorcycles there is less separation than ever between masculine fashion and masculinity itself. Hell, I once met a guy wearing a tank top tucked into his dress trousers.
Tucked. Into. Dress.
Trousers. To me tanks feel like a rejection of fashion trying too hard. They have no padding, no worrying about hidden wrinkles or seams appearing where they shouldn’t.
They’re just plain old cotton letting your body be your body, without worrying about it looking cool doing it. When I asked Eddie Borgo of Barneys New York why he thought tanks were everywhere he replied, “It’s so simple, it lets the other stuff pop.” As it turns out, lots of very stylish people have been thinking about tanks lately. Below are quotes from some of the best-dressed men I know, along with exactly why they’re reaching for tanks over every other basic these days: “Tank tops are kind of the last “gendered” article of clothing that doesn’t imply anything about your background or income,” said Ben Gorham of Carcel. “Anyone can wear a tank top and feel cool in one.
There’s something incredibly modern and democratic about that.” “There’s no padding, no bullshit,” said Jonathan Chen, merchandising director of Downtown.LA. “It’s the true you. It’s also so blank that it works with anything.” When asked about specific brands to look for Jonathan said he prefers Hanes, specifically their Comfort Soft variety. “It has better fabric and rib tension than the others.” “I honestly wear tanks more than any other tops,” said Trevor Lowe, furniture designer with an enormous following on Instagram thanks to his minimal workwear-inspired aesthetic. “They’re cooler than t-shirts in the summer. Period.
They don’t have sleeves so they actually keep you cooler.” “I feel like guys are less intimidated by exposing their upper bodies now,” said Eddie Borgo. “Guys used to be super self conscious about muscle definition and tank tops show off your muscles. But I think guys are a little more chill with themselves now and not worried about trying to look a certain way. Trends will come and go, but tanks are here to stay.” My conversation with Eddie was the last piece of evidence I needed.
If a shirt can make it under Barneys New York’s fashion radar than I need to pay attention. Over the last few months I’ve featured tanks in some of my favourite outfits I’ve put together all summer. Under a classic unlined navy blazer and jeans for a gallery opening.
With some high waisted pleated trousers and loafers for date night. Even by themselves with swim trunks on a weekend trip to the beach. They always received compliments from people wondering what I was wearing underneath that looked just…different.
Yet understated enough that people didn’t realise what was happening. Once you start looking for them you realise how bubbler this trend actually is than I originally gave it credit for. I spotted multiple examples of tanks worn under partially unbuttoned overshirts as a framing device during last month’s menswear presentations.
I’ve seen trend forward retailers featuring tanks worn under blazers in their lookbooks, as well as wildly successful styling on Instagram where guys pair tanks with everything from vintage leather jackets to high fashion nylon shell jackets. Again, trends come and go. Tanks are everywhere and here to stay.
If you’re interested in hopping on the tank trend train I did ask a bunch of stylish men about their personal preferences so you don’t have to. As with anything in menswear, fit is everything. You want a tank that skims your torso, not one that clings to every inch of flesh.
Too baggy and it just looks like you got dressed in the dark. Too tight and you’re wearing a different article of clothing entirely. As far as fit goes, you want to strike the perfect balance.
The fabric should be thick enough that it doesn’t become see-through, but not so heavy that it loses the effortless feel of the shirt. The ideal weight strikes a balance between opacity and bulk. And how does one dress ageless white workhorse beat?
By keeping it WIP – white.
Sure, you’ll see trendier folks branching into heather grey and maybe even navy tanks these days, but white will forever be your safety zone. Black tanks can work in some contexts, but are generally seen as underwear by anyone wearing a tank in public these days.
And finally, they actually have to be clean. With something this low-key there is zero room for off-the-grid stains, stretched out necklines, or thinning material. Once your tanks hit your underwear drawer they should stay there.
Guaranteed. White tanks aren’t for the office (sorry, Nick Wooster) but outside of that you can (and should) really wear them anywhere. Frye boots, suit jackets, ball caps, beach parties; you name it.
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