Shirt Tank Men's Man's Front Buttons Buying Types

There are many types of men's shirts "besides" (in addition to) the ones described in today's podcast. A "tank top," for example, is a shirt that has no sleeves. Instead, there are thin "strips" (narrow pieces) of fabric that go over the man's shoulder and hold the front and back of the shirt onto the man's body.

When the tank top is white and has a very large opening for the neck and arms, it is sometimes called a "wife-beater shirt." This is a very informal and "insulting" (rude) expression. It is based on the "stereotype" (the unfair way that people think about a group of people) of men who wear these shirts. In the U.S., these white tank tops have traditionally been worn by certain types of "laborers" (people who do work with their hands), and this insulting term is used to show negative views of how laborers may behave toward their wives.

A "muscle shirt" is like a form fitting T-shirt or tank top, but the strips that go over the shoulders are wider than those on a regular tank top. The shirt is designed to let the man "show off" (let other people see something that one is proud of) the muscles in his "torso" (upper body). Men who spend a lot of time lifting weights at the gym often wear muscle shirts.

A "Hawaiian shirt" is a loose shirt with buttons down the front and short sleeves. The fabric has bright colors and a large "print" (a repeated design on a piece of fabric) of tropical flowers, "palm trees" (tropical trees), or sailboats.

A "polo" shirt is a short-sleeve shirt that has a collar and just a few buttons at the neck. The buttons don't go all the way down the front of the shirt, but they do need to be undone so that the shirt can be pulled over the man's head.