STYLE GUIDE QUESTION (CLARK GABLE DIVISION, NOT THE GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION WING): When gentlemen wear polo or other short-sleeved shirts to work during summer business casual days, is it appropriate to have a visible undershirt? Does it depend on one's level of hirsuteness?
Never. As a corollary, the short-sleeved dress shirt is generally to be avoided, particularly with tie, unless you want to look like a middle school social studies teacher. (Polo-type shirts are fine.)
ReplyDeleteWe refer to the short-sleeved dress shirt with tie as The Sipowicz.
ReplyDeleteThe undershirt should not be visible. Buy better-quality shirts, or if you're wearing the undershirt to cut down on visible sweat, make sure to get one that can't be seen.
ReplyDeleteI used to think "no," but now I do it all the time, so "yes." Why? 0) I assume, generally, that a polo style short-sleeve shirt (not a short sleeve dress shirt, but a short sleeve "jersey" also f/k/a "izod shirt") is acceptable business-casual-wear, so let's not consider objections that have to do with the shirt itself; 1) I noticed lots of other people were allowing their undershirts to be visible; 2) the alternatives are lousy: (a) I hate wearing v-neck undershirts, and often even the v-neck is visible, defeating the purpose; (b) going without an undershirt raises all sorts of problems, such as visible sweat marks (I walk to the train station), and visible chest hair; (c) buttoning the top button can look stupid (and may still not completely hide the undershirt). I do avoid wearing "ordinary, thin, white undershirts" with polo shirts and try to wear a t-shirt that matches or coordinates.
ReplyDeleteSo do we! My brother-in-law wanted a short-sleeved dress shirt for his birthday once, and I wasn't getting it. But then she said, "You know, a Sipowicz," and it all made sense.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chuck. If the choice is t-shirt or hairy patch - always go with the t-shirt. What do I know, though, as a woman it is not something I ever really thought about. I will now spend the day checking out all the guys at the office for t-shirt/ polo shirt combos!
ReplyDeleteI have no experience by which to judge this question; I'm a librarian - our men are pale and hairless like molerats.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure short-sleeve-polo'd Hot Magneto went without visible undershirt in the awesome Argentina sequence of X-Men: First Class, so that is what you should do too, gentlemen, if style is your aim. And if you can manage to look like he did in those pants, do that as well. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOf course undershirt. I think that a polo shirt looks too casual for work without it. There is absolutely nothing wrong (or disgusting) with seeing a triangular patch of a clean white undershirt. There is a lot wrong with seeing a patch of short and curlies crawling up from the buttons or with watching the fabric of the polo shirt cling moistly to a sweaty middle-aged belly.
ReplyDeleteThis, incidentally, also is true of long-sleeved dress shirts worn with an open collar.
Strikes me as an issue of aesthetics rather than propriety, but I think I'm with Chuck. That is, I think it's not inappropriate but only really a good idea if you have some affirmative aesthetic reason for it (like a coordinating color or a disconcerting quantity of chest hair and office mates who aren't into that).
ReplyDeleteI've been wearing v-neck undershirts for years and have never had a problem. It was the perfect solution for me.
ReplyDeleteIs the real question posed by this post "should I buy v-neck undershirts to go business casual?"
ReplyDeleteV-neck undershirts were scratchy and uncomfortable for me till I found a better brand.
ReplyDeleteHere's a radical suggestion that others are free to disagree with: wear an undershirt with a long-sleeve dress shirt, and roll up the sleeves.
ReplyDeleteMarge: You can't wear a short-sleeved shirt with a tie.
ReplyDeleteHomer: [whining] Sipowicz does.
the simple solution to the swath of chest hair is to groom yourselves, you hairy apes.
ReplyDeleteOK, this is sort of embarassing, but: as a single guy and a shlub, I literally paid a woman to take me shopping about 2 months ago and show me how to dress. She has a business doing that. What I ended up with was fitted v-neck shirts of various colors, and over that, either a button-down-the-front shirt -- some short sleeved, some not -- or a polo shirt. And for the long-sleeved shirts, rolling up the sleeves is indeed a thing.
ReplyDeleteRolling up the sleeves of a long-sleeved button down a couple of times is a really sexy look on a guy (especially with a pair of khakis or nice jeans), so the lady you hired knew what she was talking about.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I have a total weakness for the jeans/crisp white dress shirt rolled up sleeves combo. Someone should figure out what Teen Beat poster gave us this predilection.
ReplyDeleteYou have a problem with middle school social studies teachers??? (going back to my former life)
ReplyDeleteHold me; I think I found the answer: http://etsy.me/jnPoKy
ReplyDelete(Related - MY GOD THE PANTS: http://ztams.com/index.php?action=display&ref=2895)
Love that look.
ReplyDeleteI think that's awesome, DonBoy, and by the way, women ask saleswomen to help them pick out their clothes all the time. It's too bad they don't have an Anthropologie for men so you can get all the really good advice for free.
ReplyDeletewait, she has a business doing this? Will she hire me? I LOVE telling people how to dress.
ReplyDeleteI don't care whether other people want to see my chest hair or not. Tshirts are too hotttt! Won't wear them. Sometimes get rid of chest hair, but to please me, not you. Believe it is my right to wear long sleeve dress shirts buttoned down as far as I want. Don't care if any of you do it too. Wish a little more than half of you would also.
ReplyDeleteI think I am a little too young for that Tom Cruise picture to have had such an impact on my life, but I do remember this guy in my freshman level lit class in college that used to wear a pink button down, sleeves rolled up with khakis. I thought he was so hot and stylish that he is burned on my brain. Of course, not his name -- just his look. Ever since then, that style has made me weak in the knees.
ReplyDeletethings I learned by getting engaged to a big nerd with a nerdy yet wishfully sartorial friend: Banana Republic will do this for boys
ReplyDelete<span>Fiancee will rock the polo shirt without undershirt (although sometimes with) in the summer, but his office does not so much do business-y wear or well some of the client facing/sales people do, but he works in tech and tech/design and best as I can tell their dress code is basically anything they want but not gym wear so don't wear sweatpants weird guy in the corner.</span>
ReplyDeleteaw... I just... oh, nevermind.
ReplyDeleteI think he's actually wearing a graduation robe around his waist.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm wondering what Anthro for boys would look like. So much crochet!
ReplyDeleteFrom a style standpoint, I'm in the "Never" camp. Not only does it look better, but with today's dry fit materials, a good quality golf shirt (who plays polo anymore?) wears better without the extra layer.
ReplyDeleteRenee/Watts: I am very glad to learn this is a thing. Once, when asked what my perfect man/type was, my immediate response was, "I don't know what he looks like except that he wears dress shirts and rolls up the sleeves." This answer baffled my college friends. But it was the truth.
ReplyDeleteMy only opinions are about the extremes, which is to say that if you have a furry mat of hair actively trying to crawl out of the placket, or if the sleeves of your undershirt are longer than the sleeves of your actual shirt, then please do the other thing. Between those poles I really have no opinion except as pertains to my own spouse. I have a soft spot for his undershirts, perhaps because it is a summer ritual to steal them to sleep in, and because my favorite summer shirt of his is a white linen guayabera that would look absoutely horrendous sans undershirt. So I guess by and large I'm pro undershirt but sympathetic to complaints about the heat.
ReplyDelete