Young Blonde Girl With Tan Lines Reveals Her Black And White Striped Sleeveless Tank Top Shirt On The Rocky Shore At The Sea

The term "A-shirt," which is preferred by manufacturers,such as Hanes, is short for "athletic shirt" because it is often worn in sports, such as basketball and track-and-field events. In the United States, it is also known colloquially as a wife beater, Guinea tee, or Dago tee (from guinea and dago, ethnic slurs against Italians). In British English an A-shirt is known as a vest. (compare American usage of "vest".) Another term, used in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, is singlet. In India, it is referred to as Baniyaan, Ganji. In Scots it is a semmit, In Colombia it is known as a busca pleitos meaning trouble seeker, in reference to its usage by violent individuals. In Spain they used to be called camiseta imperio (Imperial t-shirt). In Peru it is sometimes called "bividí" after the BVD brand.
In addition to athletic usage, A-shirts have traditionally been used as undershirts, especially with suits and dress shirts. They are sometimes worn alone without a dress shirt or top shirt during very warm and or humid weather; mainly in North America where the climate is warmer and more humid in the Summer. A-shirts may be worn alone under very casual settings, as lounge wear, and or while completing yardwork or other chores around the home.
The build of an A-shirt is simple: the neck and armholes are often reinforced for durability. One usually has large armholes and neck holes and a neckline that can reach down as far as mid-chest. They are also sometimes made long to make tucking into a pair of pants easier. In almost all cases, they are buttonless, collarless, and pocketless. An A-shirt is designed for a tight fit and made of ribbed cotton or other fiber.
The string vest has fallen from favour in the United Kingdom, but a string semmit as an underclass fashion item was made famous by Rab C. Nesbitt, leading character in the TV sitcom of the same name.