Misplaced Pages

Shirt

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.5.135.113 (talk) at 02:04, 23 July 2004 (typo). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 02:04, 23 July 2004 by 24.5.135.113 (talk) (typo)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

A shirt is a piece of clothing for the trunk of the body.

Colloquially, a shirt for women is often called a top, however the term top is less restrictive than the term shirt. (There exist tops which are not shirts.) The term top is not exclusive to women's clothing.

Some common shirt types or synonyms:

Tops which would generally not be called shirts:

  • tube top - a shoulderless, sleeveless "tube" that wraps the torso (not reaching higher than the armpits, staying in place by elasticity, see e.g )
  • halter top - a shoulderless, sleeveless, backless garment, typically for women. It is mechanically analogous to an apron with a string around the back of the neck and across the lower back holding it in place.

Other tops which are not generally referred to as shirts include vests, sweaters, jackets and coats.

Many terms are used to describe and differentiate types of shirts and their construction. The smallest differences may have significance to a cultural or occupational group.

Recently, (late 20th century) it has become common to use shirts to carry messages or advertising. These can be screen printed or embroidered.

For such clothing, including vests, sweaters, jackets, etc. one can disinguish:

  • With regard to covering the shoulders and arms:
    • with no covering of the shoulders or arms - a tube top (not reaching higher than the armpits, staying in place by elasticity, see e.g )
    • with only bands on the shoulders
    • covering the shoulders, but without sleeves
    • with short sleeves
    • with half-long sleeves
    • with long sleeves, may further be distinguished by the cuffs:
  • With regard to level of the lower edge:
    • leaving the belly button area bare (much more common for women than for men)
    • until the waist
    • covering the crotch
    • covering part of the legs (essentially this is a dress; however, a piece of clothing is either perceived as a shirt (worn with trousers) or as a dress (worn by women, and by men just in the special case of cross-dressing).
and levels in between.
  • With regard to opening:
    • vertical opening on the front side, all the way down, with buttons or zipper.
    • left and right front side not separable, put on over the head; with regard to upper front side opening:
      • V-shaped permanent opening on the top of the front side
      • no opening at the upper front side
      • vertical opening on the upper front side with buttons or zipper
  • With regard to the neck:
    • with polo-neck
    • with collar. Furthermore the collar may have buttons at the tips for a "button-down collar".
    • without collar
  • With regard to pockets: how many (if any), where, and with regard to closure: not closable, just a flap, or with a button or zipper.
  • With or without hood

Some combinations are not applicable, of course, e.g. a tube top cannot have a collar.

See also:

Category: