SHOULD YOU WEAR AN UNDERSHIRT OR NOT?

SHOULD YOU WEAR AN UNDERSHIRT OR NOT?

Now, you may wonder whether you should wear an undershirt at all, and I think that depends on several factors. There is no right or wrong answer here and it is simply a matter of personal preference.

Pros:

If you sweat profusely like a pig so that your jackets show it, wearing an undershirt will help you.

With stiff fronted evening shirts for black tie and white, undershirts can help avoid chafed skin, and it is invisible underneath the bib shirt front.

If you are always cold and you’d like an extra layer of cloth to stay warmer, an undershirt will help.

Undershirts can keep ample chest hair from poking through the surface of the shirt.

Without an undershirt, your dress shirts, will inevitably get deodorant stains. Although you can remove those stains, it is less convenient than wearing an undershirt.

Well cut undershirts, are not visible in the collar area even if you wear your top two shirt buttons unbuttoned.

Cons:

In terms of comfort, not wearing an undershirt should reduce the feeling of constriction that can come with wearing multiple, similarly shaped layers.

Furthermore, the extra layer of cloth is usually undesirable in the summer, and an undershirt will show clearly through an open-weave shirt regardless of color.

Cold in the winter? A heavy weight shirt fabric is an excellent alternative to adding an undershirt layer.

Proponents of undershirts sometimes argue that it is more hygienic to wear undershirts, however, if you shower regularly and wash your dress shirts after they are worn, you should have no problem.

If you treat your shirts well then they should last for a long time.  There is little evidence that an undershirt will prolong the life of one’s dress shirt.

Historically, elegant men did not wear an additional undergarment under their shirts. And even today many elegant men prefer not to wear undershirts underneath their dress shirts but again, this is just their personal preference.