# See-through and non-see-through shirts



## Dimitri (Mar 30, 2012)

I used to think this is a matter of quality, but I've seen RL shirts which are see-through, and I've got cheaper than cheap shirts that are not see-through.

Is this a matter of what season the shirt is intended for (in which case, would I have trouble finding non-see-through shirts in the summer) or is it just random?

The problem is, sometimes it's hard to tell. If you put both types against a source of light, you'll be able to see through the both. You can see the difference if you have the thick and thin one and you look through one and then the other, but if I go to a shop to buy the shirt it can be hard sometimes to tell whether this shirt I'm looking at will become transparent once I go into the sun, because I don't have a thick shirt to compare it with.


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## Alexander Kabbaz (Jan 9, 2003)

Dimitri said:


> I used to think this is a matter of quality, but I've seen RL shirts which are see-through, and I've got cheaper than cheap shirts that are not see-through.
> 
> Is this a matter of what season the shirt is intended for (in which case, would I have trouble finding non-see-through shirts in the summer) or is it just random?
> 
> The problem is, sometimes it's hard to tell. If you put both types against a source of light, you'll be able to see through the both. You can see the difference if you have the thick and thin one and you look through one and then the other, but if I go to a shop to buy the shirt it can be hard sometimes to tell whether this shirt I'm looking at will become transparent once I go into the sun, because I don't have a thick shirt to compare it with.


For broadcloth/poplin weaves, generally the higher the yarn number, the thinner the cloth, and the more expensive the shirt. The same generally applies to voiles. Although oxfords and basket weaves have similar traits, there are a huge variety of weaves some of which are less opaque than others.


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## sqroot3 (Jun 13, 2012)

when wearing a shirt with see-through fabric, is it preferable to wear an undershirt or not to wear an undershirt?


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## Dimitri (Mar 30, 2012)

This is really a ridiculous problem, but it seems impossible to tell whether a shirt is see through or not unless you have two side by side, one thick and the other thin.

I've tried putting my finger behind the fabric and you can see it through both. I can't think of another way to tell whether the shirt is thick enough when you have only the one shirt you're considering buying, because if you're in certain kinds of lighting a see through shirt isn't see through. So how do I know??!!


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## Alexander Kabbaz (Jan 9, 2003)

sqroot3 said:


> when wearing a shirt with see-through fabric, is it preferable to wear an undershirt or not to wear an undershirt?


Personal preference. 
For myself, I never wear an undershirt unless I am skiing.



Dimitri said:


> This is really a ridiculous problem, but it seems impossible to tell whether a shirt is see through or not unless you have two side by side, one thick and the other thin.
> 
> I've tried putting my finger behind the fabric and you can see it through both. I can't think of another way to tell whether the shirt is thick enough when you have only the one shirt you're considering buying, because if you're in certain kinds of lighting a see through shirt isn't see through. So how do I know??!!


Asked and answered.


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

*Cut the Gordian Knot...*

Try them on is the store and look in the mirror.

If the shirt if a bit sheer, wear an oatmeal colored t-shirt.


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## Oldsarge (Feb 20, 2011)

Alexander Kabbaz said:


> Personal preference. For myself, I never wear an undershirt unless I am skiing.


 Or at least some sort of activity that is both sweaty and done in cold weather. Undershirts are overrated.


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## Tilton (Nov 27, 2011)

Alexander Kabbaz said:


> Personal preference.
> For myself, I never wear an undershirt unless I am skiing.


And I should hope not a cotton undershirt then!

For me, however, I have far too much chest/torso hair to go undershirtless with certain shirts. If I can (say, with a small gingham check where it is less noticeable) I do, however, with most every white shirt I own demands an undershirt so I do not look like a gorilla in a suit.


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## wrwhiteknight (Mar 20, 2012)

Dimitri said:


> I used to think this is a matter of quality...Is this a matter of what season the shirt is intended for...The problem is, sometimes it's hard to tell.


I don't understand WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I haven't heard it stated yet. I understand that you are having trouble telling how a shirt will 'perform' once you own it and wear it. What is your goal? Why do you care that you cannot tell if a shirt will be see-through? You are not tick-tack-toeing this discussion clearly enough for me....


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## Dimitri (Mar 30, 2012)

wrwhiteknight said:


> I don't understand WHAT THE PROBLEM IS. I haven't heard it stated yet. I understand that you are having trouble telling how a shirt will 'perform' once you own it and wear it. What is your goal? Why do you care that you cannot tell if a shirt will be see-through? You are not tick-tack-toeing this discussion clearly enough for me....


The problem is that I want to buy a non see through shirt, but I can't tell when I'm in the store whether the shirt is see through or not.

In certain lights a see through shirt is opaque. The only way I see by which to tell is if you have a shirt you know is non see through and you can compare the shirt you're buying to it against a source of light to see how transparent it is (you will see the source of light even through the non see through shirt, but less so, so you need the comparison to tell).


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## wrwhiteknight (Mar 20, 2012)

Ok. I agree with others above then, that oxford clothe may be good for you. Also, darker shades of any variety of course will have less of a tendency to give people a peek.


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## 14395 (Mar 10, 2004)

Dimitri said:


> The problem is that I want to buy a non see through shirt, but I can't tell when I'm in the store whether the shirt is see through or not.
> 
> In certain lights a see through shirt is opaque. The only way I see by which to tell is if you have a shirt you know is non see through and you can compare the shirt you're buying to it against a source of light to see how transparent it is (you will see the source of light even through the non see through shirt, but less so, so *you need the comparison to tell).*




If you need a comparison to tell, why not wear or bring a shirt with the opaqueness
you desire to the store?


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## Dimitri (Mar 30, 2012)

EP said:


> [/B]
> 
> If you need a comparison to tell, why not wear or bring a shirt with the opaqueness
> you desire to the store?


Yeah, that's what I was planning on, but I've figured it out now: The way to tell is that the light has to be coming from behind the shirt, rather than falling onto the shirt directly.

So if you're trying on a shirt you're considering buying, you have to put your arm between yourself and a source of light and you'll see how transparent the sleeve of the shirt is - even the transparent shirt I have isn't transparent when you're looking at it from the same direction that the light is falling onto it (though possibly there are shirts that are thin enough to be transparent even then).

Does anyone know whether shirt makers put out thicker shirts during the winter or does it not vary?


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## jankdc (Jul 7, 2012)

I was in Jos Bank Friday and I tried on a broadcloth (traveler) shirt. Unfortunately my tattoos could be seen through it. They had some pinpoint shirts, but not in the tailored fit. They said that they should get some of them in the fall. I'll try them again then. If you find do find white shirts that aren't see through, please post them here. Someone had mentioned BB, so I'll try them this week.


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## Alexander Kabbaz (Jan 9, 2003)

_


ROFLMFAO said:



The way to tell is that the light has to be coming from behind the shirt, rather than falling onto the shirt directly. So if you're trying on a shirt you're considering buying, you have to put your arm between yourself and a source of light and you'll see how transparent the sleeve of the shirt is - even the transparent shirt I have isn't transparent when you're looking at it from the same direction that the light is falling onto it (though possibly there are shirts that are thin enough to be transparent even then).

Click to expand...

_Not to derail the thread, but does anyone know the abbreviation for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?


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## upthewazzu (Nov 3, 2011)

Alexander Kabbaz said:


> Not to derail the thread, but does anyone know the abbreviation for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?


CDO

..


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## jankdc (Jul 7, 2012)

Today I went to a Sears with a Land's End store in it and Brooks Brothers. I tried the pinpoint and supima oxford at Land's End and the Pinpoint no iron at Brooks Brothers. These were all white shirts. None of them hid the tribal tattoo on my upper arm. Fortunately, an undershirt can cover it. All of them did ok to good on the lighter tattoos on my forearms, with the Land's End pinpoint being the worst and the BB being the best. Sears didn't have my size in the Land's End. While BB had my size, I was not ready to plunk $90 on a shirt yet.


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## cmacey (May 3, 2009)

Dimitri said:


> I used to think this is a matter of quality, but I've seen RL shirts which are see-through, and I've got cheaper than cheap shirts that are not see-through.
> 
> Is this a matter of what season the shirt is intended for (in which case, would I have trouble finding non-see-through shirts in the summer) or is it just random?
> 
> The problem is, sometimes it's hard to tell. If you put both types against a source of light, you'll be able to see through the both. You can see the difference if you have the thick and thin one and you look through one and then the other, but if I go to a shop to buy the shirt it can be hard sometimes to tell whether this shirt I'm looking at will become transparent once I go into the sun, because I don't have a thick shirt to compare it with.


Always wear a "T" shirt, IMHO - even in 140 degree weather, I wore/wear a "T" shirt; but, that's me...for you, do what makes you feel good.


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## Topsider (Jul 9, 2005)

Alexander Kabbaz said:


> I never wear an undershirt unless I am skiing.


If I could make my own shirts, I wouldn't worry about pit stains, either.


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## BluePincord (May 14, 2012)

sqroot3 said:


> when wearing a shirt with see-through fabric, is it preferable to wear an undershirt or not to wear an undershirt?


When wearing a shirt, it is preferable to wear an undershirt.


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## BluePincord (May 14, 2012)

BluePincord said:


> When wearing a shirt, it is preferable to wear an undershirt.


The above bears repeating. There is very little that looks worse than a man in a dress shirt with no undershirt on.

It just looks dreadful.


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## Alexander Kabbaz (Jan 9, 2003)

BluePincord said:


> The above bears repeating. There is very little that looks worse than a man in a dress shirt with no undershirt on.
> 
> It just looks dreadful.


With all due respect kind sir, I beg to differ.


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## Wales (Jun 9, 2012)

I agree with Mr. Kabbaz. Sweat stains are unsightly, but not all of us produce them, and for those fortunate enough not to *need* an undershirt, it is a cleaner look not seeing the tee shirt outline.


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## BluePincord (May 14, 2012)

Alexander Kabbaz said:


> With all due respect kind sir, I beg to differ.


Due respect to you as well...we shall amicably disagree.


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## BluePincord (May 14, 2012)

Wales said:


> I agree with Mr. Kabbaz. Sweat stains are unsightly, but not all of us produce them, and for those fortunate enough not to *need* an undershirt, it is a cleaner look not seeing the tee shirt outline.


But sweat stains are actually just a small reason to wear an undershirt, and so long as your shirts do not have them, they have no bearing on the issue.

The reasons for men to wear undershirts have everything to do with aesthetics. I can assure that no one wants to see chest hair poking out from under the placket of your shirt. Nor the silhouette of hair in your armpits. Nor the dark outline formed by the hair on your chest seen beneath your shirt.

And I won't begin to go into what back hair looks like on a clean white shirt when you begin to sweat.

You should know that there are a great number of people just like me who instantly form a poor impression of someone in a business setting with no undershirt.

Right, wrong, or indifferent, this is simply the way it is.


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## Wales (Jun 9, 2012)

I agree that it would be quite terrible to see chest, armpit or back hair through one's shirts. However, mine reveal none of these as they are made of opaque fabric. I'm not sure one way is right or wrong - depends on the person and shirt material.


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## jankdc (Jul 7, 2012)

Wales said:


> I agree that it would be quite terrible to see chest, armpit or back hair through one's shirts. However, mine reveal none of these as they are made of opaque fabric. I'm not sure one way is right or wrong - depends on the person and shirt material.


What shirts do you use?


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## Dimitri (Mar 30, 2012)

jankdc said:


> Today I went to a Sears with a Land's End store in it and Brooks Brothers. I tried the pinpoint and supima oxford at Land's End and the Pinpoint no iron at Brooks Brothers. These were all white shirts. None of them hid the tribal tattoo on my upper arm. Fortunately, an undershirt can cover it. All of them did ok to good on the lighter tattoos on my forearms, with the Land's End pinpoint being the worst and the BB being the best. Sears didn't have my size in the Land's End. While BB had my size, I was not ready to plunk $90 on a shirt yet.


I've been running around town, and it seems that opaque shirts are quite rare (though the selection in my town is dreadful). I've two opaque shirts - one is a RL I bought off a fella on AAAC and another is a complete cheapo that I bought from a local store.

I wonder whether the reason it is so unreasonably difficult to find an opaque shirt isn't maybe that it's summer, and maybe the manufacturers roll out thicker shirts in the fall/winter.



jankdc said:


> What shirts do you use?


I'd like to know that, too.


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## 14395 (Mar 10, 2004)

Shirts made out of oxford, royal oxford and the many varieties of twill cloth will be relatively opaque. Broadcloth/poplin shirts will be relatively less opaque.

There should be no difference in fabric opaqueness in quality dress shirts
sold throughout the year other than the fact that you may find flannel
shirts more easily in winter and voile and linen shirts more easily in summer.


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)

BluePincord said:


> The reasons for men to wear undershirts have everything to do with aesthetics. I can assure that no one wants to see chest hair poking out from under the placket of your shirt. Nor the silhouette of hair in your armpits. Nor the dark outline formed by the hair on your chest seen beneath your shirt.


I couldn't agree with this more. It is not always necessary to wear an undershirt, but it is terrible to see people in see-through white shirts with the front turning pink-ish as the flesh underneath shows through. It looks sloppy and declasse. A white shirt should be crisp and white. Depending on the fabric it may or may not be necessary to wear an undershirt to achieve this. But no other look is acceptable (IMO, of course).


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## Mox (May 30, 2012)

BluePincord said:


> I can assure that no one wants to see chest hair poking out from under the placket of your shirt.
> Nor the dark outline formed by the hair on your chest seen beneath your shirt.


These are dependent upon certain types of chest hair that not everyone deals with, as well as the shirt material.


> Nor the silhouette of hair in your armpits.
> And I won't begin to go into what back hair looks like on a clean white shirt when you begin to sweat.


These are negated by wearing a jacket.

They all have similar bearing as sweat stains.

It seems to me that an undershirt worn in the correct manner and in the correct circumstances has benefits, but there are some drawbacks to consider in certain situations.

It also seems to me that forgoing an undershirt in the correct manner and in the correct circumstances has benefits, but there are some drawbacks to consider in certain situations.

Pick your poison, circumstances allowing.


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## serene (Oct 27, 2009)

This is a very important question asked: some fabrics are see through and some are not, and how would one rate them? Individual preferences apart, I wonder why such a question is not asked more often. Translucent fabrics often are very expensive and fine with staple fiber and often engineered with innovative skill. It gives a certain depth to the shirt like a mirror that deflects light. Of course there has to be an undershirt, otherwise it looks less formal (to use an expression with out value judgement).

Especially with linen, the shirt looks attractive, if in white, light beige or cream colours; if there is a certain degree of transparency. Same could be said of silk, except for gross grain. I would like to know how other members feel when in a thin fabric.


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## jankdc (Jul 7, 2012)

I don't think that pinpoints cloth work well in coverage of tattoos. I just a Paul Frederick pinpoint that that shows through. I'm thinking that a white herrinbone or twill is the next type of shirt to look at. Of course I'll need to wait until the fall before they show up in the stores.


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