Penny Gaines wrote:

Rosalie B. wrote in :
[snip]
My dad always wore sleeveless undershirts and they had bound edges and
were kind of a loose knit in the middle - semi transparent. Not like
the ones Onslow in "Keeping Up Appearances" wears which appear to be
solid knit throughout. Not as sexy as a 'muscle shirt' which are also

Onslow wears a vest. That is definitely a vest, and definitely a
non-respectable way of wearing a vest.

Well it just looks like an undershirt to me. Not a high class way of
dressing as we know from Mrs. Bucket's reaction, but undershirts and
T-shirts are both worn without anything over them sometimes here.
Haven't you ever seen that coke commercial?

What do you call the garment that Kevin? Sarbo? wears in ?? can't
remember the name of the show now - the male equivalent of Zena. It's
a sleeveless thing which I'd call a vest. Obviously you all wouldn't.

http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/b9174/ is my dad in 1948 with
a regular T shirt on and here is one of me
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/dc5a0/ in the same year. I'm
on the right and I was 10 here, almost 11.

I think what you describe your dad wearing might be called a "string vest"
over he or at least I could describe a string vest in the same way.
Like a net, rather then solid. I couldn't find a picture on the web,
apart from this cartoon:
http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/string_vest.asp

No it wasn't net. I think I know what you mean by a string vest (I
can't think what we call it, but it's not a string vest) and that's
MUCH looser a weave than what I see in my minds eye. It is just that
instead of being a smooth solid knit it had a ribbed pattern to it.

They are very like the garments worn by rappers, except they are white.

The vests are white?

[snip]
I do not remember ever wearing any kind of underwear as a child
(school age to about age 10) except underpants. (Which we call
panties to distinguish them from trousers which we also call pants
sometimes scandalizing our UK friends who think pants are underwear.)
I know I would sometimes wear a plain T-shirt as a top because I have
pictures of me that way.
[snip]

My kids think it is very funny that you yanks can go out wearing a
"vest and pants" and be respectable, whereas over here "vest and pants"
are underwear, and would not be respectable.

Wait until they hear us talking about fanny packs.

grandma Rosalie