A sweater vest (known as a ''tank top'', ''sleeveless jumper'', ''sleeveless sweater'', ''sleeveless pullover'' or ''slipover'' in the UK) is an item of knitwear that is similar to a

sweater A sweater (North American English) or pullover, also called a jersey or jumper (British English, Hiberno-English and Australian English),

, but without

sleeve A sleeve (, a word allied to '' slip'', cf. Dutch ) is the part of a garment that covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The sleeve is a characteristic of fashion seen in almost every country and time period, across a myri ...

s, usually with a low-cut neckline. They were popular in the 20th century, particularly in the 1970s in the UK, and are again growing in popularity in the 21st century.

Styles

One of the most common patterns on a sweater vest is argyle. Many newer designs feature a return to popular patterns from past eras. Other variations include designs of a more modern nature, including stripes. Some of the most common of

neckline The neckline is the top edge or edges of a clothing, garment that surrounds the neck, especially from the front view. Neckline also refers to the overall visual line between all the layers of clothing and the neck and Shoulder, shoulders of a per ...

shapes are the V-neck and the crew neck, which is similar to a common T-shirt neckline. Other styles include button front, These are sometimes called a "sleeveless cardigan."

As athletic wear

A sweater vest, white flannel pants, and collared shirt are standard wear for professional

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

ers in the UK, Australia, India and South Africa. The

cable knit Cable knitting is a style of knitting in which textures of crossing layers are achieved by permuting stitches. For example, given four stitches appearing on the needle in the order ', one might cross the first two (in front of or behind) the ne ...

vests often have a contrasting red, blue, or green stripe around the neckline. Before shorts and

polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in British Raj, British India in 1859 and ...

s were introduced in the 1930s,

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

players wore a similar outfit. In the early 20th century,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

ers often wore an argyle pattern tank top with their brogues,

flat cap A flat cap is a rounded cap with a small stiff brim in front, originating in Northern England. The hat is also known in Ireland as a paddy cap; in Scotland as a bunnet; in Wales as a Dai cap; and in the United States as an English cap or Irish ...

s and plus fours. This was a more comfortable and practical alternative to the Norfolk jacket made out of tweed cloth previously worn for outdoor pursuits, as the sleeveless nature of the tank top allowed free movement of the arms in swinging a golf club.

Fashion

Sweater vests are popular among sports fans, particularly those who play

. Those with sports team logos, especially NFL and college teams, are also popular and are frequently worn by American football coaches, most notably

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American politician and retired college football coach who has served as the 67th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Tressel previously was the president ...

, who has been given the nickname "The Sweater Vest" by fans despite the garment's origins at rival

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

References

{{Clothing History of clothing (Western fashion) Sweaters Vests 1970s fashion 1980s fashion 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion