Muscle Shirt Fashion For Men

A muscle shirt is a type of sleeveless T-shirt that first became popular in the 1960s. As the name implies, the goal of the muscle shirt is to showcase the physique of especially the male body. To this end, the muscle shirt clings closely to the body and has no sleeves.

The neckline of the muscle shirt was and still is very similar in make to the standard T-shirt. The difference was mainly in how the shirt was worn. A muscle shirt needed to be tight to feature the body’s pectoral muscles, and sleeveless to feature the biceps and triceps. The style was initially mostly exclusive to men. In the early 1980s, the muscle shirt became popular for women, not so much to showcase the muscles but to accentuate feminine curves.

In the 1980s, men, especially those who listened to heavy metal, new wave or punk rock, often preferred a ripped sleeve look. Many took the regular T-shirt, and cut or ripped off the sleeves. This resulted in a homemade muscle shirt. As in the 1950s, men now might simply roll up the sleeves of a T-shirt to create the muscle shirt look

Although the initial muscle shirt was made with cotton, you can find muscle shirts in spandex as well. This style became popular for men in the mid 1990s. Also, trends in the late 90s often referred to any closely fitting shirt as a muscle shirt, or reassigned the name muscle shirt to tight fitting tank tops. When women starting baring their abdomens with short shirts, some muscle shirts for men had were cropped also. This trend was popular among men who wanted to show off their six-pack abs, or a muscle bound stomach.

The muscle shirt is really intended for people with muscles to showcase. It is not considered fashionable to wear a muscle shirt that is too loose, or to wear one when your muscles need a little work. Nevertheless, in warm weather, many turn to the muscle shirt that fits loosely merely because it is more comfortable. Some women even buy extra large men’s muscle shirts and wear them as sleep shirts.

Instead of the simple white T-shirt, the muscle shirt can come in a variety of colors and many have screened printing in various designs. When message T-shirts became popular in the 2000s, muscle shirts bearing messages were made as well. You can find a wide range of muscle shirt colors, patterns and designs, for relatively little expense.