A Field Guide to Vests: Singlet to Base Layer

Sleeveless, crew neck, V-neck, ribbed, waffle, merino, string. What every type of vest is actually for, which one goes under a suit, and what to buy first.

By Keith · 21 July 2026 · 3 min read

Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend. More on how this works.

Once a man decides to wear a vest, he is confronted by a shelf offering seven versions of the same idea with no explanation attached. Ribbed or plain, sleeves or none, crew or V, cotton or wool, and one item that appears to be a fishing net. Here is the ladder, sorted.

The sleeveless vest (the singlet, the athletic vest)

The classic. Cut wide at the shoulder or narrow at the strap, no sleeves, and the coolest option in hot weather because it leaves the arm and armpit completely open.

Best for: summer, working outdoors, wearing under an open shirt, sleeping in, and anything where heat is the enemy. Its limitation is the one that matters for office life, because it does not sit under the arm and therefore does not protect a shirt where a shirt most needs protecting. ribbed cotton sleeveless vest

The short sleeved crew neck (the workhorse)

Short sleeves, round neck, fine jersey. This is the undershirt that belongs under a business shirt, because the sleeve covers the underarm and stops sweat and deodorant ever reaching the shirt.

Best for: work, suits, cold offices, any shirt you paid over fifty euro for. If you buy one vest in your life, buy this. The Undershirt Under a Dress Shirt: Six Rules

The V-neck

Identical to the crew neck except at the throat, where the V drops below the level of an open collar and stays out of sight. Worth owning if you wear shirts with the top button open, which is most men most days.

The deep V is the same idea taken further, for open collars and for anyone who has ever been betrayed by a neckline appearing in a photograph. V-neck undershirt

Ribbed versus plain jersey

Not a style question, a fabric one. Rib knit has natural vertical stretch and recovery, so it hugs the body, holds its shape for years and breathes well; it is the traditional European vest and it is excellent. Fine plain jersey is smoother and flatter, which makes it the better choice under a close-fitting shirt where you want no texture showing at all.

Own both, use rib for daily life and jersey for tailoring. fine rib cotton vest Five Briefs Worth the Money

The merino base layer

Wool, fine gauge, sleeveless or long sleeved. The winter specialist and the best fabric in this category by some distance: warm when damp, moisture moving, odour resistant across several days of wear, and thin enough to vanish under a shirt.

Best for: winter, travel, cold offices, matches, hills. The most expensive vest you will buy and the one you will use most between October and March. The Winter Base Layer: How to Be Warm Without Looking Like a Bin Bag

The waffle and thermal

Textured knits that trap air in the fabric structure. Genuinely warm, slightly bulkier, and better under a jumper than under a dress shirt.

Best for: winter weekends, the coldest weeks, standing on a touchline. waffle thermal top

The string vest

Yes, it is a net, and yes, it works. Open mesh traps air in the gaps and holds it against the body, which is why it was standard issue for polar expeditions and northern European armies for decades. It has been comprehensively defeated by television comedy rather than by physics.

Best for: genuine cold, under other layers, and for the pleasure of owning the most misunderstood garment in the wardrobe.

Loopwheeled cotton, for the enthusiasts

Certain German and Japanese makers still knit vests on antique circular loopwheel machines that produce roughly a metre of fabric an hour, hanging under their own weight with almost no tension in the yarn. The result is a dense, soft, tubular fabric with no side seams that softens rather than degrades over years. It costs what it sounds like it costs and it is one of the genuine pleasures of the category. loopwheeled cotton vest

Fit and colour, in four lines

Fitted, always. A loose vest bunches, shows through and does none of the work.

Skin tone or light grey under white and pale shirts. Never white under white.

Neckline lower than your open collar, or you will see it in every photograph.

Length long enough to stay tucked when you raise your arms, which is the detail cheap vests fail on first. The Vest Is the Obvious Choice

Where to start

One three-pack of short sleeved crew necks in skin tone for work, one rib vest for daily life, one merino for winter. That is the entire category solved for about the price of a single decent shirt, which the vests will then proceed to protect for years. Which maker to trust for each of those three slots is a narrower question, and a largely settled one. The Best Vests and Undershirts You Can Actually Buy

---