A sweater vest, also known as a sleeveless sweater and tank top or sleeveless jumper (UK), is an item of knitwear that is similar to a sweater, but without sleeves. They were popular in the 20th century, particularly in the 1970s in the UK, and are again growing in popularity in this century.
The name "tank top", recorded in English since 1968, derives from its resemblance to a tank suit, a style of one-piece women's swimsuit with shoulder straps, so called since the 1920s, because it was worn in a "swimming tank", an obsolete term for a swimming pool. In American English, a tank top refers to a sleeveless shirt.
Famous quotes containing the words sweater and/or vest:
“If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater ... suggest that he wear a tail.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1951)
“Here at the fountain’s sliding foot,
Or at some fruit-tree’s mossy root,
Casting the body’s vest aside,
My soul into the boughs does glide:
There, like a bird, it sits and sings,
Then whets and combs its silver wings,
And, till prepared for longer flights,
Waves in its plumes the various light.”
—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)