Tube top

Tube top

A tube top (British: boob tube) is a shoulderless, sleeveless "tube" that wraps the torso (not reaching higher than the armpits). Such a top is generally very tight over the breasts in order to prevent the garment from falling. Usually this is prevented with elastic.

A similar version is one model of the halter top, which is a tube top that uses a single strap that passes round the back of the neck and has both ends attached to the front of the tube.

The garment was invented by American World War II veteran Murray Kleid, owner of S & M Fringing Inc. The first tube top was actually a "mistake" but he saw the potential and "went with it". It reached a high level of popularity in the late 1970s. It vanished from the scene during the early- and mid-1990s, but later made a major reappearance in the wardrobes of American teenage girls and young American women, especially college-age women, after 2000, and various versions of the style have been popular ever since then.

Third wave ska band Reel Big Fish released a song entitled Ban the Tube Top in which they bemoaned the style.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • tube top — tube tops N COUNT A tube top is a piece of women s clothing that is made of stretchy material and covers her chest but leaves her shoulders bare. [AM] (in BRIT, use boob tube) …   English dictionary

  • tube top — n AmE informal a piece of women s clothing that goes around your chest and back to cover your breasts but does not cover your shoulders or stomach …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • tube top — tube ,top noun count AMERICAN a tight piece of clothing for women that covers from below the shoulders to above the waist …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • tube top — n. a one piece, tight fitting, sleeveless and strapless woman s garment for the upper body …   English World dictionary

  • tube top — a woman s strapless top, usually of elasticized fabric that fits snugly on the body. * * * tube top UK US noun [countable] [singular tube top plural tube tops] american a boob tube Thesaurus: shirts, t shirts and tops …   Useful english dictionary

  • tube top — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms tube top : singular tube top plural tube tops American a boob tube …   English dictionary

  • tube top — noun A one piece strapless tube shaped top worn by women, leaving shoulders and belly button exposed. Syn: boob tube …   Wiktionary

  • tube top — noun (C) AmE informal a piece of women s clothing that goes around your chest and back to cover your breasts but does not cover your shoulders or stomach; boob tube BrE …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • tube top — a woman s strapless top, usually of elasticized fabric that fits snugly on the body. * * * …   Universalium

  • tube — (n.) 1610s, from M.Fr. tube (mid 15c.), from L. tubus tube, pipe, of unknown origin. The London subway was christened the Twopenny Tube before it even opened (H.D. Browne, in the Londoner of June 30, 1900); tube for cylindrical railway tunnel is… …   Etymology dictionary

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