The V-neck plunges to new heights of popularity

By Otis R. Taylor Jr.

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

In fashion, ostentation is out.

Spending hundreds on bags, dresses and jeans isn't hip in this soured economy as our pockets aren't as deep. But depth is the essence of the one must-have summer piece: the V-neck.

Casual, simple, stylish and comparatively cheap, the V-neck has dominated this summer's sartorial discussion — for men and women.

The T-shirt has appeared on red carpets under blazers, at hot spots layered and paired with sandals, flats, heels and boots. You see them at rock and hip-hop shows, at coffee shops and bookstores. From fashion icons to movie stars to folks who live paycheck to paycheck, the V-neck is a style anyone can own and master.

The V-neck, a neck garment that falls to a point on the chest, like the letter "V", used to be your father's T-shirt, relegated to the underwear drawer.

It allowed men who didn't wear the A-shirt, commonly — and vulgarly — referred to as the "wife beater," under their dress shirts room to unwind on the go.

When they loosened or took off the tie for an after-work Scotch at the bar, the white wouldn't show unlike if he were wearing a regular crew-neck T-shirt.

The V-neck, a T-shirt once folded, is now a shirt to hang in the closet. And white is the least fashionable of the V-neck colors.

But it didn't become a trending smash until women co-opted the look.

"As soon as you see people like that wearing it," he said, "you know that a trend is about to crash."

CULTURE CLUB

In fashion, it's all about the cut.

The V-neck has various lengths, and the deeper the cut, the more alluring it looks on women.

"It's very flattering," said Anne Postic, who writes The Shop Tart (http://theshoptart.com/), a local shopping blog. Postic added that the V-neck boosts women without a certain kind of surgical enhancement.

"It evens the playing field," she said. "Anything that's flattering is going to stick around."

"A lot of the V-necks T-shirts we have are form fitting, so a lot of women shy away from that," Teal said.

Teal, who wears V-necks, favors the selection at Express.

"They have little pockets, and I like those," she said. "If you're wearing jewelry, the necklace looks better" in a V-neck.

"I like them because they're casual and sexy at the same time," she said.

"It fits better and it has longer sleeves," she said.

Brett said the deep — or super — V on T-shirts provides a preferably more feminine look for women.

"I think V-neck style, as far as garments go, is more widely accepted for women," he said. "Now that men have embraced the traditional V, women want something a little different."

Women may focus on the form of a V-neck, but it's all about function for men.

He was wearing a white American Apparel V-neck with gray stripes.

"It helps show my tat off," he said pointing to his chest, where ink marks emerged from the V. "It's something different than crew necks.

"It's such a summer shirt."

"If you look at any of our pictures, I'm wearing some sort of V-neck," said Arambula, who plays guitar and keyboard. "Since I've been wearing them, it gives me both fashion and function.

"If I'm wearing those on-stage, the air can circulate a lot better. It's a lot more breezy."

Arambula prefers PacSun V-necks, particularly those that feature a neck that is a different color than the shirt.

He's also a guy not afraid to let it all hang out — chest hair, that is. It's something the hirsute must consider.

"It's kind of like I'm not afraid to show off the chest," Arambula said. "I've got nothing to hide here."

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR?

In fashion, saturation is a good thing until it isn't.

The V-neck isn't there — yet.

"I used to think of the V-neck as something only indie kids and hipster kids wore," Brett said.

But will it reach the masses, incorporated by, say, the Southern prep? You know the look: Rainbow flip flops or Sperry Top-Siders, sunglasses anchored by Croakies and knee-baring khaki shorts.

"It's neutral enough to cross that barrier," Brett said.

The V-neck cut, in other garments like sweaters and cardigans, is already a wardrobe staple for men and women.

The V-neck is universal.

"Pretty much anyone can wear it if Talbots has a V-neck," Postic said of the women's specialty retailer she recently shopped with her mother.

"Anybody can do it. It just has to do with the depth of the V."

Postic recalled her college look, which straddled the line between prep and grunge.

She wore ripped jeans, Bass Weejuns shoes and a black wool V-neck cardigan from Gap, creating an androgynous but sexy appearance.

It sounds like a look that fashion's "it" model Agyness Deyn might appropriate.

In fashion, some things never go out of style.