For years, the tank top (or the wife pleaser) was meant to be worn but not seen. Then Austin Butler showed up with the classic underlayer on full show and another menswear rule has been broken and reassembled with even more exciting results.
In Puerto Rico for a screening of his new Darren Aronofsky film, Caught Stealing, Butler wanted it to be known that he knows you could see his tank underneath a translucent Henley shirt. (Wearing a Henley? Another rule broken!) If you could see everything underneath on full beams, most guys would probably get changed. But now, in this age of slutty, steamy menswear, it might just be another way to turn up the heat.
Think of this as more a bubbling under than a boiling over, though. In recent years, Butler’s Hollywood colleagues put everything on show. Jay-Z, Timothée Chalamet, and Donald Glover are just three guys that lost a shirt entirely, letting bare chests sing. This isn’t that. Rather than get an impressive rig out, Austin Butler is just alluding to it instead; see-through without seeing everything. And, as always, the suggestion of sex is often sexier than actual sexiness. Plus, it’s a little more family-friendly on a red carpet that’s one rung below a huge premiere. Screenings are meant to be a little bit more casual.
Obviously, tanks aren’t groundbreaking in the menswear world, but they’re usually either worn on their own—as seen on countless guys throughout summer—or under semi-unbuttoned shirts as a key layer. Those are meant to be seen. Butler’s play is a new way to wear the classic without going wild. You don’t need to fully expose your arms or solely commit to a piece that clings to your body. Instead, here’s a combo that feels confident even if you don’t want to get everything out. Everyone’s a winner!
Of course, Austin Butler is a pro at this. Here’s a guy that pops in the most traditional suits possible, who sees merit in beater Carhartt grails, who, ultimately, knows how to turn up the temperature on what should be fairly classic menswear. Now, you can see straight through it.
This story originally appeared on British GQ.
