Finding replacement undershirts in London
 

My DW and I departed the US two days ago for a two week vacation in the UK, France and Italy. We didn't realize until this morning that during a repack just before our trip I'd removed my undershirts from my bag.

Since we're from the US, we're used to finding a Wal-mart in most cities, or a Target type store. However, we can't seem to find a place that just has undergarment type items (tried stores in Victoria Station, Boots, Sainsbury local, etc.) with no luck. Can anyone recommend a place where we can find some simple Hanes type undershirts in London? Is there a Wal-mart type equivalent here in the area?

Try marks and Spencer, there is one on King's road. I feel your pain. I forgot underwear for my DH when I was meeting him in NYC on a furlough from the army!

Marks and Spencer? Tesco (large store on Cromwell Rd)?

larger one at earl's court

Any department store?
C&A?
H&M?

In the centre, if in doubt, take a deep breath and try Oxford St - M&S at Marble Arch, and John Lewis at Oxford Circus.

There are Marks & Spencers in lots of areas - also the other stores mentioned. Where are you staying? (you are searching for 'vests' BTW)

The last C&A in Britain closed at least five years ago. And there's no Tesco with a reasonable amount of clothes in central London

I've no idea what a "Hanes type undershirt" is: speak English and you might get answers from people who know something about buying clothes here. I can't imagine why you're trying to buy clothes in convenience stores. Nor have I ever seen a Wal-Mart in Manhattan, or in the centre of any real US city. Do you really live in America?

He wants a decent M&S, if 100% cotton matters: in the centre, Oxford St or Kings Rd are the handiest, though a lot of food-only M&S's (like Moorgate and Chapel St, Islington) have basic cotton underwear. If he wants cheap, but possibly an uncomfortably high MMF content: Primark (opposite the M&S at the west end of Oxford St)

Did I really type C&A? I guess the idea of not finding a pack of white T-shirts in central London was too much for my brains..

flanneruk: Sorry, Hanes is a very common U.S. brand (I believe) of cotton t-shirts, undergarments, etc. Maybe they don't have that brand here? Specifically, I meant a white, cotton, tagless crew-neck t-shirt.

Maybe Wal-marts and targets just ubiquitous in the south where I live. Dallas, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport (my home town, 4 super Wal-marts) ... feels like they're everywhere. They're "real" US cities, I assure you.

We tried convenience stores because in the US (real cities included) Walgreens and Rite Aid sometimes carry Hanes, quite conveniently.

I'll try Marks and Spencer or Tesco for "vests" (thanks for the tip janisj). Thanks for the replies everyone. We filled today (the first day I realized my need) with sight-seeing activities and figured we'd be able to find something in the Victoria Station area where we're staying after finishing up for the day. Thought I'd ask people with more experience/knowledge than we have rather than wandering while on precious European vacation time. Thanks again, all.

There is a KMart ( a Walmart equivalent) in Manhattan on 34th steet believe it or not.
That is smack dab in the middlle of one of the largest cities in America.
But that does not help jojometal get one in England.

How hard can it be to find the most basic form of underwear in the centre of London?

This - http://tinyurl.com/y98ceml - will show you what M&S stocks, with prices.

There's also a KMart on Brdwy between 8th & 9th, NYC. But that's New York for you.

thursdaysd: Tanks for the link -- those M&S models in the vests sure brightened MY day :D . . .

Definitely Marks and Spencer! Their 100% cotton underwear is much better quality than anything I've seen in the US and a great bargain too (rare in London).

For what it's worth,
Eeyann's husband

tuscanlifeedit. There is also now a Costco around 125th St. But I understand it is mobbed all of the time.
Where would people who live in those little tiny apartments put 500 rolls of toilet paper they are able to buy at one time?
Can you see them trying to get that stuff in a cab or better yet on the subway?

I can remember being told very firmly by an American woman that British men didn't wear underwear.
I was bemused and thought that Marks and Sparks would be surprised to hear it.
It finally dawned on me that she or somebody else had asked what an Englishman wore under his vest and pants.

Another classic case of "two countries separated by a common language". An "undershirt" is not a term that would be readily understood here in the UK. A "vest" is a British English word for an item of sleaveless men's underwear, usually in white cotton, an worn almost exclusively these days by old men (or Mr Bean).

What the OP goes on to describe as a "white, cotton, tagless crew-neck t-shirt" would just be called a "t-shirt" in the UK and is not normally regarded as an undergarment. In fact most men in the UK don't wear anything under their shirts, and would think it was either antiquated or comical to do so. But if that's what you're after, you'll have no problem at all picking up some t-shirts at M&S, Primark, Debenhams, sports shops or dozens of other smaller stores across central London - just don'r extect to recognise the particular brands.

Even Gieves and Hawkes sell vests. They're about £80 each mind you.

If all else fails have a wander down Strutton Ground and there will be plenty of peeps who will flog you a plain t shirt.

"most men in the UK don't wear anything under their shirts" - in fact, when I moved from the UK to the US back in 1975 I was puzzled to find that men in the US apparently wore two shirts.... I still find it a bit odd, but maybe they want the extra to keep warm in the freezing AC (I live in the south).

>>I was puzzled to find that men in the US apparently wore two shirts<<

And just the other evening I was watching "It Happened One Night" - the movie that (in 1934) was said to have damaged the US underwear industry when Clark Gable revealed he had nothing under his shirt....

No, no, this is not necessarily a U.S. thing, but a generational/regional custom. I was raised in the midwest and have lived my entire adult life in California and no man in my life has ever worn an undershirt except my grandfather. (I do seem to remember an old rancher who wore them, too.) Anyway, it is an old-fashioned practice in the U.S., though I think it still hangs on in certain states or rural areas (the south maybe) and some men apparently feel more comfortable with them. While the younger guys may all wear Hanes T-shirts, they either wear them by themselves, or throw on a button-up and wear it over the T-shirt like a jacket, without buttoning it up. My guess is that the OP is either an older gentleman or from the south, but perhaps I'm stereotyping. I'll admit I don't really know what every man on the street is wearing under his shirt.

BTW, those sleeveless T-shirt "vests" as the British call them are called "wifebeaters" here, apparently stemming from the fact that Marlon Brando wore them in a Streetcar Named Desire, though that may be merely anecdotal.

There are literally hundreds of places you'll be able to buy them. Marks and Spencers, Debenhams, Next and most large clothing stores.

Oh - - I just went back and read one of the OP's later posts. He is from the south, so it does make sense. I imagine it is a customary practice there which may have developed because of the climate and is considered the proper way for a gentleman to dress.

Jojo: It probably seems silly, but I'm curious about this. Do you have any idea where the custom originated and why it exists in some areas and not others? Does it have anything to do with keeping the outer shirt clean/fresh in a warm climate, or am I just extrapolating?

Yes, it could be a regional thing. My first husband, who grew up in Georgia, wore one. My second husband, who grew up in Ohio, did not. (Both the same generation.)

sap - I'm not sure about the origins of the custom. However, I'd bet on the outer shirt being clean(er) being the answer here. The heat and humidity in Louisiana is unbelievable until you feel it.

I can't even say at what point I started wearing undershirts (I'm 29, couldn't have been too long ago), but in this case my wife and I had planned to pack lightly and the undershirt was a way for me to avoid dirtying the shirt so that it can be worn again over a clean undershirt. I'm also just more comfortable with them now...

As for the generational aspect, my Grandfather wears a "wifebeater", but doesn't call them that. My Dad doesn't wear undershirts, and I do. Sorry I couldn't shed more light on the situation.

My H & now our S (who just turned 22) like t-shirts under their button down shirts to help keep warm. Both of them have very low body fat and unless it's warm enough not to need the extra layer, do like having an extra shirt against their skin to help keep them warmer than when they just have one layer. The advantage for them is that if it gets hot, they can just peel off the outer button down shirt and go about with just the t-shirt.

OP, I hope you found t-shirts that met your hubby's needs.

The sleeveless t-shirt "vests" are mostly popular among the bodybuilders and very old in HI.

My husband (who is 60, a NYer if ever there was one, has worn a short-sleeved t-shirt (never called it a "wifebeater")as long as he can remember and remembers his father wearing one as well. He swears that most of the men at the gym (all ages) wear t-shirts as undershirts as well. So I don't think it's simply regional or even generational...perhaps simply personal.

Yes, HIMom, I remember now that the sleeveless "wife beater" shirts are also (and more appropriately) called muscle shirts. My 22-year-old wears them when he lifts weights, or in the summer. Then there's something called an "A" shirt, whatever that is. And for women, a tank top. Why do we have so many names for basically the same simple thing?

I did find what I was looking for at Marks and Spencer. We're stuck in Paris now, but London was great. We were just looking in the wrong areas. We saw Marks and Spencers everywhere after getting our shirts. We just didn't know what to look for until getting the advice here...

Thanks to all for the advice.

glad you are sorted.

BTW those sleeveless vests are also nicknamed wifebeaters in the UK. I thought it came from a connection to 'wifebeater' beer (cans of Stella) and the stereotype beer-bellied bloke in just a vest with his beer.