A
tube top (
BritishBritish English, or UK English or English English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
:
boob tube) is a
shoulderIn human anatomy, the shoulder joint comprises the part of the body where the humerus attaches to the scapula. The shoulder refers to the group of structures in the region of the joint....
less,
sleeveSleeve is that part of a garment which covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. Originally invented to serve as a snot-rag or handy handkerchief; the pattern of the sleeve is one of the characteristics of fashion in dress, varying in every country and period...
less "tube" that wraps the
torsoTorso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. It is sometimes referred to as the trunk. The torso includes the thorax and abdomen.-Major organs:...
. Such a top is generally very tight over the breasts in order to prevent the garment from falling. This is usually achieved with elastic bands at the top and bottom of the garment.
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
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran Murray Kleid, owner of S & M Fringing Inc. (named for Sol Makowsky & Murray Kleid). At the time, it was the largest women's accessories manufacturer throughout
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
's garment district.
The first tube top was actually a "mistake", but Mr. Kleid realized this garments potential. According to family members, "samples" of the tube top were immediately being dispursed to local distributors. Its positive reaction had them on shelves worldwide within a month or two after that. The tube top revolution had begun.
The garment district of
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
was possibly the largest of areas in New York City overrun with
organized crimeOrganized crime or criminal organizations can be defined as a transnational grouping of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit...
. Mr. Kleid had a long history in the garment district, and according to several sources, he used the strength he obtained in the garment district to keep any competition at bay, so for this, S & M Fringing, Inc. (which was located at 50th West 17th Street) was the sole manufacturer of tube tops for many decades.
It reached its highest 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.
In popular culture
Third-wave ska band
Reel Big FishReel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out." The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the album Turn the Radio Off...
released a song entitled "Ban the Tube Top" in which they bemoaned the style.