• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Comedy
  • Music
  • TV Recaps
  • What to Stream
  • Vulture Lists
  • Books
  • Theater
  • Art
  • The Gold Rush
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • About
  • Newsletters
  • Vulture Insiders
  • Vulture Festival
  • NYMag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
Subscribe Give A Gift
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Comedy
  • Music
  • TV Recaps
  • What to Stream
  • Vulture Lists
  • Books
  • Theater
  • Art
  • The Gold Rush
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • About
  • Newsletters
  • Vulture Insiders
  • Vulture Festival
  • NYMag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin It
+Comments Leave a Comment
dress code
February 8, 2013

The Many Dude Tank Tops of the CW

By Margaret Lyons

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin It
Photo: CW

The CW prides itself on its attractive casts. Lithe young women in impractical high heels teeter through rites of passage; hunky young men let their hair fall in their eyes as they contemplate nobly battling the forces of evil. And the costuming departments for all of the shows (Arrow, Hart of Dixie, The Vampire Diaries, Beauty and the Beast, and more) all get the same memo for the men: more arms. So vampire, superhero, and country boys alike are all decked out in the same garment — tank tops. You might think the CW is a television network, but it’s actually mostly a male-undershirt marketing mechanism. And we have proof! Please note that these photos are only from this season — had we gone further back, we’d be in a bicep black hole for all of eternity.

View
1 / 11 Photos
Tanks and stakes, with a side of glowering. Tanks and stakes, with a side of glowering.

Tanks and stakes, with a side of glowering.

Photo: Bob Mahoney/©2012 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved.
Pocket tank! Pocket tank!

Pocket tank!

Photo: Danny Feld/C 2012 THE CW NETWORK, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
White A-line tank. The "classic." White A-line tank. The "classic."

White A-line tank. The "classic."

Photo: Greg Gayne/C 2012 THE CW NETWORK, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
HOW MANY TANK TOPS DO YOU HAVE, SIR? HOW MANY TANK TOPS DO YOU HAVE, SIR?

HOW MANY TANK TOPS DO YOU HAVE, SIR?

Photo: Greg Gayne/C 2012 THE CW NETWORK, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
By our calculations, Hart was by far the man-tankiest show. Again, these are all just from this season. By our calculations, Hart was by far the man-tankiest show. Again, these are all just from this season.

By our calculations, Hart was by far the man-tankiest show. Again, these are all just from this season.

Photo: Mike Ansell/C 2012 THE CW NETWORK, LLC...

By our calculations, Hart was by far the man-tankiest show. Again, these are all just from this season.

Photo: Mike Ansell/C 2012 THE CW NETWORK, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No one watched this ballet docu-soap over the summer. But it was great. And perhaps the one show where a man-tank seems legitimately appropriate. No one watched this ballet docu-soap over the summer. But it was great. And perhaps the one show where a man-tank seems legitimately appropriate.

No one watched this ballet docu-soap over the summer. But it was great. And perhaps the one show where a man-tank seems legitimately appropriate.

Pho...

No one watched this ballet docu-soap over the summer. But it was great. And perhaps the one show where a man-tank seems legitimately appropriate.

Photo: Erik ?–stling/©2012 THE CW NETWORK, LLC.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
What temperature is it where these guys are? Tank temperature? Or sweatshirt temperature? What temperature is it where these guys are? Tank temperature? Or sweatshirt temperature?

What temperature is it where these guys are? Tank temperature? Or sweatshirt temperature?

Photo: Jack Rowand/Copyright, The CW, LLC All Rights Reserv...

What temperature is it where these guys are? Tank temperature? Or sweatshirt temperature?

Photo: Jack Rowand/Copyright, The CW, LLC All Rights Reserved
Another black A-shirt. They make bicep-stabbing so convenient. Another black A-shirt. They make bicep-stabbing so convenient.

Another black A-shirt. They make bicep-stabbing so convenient.

Photo: Jack Rowand/Copyright, The CW, LLC All Rights Reserved
More of a vest than an honest-to-goodness man-tank, but who can resist this amazing photo? More of a vest than an honest-to-goodness man-tank, but who can resist this amazing photo?

More of a vest than an honest-to-goodness man-tank, but who can resist this amazing photo?

Photo: Jack Rowand/Copyright, The CW, LLC All Rights Reserved
Tank tops! In! Jaaaaaail! Tank tops! In! Jaaaaaail!

Tank tops! In! Jaaaaaail!

Photo: Sven W. Frenzel/© 2012 The CW Network. All Rights Reserved.
Maybe the CW got a discount for buying all of these black shirts in bulk. Speaking of bulk, nice dude cleavage. Maybe the CW got a discount for buying all of these black shirts in bulk. Speaking of bulk, nice dude cleavage.

Maybe the CW got a discount for buying all of these black shirts in bulk. Speaking of bulk, nice dude cleavage.

Photo: Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW/© 201...

Maybe the CW got a discount for buying all of these black shirts in bulk. Speaking of bulk, nice dude cleavage.

Photo: Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW/© 2012 THE CW NETWORK, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1 / 11

Tags:

  • mantanks
  • slideshow
  • dress code
  • the cw
  • tv
  • More

More Galleries

the gold rush Yesterday at 11:10 p.m.
See Every ‘Red Carpet’ Look From the 2021 Golden Globes  Here’s to looking glam even at home. 
By Savannah Salazar
emmys 2020 Sept. 20, 2020
See Every ‘Red Carpet’ Look From the 2020 Emmys  At home and all dolled up. 
By Rebecca Alter
art June 29, 2020
See Peter Hujar’s Portraits of a Long-Ago Queer Downtown  Including a kittenish Fran Lebowitz. 
By Trupti Rami
psa Apr. 17, 2020
A Times Square Tribute to All of Us  Two dozen artists say thank-you. 
By Michael Kaler
shakespeare in the park Apr. 17, 2020
Shakespeare in the Park Canceled as Public Theater Furloughs Staff  Richard II and As You Like It were planned for this summer. 
By Jackson McHenry
oscars 2020 Feb. 9, 2020
See Every Red-Carpet Look From the 2020 Oscars  Greta Gerwig, Janelle Monáe, Cynthia Erivo, and more are gracing the red carpet of the 92nd Academy Awards. 
By Rebecca Alter
gallery Feb. 6, 2020
30,000 Ways to See New York  Drawings from the final year of Jason Polan’s “Every Person in New York” project. 
By Jason Polan
gallery Jan. 31, 2020
The Faces of Sundance 2020  Vulture welcomed Tessa Thompson, Mila Kunis, Glenn Close, Ethan Hawke and more to our photo studio. 
By Vulture Editors
grammys 2020 Jan. 26, 2020
See Every Red-Carpet Look from the 2020 Grammys  Lizzo, Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X, and more. 
By Rebecca Alter
golden globes 2020 Jan. 5, 2020
See Every Red-Carpet Look from the 2020 Golden Globes  Greta Gerwig, Kirsten Dunst, Billy Porter, and more. 
By Rebecca Alter
vulture festival 2019 Nov. 12, 2019
The Faces of Vulture Festival LA 2019  We welcomed Rita Moreno, Elisabeth Moss, cast reunions of Party Down and Community, and more to our photo studio. 
By Vulture Editors
emmys 2019 Sept. 22, 2019
Emmys 2019: See Every Red-Carpet Look  Laverne Cox, Jameela Jamil, Indya Moore, and more. 
By Vulture Editors
vmas 2019 Aug. 26, 2019
See Every Red-Carpet Look From the 2019 VMAs  Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, and more stars strut down the carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards. 
By Vulture Editors
gallery June 25, 2019
The Look Book Goes to a Little Tina Turner Audition  Dozens of 8-to-12-year-old actresses lined up for the opportunity to play a young incarnation of the star in Broadway’s Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. 
By Katy Schneider and Jane Drinkard
obituaries June 17, 2019
Socialite, Artist, and Style Icon Gloria Vanderbilt Has Died at 95  Her son, Anderson Cooper, delivered an obituary on CNN this morning. 
By Sarah Spellings
gallery June 17, 2019
See Photos of Natasha Lyonne, Busy Philipps, and More in the Vulture Emmy Studio  For your consideration. 
By Vulture Editors
gallery June 10, 2019
See the Faces of the 2019 Tony Winners  Bryan Cranston, Rosemary Harris, and more. 
By Vulture Editors
gallery May 15, 2019
A Trove of ‘Lost’ New York City Crime Scene Photos, Unearthed After 82 Years  Seventy-three prints from legendary photographer Weegee were stashed in a kitchen cupboard and unseen until now. 
By Christopher Bonanos
gallery May 6, 2019
The Faces of 2019 Tribeca Film Festival  Jennifer Lawrence, Zac Efron, Ethan Hawke, and more. 
By Vulture Editors
gallery May 3, 2019
See the Faces of the 2019 Tony Nominees  Laurie Metcalf, Jeremy Pope, Jeff Daniels, and more. 
By Jackson McHenry
More Galleries
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Comedy
  • Music
  • What To Stream
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Press
  • Trademark
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell My Info
vulture is a Vox Media Network. © 2021 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.