Closets and Wardrobes

[snow15145]

Carol responds:
Then you're the person I need to consult! The manuscript I'm editing
now calls a man's sleeveless tank-top shirt (what the Brits, I think,
would call a "vest") a "wifebeater." I was appalled by the term and
couldn't find it in the dictionary, but I did find it in common use on
shopping sites. Am I being an old fogey or is "wifebeater" an
acceptable term? Is there a better one that wouldn't sound so
offensive? ("Vest" won't do; it's an American book.)

Snow:

For what it's worth, we used to call them muscle-man shirts. They 
showed off the appropriate bulging areas.