Perfect as a standalone or for layering, crisp white tanks are surging in popularity.

What do Marlon Brando and Cindy Crawford have in common? The iconic white tank top, of course. Brando sported the innerwear as outerwear in the 1951 classic Streetcar Named Desire, and Crawford paired a white tank with cutoff shorts for a 1992 Pepsi commercial – a look she recreated in a photoshoot for charity last year.

The white tank top began life in the 1910s, a garment men could wear underneath dress shirts and while swimming. Within a few decades, men were eschewing their button-downs and opting to wear the tank top on its own – a fashion evolution similar to their sartorial second cousin, the storied T-shirt.

Nowadays, the tank top is a wardrobe essential that functions both as a layering piece and a stand-alone – popular with any gender. The style was all over fall 2022 runways: Prada sent models wearing tanks embellished with its logo, Bottega Veneta created leather versions of the ribbed white top and Acne paired white tanks with oversized pants.

Mark-Evan Blackman, assistant professor of fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, calls the white tank top a timeless classic, explaining recently to Refinery 29 that “[Today’s] designers have used the item as a backdrop to bring forth their vision in a very contemporary time.”

There are several factors contributing to the current dominance of this old standby, including nostalgia for Y2K-era fashion, the pandemic-era insistence on comfort above all else and a burgeoning desire to strut your stuff in style. “The white tank is the hero of your outfit, the one item that makes everything else work,” says Marcus Davis, product development manager. “It’s a key item in the wardrobe, but it’s been hidden in the pandemic closet for a few years. It’s ready to make its grand entrance back into the market.”

And the color white is also emerging as an apparel trend. It “evokes a feeling of pureness and a fresh start,” Hopkins, director of merchandising, says, adding that “white is fitting as seasonal weather begins to shift and we approach the warmer months.”

White tank tops are the perfect way to achieve the relaxed, hybrid, return-to-the-office vibe that so many seek, says Christina Marcantelli, sales enablement coordinator. “It’s gender-neutral, basic and goes with anything from sweats to under a cuffed black blazer or paired with high-waisted wide-leg jeans,” she says. “It can be a day-to-night look within seconds as people are out and about again enjoying active lifestyles and entertainment beyond the home.”

Though the color is set, there can be a lot of variation in the silhouette, whether it’s cropped, flowy and festival-ready or a stretchy, skin-skimming baby rib. Styles with asymmetrical straps or necklines or cutouts “create a fun, unexpected twist” on the classic look, Davis says.

Traditionally a summer staple, the white tank has developed year-round appeal, Marcantelli notes, particularly in the bridal/bachelorette, e-commerce boutique and fitness industries.