A shirt is a piece of clothing for the trunk of the body.

Colloquially, a shirt for women is often called a top, though this term is not completely restricted to women's clothing.

For such clothing, including vests, sweaters, jackets, etc. one can disinguish:

With regard to covering the shoulders and arms:

  • with no covering of the shoulders or arms - a tube top (not reaching higher than the armpits, staying in place by elasticity, see e.g [1])
  • with only bands on the shoulders
  • covering the shoulders, but without sleeves
  • with short sleeves
  • with half-long sleeves
  • with long sleeves, may further be distinguished by the cuffs:
    • no buttons
    • buttons - single or multiple
    • buttonholes only for use with cufflinks

With regard to level of the lower edge:
  • leaving the belly button area bare (much more common for women than for men)
  • until the waist
  • covering the crotch
  • covering part of the legs (essentially this is a dress; however, a piece of clothing is either perceived as a shirt (worn with trousers) or as a dress (worn by women, and by men just in the special case of cross-dressing).

and levels in between.

With regard to opening:

  • left and right front side not separable, put on over the head
  • vertical opening on the front side, with buttons or zipper.

With regard to the neck:
  • V-shaped permanent opening on the top of the front side
  • with or without polo-neck
    • no opening
    • vertical opening on the top of the front side, with buttons or zipper

With regard to pockets: how many (if any), where, not closable, or with a button or zipper.

With or without collar. Furthermore the collar may have buttons at the tips for a "button-down collar".

Some common shirt types:

  • T-shirt
  • polo shirt - a shirt with collar but only a partial vertical opening with buttons
  • dress shirt - a shirt with collar and full vertical opening with buttons
  • tank top - a sleeveless shirt
  • blouse - ladies dress shirt
  • nightshirt - for sleeping
  • sweatshirt - with or without hood
  • rugby shirt - typically a long-sleeved T-shirt
  • Hawaiian shirt - a colourful short-sleeve dress shirt
  • golf shirt - a polo shirt
  • baseball shirt - usually distinguished by a three quarters sleeve
  • fishnet shirt, transparent, see e.g. [1]
  • tube top - a shoulderless, sleeveless "tube" that wraps the torso
  • halter top - a shoulderless, sleeveless, backless garment, typically for women. It is mechanically analogous to an apron with a string around the back of the neck and across the lower back holding it in place.