"Wife-beater" as article of clothing

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 5/12/2000 12:37:05 PM, highbob at MINDSPRING.COM writes:

<< Whoa!  I just looked at the archives and no wonder the STREETCAR link felt
so good.  I made it.  Sorry, Amanda, but I think that it's a pretty good
idea for the source of "wife-beater" t-shirts.  >>

Unless one of the characters in STREETCAR (or Williams in his copious statge
directions) actually uses the term (if so, I certainly don't remember it), I
can't imagine why there should be any etymological connection between this
kind of shirt and its current vogue name. So what if in the 1950s movie
Brando as Stanley wore one and beat his wife?