There once was an underwear standard for men that no one would really talk about. Now, male undergarments have evolved into fashionable outerwear that make statements all their own.
Boxers and briefs were fashioned for utilitarian use to be hidden from sight. Add to that the standard white tee, placed under the dress shirt, and the socks to match the trousers or shoes. These are the undergarment basics that were designed for men’s fashion comfort
but were never supposed to see the limelight. Eventually, the underwear of yesterday grew into trendy outerwear fashion of today.
I’m a pretty fashionable guy, but when it came to selecting undergarments, I didn’t put much thought into the articles of clothing that were not at the forefront of my daily outfit.
Sure, when it came time to ~strip down~ for someone else, I made sure not to sport anything with rips, holes or cartoon characters, but rarely did I take into consideration what they thought of me based on my selection.
(Wait, what? I don’t have underwear with cartoon characters, that’d be crazy and totally not hot at all…)
Shouldn’t they care less about the wrapping and more about the package itself?
In the 1920s, boxer shorts were introduced by the founder of Everlast, Jacob Golomb. He designed the underwear fashioned on the new shorts, with elastic waistbands he was making for boxers fighting in the ring. The new men’s fashion of wearing the boxer didnotbecome popular until younger males discovered the underwear at the end of WWII. In 1934, while attempting to sell the boxer short, a hosiery decision-maker was inspired by a French bathing suit to design a brief-styled undergarment.
Arthur Kneibler, executive and designer at Coopers, Inc., a Wisconsin hosiery company, gained inspiration from a postcard to create a new, and more comfortable, men’s fashion underwear design. After seeing the man pictured in a leg-bearing bathing suit, Kneibler
envisioned a new legless underwear design. Created to be supportive and fitting, like a jockstrap, the undergarment by Coopers was named Jockey shorts and were sold in 1935, by Marshall Field’s, in Chicago.
Unlike the slow-moving boxer shorts, sales for the Jockey shorts took off, and 600 pairs were sold on the first day. Within three months, Coopers had sold 30,000 pairs. After years of success, gaining even more appeal for the modern briefs, in 1971, the company changed its name to Jockey. Men were not only discovering the groove of outer fashion in the 1970s, but also the allure of the fashion-forward undergarment.
Calvin Klein took notice introducing designer underwear that would certainly catch the attention of men’s fashion aficionados. In 1982, the designer took the white brief from behind the clothes to show it as a true men’s fashion statement. The photo of a model wearing the skimpy white underwear on a huge billboard stopped traffic in the center of New York City, in Times Square.
The controversial sexual photo was a hit, making underwear a must-want designer quality men’s fashion that would continue to grow with new designs. Fast forward to the 21st century, and it is fashionable among the younger crowd to showcase designer underwear
waste bands above their pants, with t-shirts tucked in.
The last two gentlemen lucky enough to get in or around my skinny jeans called out my boring undie choices, and recommended I purchase something that “popped.”
That’s when I realized, underwear has way more of a purpose than just everyday functionality.
When I’m getting dressed, my underwear preferences need to tell a story unique to my own personality. After all, boxer briefs may come in packs of three, but each person who chooses to wear ’em is different.
If you encounter someone wearing this baggy excuse for fabric, odds are he’s still not old enough to drink or at least has that mentality.
Boxers were all the rage years back, but now, they’re a poor excuse for underwear that get bunched up in just about any pair of pants you decidedly wear.
For some, they’re a go-to. But for me, they say the guy still needs to get his shit together.
You need more stability in your life. And your crotch.
