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Boxers or Briefs?
My wife asked me an interesting question today, and I thought to write about the results of my musings here. When were boxers actually fashionable for guys? This led me to some (sometimes wild) speculation in my explanation of the history of boxers and briefs. Let me go away for a bit and research this. I’ll be back soon…
… Okaaaayyy! I’m back and I found out that, for the most part, my theories on the history of men’s underwear may be correct. Hopefully others can evaluate what I’m going to say here and add their $.02 in or prove me wrong.
Now “boxers”, as they are called, actually came about around the 1930’s. They slowly replaced the “union suits”, which were long-john type undergarments that covered legs, torso and arms as well. The boxers moniker is derived from the shorts that were worn by heavyweight fighters of that era.
Briefs actually came out almost around the same time, maybe a little later than boxers. The manufacturer that later came to be known as Jockey put a Y-fly in both long (boxer) and short (briefs) underwear. From what I can surmise, boxers were almost always more preferable than briefs in those times. Men’s jeans were regular fit, and most grown men wore the more professional business slacks, and boxers were a comfortable fit in both of these clothing styles.
I think briefs (Fruit-of-the-Looms, whitey-tighties… whatever), along with the shorter low-cut briefs, became more prominent with men’s jeans becoming tighter in the 70’s and especially the 80’s (my formative fashion era). Briefs, from my own personal experience as well as observation, were more comfortable in these jeans. Boxers would just get bunched up inside men’s Levi’s and the elastic would be pressed too tightly on the waist, chafing the skin with any movement.
Again, from personal experience and observation, during the 90’s and recent years, boxers have risen in popularity. I think this is mainly because most men are generally more comfortable in boxers. Also, jeans have for a while now have gone to a more loose, baggy fit, making boxers not so uncomfortable anymore when worn inside these jeans. Oh, and it seems more women prefer a guy in boxers, as opposed to briefs.
My personal taste: I like the snug fit, myself. Boxers are good for me when lounging around, but I’m also not self-conscious if people see me in briefs. I still have an athletic build, no gut to speak of, and my wife seems to think briefs look good on me. If a guy has a noticeable, even pronounced gut, boxers generally make that gut look more acceptable. Also, some of my boxer wearing friends said they feel more “confined” if they’re wearing briefs. As for me, I love the *ahem* support briefs have to offer.
I’m actually thinking about trying the newer hybrid boxer-briefs. Most styles of this that I’ve seen look really good, provide the support I mentioned, without some of the chafing annoyances that come with the elastic around the “sensitive” area, if you know what I mean.
Now that I’ve put my unmentionables out on the clothesline, so to speak… let me know what your thoughts are on this, everyone and one and all. Cheers!
