1  2  Next

[align=center]Most guys wear their shorts until they're full of holes. Now, a revolution of cheeky prints aims to separate men from their decrepit drawers.[/align]
[align=center]
[/align]
[align=center]HELLO 'MANTY' PANTY [/align]


Sandro Racco will not think twice of spending up to $1,800 on a suit or coat. But as immaculate as he looks in his swanky John Richmond suits, what lies beneath is another fashion story.

Like a lot of men, he couldn't care less about the state of his underwear.

"Yep," the 34-year-old readily admits, "they have holes in them and they are a bit ripped at the seams."

Citing a comfort factor, Racco says he has hung onto to some pairs for as long as five years, saying the fit gets softer and more comfortable as they age. And he's not alone when it comes to this close-knit relationship men have with their underwear.

Lawrence Wraith, 40, a lighting designer, also has more than a brief encounter with his old underwear, a pair of which dates back to 1996.

"I have what I call my `desperate set,'" he says. "They look like rags with holes. The waistband is falling off but I still wear them."

Why hang on to such decrepit briefs? They come in handy, he claims, on those days when he runs dry on clean ones. Steve, who wouldn't give his last name, is a 43-year-old who owns his own marketing and design communications company. He estimates his collection of underpants in the hundreds and he has them in a ranking hierarchy: the favourites, the utilitarian everyday undies, and the brand-name styles reserved for dates. He is considered a metrosexual who enjoys shopping and buying quality things but when it comes to below the belt, his rationale for not investing too much thought into it is, "hardly anyone would see them."

As for his large volume? "The more you have ensures that you have a fresh pair each day."

Underwear is probably the only apparel item that you would wear 365 days a year, almost 24 hours a day – even socks get a break in the summer. So why would such an in-demand garment get such low respect from some men?

Probably because they never had to make the purchasing decisions.

"Men go from having their mom to their girlfriends then their wives buying their underwear," says Andrew Kim, Hbc's trend direction manager. "They want the tried and true when it comes to their underwear. Once they decide between boxer or briefs, that's about as deep as they want to get."

Janet Spence, marketing manager for Calvin Klein underwear in Canada, agrees with this tried-and-true principle. "Men will stick to what their mothers put them in."

This familiarity could be what leads them to wear their undies until they are falling apart. Or the old patina could very well be the appeal, as it is for Montreal designer Philippe Dubuc.

Known for his modern razor- sharp tailoring, the designer says there is a certain sex appeal to old underwear. "As long as they are clean, they can have little holes in them. I find that attractive. For me, it represents the old underwear of working men – like cowboys or the working class," he says. "If it's too designer-ish, it looks like a bathing suit. For me, underwear is a utilitarian thing."

But the bland utilitarian world of men's underpants seems to be entering a bright psychedelic era.

Walk through the men's underwear section in department stores and jockeying for position with the basic whites and greys are a dizzying array of rainbow hues, graphic prints, and the choices are no longer just between boxers and briefs.

Boxer-brief hybrids, hip briefs, lowcut briefs, trunks, all come now in a bewildering assortment of fabrics: micromesh, microfibre, Lycra blends.

"It's a whole new fashion category," says Spence. "It's following the trends in fashion. Years ago you didn't want your underwear to show; now with lower-rise jeans, you want to show off your underwear waistband." The newest style from Calvin Klein, Steel, comes with a wider waistband and larger logo that stretches across the entire width of the waist. And the company that built an empire 25 years ago on the classic tighty whitey has joined the rainbow coalition with bright colours and punchy prints.

One company leading this down under revolution is Vancouver's Ginch Gonch. Making a name for itself with its "manties" – cheeky prints and Crayola colours – their motto, says owner Jason Sutherland, is "live like a kid."

With style names like "weiner eater," "piggy bottom" and "crotch rocket," they are designed to appeal to the eternal teenager in men. But Sutherland says these wild graphic prints also show a high confidence level in the guy wearing them.

And, he adds, "women love them."

Which is probably just the thing to get men to start dressing to undress


LINK

   

I like the Ginch Gonch waistband

   

yeah i gotta giggle out of that too

   

Silky briefs are expensive, cool and embarrassing. They tend to encourage a woody climbing up the stairs in the mall.

Oversized cotton boxers are best.
We have all heard that story about the guy who had a sharp pain between his eyes? Too tight shorts will do it everytime.

Well worn flannel boxers in winter may be the single most reason the human race has not petered out.

   

petered out is the operative word!


i like these ones on boys

   

I'd like them better if they'd lose them...

   

Men wear underwear?????......really?????.......huh.........

   

good to know

   

oh damn.. i knew i was missing something in my wardrobe

   

i will remember that too

   

Where is my wax?

   

is that a good thing or a bad thing ???

   

you'll see

   

i guess you are going to find that out today

   

Allright pimper,your posts should start coming with a disclaimer.

I hope someone buys you a shaver for your birthday.

   

1  2  Next