"The New French Jockey Shorts" photo: courtesy of Jockey
Anyone familiar with this column is likely familiar with my ever-growing and ever-evolving interest in/obsession with undergarments of all descriptions. You can take a peek at those articles here, here, here, here, and here.
Did you know that as of January 19, 2010, the undergarment commonly referred to as the tighty-whitey will have been in production for 75 years? Seventy-five years.
Prior to the co-opting of a popular men's European-style bathing suit, the only options for men's underwear was either a union-suit or boxer shorts, both adequate undergarments but well past due for a change. Coopers Incorporated, the privately held company founded in 1876 by Samuel T. Cooper which is now known as Jockey International did just that when they sold the first Jockey briefs in January of 1935 at the Marshall Field store in Chicago. This new style of underwear proved to be so popular that the entire stock was sold out before noon and in the week to follow 12,000 pairs were sold.
In fact, the Jockey Brief was in such high demand that the company secured an airplane dubbed the Masculiner to more rapidly distribute the garments to eager retailers."
Whether you are a boxers, briefs or commando sort of man, it is hard to imagine a world without these skivvies. Briefs are deeply ingrained in American culture and probably always will be.
Feel like sharing? Please leave your underpants preference in the comments section below. All comments are anonymous unless you choose to divulge your actual identity.
Comments
What a dark and unhappy place the pre-elastic skiv world must have been.
Forget the cliche "the best thing since sliced bread." I'm replacing it with "the best thing since elastic undies."
i miss fruit of the looms blue/yellow striped waistband
I'm glad that they use sexier models now.............
i also miss the good old blue/gold FTLs. i was raised in tighty-whiteys and then went to boxers over the past 15 years. i've recently returned to the comfort of TWs. BTW, i never liked the y-front Jockeys...my nuts always got tangled in them!
nothing like white briefs... and btw... I have a huge collection of the blue/gold FTLs...
Boxer-briefs, support of a jockey with leg protection of a boxer (big guys get thigh chaffing from trousers at times). However, on personal time just a jockstrap does wonders.
Im a boxer brief man myself. They just feel more comfortable. I must admit I find a man attractive in a pair of tighty whities. Of course a man going commando gets my attention too..
Briefs.....CK Body Hip Briefs are the most comfortable, longest lasting....
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