[sebbie]

Part CXII

As the 1990s continued onward, it was becoming clear that guys young and old were moving more and more away from the traditional white cotton briefs that were nearly a uniform for guys of any age a decade or two before. Teen guys more and more seemed to favor the loose-fitting plaid boxer shorts with inseams that went to mid thigh and the go-to style that would not lead to any teasing and bullying in the gym locker room. Jeans were loose-fitting then as well which meant that the bulky styles posed no barrier to getting dressed in jeans.

Most interestingly, the shift to loose-fitting boxer shorts and away from brief-style underwear coincided almost exactly with the period in which guys no longer wanted to be seen in brief-style swimwear, even the guys who were involved in team swimming were looking to wear something that covered their thighs when at the pool. And jammers started reigning at the pool.

But guys where weren’t in swimming competition opted for loose fitting board shorts that extended to the knee or nearly so. They did not want to be seen in anything that fit snugger like a jammer did. A sloppy look ruled the day.

Meanwhile, back at the underwear racks, another interesting trend was underway. To get a measure of what the adult males were increasingly wearing it is good to walk the men’s underwear aisles at what were the then three big discount stores in the US. That is where most guys shopped for the underwear they would be using for daily wear. There were still lots of cotton briefs not only in white but in various somber tones such as grey, black and navy, as well as boxer-briefs in cotton that were made like a brief in the same cotton but with longer legs, maybe a 2-inch inseam. And of course plenty of the loose-fitting plaid boxer shorts so popular with the teen males who wanted to make sure they conformed to what the other guys their age were wearing.

But each of the discount houses had their own separate racks of proprietary store-brand briefs. These were unlike the white cotton briefs in that the material was smoother and came in either a cotton-Lycra blend or a still smoother polyester-Lycra blend. The designs all came in both materials. Apparently some guys preferred the absorbency of the stretchy cotton blend while other guys obviously preferred the slick feel of the polyester-Lycra blend. Some of the latter were very similar to a swim brief. For guys who thought it neat or fun to see what they would look like in a colorful Speedo® this was an opportunity to find out while maintaining the “image” that this was still just underwear.

Each of the three big discount stores had their own proprietary brands. Walmart had cut this deal with Jockey for them to supply discount underwear under the “Life” brand while still keeping the upscale Jockey brand for the department stores. Meanwhile, Kmart was having success with their store brand underwear under the trade name Joe Boxer. And Target’s store brand was “Merona”.

The racks of designer discount underwear at the three discount houses were very similar. Guys could choose between a brief with a higher rise (though still lower rise than a standard tighty whitey) in an assortment of colors and either in the cotton/Lycra blend or the Polyester blend. The cotton-blend fabric was sometimes available with a fly but generally not for the stretch polyesters. Sides on this style of brief probably averaged about 2 inches.

Next in terms of fit was what was called the bikini brief, typically with sides of ¾ inch to 1 inch. Again, same choice of fabrics, but bikini briefs had no fly. Given the low rise the guy could just pop himself over the waistband when at the urinal, or at least that was the theory.

Next down was what they called the string bikini. But the string was simply a narrow band of elastic maybe ¾ to ½ inch wide not a string or cord.

Then finally there were the thongs, typically not as “mean” as the real Jockey thongs were. They were made from cotton/Lycra blends or sometimes stretch polyester/Lycra, and typically the back was a wider band of fabric covering elastic maybe ½ to ¾ inches wide. I guess the idea was that guys who were apprehensive about having an elastic cord or narrow band cutting between their glutes would be more willing to try the style if the back merely covered that area rather than cut into it.

As guys get into their teen years, increasingly they are permitted to pick out their own clothing items at least within reason. Parents often put bounds based on practicality. So guys realize that a package of briefs, boxer briefs or loose fitting boxer shorts would immediately would meet the parent’s approval, as being both practical daily wear and easy to launder.

But the stuff on the racks I describe was another matter entirely. Is this stuff practical for daily wear, even one of the brightly colored briefs or bikini briefs? And does underwear without a fly make sense for a guy at all? And do these get laundered with the other white underwear? This is the likely parent disapproval set of issues.

Complicating all of this the guy is trying to gauge if he really wants to be seen wearing something like this in the gym locker room in the presence of his male buds. For that matter, is this something a guy could wear when on a date with a girl his age? These are complicated questions that have no easy answers.

Still, in the back of the minds of guys, at least a lot of guys, they are seeking a few pair of underwear specifically for the purpose of being fun to mess around in aka masturbation. For some guys wearing something snug and skimpy, this could easily lead to, well, you know. But that too is kind of a problem, because if every time a guy crawls into one of his selections he starts to get an instant woodie, that could mean that such underwear is not practical for daily wear at all.

For a host of different reasons, I am thinking that the underwear on these racks, from the skimpy colored fly-front briefs, the bikini briefs, the string bikinis and the thongs were mainly marketed to guys who were out on their own, maybe in college, and not living at home with their parents. Being out on your own often gives guys new opportunities to just kick back and enjoy themselves in special ways that were difficult when the guy was living at home. And the guy is doing his own laundry so a cum-stained pair is no problem at all to take care of.

But these racks have all disappeared from the discount houses. The market must have largely disappeared as well. Kmart no longer exists with any more than a few stores at most, but they kept selling Joe Boxer cotton thongs and bikini briefs nearly to the end. Walmart and Target quit a selling thongs decade or more ago. I checked all three Web sites and merely finding a men’s bikini brief of any sort is difficult. What remains are an occasional cotton one—not too skimpy, but not much else. Walmart is still selling a few pieces of “Jockey Life” branded underwear. I saw nothing at Target under the Merona brand tho I have not checked any physical stores lately.

In the last two decades what guys buy for underwear has changed a lot. Maybe guys rely on Amazon or eBay for the skimpy styles any more to the extent that demand exists. The current thing appears to be underwear that provides the look and feel of athletic compression shorts.

To be continued….