In the past, we’re white briefs ever the “cool/in” underwear of choice?

[deleted15076621]

It seems presumptuous of you to dismiss the myriad statements in this forum as "not true at all." Do you mean to say that the experience of virtually ALL the other posters is somehow false or made up? How would you know?
I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of guys who responded just as I would have: that until about the later 80's boxers were for OLD MEN. In the 70's in hs, NO ONE in my private boys school wore them .

I went to college in the Northeast and it was only the prep school kids who wore boxers. Virtually no one I knew wore them, except, perhaps, as dorm wear to hang out.

I have never, ever heard anyone say "boxer briefs were girly or "gross." Where did you hear that?As many posters here have mentioned, the choice of most guys appears to be boxer briefs now.

Besides, the OP asked about guys of older generations, so if you're that young, maybe you don't have the experience he's asking about.

I didn’t reply to the OP. I replied to the guy saying most younger guys have never worn boxers. I’m much younger than you and have first hand experience that is not true. People on this forum tend to be old men that make blanket statements about things they know nothing about. Maybe what you said was true in the 80s but it sure as hell wasn’t true in the 2010s or now

 

[deleted15577081]

UK here. When I was a small child in the 70's we all wore white y-fronts, (used to do gym in them!) then everyone turned to using garish-coloured y-fronts or briefs, by the time I left school and started college we had all started wearing white loose boxer shorts (encouraged by a british tv advert for Levi's jeans where a model strips to his white boxers in a 50's scene), then as I entered my late 20's the white boxers turned to multi-coloured ones, then by the mid 90's the tight boxer-trunks style were taking over, white first thanks to a Marky-Mark Calvin Klein advert then onto patterned ones with prominent waistbands showing the branding which are still the most popular today in my age group. In the gym locker room I see these the mostly, but also simple briefs usually white or grey or black, and still a fair number of guys in either knitted or woven loose boxers with button fly. By comparison, my father has always worn y-fronts and still does. My grandad wore long-legged, loose white brushed cotton undershorts, I only know because my mother asked if I wanted them after he died...I said No Thankyou. Below is a link to the levi 501 tv commercial.

Levi 501 shrinkfit

 

[Bilad90]

Completely agree with opinionman. Although I’m from the UK I do believe boxer briefs/trunks are dominant throughout the world. I’d love to say briefs were popular but unfortunately they’re rare. And as opinionman states i have never ever heard anyone say boxer briefs are gay/girly. I’ve heard people say briefs are gay or boxers (as in loose boxers) are old man underwear now. Although anecdotally I have seen loose boxers slightly more in the past year or so - maybe as the under 30s are now wearing baggy clothes again.

 

[opinionman]

I didn’t reply to the OP. I replied to the guy saying most younger guys have never worn boxers. I’m much younger than you and have first hand experience that is not true. People on this forum tend to be old men that make blanket statements about things they know nothing about. Maybe what you said was true in the 80s but it sure as hell wasn’t true in the 2010s or now

The "guy saying that most younger guys have never worn boxers" IS the OP. It's in the first post:

"So question for people who are a little older. My age range has always considered white briefs to be childish and most guys switched to boxers when they realized this (or social pressure got to them) and now many have migrated to boxer-briefs. The 18-30 year olds now seemed to largely have basically always worn boxer briefs, with comparatively few ever preferring boxers, much less briefs of any color".

He did, say "basically" which isn't the same thing as saying NO ONE wore boxer briefs, tho I guess if your experience as someone in that age range, you have a certain viewpoint and yeah, it does seem most guys here are older than you. However, what you saw is not necessarily the norm everywhere in the U.S.

I have occasion to be among college aged guys and guys in their 20s and now practically all I see are boxer briefs. That doesn't mean they never wore boxers, of course. I know the 90's were particularly boxers-oriented (mysteriously, in my opinion).

On a slightly different aspect, note how many of the post-ers here say the same thing about past decades: that boxers were considered old-man underwear

In the 40s/50s white Y front briefs were considered modern, and boxers were considered old fashioned.

Likewise with the 60s, 70s, and even much of the 80s around here. Boxer shorts were considered your grandfather's underwear.

in the 80's and early 90's literally everyone wore white briefs some of the time, if not all the time. They were standard back then. In the mid 90s, boxer shorts became the "cool" choice (where previously, they were seen as an "old grandpa" underwear)

Boxers were considered old fashioned--worn by men of my father's and grandfather's generation.

Boxers were considered to be for old men, and boxerbriefs certainly hadn't caught on yet for us.

Boxers were considered "old man underwear", and very few young men wore them.


(me): And this is precisely how they were viewed when I was in school in the 70’s: your grandpa’s underwear. I recall the flak a guy got when I was a senior in hs in '78. He (bravely) stripped to his baby blue boxers and practically was laughed out of the locker room. (Guys can sure be obnoxious, can't they?)

I’m always amazed at how fashions can go 180 degrees: What was once old man underwear became cool. How does that happen?

 

[Tony56]

I didn’t reply to the OP. I replied to the guy saying most younger guys have never worn boxers. I’m much younger than you and have first hand experience that is not true. People on this forum tend to be old men that make blanket statements about things they know nothing about. Maybe what you said was true in the 80s but it sure as hell wasn’t true in the 2010s or now

Well I'm an old man but your insistence that EVERYONE your age wears boxer shorts just is not true. My nephew is in his mid 20s and wore boxer shorts in high school but switched to boxer briefs in college - and he went to college in New England, by the way. I doubt he is the only mid-20s who wears boxer briefs (said sarcastically - I know for a fact he isn't). Boxer briefs often have a thick hem on the leg which often shows through trousers.

 

[friskyedog]

Mid 40s here. I have always loved them. Here is this weekend's acquisition:

View attachment 84386091

Besides being an amazing pic (obviously whew got me sweating), what brand are those? I love white briefs but have never seen these before. Feel free to post more too!

 

[jockbear]

For me, high school gym class happened in the early '90s (lower midwest). In my class tighty whities were except for a rare few exceptions. Those who were not in fly-front briefs were usually in something more brief like a low-rise brief or bikini. I don't know if the tighty whities were the "cool-in" underwear but they were, by far, the most common. I didn't like how the tighty-whities would gap at the leg holes so I often went for low-rise briefs for better support. Gym-class jockstraps had gone away by that time but some athletes still wore them. Guys just a couple of years behind me were rapidly switching to boxers and I saw lots of them when I went to college. I tried boxers and could not stand them. I still opt for underwear with support today.

 

[jockbear]

I did notice some wasitband sightings featuring briefs under boxers. I guess that some guys wanted to be stylish with boxers while keeping the support of briefs.

 

[opinionman]

For me, high school gym class happened in the early '90s (lower midwest). In my class tighty whities were except for a rare few exceptions. Those who were not in fly-front briefs were usually in something more brief like a low-rise brief or bikini. I don't know if the tighty whities were the "cool-in" underwear but they were, by far, the most common. I didn't like how the tighty-whities would gap at the leg holes so I often went for low-rise briefs for better support. Gym-class jockstraps had gone away by that time but some athletes still wore them. Guys just a couple of years behind me were rapidly switching to boxers and I saw lots of them when I went to college. I tried boxers and could not stand them. I still opt for underwear with support today.

You pinned this exactly, from the fact that tighty whities were still around in that part of the country to the oncoming wave of boxers taking over to the fact that boxers suck.

 

[deleted15076621]

Well I'm an old man but your insistence that EVERYONE your age wears boxer shorts just is not true. My nephew is in his mid 20s and wore boxer shorts in high school but switched to boxer briefs in college - and he went to college in New England, by the way. I doubt he is the only mid-20s who wears boxer briefs (said sarcastically - I know for a fact he isn't). Boxer briefs often have a thick hem on the leg which often shows through trousers.

I didn’t say none of them wear boxer briefs but I’m telling you it’s not a majority and boxer shorts are still extremely popular. You old men just want to force your weird fantasies onto young guys which is strange as hell

 

[Tony56]

I didn’t say none of them wear boxer briefs but I’m telling you it’s not a majority and boxer shorts are still extremely popular. You old men just want to force your weird fantasies onto young guys which is strange as hell

Dude, you have your own weird underwear fantasy.

 

[Rex3611]

Personally, I don't like white clothes, pee stains, skid marks or bleach.

 

[Lokopajero]

Mid 40s here. I have always loved them. Here is this weekend's acquisition:

View attachment 84386091

Uffff! Papiiii que ricoooooo

 

[Autobear1976]

Tighty whities are all I had growing up. I'm not sure that they were cool, but that's what most of our mothers bought I guess. I'm in my 40s, it's what my Dad wore too. I just think that there wasn't much thinking to underwear back then being any more than a functional garment.

 

[diggita]

Upper 40s here from the northeast. Everyone only wore tighty whities growing up. Don’t remember even seeing boxer or boxer briefs until college. As a heavyset guy I tried them both but didn’t find them comfortable around my thick thighs.went back to briefs. For a long time standard white was basically all I could find in big and tall sizes so that is what I wore. Nowadays with the internet and an increasingly bigger (no pun intended) market for big and tall guys there is definitely more of a variety in plus size men’s underwear (bikini/string bikini etc )

 

[nayova]

Besides being an amazing pic (obviously whew got me sweating), what brand are those? I love white briefs but have never seen these before. Feel free to post more too!

Ha! Hey there, thanks for your flattering note. These are UNICO: https://www.mundounico.com.co/ Great brand! They are a bit tight in the front for me but have a nice pouch. Got the microfiber first but these cotton mix are much better. Funny story happened today. I am wearing them and was in a fitting room trying some sweatpants on with a semi closed curtain when a guy passed by and asked me if I had gotten the briefs in that store. I explained that I got them overseas. The guy was not flirting or anything but he was hot AF so I started bulging up, he noticed it and said good bye with a "great bulge btw" and winked at me...

 

[stanmarsh14]

From a UK perspective, it was generally considered in the 80's, that briefs and especially y-fronts, to be the choice of the older generation, and certainly the moment I hit my teens, switched to loose fitting boxers, and going more into y2k, switching to Trunks / Boxer-briefs.

These days, I have quite a mix of boxers / Boxer-briefs from the likes of Sunspel and Uniqlo (I used to be very much into Obviously / c-in2) briefs (Sunspel), and strangely for a Brit, Jockstraps from Meyer (Based on Bike #10's) and Jockmail (Outside of Cricket and other high impact sports, Jocks are very uncommon in the UK, even today..... Christ knows why!).

To pick up on what @westernplumber mentioned about the well known Levi's 501 ad, those very boxers which was adorned by Nick Kamen, was from none other than Sunspel, which is still trading to this day, in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, my home town, and along with them over in neighbouring Beeston, Nottingham, a designer by the name of Paul Smith (Also still trading to this day), also lending a hand, in the large take up of Boxer Shorts in the UK, as well as rocketing sales of 501's.

Oh for those who can get there, yes Sunspel do have a factory shop, which I make great use of

https://www.sunspel.com/pages/sunspel-factory-store

 

[Joeyfromal]

I didn’t say none of them wear boxer briefs but I’m telling you it’s not a majority and boxer shorts are still extremely popular. You old men just want to force your weird fantasies onto young guys which is strange as hell

Bro is trolling. His entire post history is fetishizing boxers and he completed two surveys this year with two markedly different ages. Boxer briefs are ubiquitous with 20-somethings on the east coast, Midwest, and west coast.

 

[Bilad90]

Bro is trolling. His entire post history is fetishizing boxers and he completed two surveys this year with two markedly different ages. Boxer briefs are ubiquitous with 20-somethings on the east coast, Midwest, and west coast.

Completely agree. You’d have to be blind not to realise that boxer briefs / trunks are the standard underwear for basically anyone who isn’t old. And by old I’d say pensionable age. This is despite the fact I love briefs - but I’m not gonna make out they’re not a rare sight.

 

[Bilad90]

From a UK perspective, it was generally considered in the 80's, that briefs and especially y-fronts, to be the choice of the older generation, and certainly the moment I hit my teens, switched to loose fitting boxers, and going more into y2k, switching to Trunks / Boxer-briefs.

These days, I have quite a mix of boxers / Boxer-briefs from the likes of Sunspel and Uniqlo (I used to be very much into Obviously / c-in2) briefs (Sunspel), and strangely for a Brit, Jockstraps from Meyer (Based on Bike #10's) and Jockmail (Outside of Cricket and other high impact sports, Jocks are very uncommon in the UK, even today..... Christ knows why!).

To pick up on what @westernplumber mentioned about the well known Levi's 501 ad, those very boxers which was adorned by Nick Kamen, was from none other than Sunspel, which is still trading to this day, in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, my home town, and along with them over in neighbouring Beeston, Nottingham, a designer by the name of Paul Smith (Also still trading to this day), also lending a hand, in the large take up of Boxer Shorts in the UK, as well as rocketing sales of 501's.

Oh for those who can get there, yes Sunspel do have a factory shop, which I make great use of

https://www.sunspel.com/pages/sunspel-factory-store

View attachment 85667541

I actually think in the UK boxers caught on earlier than in the US. I’ve only ever known my dad wear boxers (either loose woven or more lately boxer briefs). I myself only had one pair of woven loose boxers before I moved onto boxer briefs as that was what everyone else was wearing in the 90s.