What kind of underwear was popular when you were in college/college aged?

[opinionman]

• What years were you in college or in the 18-22 age range? 1980s
• What part of the USA/world did you go to college in/live in at ages 18-22? Midwest, USA
• What styles of underwear were most popular with your peers then? briefs; this was pre-boxers and boxerbriefs. Most wore tighty whities but colors were showing up too
• What brands of underwear were most popular with your peers then? Seemed like Hanes, FotL, and Jockey
• What colors of underwear were most popular with your peers then? White but then the colored jockeys with the white piping showed up
• What percentage of your peers would you estimate wore each style of underwear? 85% tighty whities and 15% color
• Was there much social pressure and/or teasing for wearing a “minority choice” of underwear? none that I recall
• What underwear did you wear then? I quickly followed the Jockey colors with white piping trend

Those were the days, for sure.

 

[opinionman]

My community college years in Mesa, AZ were from 1980 to 1984. White briefs were the most common underwear; colored briefs were catching on, too. During my second year, I began to notice that some of the young students were wearing boxers under their shorts. You could tell because the legs of the boxers were longer than their shorts. My initial reaction was that I thought it was korny to dress that way. Then another realization struck me: often I could see the outline of the penis showing on the guys who wore boxers as there was no support to keep things in place. Popular at the time were tennis shorts, coach's shorts, and OP cord shorts. Each of them did a great job of highlighting the guy's assets when worn with boxers.

Despite my initial resistance, I wanted to try boxers. I went to the mall and looked at the selection. There were regular boxers that I associated with old men, but there were also sporty "trim fit" boxers that were designed like gym shorts. There was contrasting trim on the sides and along the leg openings. The trim fit boxers seemed like a better option with shorts than standard boxers because only 1/2" of the boxers hung below the shorts compared to regular boxers that hung 2" - 3" below the legs of the shorts. I went for it and bought a few pair. It felt strange to not have support, and my dick liked the feeling a little too much! The first time I wore my light blue boxers with white trim to college was with my navy tennis shorts. The dark color provided some modesty when I walked from class to class with the inevitable semi that resulted from the friction of walking. Can't lie; it felt awesome! The next day I got braver and wore my white double-knit Adidas tennis shorts with navy and white pin striped boxers with white trim. and a navy blue t-shirt. I liked to match the navy stripes with the navy t-shirt. I was self-conscious of how obvious my dick outlie was, yet other guys were dressing that way, too. Boxers had become a fad. As I walked to my second class, I felt Junior starting to bone up. I held my books in front of me to hide my predicament. L.O.L.!

Throughout the '80s and '90s, I wore colored briefs most of the time and only wore boxers once in a while when the mood struck me. In 2006, I made the switch and boxers became my default underwear. The looser fit became a more comfortable option for me.

I certainly thought the look of boxers with their legs sticking out beyond the shorts of their pants was a super dumb look.

 

[opinionman]

Iowa
Boxers and boxer briefs
Calvin Klein and Joe Boxer
I switched from colored print briefs to boxers and boxer briefs. I experimented with tongs, too. I don't know about peer pressure, but one woman I was into notice the change and complimented me on it.

You experimented with TONGS? That seems painful....

 

[opinionman]

Years in college: 1985-1989

Where: Alberta, Canada

Styles of underwear that were popular: predominantly briefs

What brands of underwear were most popular with your peers then? Calvin Klein white briefs had just come out and were *very* popular. Boxers were very rare

What colors of underwear were most popular with your peers then? White Calvins, coloured/patterned bikini briefs were also popular

What percentage of your peers would you estimate wore each style of underwear? The vast majority wore briefs

Was there much social pressure and/or teasing for wearing a “minority choice” of underwear? Not really

What underwear did you wear then? Loved small bikini briefs and white Calvins (but they were quite expensive, so I only had a few pairs). My favourite clothes for studying at home were a jockstrap and a huge t-shirt

That last sentence nailed it for me. Why didn't you call me so we could study in our jocks together? What brand jockstrap did you wear, Mr. Canada?

 

[freeballerlondon]

Isn't it funny how POWERFUL the social pressure in things like underwear could be?

Actually it’s quite logical. The whole narrative behind men’s underwear is completely fabricated, just really aggressive and pervasive marketing by the clothing industry so it can quite easily be swayed.

 

[MWUS7x6]

You experimented with TONGS? That seems painful....

Typo troll sounds annoying.

 

[person777]

Those were the days, for sure.

Glad I wasn't alive for this, don't need to see a bunch of men wearing old man underwear

 

[chillbro30]

Yes it is

 

[jackroad]

What’s popular in college now days? Grad. Just a few years back and it was Calvin Klein / Hanes (not too big a fan tbh) / American eagle

 

[RIboxerguy]

What’s popular in college now days? Grad. Just a few years back and it was Calvin Klein / Hanes (not too big a fan tbh) / American eagle

I think Calvin’s are still popular.

 

[person777]

What’s popular in college now days? Grad. Just a few years back and it was Calvin Klein / Hanes (not too big a fan tbh) / American eagle

American Eagle is super popular

 

[NY2NY]

Actually it’s quite logical. The whole narrative behind men’s underwear is completely fabricated, just really aggressive and pervasive marketing by the clothing industry so it can quite easily be swayed.

When I watched a 1970 orgy and both men women were all in white briefs or bikini briefs, then fast forward one generation and it's boxers for one and a lot of thongs for the other, it shows that IMO marketing + what other people do > personal comfort

 

[freeballerlondon]

When I watched a 1970 orgy and both men women were all in white briefs or bikini briefs, then fast forward one generation and it's boxers for one and a lot of thongs for the other, it shows that IMO marketing + what other people do > personal comfort

I have a gay uncle who is from that era and he told me that by the mid to late 70s, men’s underwear was firmly on its way out - in his social circle going commando had become more or less the norm, and then neo-prudism/thatcherism/reaganism happened, and apparently it coincided with an extremely mediocre designer having the to licence out his name (Calvin K) for mass-produced products and the rise of equally mediocre ‘musicians’.
Every argument in favour of men’s underwear is conceived by marketing departments, and it’s so pervasive that even LLMs such as ChatGPT and professionals like doctors parrot it.

 

[jockbear]

So I am really into guys and their underwear. The age range I am into is mostly 18-24. Unfortunately, I was late to realizing/accepting my gayness, so I didn’t get the opportunity to do anything with guys when I was in college.

So my questions are:

• What years were you in college or in the 18-22 age range? (Feel free to give a decade if you want to be more private about your age)
• What part of the USA/world did you go to college in/live in at ages 18-22? (Feel free to be more general here)
• What styles of underwear were most popular with your peers then? (I.e. boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs, other)
• What brands of underwear were most popular with your peers then?
• What colors of underwear were most popular with your peers then?
• What percentage of your peers would you estimate wore each style of underwear?
• Was there much social pressure and/or teasing for wearing a “minority choice” of underwear?
• What underwear did you wear then?

Feel free to elaborate/tell any stories if you wish.

-College mid '90s
-went to college in W. Kentucky
-most popular probably baggy boxers followed closely by briefs of various brands.
-lots of different boxer prints mostly white briefs then colored briefs. Boxer briefs were around but not very popular yet
-?? 60% boxers 30% briefs
-little bit of teasing if you were a low-rise or bikini style
- I liked low rise & Calvin hip briefs the best folowed by tighty whities. I really like the support and separation that the low-rise provided.

 

[dplove619]

I graduated from H.S. ('99) from a VERY small farmtown. Only the "trailer park/troublemaker" dudes wore boxers. Rest of us rocked briefs. Went to college and while my roommate was a fellow brief guy ( He FTL's, me Hanes) We were definitely the minority. Everyone else wore boxers. I tried to switch to fit in but I hated them. Thankfully by my junior year boxer briefs became a thing but they were slow to catch on. Probably 70/30 boxers. Never saw another pair of briefs after my freshman year. Now I wear briefs in the summer/boxer briefs the the rest of the year.

 

[opinionman]

I graduated from H.S. ('99) from a VERY small farmtown. Only the "trailer park/troublemaker" dudes wore boxers. Rest of us rocked briefs. Went to college and while my roommate was a fellow brief guy ( He FTL's, me Hanes) We were definitely the minority. Everyone else wore boxers. I tried to switch to fit in but I hated them. Thankfully by my junior year boxer briefs became a thing but they were slow to catch on. Probably 70/30 boxers. Never saw another pair of briefs after my freshman year. Now I wear briefs in the summer/boxer briefs the the rest of the year.

Well, I for one appreciate your avatar in tight whites. I always imagined that regular guys from small towns wore briefs, and that boxers (esp under jeans) were considered odd. Certain, in my day boxers were considered old grandpa underwear, yet somehow that turned around 180 degrees in the 90's

 

[Tony56]

I graduated from H.S. ('99) from a VERY small farmtown. Only the "trailer park/troublemaker" dudes wore boxers. Rest of us rocked briefs. Went to college and while my roommate was a fellow brief guy ( He FTL's, me Hanes) We were definitely the minority. Everyone else wore boxers. I tried to switch to fit in but I hated them. Thankfully by my junior year boxer briefs became a thing but they were slow to catch on. Probably 70/30 boxers. Never saw another pair of briefs after my freshman year. Now I wear briefs in the summer/boxer briefs the the rest of the year.

That has been my experience, too - guys from more rural areas, especially farming areas, wear briefs more commonly.

I might have told this story here already so forgive the possible repeat. I know a guy who went to the U of Tennessee and he wore boxer briefs at home. He also was really into hunting and fishing, which was a bit unusual for our area (and he now actually works a farm). When he got to U Tenn he quickly started associating with other rural boys who liked to hunt and fish and he went on a weekend fishing trip with the guys. He told me that he was the only one in the group NOT wearing tighty whities which made him feel so out of place. He quickly went out and bought a few packages of briefs and started wearing them regularly, and definitely when hanging out with the boys on hunting and fishing trips. Several years out of college now he still wears tighty whities as his standard underwear.

 

[bigdaddysycamore]

95-99 Toledo Ohio Everyone wore plaid/striped/polka dot boxers with no button on the flap. American Eagle were popular.

 

[wildcat16]

I graduated from H.S. ('99) from a VERY small farmtown. Only the "trailer park/troublemaker" dudes wore boxers. Rest of us rocked briefs. Went to college and while my roommate was a fellow brief guy ( He FTL's, me Hanes) We were definitely the minority. Everyone else wore boxers. I tried to switch to fit in but I hated them. Thankfully by my junior year boxer briefs became a thing but they were slow to catch on. Probably 70/30 boxers. Never saw another pair of briefs after my freshman year. Now I wear briefs in the summer/boxer briefs the the rest of the year.

my uncle graduated high school in 91, he was a white briefs guy he said, trended to some bikini briefs, Jockey Poco in college based on his dorm popularity of them. He still has a lot of his old white briefs still in decent shape. I love them under jeans, or even any kind of shorts in the summer time. I'm a wrestler so im a jockstrap fan when its real hot for sure, but his briefs are kind of nice, and already broken in nicely. He said he did a lot of underwear shopping back then at JCPenny which had Stafford, Jockey, Towncraft.
He said that in mid 90's they made Stafford sport which also offered a jockstrap.

 

[wildcat16]

I think Calvin’s are still popular.

never saw more than a rare sighting of CK of any style in high school or college, mostly i was around jocks. College for me was mid and late 20teens.
I remember seeing a wrestler from another school opening a package of varied colored CK boxerbriefs, in a size very tight on him and they had the white piping some guys talk about on here from the early 90's jockey stuff. Two of his teammates saw him and each come up to get one of the other pairs out of his pack, so the three of them, all a size to big for that underwear, put them on and just hung out in them till they had to put on a singlet. One was like orange, one black, one grey i think i remember and all had the white waist and around the fly and the leg hems.