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Underwear Essentials

Have you ever put on a pair of your briefs and thought, “I don’t think I could live without this pair”? I know I have, and hopefully what follows is a whole new phenomenon in the men’s underwear community, which we will be calling “Underwear Essentials”.

Inspired by various websites I’ve come across, like Hype Beast’s essentials page along with several other “pocket dump” and “everyday carry” blogs around the internet, I wanted to create a place for UNB bloggers (and hopefully some of our willing fans) to share which pairs they can’t live without, and explain why that’s the case. These posts are not just about the photo and a lame description of each pair, no. The true purpose of creating something new with “Underwear Essentials” is for our readers to gain an understanding of how each collection has developed over time. How certain brands, fabrics, designs, and/or their designers have shaped the preferences of the wearer. In other words, while the photo above is incredibly simplistic, containing all of the underwear I couldn’t live without-it is really a representation of what I have come to know and love about men’s underwear.

Brandon’s Essentials 

My underwear represents a way for me to express myself even if it’s only on an interpersonal level. Due to the size of my collection, everyday’s choice is something I look forward to from the time I turn the shower on. Any one of several factors can impact my decision each morning. The first question I always force myself to answer is, “what is my mood like?” From there, some of the usual questions come into play. Like, “what’s today’s weather going to do? Is it going to be sunny, hot or cold, overcast, rainy?” Primarily for me, the style I choose is guided by the day of the week and my mood, and lastly, the clothes I’ll be wearing.

Ever since I got my first couple of pairs in the mail about a year and a half ago, Andrew Christian has been my favorite underwear designer. I am in love with the Almost Naked and Nano Fit lines, his use of rayon fabric (made from bamboo fibers) provides an overall fit that compliments my long, 6-foot-4 athletically built frame. The Almost Naked Sport Brief (bottom two pairs in Column 1) is by far my favorite A.C. design and I love the Navy and Turquoise colors the best (I own just about every color option). The  Almost Naked Infinity Brief (bottom pair, column 1) and Air Sculpt Brief (Top Row, Far Left) also feature rayon which helps to create Andrew Christian’s patented “anatomically correct pouch” which is ideal for guys like me with bigger bulges. I also thought I’d include Andrew Christian’s Ace Air Jock Pro Brief w/Show It Technology (Top, Column 2) which is a hybrid cross of a brief and a jockstrap. It’s actually made of 90% cotton and features the “Show It Technology” pouch. I tend to wear them on Fridays a lot, maybe because I like showing off at the end of the week, who knows?

#JockstrapWednesday anyone? I almost always go with a jock on Hump Day, and I always wear them when working out. I love all of the Andrew Christian Jocks that feature rayon fabric and my current favorites are the lavender Slim Focus Jock, the Cool Flex Jock w/Show It and finally the Trophy Boy Jock (All In Column 3). As I mentioned briefly before I am somewhat generously endowed and I find the pouch on Andrew Christian jocks to be much more forgiving during workouts, and I love wearing them during the weekdays from time to time. It’s for those exact same reasons that I included  the Obviously For Men Chromatic Low Rise Jock (Bottom, Column 4) which I have in red and navy. It’s a great jock that really performs well, especially during workouts.

You can never go wrong with a pair of Calvin Klein briefs. While my love for Andrew Christian underwear is unwavering I must say that the ultimate essentials in my collection are the three CK Briefs pictured (CK Body Hip Brief, Micro X Hip Brief, and the Steel Collection Hip Brief). I have multiple colors in the Micro X and especially the Steel collection and I always default to one of those two briefs when I can’t make up my mind or am in a rush. I also threw in my favorite pair of Trunks, which was the design that led to my obsession, but tapered off quickly when I rediscovered briefs. It’s from a Limited Edition run CK put out a couple of years ago that I’ve made sure to take good care of. Nobody beats CK Underwear in terms of design, quality and overall comfort. If you don’t own any of these three briefs, (or a pair of their trunks) open a new tab to your favorite online underwear retailer right now and buy as many pairs in these collections as you can afford. The reasons you must is simple-unparalleled fit and construction, and they look great on everyone.

At the start of my underwear journey, I had a love-hate relationship with C-IN2. That is, I loved the majority of what they were offering with their “Pop Color” briefs but hated that a major American label’s brief had a design that just couldn’t contain my boys while remaining comfortable everywhere else. Enter the C-IN2 Sport Brief design about a year or so ago. Problem solved. The higher cut leg openings compliment my athletic shape and naturally provide a much bigger pouch which is so comfortable for my goods.

How do a thong, let alone several thongs make any man’s Underwear Essentials? As I found out over a year ago, you can’t answer that question without getting the courage to try one (or several). To me there really isn’t a better feeling than feeling like you’re wearing nothing while getting the best support any style of underwear can provide.  Aesthetically speaking I’ve steered clear of the athletic styles since I graduated from the ranks of “novice wearer,” but I love the new Nano Fit Thong from Andrew Christian (Top Right). My go-to thong is the Cover Male Thong (Yellow Thong) simply because it has the most traditional thong design available. Overall, my favorite thong brand is Gregg Homme and my favorite thong is the Pump Up Thong  (White and Red Thong). Gregg Homme uses a synthetic fabric called “Polyamide” which is almost like a very structured silk material. They use it in the Boytoy G-String which I could honestly wear every day, if I didn’t have so many other designs and pairs of underwear I love. If you are questioning what you’d wear one under, look no further than a suit or suit pants which fitted in the seat, or the increasingly popular, skinny and straight leg styles of men’s jeans. Yes, you can see pantylines on men and they are just as unattractive as they are on women.

These are the 19 pairs out of a collection that is nearly 10 times as big that I just don’t think I could live without. I can honestly say that my experiences with trial and error in the ever-expanding world of men’s designer underwear shaped this Essentials portion of my collection- a fact that is so true, it took me less than a minute to pick out the pairs you see here. The underwear you see in these pictures are the pairs I could live with for the rest of my life. In one way or another they give me everything I need out of a pair of underwear in any situation I’d find myself in.

Now think about your collection. What styles and designs can you not wait to wear again after the laundry is folded? Do your essentials match the utility your body requires in all the situations you find yourself in? Let us know by submitting a hi-res picture of your Underwear Essentials along with a description of your favorite pairs and how they have shaped you as an individual as well as your own personal understanding of men’s underwear.

Underwear Essentials 2

 

 

 

 

 

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I love getting the opportunity to try new brands of undies that I have never before owned.  I feel I have an extensive collection, but when I have the opportunity to expand my underwear collection even more, I get very excited. With that being said, when I found out I was getting a couple pairs of JustUs Boyz, a brand I have read and heard lots about, I couldn’t wait!

JustUs Boyz is a men’s collection put out by the JustUs Clothing Company in Royal Oak Michigan. JustUs Boyz offers a wide range of underwear from jocks and hip briefs to boxers and fitted trunks. They also offer hoodies and thermals as well as a huge line of accessories.

I was very excited to get two pairs of their fitted, trunk style undies, one in the “Solider Boyz Like it Hard” and “Gay Boyz Like It Hard” styles. The Solider style is a tan camouflage print with the words “Soldier Boyz Like It Hard” screen printed on the left thigh. It has a matching tan elastic waistband with the JustUs Boyz logo embroidered on it. The Gay Boyz style is a white undie with the words “Gay Boyz Like It Hard” printed on the left thigh. It has an accented Royal Blue waistband. Both of these styles fit the same.

These undies caught my eye before I got them out of the box.  If you haven’t ever seen the box that JustUs Boyz comes in, it is well worth it. I will leave it at that! These undies fit much like any other trunk cut would. They are cut a little higher on the hip, but from a guy that likes trunk cuts, it was not noticeable at all.  Besides being cut a little different, it was hard for me to find anything about this style that really stood out.  The JustUs Boyz trunk has a pretty standard pouch and there is enough fabric to provide for optimal coverage.  I will say that both styles wear great for everyday wear.

Overall, these were just above average for me. I wish they would have taken the creativity further then a screen print saying on the leg. I will, however, be trying more from this brand.  Their clothing line looks great and the jocks are amazing from what I have heard. I am definitely not ready to through in the towel on this brand.

Fit: 4
Materials: 4
Put Together: 4
Look: 5
Daily wear: 5

Overall: 4.4

I encourage you to check out the JustUs Boyz website to see everything this company has to offer.  You can purchase these styles for $22.00 and many other styles and clothing from their website.

The summer is just getting started and it’s time to gear up. We here at UnderwearNewsBriefs.com have already written up a 2009 Summer Swim Suit Guide that we posted several weeks ago about suits from various brands we thought were both eye-catching and fun for this year. Now it’s time to review some new swimwear and give you the “411” on what’s hot this summer. Our first swimwear review will be of the Andrew Christian “Show-It” swim trunks. Now, you might have already heard about the “Show-It” underwear line Andrew Christian had first developed. It sold like hotcakes. After this, they decided to create a swimsuit line. Our friends over at Andrew Christian were gracious enough to send me a pair of the red/black trunks in a size large.

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I will admit that I was a bit skeptical since I have felt AC underwear/swimwear would not work too well with a body type like mine. I was wrong. The size large fit well with ample coverage in both the front and back. The “Show-It” technology lives true to its name. The ‘comfy cup’ design inside gives a lift to my package and helps it say “HI” to the world. The cup is lined with soft elastic making it very comfortable for a long day at the beach or pool.

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The materials used to create this sexy looking swimsuit are great. The trunks feel soft and at the same time durable. They are made with Sport UPF Fade Resistant Fabric 50+ which means that over 95.7% of UV rays are blocked by the fabric. Sport UPF Resistant Fabric is also fade resistant meaning you will be able to wear it in the sun all summer before the fabric begins to fade.

I once only liked Speedo swimwear even though I didn’t think it would look that great on me, but I can tell you now that I have fallen in love with trunk style swimwear. It looks so much better on my body type. The AC “Show-It” swim trunk is a great addition to my summer attire. Its overall look can be summed up in two works: “HOT & SEXY”!

Check out the Andrew Christian “Show-It” swim trunks. I am excited to have it in my swimwear collection and I am sure you will too. I give it an overall rating of 5 on a scale of 5.

Fit:                   5

Materials:          5

Put Together:    5

Look:                5

Daily Wear:       5

Overall:            5

You can purchase the “Show-It” swim trunks and other Andrew Christian swimwear and underwear at their website www.andrewchristian.com.

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So, I got my first shipment of undies from UNB to review, and boy did I get a great deal. Two pairs of the new Gigo collection for summer of 2009. I had seen the new wild styles in a couple of catalogs and online, and was intrigued. When they showed up, “LOUD” would be the word I would use to describe them. I got Silver Pink trunk and the purple, almost leopard printed, Purple Posse Trunks. Both pairs are not your typical “Tighty–Whities”, but if you are looking for some fun looking undies any of the Gigo line is going to be exactly what you are looking for.

Both pairs of the Gigo undies are cut a little small, but still fit very nicely; no fudging room allowed fellas. Both pairs I received came in a size medium, which fit my size 32 waist pretty well. The Gigo line fit a little lower on the waist as well. The fabric on both pairs is some of the softest that I have felt in a well put together pair of undies. It is thin, but very high quality blend of nylon, Lurex, and spandex, allowing for great movement for everyday wear.

The pouch of the Gigo line trunks is also very well cut, and reinforced with a little extra stitching. There is one seam up the back, but is not intrusive or noticeable at all. The Waistband is branded with the Gigo logo which is something that I like in a good pair of undies. Overall both these styles are fit and constructed very well.

For some guys, the styles that Gigo offers may be a turn off. I don’t think I would recommend wearing them to the gym, but for the guy that is looking for a fun night out on the town, in a pair of undies that feel good on the skin, offer the right amount of movement, and make you feel a little sexy; these are the styles you have been looking for.

Fit: 4
Materials: 5
Put Together: 5
Look: 4
Daily wear: 5

Overall: 4.6

The Gigo Silver Pink and Posse Trunks are $28.00 but also come in brief, g-string, and jockstrap, with pricing around $25.00. Gigo can be purchased at Underwear Station, which also offers many other styles, cuts and colors of the Gigo underwear line. I hope you have just as much fun in these undies as I did.