Category

Making Underwear More Comfortable

Category
Too cute to not see again. Rawr!
Too cute to not see again. Rawr!

Hopefully, no one has been on pins and needles, waiting for the exciting second part to Under A Bear’s Clothes. It took some time to get replies returned and get the information together. Then, of course, life steps in and takes care of the rest of the time since posting the beginning. But, fear not bears and bear lovers! Here is the results of my questions to stocky and bear men.

I have to say, first off, that bears can be a tad shy when speaking of their underwear.  It was either this fact or all the bears I knew didn’t want to comment.  To an extent, I think I received a good number of replies from my questions.  Let’s get this bear underwear party started (only in my dreams, boys)!

Question 1: What type of underwear (style or cut) do you prefer? Why this choice?
The majority of responses I received leaned toward boxer briefs.  The fact that the package has room to move and breathe is a concern with these guys.  Others said they liked briefs because they provided a snug fit, used in traveling said one response.  One or two people threw in pouch briefs because they offered more room and a greater uplifting effect.

Question 2:  If you were to branch out from your normal style, which one would you want to try? Could this new adventure go along with a thought you have had in the past?
Since a good number of these guys said they liked wearing boxer briefs, branching out for them consisted of trying briefs.  One mentioned the Ginch Gonch Pretty Kitty briefs.  I can see a bear with kitties covering his rear!  That’s a great thought!  Other’s mentioned maybe something wilder like mesh or bikinis.  With newer companies coming along every month or so, they may just have a chance to try these soon.

Question 3:  Have you found a material that bests suits you and your everyday activities, whether it is cotton, spandex, Lycra, or possibly a blend?
Cotton was a top choice of fabrics.  Lycra/spandex blends were also mentioned.  The reasoning for so much cotton is because of its airy nature.  Some blends can cause more sweating and bears tend to get grumpy when they swear too much.  I tend to like a sweaty bear, but that’s just me!  On the other hand, people like the blends because they mold to the body instead of the loose tendency of cotton. More molding! More airy! I see a new commercial in the making.

Question 4:  When purchasing underwear for your mate, is there a style you prefer to see him/her in?
This question is where I got a lot of feedback!  Some men were open about what they would rather like to see, including briefs, boxers, or bikinis.  Others, however, were pretty direct about what they wanted to see.  One response said he liked seeing his mate in a jock while another wanted to see his mate in red Calvin Klein boxer briefs. Even farther, getting into the single crowd, they said it all depended on who was wearing the underwear.  I can agree with that statement.  A style that looks good on one person may not be a good choice for another.  It would be a boring world if we all wore the same thing.

Question 5:  When getting a new pair of underwear for your mate, are you open to trying new things for the sake of making the other party happy or possibly satisfying a fantasy/idea they have discovered?
The resounding response….YES! This was a definite.  All responses said they were totally open to trying new things with their partners to make them happy and see where the venture takes them.  How nice of our bears to be so open-hearted and willing to do something new!

Question 6:  Are you a fly person or do you prefer your underwear with no fly opening?
Split down the middle, our bears chose both fly and without.  One said since they liked pouches, the fly would be hard to design. Another said that the fly served no real function to him, being the main reason he hated regular, everyday brand briefs.  Yet another responder said he liked the top/pouch fly as in those created once by Jockey.

Question 7:  Do you prefer underwear with seams in the pouch/front or are you more of a seamless brief wearer?
Most replied with seamless, but everyone agreed that it wasn’t a necessity.  Every once in a while, a brief with a seam in the front can be irritating to men.  It causes a pick-and-chose motion where the guy ends up grabbing his crotch and picking a better place for his tool to rest.  That can get annoying and can be corrected with seamless briefs.  The seamless briefs can pose a problem to many because they are not generally designed with an accentuating pouch and may restrict movement more than desired.  It’s a heads or tails decision.

Question 8:  Do you prefer the more modern styles of underwear, featuring the accentuation pouch, such as 2xist, C-in2, or Andrew Christian?
The guys said, for the most part, that they liked the new accentuation pouches, even if they had never tried them.  They liked the way the pouch made the package more pronounced and how it picked up the tackle from the legs.  Only one person responded with a dislike of the pouches.  There wasn’t any reasoning…just a simple “No, that’s fine” answer and we carry on!

Question 9:  If the accentuation pouch brief is something you have not tried or you totally don’t like, are you more of a traditional/classic underwear guy, such as preferring to wear Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, or Jockey briefs or boxers?
There were quite a few point blank “NO!” answers to this question.  I think when some men found out there was a world of underwear outside what Mom and Dad used to buy them for school, they refused to go back.  I don’t blame them at all.  I was the same way. Even though these guys said no, they were open to seeing someone else in the classic designs. There are some great built guys that look amazing in a pair of tighty-whities!

Question 10:  Would you be more apt to try new styles of underwear if you saw someone of a more muscular/beefy body build compared to someone not close to your stature?
For our last question, it was split down the middle.  Half of the guys said they would more likely try a new style/brand if they saw someone of their own build modeling them.  It would help them make the final decision on whether the style looked comfortable or even be practical.  The other half said that no matter who was modeling the underwear, they would try it if they wanted to give it a shot.  If it didn’t fit well or look good, they would remember it and ever purchase them again.  Personally, I would like a model, but again, I’m not a bear, but an in between sometimes.

I would like to thank the guys who participated with the article.  We have learned a few things with regards to the thought process of stocky, beefy men and their underwear purchasing.  We can only hope that in the future, underwear designers will branch out and try to welcome in the larger size men.  There is a request for larger sizes and designers could make a great difference in today’s underwear market is they listened.

Stocky bears show off in nature - or, at least, we like them to!
Stocky bears show off in nature - or, at least, we like them to!

For many years now, men have looked to underwear manufacturers and distributors to supply them with various styles and colors to add support and excitement to their daily lives. The wonders of supporting garments have been felt by millions. Those who have worn any style of men’s undergarment saw them in an advertisement or on some kind of billboard or poster before buying. Television commercials have placed famous names into products so that we were able to see these items in motion. Magazines have used full pages to entice the public into thinking they would feel and look better in their creation. We’ve been thankful for these ads which give us a, for lack of a better word, brief look at what these articles should look like when worn.

Looking back through the history of underwear ads, one group of men has been left in the shadows. The stocky, heavy-set, big-boned, or sometimes overweight men who desire comfortable underwear have been forgotten by the advertisement campaigns of underwear designers. The everyday brands we have seen our entire lives have obviously also decided to turn a blind eye to this area of the market. This concept of “no bear” advertising is not a new trend. It started at day one.

I was looking through an underwear rack at a local department store a few weeks back and wondered about the assortment of sizes being displayed. I found one or two smalls, more mediums, even more larges, and a few graciously displayed extra larges. I wear a small in briefs but have friends I would want to see in the brand/style I was interested in buying, only in a larger size. The idea haunted me all evening long. There had probably been guys looking at these underwear, wanting to know how they felt or how they supported, but were too hesitant to spend the money. I can imagine the look on their faces, if they were underwear enthusiasts, as they turned from the rack, leaving without knowing how great they could feel. The more times this happened, the more large sizes were left on the rack.

I totally see where these men would feel left out of the crowd and ultimately feel let down by the manufacturers of something they love so much. This feeling could be derived from multiple things. First, the ads used in the general public would never show how the larger sizes would look when worn by a similar sized model. Secondly, the looks of some salespeople when underwear is purchased would not be of an understanding kind, but would likely be one of disbelief when purchased by a “big” guy. Lastly, over time, the individual might have been told out-right by someone that he did not need to wear anything like the underwear he loved. In either case, someone walked away without a chance to feel good about himself, even for a moment by himself or something more sexual with a wife or life partner.

I wanted to get more information on this topic, so I asked a few friends of mine some questions. All of these friends wouldn’t personally classify themselves as being a part of the vast movement referred to as the bear/cub/otter subculture, but some do join in the merriment therein. I asked these men ten questions pertaining to their feelings toward certain styles, materials, what they would like to see their mates wearing, what would they try if given the chance, and if advertisements would change their outlook on underwear purchases. I felt each of these points would give me a good indication of what men in this category might be thinking and wishing for the future in the world of underwear.

(to be continued)

Over the coming months, Daniel Miljkovic, designer for the men’s underwear brand Obviously will be presenting a short 10 part series on the 10 things that make men’s underwear more comfortable.

prd_obviously-anatomical-pouch-low-rise-boxer-briefs-black

Part One: Room to Move, Room to Grow

I’m not sure where it started, but at some point someone decided that it was OK to have men jamming themselves down the front of the pants  with no room to move. Every man knows the feeling of being squashed down the front of his underwear, there’s nothing worse. That sick feeling that you get when you know your most important bits are suffering. And every woman knows the feeling they get when the guy in front goes for the quick crotch adjustment that turns into the 5 min scratch.

Top of the comfort list is underwear that provides men with the freedom to move, not swinging in the breeze freedom, but the not‐squashed comfortable kind of freedom: the sort of freedom where everything is right where it should be.

When designing the Obviously for Men underwear range, one main design element focused on ensuring that there enough room for men of all shapes and sizes to be comfortably support without the need for constant crotch readjustments. Through the use of clever design an fabric selection Obviously ensures that you have room to move and room to grow.