Lazy-river pools, gambling, organic grass-fed stake, cool ass designers, and lots and LOTS of underwear. Sums up my experience in Las Vegas for the 2016 MAGIC convention. The MAGIC convention is a biannual trade show for fashion designers/brands. To feature and build distribution for their products. You can find everything from small entrepreneurial designers. Barely scraping their name in the industry.  To big-name, well-established brands like Levis and Calvin Klein. It is comprised of manufacturers of men’s and women’s apparel, footwear,  and accessories. Of course, we can’t forget the most important category: underwear and swimwear! It’s pretty much a big deal so I am super to stoked to have attended and even more excited to report back to you guys!

MAGIC is a one-stop shop for retail buyers. To survey the wide variety of vendors who are hoping to expand their name. I am not a retail buyer and I wouldn’t say that fashion rules everything around me.  I am just an underwear blogger who received this sweet opportunity to go to Vegas during the work week. To attend something new and fun. My goal for this trip was to speak with all of the men’s underwear brands. Speaking to them on a personal level and pick their brains on their new designs and creative process. This is by far my favorite aspect of blogging. Being able to speak to a plethora of brands in one space and time was pretty damn awesome. I attended the last day of the show. That’s when the brands start to let their hair down.  Have a little more time to chit-chat with friendly bloggers.  I have to say that was exactly the case. I met with 12+ brands and each one had something different and unique to offer.

Speaking with the brands was less of an interview process. It more of an open discussion for all things underwear.  I cannot hate on that. As I spoke to them about the features, materials, and cuts I dig. The brands would respond with just as much enthusiasm. With stories about their trial and errors in design. Also, their process for continued growth and improvement. Some brands even divulged their manufacturing processes, machinery, fabric technologies, and printing techniques with me. Which was super awesome and insightful especially for someone who is constantly doing research and development for a living. One feature that a few brands were a introducing was the keyhole pouch technology. Which essentially makes boxer briefs actually comfortable by completely isolating the package and eliminating the potential for chaffing. This has always been my issue with boxer briefs.  It was interesting to know that many of brands that are marketed online seem like they are larger than life. Making beaucoup amounts of cash.  In reality, they are humble designers operating in a very micro level. With many of the times just themselves running the whole show. Many of the brands that I spoke to were just down to earth cool people. Dishing out their artwork and hustling to make their dreams a reality.

Take note gentlemen, ladies really dig guys who wear comfortable and stylish underwear. Can we all just ditch the juvenile, uncomfortable, “how-is-this-a-good-idea” boxer shorts already? Which brings me to a couple of points:

– Ok, so they come in a 5-pack for $10 but are they really doing you any good? The answer is no, no they are not. Many of the brands are aware that men do not want to spend exuberant amounts of money on underwear. Many of them were featuring rad boxer briefs that are insanely comfy and affordable. $20 for a pair of boxer briefs or any pair of underwear for that matter may seem like a lot. These garments are made of quality fabrics with meticulous construction. The best part is they won’t turn into a disintegrated, wrinkly napkin, after one wash. Like your Hanes counterpart.

– Women are rocking the men’s underwear game! It’s awesome to see that they share the same feelings with the current state of men’s underwear market as I do. These women are dedicating their life’s work to giving men options for flattering, comfortable, and stylish underwear. Yes we too deserve to wear sexy undergarments. I want to pat these women on the backs for pushing the boundaries of social norms. It was awesome to meet a couple brands that are owned/represented by females.

MAGIC is a mecca for all things trending in the fashion industry.  Prior to meeting a brand, the products are just mere objects. There is no personality or humanity to the underwear. These are just items that you add to your cart and proceed to checkout. But being able to speak with and understand the brand’s vision for their product. Brings whole new light and appreciation to mine or anyone’s’ interest in underwear. Some people may think that stylish men’s underwear is a taboo subject to speak about. These designers are so relaxed and casual with sharing their vision for creating comfortable and fashionable underwear with the customer in mind. Simply put, they just dig underwear.  I respect what they do. Especially given how repressed the male figure/underwear scene is in States. It’s nice to know that there are people on the front lines pushing the boundaries of style and comfort. That is exactly what I experienced at MAGIC 2016.

Below are some brand highlights and what to expect to see from them in the near future. Each brand was so awesome and different and I hope to share more in-depth in future posts:

– 2(X)ist www.2xist.com

This was the first vendor I met with and the president, Tom, was just an awesome and passionate dude to speak to. They were a great brand to start the day with. Great people, great products. To me, 2(x)ist is such an iconic brand.  Growing up, I would always see their stuff in the store but couldn’t afford it.  Now that I’m and adult not only can I afford them, but I had the opportunity to meet with the CEO; how great!

Moving into 2016, expect a wide range of new items from 2(x)ist including some sweet and super stylish women’s athletic wear and underwear (my girl was a total fan). duffle bags, socks, and not to mention their impeccable functional and stylish men’s underwear. And new athletic wear for Spring 2017!  One thing that I found interesting during my meeting with Thomas. Was that men’s knit swimwear (square & brief cuts) are taking off.  Congrats gentlemen, it’s about the time I hear this!  Swim briefs are king, and 2(x)ist has some hot new swim briefs, which I know I’ll be getting my hands on.  Overall, great brand, great people.

– 2eros www.2eros.com

This Australian brand is famous for their fun and interesting prints. That include a beachy- vacation-like vibe, and bright color blocking. Some of their designs include their iconic emblem of the two converging circles that are strategically placed on the butt.  For an enhanced, rounded look. If you are looking for something more muted and classic. Don’t worry because they offer an array of chic briefs, trunks, and swim shorts for the more conservative of hearts. Be sure to check out their underwear too because they are bold and bangin’. Not to mention they have activewear! I met with the lovely Kathy who represents 2eros and a couple other brands which leads me to:

– Supawear www.supawear.com

This brand definitely has a fun vibe that doesn’t take itself too seriously. With their comic superhero references to bold colors and sharp color blocking. It is no doubt that this is a brand with a sense of humor. OH! I cannot mention Supawear without speaking about “Fruitopia.” Their watermelon inspired brief which I need in my life. To fully illustrate the love I have for my favorite summertime fruit.

– BWET www.bwet.com

If you are into bright, bold, color blocking. But don’t want to sacrifice quality for style than this is the brand for you. BWET features “The Portside Collection.” Portside showcases four swimwear identities that are inspired by famous ships… Super nautical, right?! They offer three classic styles. Including the brief, trunks, and shorts to fit any personality and lifestyle. Plus they use cool UV protected material.

– Papi www.papiinc.com

Ok, so one of my first ever thong purchases was from Papi, so it’s kind of like we go way back. This brand is based out of Miami so many of the designs are inspired but the South Beach culture. They are heavily influenced by its Hispanic Heritage. I am not from Miami nor am I Hispanic. That doesn’t matter because they are dishing out some unique and colorful underwear prints with awesome details in the waistbands. Papi is continuing to “celebrate the spirit, strength, and sex appeal of today’s man.” You gotta love that!

– Junk Underjeans www.junkunderjeans.com

Cool swimwear alert! This brand is known for their masculine boxer briefs and activewear.  They are really dishing out some cool swimwear. Total curve ball, but in the best possible way. For Spring 2017 their swim briefs are showcasing a number of cool patterns. Such as strips and geometric shapes, vibrant gradient colors, unique features such as zippers, dual and waistband.  Lastly fun materials such as Neoprene used for their Hammerhead brief. All of which are saturated with taste and class, which is right up my alley! Oh, and check out their runners! These man leggings look comfy.

– Rounderbum www.rounderbum.com

It was awesome speaking with this brand. Learning about their product since I have never heard of them before. Their representative was awesome enough to sport the product all day long! Must be nice get paid to wear underwear all day. This brand is known for their padded technology (front & rear). To enhance the shapeliness of the butt and package. They are constructed well and give you the option to remove the padding. While still maintaining and awesome fit. You can find these in multi-packs too!

– MyPackage www.mypackage.com

This brand is the cool guy of men’s underwear. I do admit that they have an Under Armour vibe to them. They are super stylish but simplistic. In my opinion, are targeted for the younger millennial generation. This brand features ultra lush modal fabric. Pucker paneling to essentially make critical seams disappear. Ergonomic flat locked stitching. No rub tags and the most interesting of features: the keyhole comfort technology. This is a 3-D internal pouch that provides support and comfort by cradling the package. Eliminating the need for adjustments. If you are looking to work out in true effortless cool-guy style, then this is the brand for you.

– Playboy Men’s Underwear

This brand was unsuspectedly amazing. I was not expecting the quality of the Playboy underwear to be nearly as impeccable as it actually was. They exclusively feature seamless construction with the use of nylon and spandex. The seamless underwear is awesome. Seeing it  and being able to speak to Dilson, the VP of marketing and sales about the manufacturing process was super insightful. To say the least its quite process oriented and requires a lot of infrastructure. These guys know what they are doing and expect awesome stuff from them. The construction of these underwear is just immaculate. With careful thought in making them comfortable and practical. They feature the classic boxer brief, brief and trunk that come in awesome colors and patterns.

– 2UNDR www.2undr.com

This was another brand that featured the keyhole, or as they call it, the “Joey Pouch.” This pouch is designed to fit your entire package to deliver the perfect fit. It prevents unwanted skin contact. They also use the “No-Drip-Tip” technology to help maintain optimal body temperature while promoting accelerated moisture evaporation for added comfort. If briefs aren’t your cup of tea and prefer to wear boxer briefs than you need to check this brand out. 2UNDR features four total designs suited for any lifestyle including: the Dayshift for compression, the Swingshift for quick drying, the Gearshift for a silky fell and pill resistance, and the Powershift for ultra-durability. Interesting enough the brand name 2UNDR is derived from the owner’s love of being on a bike; 2 wheels under your legs.  Expect fun patterns and prints for Spring 2017 collection.

– Jack Adams www.jackadamsusa.com

“Defined by the man who wears it” is this brands motto and could not be any truer for underwear enthusiasts. This is a brand that has always This brand features the top fly versus the conventional and uncomfortable side fly.

– Eugene’s www.eugenesonline.com

This was a brand that was not originally on my list but I am happy to have met with the designer Clay. Based out of Georgia, this is a brand that is taking comfort to the mainstream by taking classic styles. Pairing them with the luxurious feel of a modal fabric. They are dishing out cool apparel too that includes modal u-neck t-shirts, tank tops, crew necks, and v-neck. They offer the classic boxer briefs, boxers, and runners. Most importantly, these guys are offering plus sizes! How cool is that? Everyone deserves to wear comfy and stylish underwear. It’s refreshing to see a brand think outside the box and make this happen for your bigger-boned buddies!

– Gregg Homme www.gregghomme.com

This is a brand well known for their iconic fetish pieces. But don’t worry because anyone can find something that they like from his vast array of products. If you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary but sexy,then you need to visit this website. It was interesting to find out that their products are still manually sewn by seamstresses in their home-base of Canada. Some interesting features to their underwear includes cockrings, and a pseudo version of the keyhole pouch. Need something leather, sheer, lacy, stringy, or barely there? Then you need to check out Gregg Homme.

– Wood www.woodunderwear.com

Female Designer Teresa Zimmerman has gracefully helped evolve the tighty-whitie loving men. Into discretely stylish and sexy underwear enthusiasts. She has developed a brand that features simple yet stylish briefs, trunks, and apparel. That includes a handsome Henley, V-necks and drawstring lounge shorts.  Most importantly, she has recently introduced the thong style to her collection. Be sure to check that out for Spring 2017! Her designs, patterns, and colors are inspired by nature (hence the literal brand name with an innuendo touch) as well as collegiate color influences.

– Saxx Underwear www.saxxunderwear.com

This brand is well known for their paneled fabric hammock that separates the package from the legs. To eliminate any uncomfortable chaffing. This is a brand that focuses on the athletic lifestyle in mind. Their products range from running and training shorts to compression items. One thing I enjoy about this brand is that their marketing materials feature’s men and women. Since there is such a social stigma on men’s stylish underwear. Especially in the United States. I think this is a great way of introducing and enticing the heterosexual males to become more open minded about trading their uncomfortable and dated underwear. For something that looks and feels good.

Today’s high-tech cyberspace allows for ease of purchasing any myriad of products. I live on an island that is somewhat limited in the things that my family desires to sustain our home. Simply put, we purchase everything that we can online. This is a much simpler way of purchasing for a large family. Because the online purchasing of everyday products is easier than store purchasing. The men’s underwear industry has shifted over the last decade. To a heavy emphasis on web-based companies.

I started experimenting with underwear over 25 years ago. That makes me sound old, but in reality, you’re only as old as you allow yourself to be. What it does mean is that I’ve experienced a wide-range of purchasing modes in my underwear history. I’d like to share my own self-history of purchasing modes with you to see if you relate of identify.

Discount and Department Store Purchases:

My early teen years were probably much like any man’s early teen years. Full of exploration and discovery. I explored everything from sports to music to underwear. I discovered I was good at some sports and not good at others. I found music as a passion. For the purposes of this post. Underwear options were discovered and have since become a passion of mine.

There were really only a few of options in my town for the purchase of underwear. Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and a store called Cohns. Wal-Mart carried Hanes bikini briefs and an off brand of silk string bikinis. K-Mart had Joe Boxer bikinis and thongs and Fruit of the Loom low rise briefs. Cohns carried the very famous Jockey Elance Bikinis. How do I know this? I purchased them all and tried them.

The purchasing process required an encounter with a sales person that was sometimes uncomfortable. Until I realized that everyone buys underwear. I also realized that stores wouldn’t sell men’s bikinis and thongs if people didn’t buy them. I connected the fact that sometimes the stock was low to the fact that MEN BOUGHT UNDERWEAR styles other than plain white briefs.

Purchases through this in person method carried over into visits to JC Penney, Sears, Dillards, Macys, and others. I found myself purposely-perusing shopping malls for the latest fashion briefs on the market when we visited bigger towns. This was a main mode of purchase for a very long time.

Mail Order Catalogs:

The idea of mail order has been around for well more than a century. The old way of purchasing was to order something from an ad in the local paper. The order was shipped to the town general store and you were allowed to retrieve it there. People ordered everything from livestock to specialty groceries in this manner.

The clothing industry caught on to this very early as Sears and JC Penney Catalogs go back quite some time. My personal history of purchasing men’s underwear encountered this very early on. The problem was that as an early teen. In order to purchase by mail order, my parents would have had to have written a check. Debit cards didn’t exist at this point and credit cards were only used for emergency. There was no way in the world that I was going to ask a parent to write a check for a skimpy bikini or thong!

This didn’t mean I didn’t look or even order the catalogs. International Male and UnderGear were regulars in my mailbox. I always tried to intercept the mail to ensure that I got a hold of the catalogs first. I found UnderGear through a friend’s parents who left it lying on the counter at their house. I jotted down the number, called when I got home, and voila—the catalog was in the mail.

As I got older and acquired my own income and means of purchasing. I remember filling out the paper order form in the center of the UnderGear catalog, writing a check, putting both in an envelope. Mailing the order form and money off to UnderGear. Then, the wait would begin. I’d check the mail with anticipation and wait and wait and wait. Tracking numbers were non-existent. YOU JUST WAITED!

Of course, the process got a little smoother with the acceptance of debit cards. I can also remember, filling out the order form and calling in the order with a debit card. The wait was just as painful.  The time to receive the goods was cut down by a few days. Because I didn’t have to wait for my order form to be received in the mail. This was a much-welcomed modernization to the underwear industry.

The Online Shopping Phenomenon

Let’s get into the 21st Century. For the most part, everyone is familiar with purchasing underwear online. After all, UNB is online and we basically talk about products and point readers to those products’ web pages. I’d say that we all purchase underwear online. Rather than talk about this awesome mode of purchase. I want to tell you about my first encounters with online purchasing.

Right before I got married. I decided that I wanted to spice up my honeymoon experience with skimpy underwear and swimwear for myself. Also, super skimpy underwear and swimwear for my soon to be wife. I knew that Victoria’s Secret had large stores in malls, but that seemed embarrassing. I also knew that awesome men’s underwear didn’t exist in my small town America shopping mall. I decided to give online purchasing a shot. I went into my office computer at work (after hours so I wouldn’t get in trouble). Used the dial-up Internet service (I can still hear the tones playing as the phone dialed into the world wide web). Carefully selected my purchases from Victoria’s Secret and UnderGear. I actually have pictures of it all, but I won’t share because the quality is lacking.

Needless to say, online shopping is my primary source today. In particular, I like that I can shop several sources at one sitting to get the best deal. Everyone offers discounts. Occasionally brands will offer a larger discount to compete with sites like Amazon. Free shipping is exactly that—FREE! The variety and selection is at your fingertips. Time is saved. There are multiple sites that sell dozens of brands. You really get the best of it all!

Bonus—Men’s Underwear Retail Stores

With the ease of purchasing online. I’d encourage you not to sell yourself short by purchasing everything through the Internet. If you happen to be in a large city with a men’s underwear retail store, seek them out and go for a visit. I am always amazed at how great of an experience in person shopping is. I get to ask expert sales people their opinions in an environment that is safe. In fact, everyone in the store is buying underwear. That’s why the store exists. It saddens me that this type of purchase may diminish over the next several years due to Internet sales. I really enjoy meeting the sales teams and trying new stuff from their displays. Make sure you give this type of purchasing a shot.

25 years of purchasing underwear has given me some awesome memories. I look forward to 25 more years. Who knows, one day maybe I’ll start a brand or even a retail store (online or in person). Thanks for being faithful readers of UNB. We enjoy every post and love your feedback. Hit us up on social media or comment below.

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I’ve been reading UNB for about 7 years because you & your staff do a great job keeping your readers up to date on the happenings with the underwear industry and fashion. As a married straight guy, I’ve had my challenges being that I’m a minority in this realm of men who share my interest in underwear, but because of UNB I’ve learned to embrace my passion and truly accept myself for who I am and understand that there’s nothing wrong with having a fascination with underwear, even as a straight guy. Furthermore all of the UNB articles, reviews, video reviews, guest writings, etc. have had an influence on my underwear purchases. Whether it be a brand that was highlighted or an actual pair of underwear that was reviewed, UNB definitely influenced my decisions. So for all that UNB has done for me, I feel good giving back so that they can continue educating men that there’s better undies decisions to be made! Plus, I consider it like a magazine subscription to something I really enjoy reading. It’s that simple.

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