This is a conversation between UNBTim and UndiesFool. We explore the topic of underwear and confidence. How the undies we choose give us an extra boost through the day.

UNBTIM

Long before I created UNB. I knew underwear gave me confidence. Certain days I would wear my favorite pair. Especially if it was a big day or some special occasion. Now that I run an underwear blog, underwear gives you confidence, is reinforced by readers every day. One reader in particular is UndiesFool. Someone who is a supporter of UNB and becoming a good friend.

What does “Underwear brings you confidence” mean to you? 

UndiesFool:

Confidence is an important factor in our lives, especially self-confidence. If you’re overconfident, you can send the wrong message to to someone. Furthermore if you’re overconfident with nothing to back it up, you’re just an arrogant ass. On the other side of the spectrum, if you lack confidence people will doubt you as much as you doubt yourself setting you up for failure after failure. So how could this possibly related to underwear? Very easily in fact. We choose what pair of underwear we are going to wear based on how we feel, whether it be how we feel about ourselves or how we feel about the situation we’re about to be in such as work, gym, date night, etc. Most of us probably do this subconsciously without thinking we’re making our choices this way, but we totally do. So with that said, I consciously make my underwear choices based on not only what I’ll be doing and who will see me, but also how I feel about myself and about the situation, which in turn will boost my self-confidence if I make the correct choice.

Does my thinking that make sense to any of you?! I’m not confident it does. Maybe I have the wrong undies on! Haha! Just kidding.

Let me ask you Tim, in addition to the initial question you asked, do you have any situations where you felt underwear gave you confidence? 

UNBTIM
I have the perfect example where undies gives me confidence. I currently am in a job search. We all know searching for a job sucks. It’s endless back and forth. Plus interviews. Which I think I have come to see them as an interview for both not just them interviewing me. I always wear something that makes me feel great. I have tried to wear Cocksox in the past but it’s a little too bulgetacular. I stick with some tried and true favorites. Plus something with a little fun factor. I refrain from wearing something new or different style than I normally wear. Those can majorly distract me. So, no thongs or boxer briefs. It’s more bikinis and briefs. Some that I love to wear are John Sievers, Andrew Christian, Big Boy Pants, Gregg Homme and a few more.

What about you? Any experiences where you were able to increase your confidence? 

UndiesFool:

Absolutely! I’ve had several experiences where I’ve found undies have increased my confidence in a situation. There’s one story that always comes to mind. I once wore my red Intymen Sport thong to a board of directors meeting. I was the VP of the board and the President of the board could not make the meeting, so that meant I was now in charge and had to lead the meeting. It was an important meeting because we had to discuss the future of the organization and possible changes to its leadership as well as executive compensation. I was nervous as all hell, so to help calm my nerves and boost my self-confidence, I decided I should wear a pair of power undies in addition to my power tie. I picked out my red Intymen Sport thong because it matched my red tie and it was the only red thong I had at the time. I slipped them on under my suit and immediately felt empowered. I sat at the head of the boardroom table amongst my fellow board members which consisted of CEOs, CFOs, politicians, and some other seriously high powered people, and I felt confident in everything I said and a true sense of power. After the meeting was adjourned, a couple of the members came up to the head of the table to congratulate me for successfully guiding the board through some difficult and stressful decisions. As I sat there listening to their compliments, I couldn’t help but think to myself that little did they know it wasn’t the red power tie, but my red power thong that made me so confident that night!

Personally I’ve found the skimpier the undies, the bigger sense of empowerment and self-confidence. It seems counterintuitive that a skimpy g-string, thong, jockstrap or jockbrief would give you this feeling, but for me it does and that’s why you might catch me occasionally wearing a jockstrap under my suit to the office. It’s a fun secret and it gives you a sense of power over the people you’re with because you know something they don’t

What styles do you wear when you need to boost your confidence?

UNBTIM:

My favorite pairs are bikinis and briefs. It goes back to the first pairs I ever bought in underwear. I ditched the bad fitting tighty whities for form fitting bikinis. I remember how incredible I felt in them. It was like nothing I ever felt before. I got the support I craved and in some great fabrics and styles. Who knew that just a simple pair of cloth would make you feel so amazing. I had the “Where has this underwear been all my life?” When I wear something similar now it takes me back to those days.

A few pairs that I put on to boost the confidence are Cocksox CX01, Mundo Unico, Erogwear and Big Boys Pants. When I really want to boost the confidence I wear the CX01 from Cocksox. I feel invincible in these. The only down side is that it creates a bigger bulge than normal in my pants. This can be good or bad. I try to compensate and wear pants that don’t enhance the bulge. Some maybe going “Why are you doing that? Flaunt it.” Well some times it’s business setting where showing off is not really encouraged. If it’s something out for my private life I don’t mind showing off a little.

On the other hand there are pairs that I don’t wear on days I need confidence. I rarely wear boxer briefs, thongs, mesh and new pairs. I need to rely on the true and trusted pairs. On days where i need to be top of my game. It’s not the time to experiment with underwear. Because, there is nothing more distracting than wearing an annoying pair of underwear. Your focus is on the undies and not your day.

To wrap this up, what advice do you have for guys who need boost their confidence?

UndiesFool:

Be honest and true to yourself. You can’t be confident without knowing who you are and accepting yourself first. Stop worrying about what other people might think and wear what makes you feel good about yourself. When we are comfortable and feeling great about ourselves and our choices, we feel confident. For me, a skimpier pair like a thong or jockstrap usually gives me a boost to my self-confidence. For Tim, it’s a pair of bikini briefs that he’s worn over and over that has never let him down. For others, it may be a hot pair of boxer-briefs. The fact is that there’s no right choice in which style underwear to wear other than your choice! So I say go empower yourselves and pull up those sexy undies you want to wear and start feeling confident!

UNBTim:

I couldn’t have said it better! Thanks for taking the time to talk undies and confidence with me!

We here at UNB tackle the most pressing issues in underwear! Just kidding, this post came to me earlier this month. We are all guys and all show some sort of bulge through out the day. But I have run across times when bulging is frowned upon. Being one of the guys who shows a bulge no matter what I wear, I thought it would be good to address this topic.

Why did I pick this topic? We want to empower you guys to wear what you want. But, with the recent (in the last few years) for enhancing technology in men’s underwear. Are there times when we should or shouldn’t wear them? We are not doing this to shame or criticize anyone but we’re curious as to what you guys do?

It all boils down to where do you feel its appropriate. My own background, if you’re a long time reader, I’m more on the endowed size. I show a bulge in just about anything I wear. Yeah, sometimes it’s very noticeable to me and other times it’s not. The perfect example was I went to a Professional Bull Riding event at the GA Dome, here in Atlanta. I wore my tight jeans, cowboy boots and a 2(X)ist Y-Back thong. A guy walked past me, Looked me in the eye, then to my crotch and back to my eye. I didn’t pay attention to how much I was bulging. But after that experience I realized, I could be showing off a bit.

Another incident, which I have recounted on the blog before, was going to an interview. I was reviewing a pair of Cocksox CX01 briefs. I looked down at my dress pants and it looked like I was smuggling fruit in my pants. I changed my underwear before heading to the interview. I didn’t think it was appropriate to show off that much to an interview. In more professional settings I am aware of what I show. Somedays there is nothing I can do, it’s just the reality of being an endowed guy.

I talked to The Bottom Drawer on here about this. He said “Fine to show off to your partner, but definitely there is a line that is too far. I think enhancing some is fine. Women have the push up bra to enhance their cleavage, so why not allow a guy to have some enhancement.” I agree, I think some enhancement can make guys feel sexier and confident.

Personally, I think there is a balance to when to bulge and when not too. When at work or in a professional setting I tend to go with underwear that doesn’t show off as much. If I’m going out for a night on the town I see nothing wrong with showing off the goods.

Also, let’s talk about something gets a bad wrap. Swim briefs. There is a misnomer that because you wear a swim brief you will show a big bulge. Yes there are pairs that will show it all off. However, most don’t enhance what a guy naturally possesses. Most of complaints of swim briefs are they are too bulgey. It’s obscene. Well, guys have bulges, some bigger some smaller, you don’t expect women to make their breast size smaller in bikini. So why should we do the same for our bulge?

Sorry I had to go off on that tangent. It could be an entire post on it’s own. We want to know what you think on the bulge issue. Vote in our poll. And share your thoughts. We also have a comment section for you to put in comments. Let us know!

It’s UNB’s 8th anniversary, so in honor of that I’m going to do a wrap up of my 8 favorite pairs of underwear in my collection. In normal fashion, we’ll count down to my favorite pair.

8. Doreanse Euro Thong (1392)

I finally bought myself this Doreanse thong this year and find it a great thong. For those that remember the Undergear French thong (A300), this is an excellent substitute. I think it is even better. It’s a super soft fabric and a great cut, which I like better than the French thong. It’s sort of a v-string, but with normal thong sides.

7. Prevail Sport String Thong Brief

I’m a big fan of the brand Prevail Sport, which you’ll see by this list. So this is my number seven pick from my underwear drawer. It’s basically a traditional cut thong, but a little less frontal coverage. Also these are a nice and snug fit, which is one thing I look for in a great pair of underwear. One thing different with Prevail Sport is they do most of their thong backs in a black lycra fabric.

6. Prevail Sport Rio Brief

Number six is another pair from Prevail Sport. The rio brief is again a snug fitting pair that has string sides to show off those legs. The back is a around ¾ back and has a contoured centered seamed front pouch the holds everything nicely.

5. Fagioni Clip Thong

The Fagionu clip thong is one I have had for a while and it is a very comfortable thong. One I’d recommend for beginners. They’re made out a satin like material and you really don’t know you are wearing a thong. Only negative is they aren’t the snuggest fit, but enough support. The fun part is these have clips on the side for your partner to have easy access or for you to doing a strip tease.

4. Dietz Joker Mini Slip

Dietz is a brand I’ve discovered somewhat recently. Of the four pairs I now own, the Joker mini slip is my favorite from them. It comes down to a nice snug fit that holds everything in place. I like the two tone front pouch and yellow just brighten things up.

3. Blueline T-Back Thong

Blueline is another brand I’ve discovered in the past few years and I’d say it isn’t a real mainstream brand. Now this is a skimpy thong, which pretty much molds to you. I consider it a v-string and not a t-back. It’s a very narrow v-shaped contour pouch, so may not be for the well endowed. I think it holds everything nicely and basically is showing everything you got off.

2. Blueline Microfiber String Bikini

This bikini is the first pair of underwear I ordered of the brand Blueline and got me into trying others. I wouldn’t really say there is something spectacular about it. I’m just a fan of a solid string bikini, since they are the first style that I tried when branching out from the dreaded whitey tighties. I love the fit of it and the microfiber fabric.

1. Prevail Sport’s String Brief

I’ve been wearing this bikini style from Prevail Sport for about 15 years now. It has been my go to bikini ever since I discovered them. The cut of the bikini reminds me of the swim briefs that you see bodybuilders wearing. The ¾ back, narrow sides, and just the right amount coverage of the pouch along with the snugness fit make these my top underwear pick. They’re holding the position strong!

We love Eric Turner and his husband Morné. They are doing something awesome this month. If you buy a pink pair you get to save $5 and $2 will be donated to breast cancer! Get some awesome undies for a great cause. Here is what Oryx Wear says:

It’s October, which is breast cancer awareness month. So we’re using our hoo-hoo’s to help your hah-hah’s. Save $5 on any PINK item during the month of October. And with every PINK purchase, we’ll donate $2 to Susan G. Komen.

www.oryxwear.com
Photo taken by Photo Studio Miami

So I’m not sure which sex got the first modern thongs men or women (man, we need an underwear historian or something?!). But I know that as a straight guy I first saw thongs on women. My entire view on thongs has been greatly influenced by that(I also quite like them on women, but that’s not the point). I’ve noticed over the years that while yes, men do have thongs, they really don’t have much in the way of variety. Sure, there can be subtle differences in back sizes.  There are really only two broad types: thongs, and g-strings. There hasn’t been much change in the world of men’s thongs recently, and I think that’s a shame.

The only real change in thongs over the past few years was the creation of the jock thong, and that was a few years ago now. I’m still not truly convinced that the jock thong is really a good innovation. But again, that’s another article.

Basically, I’ve gotten bored with every single brand thong and g-string being very similar. Where’s the variety? Why should girls have all the fun! I know some innovations have made their way over to the guy side. Pairs with multiple side straps sand such. I think there are a few more ideas in the realm of women’s wear that could work in men’s wear too. Women, on the other hand, have a huge variety of thongs. What I’m going to focus on today are the types of backs. Because I feel some of them might work well, or at least interestingly on a male frame.

First off is this curve back? I remember seeing a back this style from the brand Good Devil under the moniker “split back”. I think this is a cool idea and would like to see more menswear like this.

One type that I am very surprised hasn’t made its way into menswear is a kind that is more like a g-string. Instead of the strings intersecting into a T, or leading into a larger back. They meet in a triangle that sits between the depression between the top of the two checks. I’ve always been curious about this syle,as it seems very common in women’s underwear. While doing a bit more research I have noticed that some men’s thongs do mimic this concept somewhat. They don’t do it in quite a way like the feminine variety. They usually have what looks like a triangle, but is actually a part of a larger back strap. In this design, the only part of the back that is not a string is the triangle.

A trend I don’t see coming to the men’s side of thing is the idea of having the central part of the back strap being metal or made up of charms. That doesn’t look comfortable at all. Cute perhaps, but I can imagine that wearing that in the dead of winter is a bad idea.

I’m not saying these ideas will revolutionize men’s thongs.  I do think that the area of men’s thong design is somewhat stagnant.  I think ideas could help make things a little bit more interesting.
So what do you think? Am I a crockpot, or would you too like to see these ideas come to light? Let me know in the comments below, or on twitter.

As we celebrate our 8th year I thought I would share some things that I have learned over the years about underwear, the industry, and our readers. Some are no brainers and others really surprised me.

The Industry Is Small

I’m not talking as in sales or pairs sold every year. The men’s underwear market is $4 billion and growing. Rather, the people behind brands are a small staff. Other than Calvin Klein and 2(X)ist. Most brands have 4-6 people running it. They do amazing things on a small staff. It has been this way since 2008.

Guys Love Small Underwear

My personal preference is small undies. Bikinis have always been my go to style. Even in the days of boxer briefs and boxers. I would seek out smaller cuts. As I talk to many of you guys, you love bikinis, thongs and smaller! Across the board its one thing we have in common. In our reader survey it reaffirms this. It makes me happy that this area of men’s underwear is growing.

Straight/Bi/Gay Our origins story are the same

This is one of the WOW moments for me. The time we all started liking underwear is about the same. Usually early to mid teens. Some guys acted on it and other did not. Again across the board. Most really started to try out new pairs in college or after moving our of our parent’s house. After that it took off and there was no looking back.

Guys Love fashion Vs. those who don’t

We have a divide in our ranks. It’s not a bad one, but it makes me laugh. I have been on both sides of this divide. Guys who love underwear are either very fashion conscious or not at all. Those who are not, the underwear is the best thing they wear. Currently, I’m on the don’t side rather than do. I need to step it up.

There are some true underwear addicts out there! 

I thought I had a lot of undies around 400 pairs but I have talked to guys who have thousands of pairs. I say my hat is off if you have that much. Some of them have really great storage systems for them. On top of that a few of them have even created spreadsheets to keep track of their collections. I should do this because I always forget pairs I have and discover them in back of a drawer. But, if you’re one of the guys, know you have a lot more than a blogger! You are the guys we also love! You want to know the newest, lastest and greatest underwear on the market.

Sexy is different for each guy

We find many things sexy. Some it’s a thong or mesh. Other guys like classic white briefs. This goes along with what our partner/wife/husband likes as well. I remember a few years ago I tried to define date night underwear. This got me a lot of feedback that I was off base and never made that mistake again. I find date night undies to be skimpy, mesh and similar. You guys have a different definition!

Straight guys want to wear swim briefs

I always thought us gay guys were the ones to wear the swim briefs. I never thought that straight guys would want to be able to rock a swim brief on the beach or pool. But many of you do. The stories we have heard from many guys has them wearing them out of the country. They wear them in the Caribean, Europe or Mexico. Guys tell us how liberating it feels being able to wear them without judgment. They wish they could do the same in the State and not get labeled gay.

Underwear Guys are the Best Guys

If a guy loves  underwear and you bond over the fact. I think you have a friend for life. I’m not talking about sexual bonding but rather something you have in common. Over the years I have met gay/bi/straight guys all who have become friends. It’s all over underwear. Underwear is something really rarely talked about. When you can and really share your passion you open up more. This goes for all guys, not just gay. I think gay guys get put in the “underwear is sexual” all to often. We all need to talk undies because it is normal!

These are just a few things I have found out. There are tons more but when I put myself on the spot. My mind goes blank. But just know there are many of you guys out there and we need to develop a community around us regardless of sexual orientation. I hope we get at least 8 more years of UNB!

We featured some of the BodyAware Halloween Undies earlier this week. They are fun and festive for this holiday season. BodyAware produced videos of each of the pairs. We hope you enjoy and maybe you’ll get some fun undies for the Halloween season!

Trick-or-treat Thong

Trick-or-treat Brief

Pumpkin Patch Jock

Pumpkin Patch Brief

Find all these and more at BodyAware.