In July of last year I wrote a post about my souvenir habits when I visit other countries. Namely an excuse to buy underwear on vacation. A link to that article you ask? Well of course: http://www.underwearnewsbriefs.com/2015/07/souvenir-trunks-my-trip-across-europe/
Now sadly, since then I have not ventured far out of the home country. I did visit Whistler for a weekend but wasn’t able to pick up a pair. Perhaps I’ll pop up to Vancouver while the exchange rate is still favorable. Anyway! My travels lately have been domestic, New Orleans and Washington DC, late last year. I was able to grab a pair to commemorate my New Orleans trip. It’s a fun and definitely unique jockstrap that could have only come from the Big Easy… Get it?
Well finally my feet touched foreign soil again.
Instead of my normal Europe focused travel some friends and I went to explore a city down under and a tropical paradise. We went down to Sydney, Australia and to Bali in Indonesia. The purpose of our trip was to go and meet a friend of ours that had been living there for a while. Oh yeah, and it was Gay Mardi Gras too. What a happy coincidence!
Now as I talked about in the last post (again, link above) buying underwear on your travels as a souvenir has a lot of benefits. 1) You don’t get to routinely wear that magnet or shot gloss that you bought but underwear you get to pick out and smile with memories. 2) CUTE. 3) It gives you a chance to try a brand that you might not have tried before or that you’ve always admired. 4) Buying a pair of underwear in its country of origin is just a bit more special. 5) Searching out the underwear can be a really fun way to spend an hour or two and can lead you into places you wouldn’t have normally visited on vacation. 6) CUTE. Catch my drift?
I have been familiar with multiple Australian brands for years, most notably AussieBum and Cocksox. I was fortunate enough to meet some of the Cocksox team members at a sponsored event that I went to and got to snag a tank-top. Woo woo! They are definitely a fun brand that is really pushing the envelope. AussieBum of course is classic, high end underwear with a big international presence. And then there’s Teamm8.
I learned about Teamm8 from the short time that I was in one of the underwear a month clubs. The first pair of trunks I got from them were cute but not earth shattering. However, the biggest difference between the other two and Teamm8 was that they have a very easy to find, centrally located boutique store in Sydney. For any brands out there that need to know how to organize and decorate a boutique, take note of them.
I was so impressed with the store and their selection. I had NO idea that they had so much active wear, I’m pretty sure they have the world’s most awesome tank top too. Yet I was there for the underwear and I had the hardest time deciding. They have a helpful way to bundle pairs into a package with a price benefit or just buy by the pair. I picked out two briefs and I adore them. Now every time I rock my striped with pink pouch pair I think of that trip and every time TEAMM8 can be read across my bum I think of that beautiful city.
So I was set for Sydney and bound for Bali.
I had no idea where to begin. To my limited knowledge Bali didn’t have a big brand that I could pick out. Luckily while shopping for some wood carvings one day I stumbled across a store in Seminyak that sold underwear, swimsuits and t-shirts. Bingo! Plus it was full of my favorite kinds, cute and semi skimpy briefs.
However, I was caught by an idea. I had been focusing on local or native brands but not necessarily styles. Bali and the rest of Indonesia have some very interesting undergarments that had been used for centuries and I would be a fool for ignoring them. The attendant at the store explained how to “assemble” two different styles and I made my selection.
Now I finally have tried on the pair I bought in Bali and while I don’t see myself wearing it for the full day anytime soon I do like having it. It’s a really awesome look into a country’s history and a great way to remember my time dying from humidity. I loved Bali and this gets to remind me of that.
Memories and photos are great but I’m going to continue my tradition of buying my souvenir underwear, all around the world.
