Today’s Brief Distraction is from Quarter Homme. They have some great new styles you should check out! Go visit their site for more info on their great undies
This is going to be an unusual review for two reasons: 1) it’s the first review I’ve ever written (for anything… ever), and 2) the review concerns a pair of underwear that is more likely to be found at a Target than from the specialty retailers online. So bear with me. Hopefully Tim and the gang won’t beat me up and take my lunch money on my first day.
I’ll start with the facts. The pair I’m reviewing is the Jockey “Cuffed Trunk” (insert party favor noise here). There is nothing exotic about these. It’s everything you would expect from a trunk style boxer brief in terms of cut, fit, and materials. Jockey offers this pair in three colors; hibiscus, olive, and blue indigo. The material is a blend; 48% cotton/48% modal/ 4% spandex.
To test these out I wore them to work. My job straddles the fence between white collar and blue collar. I spend about half of my day pointing and clicking but the rest is usually spent outdoors wearing coveralls and a hard hat. Being on my feet and performing physical tasks puts all of my clothes through a proverbial gauntlet (hence the coveralls). So finding a comfortable pair of underwear that can hold up over 12 hours is like finding a unicorn.
Sizing of this pair is consistent with domestic (U.S.) size charts. My waist is roughly 32″ but depending on the brand of underwear I wear either a small or a medium. In this case I chose small and it worked just fine. It was very comfortable, not too snug at all. I think their choice of materials is partially responsible. The cotton/modal blend is very soft, but strikes a good balance between comfort and support.
The thing that most impressed me about this pair was that it looked and felt really good over the entire workday. It’s very common that a pair of underwear will accomplish only one of these. Either it will be very comfortable but look like a train wreck by the end of the day, or it will look great but feel awful after a few hours. Let me tell you how much I enjoy having to adjust my underwear at a work site (insert sound of crickets here).
This pair remained stable over my entire workday. By ‘stable’ I mean that it did not droop, sag, or wander into places it shouldn’t have. As far as the pair looking good, I am going mostly by the feedback from my fiance. She really enjoys seeing me in these as her loiter time in the bathroom while I shave has increased by roughly 800%. Jockey has chosen some colors and contrast stitching that are just far enough from mainstream to make them visually appealing without being flamboyant. I picture the scenario in which I have a job-related accident and have to be resuscitated by EMTs. Do I want my co-workers to see me wearing a pink thong while being defibrillated? Not really. But not worry, these will send the message that you’re a man dammit… but you might listen to Annie Lennox occasionally.
As far as drawbacks, it’s hard to pick apart a pair that I enjoy as much as these. I am, however, going to knock them down a notch by mentioning that the construction of this pair is roughly equivalent to any other chain store bought pair of underwear. They’re fine, but not great. I fully expect that sometime in the next few months the first visible frayed end of a seam or waistband elastic will rear its ugly head.
I MUST mention here that I bought this pair at the price of 2 for $12 from the Jockey website. I’ve owned enough ‘fancy’ underwear to know that other brands who shall remain nameless would easily charge double for an equivalent pair.
To sum things up:
Pros
- Very comfortable material and level of support
- ‘dimensionally stable’ even with moderate physical activity
- Your significant other will suddenly look at you as if you’re the guy from those ‘Old Spice’ commercials
- For what you get, these are dirt cheap
Cons
- Don’t expect these to hold up forever. Mass produced just like most of our clothes.
Ratings
- Daily Fit 8
- Sizing 8
- Construction/Materials 7
- Styling 10
- Daily Performance 9
- Overall 8.4
Find these at the Jockey Site.
Note: Gabe is one of the newest writer/reviewer on the site. He will have a speedo article very soon!
If you haven’t connected with us on Social Media you definitely should! You can talk directly to us and we love talking to our readers. You can also share your own pics in underwear with us on Tumbr. The individual accounts are new, so make sure you follow your favorite guy and introduce yourself!
How to connect you ask? In these ways:
- Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/underwearnewsbriefs
- Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/unbblog
- Tim’s Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/unbtim
- UNB AtlBriefs – http://www.twitter.com/unbatlbriefs
- UNB Brandon – http://www.twitter.com/unbbrandon
- Tumblr – http://underwearnewsbriefs.tumblr.com
These are just a few ways to connect. We will promote more guys when they get Twitter accounts.
Have you ever been hiking and wanted to lay out in your underwear? That’s what happened with this picture from BlueBuck Underwear. You may know the line because they did the Ben Cohen underwear. They are a great company out of the UK.
One thing I love more then anything is to bring you guys new underwear. Some of you out there may know Alpha+Omega underwear, but I”m betting a large part of our readers may not bee too familiar with the brand. If you’re not then Alpha+Omega says this about their brand:”Our underwear has been designed to be the most comfortable you have ever worn. So comfortable in fact that you will feel as though you are wearing none at all.”
The pair we chose to profile today is the Sling Brief. You maybe asking why did we choose this pair? Well, the design is the main reason. The pouch is attached at the bottom and on two places on the waist band for the pouch is able to hang free and move with your body. You can’t see it in the picture but the pouch has access from either side. To me it’s a really cool design.
The color is offset by the contrasting black trim on a light blue fabric. Speaking of the fabric the pair is made out of a 95% Cotton 5% Lycra blend. So it will be soft against your body.
The pair retails for $24.99 at the Alpha+Omega website – http://alphaomegawear.com/
This week the Baskit $12 Tuesday pair is the Action Cool Low-Rise Trunk. Just for today you can get this great pair of underwear for just $12. Also, while you are on the specials page check out pairs on sale!
This week, I had the pleasure of reviewing Pikante’s new 9227 Sporty Jockstrap. It’s one of those jockstraps that looks like a brief from the front and most of the side, but then sneaky, you turn around, and there’s a big ol’ opening framing your booty. I am not too familiar with Pikante, I think I probably only have one or two of their pairs, and they are both trunks or boxer briefs. As you might know if you follow my reviews, I am somewhat weary of mesh material in underwear, due to a bad experience with a certain pair along time ago (in summary, I had to return and get the next size up, not once, but twice, before I realized the mesh on that pair just DIDN’T stretch, and wasn’t meant for people with butts), but recently, I have come in contact with happier mesh underwear, and this was no exception. Right when I opened the package and saw the mesh, I pulled at the fabric in both directions to check. So, I opened the package to see what mostly looked like a brief, except for that big opening in the back. The waistband and edges of all of the openings are a black material, with the waistband featuring Pikante’s woven in logo. The entirety of the garment is made up of the white spandex mesh. The briefy jock is also available in sunny yellow with a bright teal trim, black with purple trim, and yellow with black trim (but note that on the yellow pair, the waist band is also yellow, not black).
I got to wear my pair on my New York city weekendcation. I wore it while walking around NYC seeing the sites, buying sewing supplies, and visiting the MET. I did also had a date that night, with a nice guy I’ve seen a few times, (not to get too graphic, but he thought the pair looked really nice as well). I didn’t work out in the pair, so I can’t completely attest to it’s workout-ability, but from wearing it, I can say it stayed in place and (obviously, due to the mesh) breathed very well. I’d imagine this would be a VERY nice workout pair.
The size I got sent was a Large, which fit me wonderfully. Looking at the size chart, the Large is a 32-34 and XL is a 34-36. Depending on the brand, I base my size off of a 35/36, so I would have bought the XL, ESPECIALLY since this was a mesh pair, thinking the mesh wouldn’t stretch nicely. I find the Large to fit very well, and I would say, if you might be near straddling two sizes, order the size smaller, because the mesh is very accommodating.
I wanna start by saying the pair is very comfortable and I like it very much. The small things that I have problems with aren’t big enough that it truly hurts my opinion of this pair. Think of them as things to keep in mind, before you go ahead and order this pair (heehee). Mostly, my issues revolve around the butt straps. They are really wide, and there is elastic trim hemming the edges (both around the thighs, and around the butt-framing edge). This creates a strap with a much sturdier edge than middle, whereas a standard elastic strapped jock would be equal tension across the entire strap. I found that this, mixed with my nice muscular but sizable, demanded some “dressing” when I first put the pair on. However, once the pair was properly on, I found no real need to adjust the straps any more. The next negative might only be towards a specific audience; if you like some support from under your junk in your undies, read on. I like the anatomical pouches and the lift and protrude-type undies, as well as my normal tighter briefs and things, because I like keeping my goodies in their pouch. If a pair of undies doesn’t have enough tension from behind pulling the bottom of the pouch into your perennial region, it allows enough slack that some of your “treasures” might fall out of the “chest”. I found that to adjust for that slack, i’d just discretely grab the straps from the back and pull them up a bit. It wasn’t horrible, but it did happen a couple times.
Having said those two things, I really did like this pair of undies. They were extremely comfortable, with a sexy look to them. As I said previously, this pair has definitely helped me start to overcome my avoidance of the mesh type underwear. I wanna get the black with purple pair for myself as well. Cause I can’t say I am a white underwear guy at heart, but I do know I’ll be wearing this pair a lot in the future (especially to the gym, I wanna try that out).
PROs:
- Very comfortable stretchy mesh.
- Very breathable to wear in warm weather.
- Sexy look (approved by myself as well as an outside eye).
- Cute, non standard color combinations.
CONs:
- very small amount of fuss to get on and dress the back straps properly.
- Not perfectly fitted to keep the goodies in the pouch.
RATINGS:
- Daily Fit: 7
- Sizing: 8
- Construction/Materials: 7
- Styling: 8
- Daily Performance: 7
- OVERALL: 7.4
Pikante furnished this pair for review
Today’s Brief Distraction is from Tom Cullis. This is one he did with the Timoteo Rugby line. Tom has become one of my favorite photographers. We will have more of his work!
Brandon: Underwear labels clearly don’t shy away from sexing up/playing into the gay-factor with their ads. Does the prevalence of designer underwear labels and the chiseled male models in their ad campaigns play any role in the gay male’s body image? (I know I’ve shied away from certain lines because I’ve had to pause and think, yeah that looks great on this guy with a 31″ waist, but I am too fat to pull it off…)
Tim: Yes definitely it plays an image in a gay man’s body image. Every guy wants to look good in their undies. As a gay guy, seeing a hot guy in undies will make me look at the ad or box cover and think many guys will do the same. It’s also a way to get a new brand noticed. Show some hot guys in underwear and it spreads around the net. I think part of the purchase of underwear is we want to look as good as the model does in the picture. In marketing it’s “If I buy this underwear I will look as good as the model”.
You bring a point to the bigger issue regardless of sexual orientation. How many of us really look like male models? Most of us are Real guys and we want to know how underwear will fit an average guy. It’s something I have dealt with on the UNB site. We all agree on a buff underwear model with at 32 waist and six pack abs anything would look good on them. I hear from guys all the time that they want to see more pictures in reviews and on the site in general on how underwear looks on real guys. It’s sort of a double edge sword. One one hand you can post real guys in underwear, like our guides, but get comments like “They shouldn’t be wearing that” “those are not models” and my favorite “That guy is too fat to wear those undies.” when the model was a 32 waist but a bigger build. To take it back to your main question, I’m a bigger guy too, we’re roughly the same height and build, and have debated putting self pics on my reviews. Being gay putting pics up of me in undies is something that I am not looking forward to comments about how I look. I have shared some with friends but broadcasting to the larger audience makes me very nervous. I have worked really hard to loose weight and be able to fit in the undies we now report on. I think now I’m getting to a build that reflects many of our readers. So your “I’m too fat” comment strikes so close to home. I just have it in my head that May guys will comment “Oh he should know that he shouldn’t wear underwear like that cause he’s fat..” I am going to post a self pic on a review soon to gauge the interest and comments but it’s not something I am looking forward too!
I know brands need to sell underwear and let’s face it sex sells. Not just in men’s underwear but in just about any product category. Plus I think the gay audience is still more open to having more sexually suggestive ads in underwear. As I have stated in this Q&A when it gets to the main stream they don’t want to offend the audience. That’s a whole other can of worms to open. It’s starting to change but it’s not going to be over night. We are seeing that slowly change. The prime example is the new Calvin Klein ad that ran in this last years Super Bowl. Unlike the David Beckham H&M ad you saw all the underwear. This is a giant step forward to when we used to have men’s underwear ads and never show the underwear on a person.
This concludes this Brief Talk. Brandon and myself will be back soon with more Straight Talk. We hope you have enjoyed the chat between us. There are other Brief Talks in work on the site. They will be out very soon!
 |
Need undies with Extra Room check out the Andrew Christian Trophy boy. “For the guys that are hung” They have the Boxer shown but also a brief and jock.
Shop at Andrew Christian |
 |
2x a year 2(X)ist has a 25% off Site Wide sale. It’s going on right now so go shop and save on some of your favorite and maybe some new favorites from 2(X)ist.
Shop at: http://www.2xist.com |
 |
UnderGear is giving you 40% off your highest priced item today. This offer expires today. Use code U2JD at check out.
Shop at: http://www.undergear.com |
 |
James Tudor has relaunched their site and released a few new styles.
Shop at: |
 |
For a limited time 10Percent.com is giving you 25% off any three items. This includes swim, underwear and more.
shop at: http://www.10percent.com |
 |
For the next two weeks Johnny Beach Buns is giving you up to $20 off your order. This savings goes on for two weeks. This is perfect for you wanting to show your pride. Use codes: Pride5, Pride10 or Pride 20.
Shop at: http://www.johhnybeachbuns.com |
The votes are in and the winner of our June Underwear of the Month is… The Calvin Klein CK One Micro Hip Brief. Voting went back and forth and it was a close race. I think what won this pair the title of underwear of the month is it’s a great stripe pattern. It’s not a pair you would expect to see from Calvin Klein.
Some of the comments we received were:
- Super soft! Super comfortable! Forget it’s there! Perfect fit! – Steve
- You can never go wrong with Calvin Klein
These comments carried over to Facebook when we posted them on there. It should have been a clue that the pair would do well when we got more likes then some of the other pairs. If you want a great pair that looks amazing then go to International Jock and pick up our Underwear of the Month for $22
This week we have gone international on our Underwear of the Week. The pair that got the honor of Underwear of the Week is the Teamm8 Alliance brief, specifically the Australian brief. In our quest for great undies to feature, we are going to try to go more international. Teamm8 is a brand we originally discovered through their amazing photography. However, they have some great swimwear and underwear.
The Alliance brief comes also features Canada, Brazil and the U.S. We could have easily profiled the US Brief, but the look of the Australian brief is very cool. The whole brief just POPS. Here is why this pair is our Underwear of the Week:
- The Blue and Red colors just really accent each other
- Waistband is very cool with the Australian flag and the stripe that runs around. Also Teamm8 is on the right hip
- Made out of 95% Cotton and 5% Elastane
- Available in three other Countries and colors: USA – Red, Canada – Red and Brazil – Blue
This is our first really international pair for Underwear of the Week. We hope you Enjoy it. It can be found at the Teamm8 Website for $33.00AUD.
Chances are you’ve heard of TOMS Shoes. The company revolutionized how people think about charity and corporate social responsibility by donating a pair of shoes to a person in a developing country for every pair of shoes it sold in the developed world. PACT is underwear’s answer to TOMS.
On its website, the company describes itself as a “movement disguised as a clothing company.” It has three basic principles: good design, good fabric and good cause.
Each season, the company features lines of underwear and socks that were inspired by good causes. It then uses some of the proceeds from its sales to support optimistic and solution-oriented projects for social good around the world. Some of the group’s past projects have included providing electricity development in Haiti and supporting the Sierra Club’s “Campuses Beyond Coal” movement. You can see the full list here.
But let’s step back for a second to the first two principles. When PACT says good design, they mean it. The designs are simple, but cute; they’re mostly solid or simple-patterned bodies with solid-colored waistbands. It was actually the designs that first attracted me to the brand. I was perusing a few flash deal sites, as I often do, and I noticed a pair of boxer briefs for $10. I had a bit of extra cash, so I gave them a try and was pleasantly surprised.
That brings me to what impressed me about the brand most, its good fabrics. The pair I got was super soft, and has remained so even after several washes in just a few weeks. That spectacular softness comes from special care. From the field to the shelf, the company is meticulous about using clean and responsible practices. All the cotton used is organic and fair-trade, every factory is sweat-shop free and the packaging is printed with vegetable-based inks in a wind-powered facility.
So in short if you’re looking for good underwear made of great materials that supports an even greater cause, check out PACT today. You won’t regret it.
NOTE: Introducing UNB JD “I’m the newest member of the Men’s Underwear News Briefs team. I’m a 20-something Yankee transplant living in the South, and in the coming weeks and months I’ll be bringing you tips on where to find cute underwear on the cheap, updates from the some hottest brands you love, a review or two and much, more.”
Today is the last day to vote in our Underwear of the Month. You have some great choices this month including Calvin Klein, Pistol Pete, Gregg Homme and 2(X)ist. To vote go to our Voting page at http://www.underwearnewsbriefs.com/2013/05/vote-for-underwear-of-the-month-5/
We bring you another amazing picture from Tom Cullis. This picture features his models in Timoteo Singlets. He is fast becoming one of my favorite photographers.
What Makes Great Date night pair of Underwear? One that will be remembered for future dates? We have a few suggestions on that. But the underwear depends on which date it is (first, thrid, or fifth) and the connection you have to the other person on the date with you.
Over the course of the blog fewer things have brought controversy like bringing up date night underwear. That is because to each guy “Date night underwear” means something different. Underwear is personal and date night underwear is even more so!
We decided to break down a few categories of date night underwear and have you guys tell us which pair you wear and why?
Classic Underwear – We don’t mean the tighy whities that come in a six pack. Rather a brief/boxer brief that is no frills. It’s styling is simple but very comfortable. One pair that would be good is the 2(X)ist Essential No-Show Brief or Trunk. Another pair is the Calvin Klein Bold Cotton Boxer simple with an off setting waistband.
Colorful/Patterned – Colors are an expression of our personalities. On a date night there is a greater chance the underwear will be seen. I know in the past I have worn really fun/bright underwear when there is a chance things get busy. A great pair of colorful underwear is JOR Paris Brief. If you’re a boxer brief fan then you should look into the Papi Eye Candy Brazilian trunk.
Jockstraps/Jockbrief – Many of our readers wear jocks every day. They are no longer just for the locker room. Over the last few years companies have been putting their own spin on the jock. The C-IN2 Grip jock is the perfect example of a company taking the jock to the next level. If you’re not up to wearing a jock but want the coverage of a jock, the orignator of the jock brief Baskit has the Pure Jockbrief.
Erotic/Mesh – If you’re past the first date or out with your significant other maybe you want to show a bit more of your wild side. This could be either Mesh or something considered wild. If you want to show off everything with mesh then we suggest the Gregg Homme NoDoubt Thong Maximizer, It shows and enhances. If you don’t want to share it all but want to wear something you won’t find in your local department store, then we suggest Modus Vivendi 11011 Leather Look Brief with Zipper.
These are some examples of different types of underwear you can wear on a date night. You can go from mild to wild depending on the date! Let us know what pair you like to wear on your date.
Make sure you vote for the Underwear of the Month. Remember you can choose from four great pairs. Vote once a day till Friday. The winner will be announced this Saturday.
Today’s Brief Distraction features Quarter Homme. This is part of their new comfort series they released.
Quarter Homme collaborated a shoot with Cory Frederick. The shoot happen at Vasquez Rocks in California (where they shoot a lot of movies such as the new Star Trek movies).
Model : Cory Frederick
Photographer : Edwards Mills
Location : California, Vasquez Rock
I haven’t ever worn a pair of Zylas underwear before, so when I got the 4034 Brief in the mail, I was excited to try them out. Once I had them in my hands I had a mixed first impression. The brief is mostly made of Nylon, an underwear fabric that I haven’t had much luck with. While I am not a huge fan of the 70s inspired conglomeration of greens and vertical stripes, these briefs do have some style to them.
Another first reaction before I had before I got them on was the size of the waist, it looked too small to match the sizing chart for what a Zylas XL brief should be (34-36). Once I got them on, my initial impression seemed accurate, as the waist was a little snug. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that when it comes to men’s briefs, if the waist is snug, it’s likely going to be snug in all the wrong places too, but this turned out to be only partially true. I decided to wear them for a full work day to really put the brief through its paces. While I was nervous about how the brief would hold up, with its blend of nylon and spandex, these briefs stood the test of a busy day.
I did have an issue with sizing, when I peeled them off in the evening, I did have quite the “imprint” on my 36″ waist but over the course of the day, I wasn’t experiencing any discomfort around my waist. As with many Latin/South American brands, these weren’t made with U.S. sizing. While there are several brands that can get away with this, the XL at 34-36 is going to be too small if you’re wearing a 36 pant size. Quite honestly, I’d say if you’re wearing a 34 jean, you’ll want to go with the XL.
As I mentioned above, I haven’t been a huge fan of some of the nylon pairs in my collection, but the way this brief uses nylon I was pleasantly surprised. The fabric had vertical perforations throughout, making the briefs very breathable, so that helped score this brief some points. As far as the look of this brief, I am of two minds. Green is one of, if not my favorite color, but it can be overdone and the penchant Zylas has for vertical stripes overall, could be re-thought. While I appreciate the attempt, I am not a fan of the 1970s fashion trend of purposefully clashing several shades of the same color together, but I think this brief could have really been tied together well if the waistband and the elastic leg openings were the same shade of green as one of the stripes in the brief, instead it’s a lighter lime which clashes with the neon green stripes that feature prominently.
The style of the brief is described as an “almost bikini” and there has been a bit of a pickup of this type of style across several different labels. When you wear this style it certainly feels a little more comfortable and less boxy than a traditional cut brief and that is good. If I had to make one complaint overall though, it would be that this style does not lend itself to the ample pouch that my anatomy requires. That is not to say I felt too crammed in these briefs, but this brief certainly does not feature a contour pouch, which is something I need.
Pros:
- Breathable Nylon – a novel concept!
- Fashion-forward cut
Cons:
- Lacks a contour pouch
- Sizing for me didn’t work
Ratings:
- Fit – C
- Sizing – C
- Construction/Materials – A
- Styling – B
- Daily Wear – C
- Overall – C+
Zylas furnished this pair for review
We just completed our Swimwear Survey and the majority of yous said you wanted a bikini or swim brief. However there are some great swim suits you should check out, the 2(x)ist School of Fish Square Cut is one of those pairs. This is a pair I was looking forward to seeing out on the market.
When I got to meet with Jason Scarlotti he said that they wanted to do a stripe but wanted it to be different. The fish pattern definitely fits that bill. The fish make up stripes with the different colors. It’s great to see this level of creativity in a pair of swimwear. More and more underwear/swim wear companies are thinking outside the box.
The School of Fish Square cut is:
- 80% Nylon / 20% Spandex Tricot Knit
- (X)-SWIM Pouch
- No-Show Rise
- 5-inch side length
- Signature 2(X)IST metal tag at left hip
The School of Fish is available for $85 at the 2(X)ist Website.
It’s time to vote for Underwear o the Month. Each month we have our four Underwear of the Week compete to see who will be our underwear of the Month. This months choices are:
- 2(X)ist Sail Contour Brief
- Gregg Homme Target Trunks
- Pistol Pete Power Mesh Briefs
- Calvin Klein CK One Micro Hip Brief
Vote below each day for your favorite pair. The winner will be announced Saturday!
We are so happy Tom Cullis sent us plenty of great pics to share with you guys. This one features his model Colby in Papi Underwear. We will have more for you soon!
Today’s Brief Distraction features the new Go Softwear Pop Collection. “Presenting the hip, cool and original ‘POP’ Collection! A line inspired by groovy eye-catching colors of the swinging 60’s with a modern twist. Each color and style has been uniquely selected and designed to enhance the male physique and mood, apt for any occasion. Enjoy GO SOFTWEAR!”