Men’s Underwear: What’s missing?
There are a lot of things missing in men’s underwear. It is especially so for the mainstream men’s underwear market. It’s frustrating not being able to go to a store to find any underwear that one likes. When I started exploring underwear that wasn’t what most guys wore, there were some options in stores. Fast forward to today you will be very lucky to find anything close to my liking unless it is a specialty men’s underwear store.
So what underwear am I looking for some may ask? That is if you are not a regular of my blog and didn’t notice what this blog is about. It would be bikinis and thongs. What many still consider women’s underwear. Well that of course is not true. Women just have easy access to all sorts of underwear options including bikini and thong styles. I find it hard to believe stores wouldn’t be able to sell these styles for men. I think if men could stumble upon them or their significant other then it would grab some interest to those who would not be seeking them out online. Or maybe most guys wouldn’t be brave enough to purchase such socially depressed underwear. It would be too hard for them to go against the norm.
Do you think people are aware of the availability of these styles? My guess is probably not many people think much about them for men for everyday wear. It’s still more thought of for strippers and practical jokes. Now, I would say the percentage of guys wearing them have grown since I started wearing them. There are so many online options for us now. So they’ve gotta be being seeked out, but it seems it could grow more if stores would stock them for guys.
I think we’re missing a good assortment of colors, patterns, and prints. Usually for us guys to get the variety we have to go with people that custom make the underwear when ordered. That means they’re probably going to cost more. It seems normally we’ll have a handful of solid colors to choose from in a particular style and cut. Now and then there are a print option or two. Animal prints seem to be the prints we get offered the most. Luckily I like animal prints, but I like to get other prints too. I haven’t noticed a lot of stripe options out there. Then holiday prints seem to be a rarity. I know there are brands that have some variety, but I’d like to see more brands with a variety of colors, patterns, and prints.
We’re missing models of different shapes and sizes. There are exceptions, but we’re starting to see it happening in more places in women’s underwear. Most of us likely don’t have the body of the models photographed. I know for sure I don’t. Would be nice to see some of the styles on a more average guy. Also it seems you have to be well endowed to be an underwear model. Can we have different sizes represented in that area too? I can’t be the only one smaller than them. Yes, some of them could be using some form of enhancement, but still there is a variety in package sizes.
A big complaint I hear is that the sizing in most brands does not go high enough. Then brands that make larger sizes are too expensive. Shouldn’t the bigger guys have access to reasonably priced bikinis and thongs too? I haven’t actually checked it out, but I’m told women have access to larger sizes in these styles. Everyone needs to have access to bikinis and thongs to experience what they bring to the table
I’m going to round this list out with the lack of acceptance of bikini and thong underwear for men. It’s sad people still don’t think bikinis and thongs are an appropriate option for males. I still hear from guys that their wifes think they are women’s styles and men don’t wear them. It would be very frustrating to be in that situation. What is wrong with guys feeling sexy and good about themselves? They are very practical underwear options for guys. I’ve talked about it many times on the blog about why they are. I don’t get why people can not understand it. I suppose bikinis could have some acceptance if a full bikini cut with an elastic waistband that looks close to a brief. Of course not the cut I go for.
Those are a few things missing in men’s underwear. If there was better marketing (something missing) for them then maybe these things would change. It’s too expensive for the smaller brands to penetrate the mass marketing they need. We need the bigger brands that are in stores to start offering and promoting bikinis and thongs for guys. Probably not going to happen, so I won’t be holding my breathe. At least some of us have discovered these fun styles and can wear them proudly. Hopefully, others will catch a glimpse and get intrigued. As more guys buy them maybe we’ll get more of some of the things mentioned. What else would you say is missing in men’s underwear?
Ways to Support The Bottom Drawer by Shopping
This is part of the reason I make my own underwear. I can have any style any cut any material or fabric.
How do you go with consistency in sizing.
The reason for asking is that I find this is one of the problems with some of the brands. For example, buy a three-pack of Kiniki g-strings (of whatever pattern) and the tail strap can vary noticeably in length, such that each garment sits differently to the others (i.e., higher up the waist). Whilst they are wearable, I find this sort of thing frustrating.
I’ve also seen other brands with a warning saying, that as they are hand-made, make an allowance for up to 2 cm size variation. Why so much, 2 mm should be the tolerance.
When Daniel Craig came out of the sea in his now famous blue trunks(which I believe were later auctioned for charity for £44,000), it probably did more for that style than any amount of advertising by conventional methods. Have to say I’ve never been a fan of that square cut style, but I wonder if sales of bikinis would have rocketed to the same extent if Daniel had been wearing one when he exited the sea? Perhaps if more celebs with large followings were seen in skimpier underwear/swimwear then more guys might be tempted to follow the example of their idols.
I think for the foreseeable future we will continue to see the limited variety of men’s underwear in retail stores. It’s not like you can really have people try it on. Also, retail shopping is just kind of slowly dying anyways. I do however expect more and more mainstream online underwear stores (checkout meundies mens thong for example) to offer more styles like bikinis, thongs and g-strings for men.
I agree it’s going to be the same old in stores. Would be nice to be able to see a pair if not packaged to get a better idea of it. Feel of the fabric for one, but also the cut especially the pouch. I’ve gotten pairs where the pouch is way deeper than it looked on the model in the photos. Then of course you don’t have to wait for them to arrive.
You did not mention styles, but I personally think we have all the styles required to satisfy the everyday wear underwear market. Perhaps more variety within a style from any particular brand’s offering, such as half-back and full-back variants of string briefs, but that would be all I’d ask for.
It would be great to see more of the skimpier styles in the stores, for the reasons you mentioned but, with easy internet purchasing, I’m not even too bothered about that anymore.
I agree within a brand the variety of styles could be lacking. In general we at least have a pretty good variety of options out there.
Think most of us are use to just shopping online for them now and dealing with the risk of duds. The main advantage of having the skimpier styles in stores is they have the potential of being seen by others that might not think about the option for guys. I see it as advertising for them.
I hate it when ignorant meatheads refer to the men’s bikini, string bikini and thong underwear that I wear as “panties”, because women do not wear underwear designed and made for men! Women do not wear underwear that have extra room in the front to accommodate male genitalia.
In 50 years, I have never met a woman that wears men’s underwear.
Man! This post hits the mark for me. I’m an older guy,, first tried a thong nearly 40 years ago. It was ill-fitting and uncomfortable but it got me started. My wife is, at best, tolerant. So over the years I have gradually worn them more regularly. My grown children would probably have a heart attack if they were to saw me wearing a thong/g string.
I am reasonably fit BUT nothing like the models you see, and as said older (late 70s) and not overly endowed. I did find a solution though, I order thongs that have a seam down the front and found a wonderful seamstress that for a reasonable fee reduces the seam. She does not fit them on me, I just tell her I’d like the seam an inch or so smaller.
I think you hit the nail on the head with Marketing. I remember many years ago when simply flipping threw a magazine you could see a Jockey ad for their Elance bikinis being worn by an athlete. Not a thong, but we have back tracked. Now you barely see a guy even in briefs. Just imagine if an A-list celebrity or a big name athlete were to be center stage in an ad wearing a bikini, it would at least be a move in the right direction. Now to your other point, why can’t ads use regular guys. We aren’t all models, so it would be great to see how underwear looks/fits on an average guy.
I agree with all of the comments posted here. We need some celebrities to be wearing bikini or thong underwear in movies or television, them maybe it will increase popularity – remember Marky Mark (Mark Walhberg) did for Calvin Klein boxer briefs. Hopefully Steve Grand becomes more famous. What we need are some baby steps – big box stores stocking 3 packs of Calvin Klein BRIEFS instead of boxer briefs, once briefs become more popular, then we can get more acceptance of bikinis and thongs.
Hi Greg. Good to see you giving Steve Grand a mention. I don’t know how well known he is in the music world out with his own country, but he has never been shy about being seen in string bikinis even though they are often received negatively by the media. He should also be commended for creating his own underwear/swimwear company called Axis which offers the styles that you rarely see in shops. I’ve noticed his swim bikinis being sported by an increasing number of guys on Instagram, so he is doing his bit to promote the styles followers of this blog love.
Big men like me, who prefer wearing bikinis, string bikinis and thongs are faced with a dilemma:
Either wear women’s panties, because they offer the styles and fabrics we love in plus sizes that fit us comfortably, or surrender to wearing boring, mundane boxer briefs and Y-front briefs, which look like huge, baggy diapers because most menswear manufacturers don’t make anything that fit men with over a 40-inch waist (101 cm).
There are very few clothing manufacturers that make non-conventional underwear for men in big & tall sizes, but they can be quite costly! I cannot justify paying 25-40 dollars for one pair of underwear- and who wants to spend that much stocking their underwear drawer with the styles they love wearing?
Quite often I am forced to choose the panty option, because there are hundreds of companies to choose from that make women’s panties (nickers) that are passable as men’s bikini, string bikini and thong underwear (no bows, lace, frilly edging and floral patterns) in neutral colors (white, black, red, gray) in bigger hip and waist sizes that fit us comfortably!
That’s why I wear panties.
Sadly, I think the era of going into a brick & mortar store and finding a good selection of men’s bikini, string bikini and thong underwear has passed, sadly never to return. What few stores that still do carry them (Wal Mart, Target, Kohls) are slowly phasing them out and now stock nothing but Y-front briefs and boxer briefs).
Personally I think it’s a sign of the times, the 1970s, 1980, 1990s and early 2000s were the era of finding plentiful variety of non-conventional men’s underwear in stores. But now that those generations of men are getting older and beginning to die of old age; that, or old age and infirmity has forced them to trade in their bikinis and thongs for adult diapers, we see the styles of underwear that those generations wore slowly being phased out of retail stores. I think these decisions are based partly on sales statistics. They’re not going to stock underwear that their customers aren’t going to buy. I also blame a a woke, cancel culture that constantly rails against the patriarchy, where man-hating feminists with great influence over the education of boys that will some day become men, constantly brainwash boys into believing that they should be ashamed of their masculinity, their sexuality and their bodies, and that they need to keep their skin covered, so very little is exposed so as to not offend anyone.
I personally see it as the end of an era. Yes, there are still specialty menswear stores that stock the underwear that we here love to wear, but at greatly increased cost.