Share the Goods – Chris’s Collection Part 1
Chris sent in quite a few pairs from his collection for the Share the Goods series. I decided to split it up and start with his selection from the company called “Creal.”
Hi Bottom drawer thanks for letting me share some of my preferred underwear brands and styles that I really love and felt motivated to share with those that may be interested in trying some out of the box styles. I will also share a few items that have been discontinued at the end as I found the designs very interesting and way outside the normal conventions of male underwear.
A couple reasons why I have searched high and low for new and interesting styles of bikini and thong underwear is I hate seams all over underwear like the front pouch seam. I love soft stretchy fabrics or fabrics that are unusual but fun to wear. And finally I loathe styles that use a wide often branded waist band that make the underwear more bulky. So now that I have outlined what I like and don’t like here are the underwear brands you can buy now in order of my favourites.
One of my favourite underwear companies is a little hard to find company from Japan called “Creal” . It’s a store that I found when Japanese online store Rakuten was selling to the North American consumer market. Unfortunately since about 2019 Rakuten has terminated the English site so you now need to use a Translator in your web browser for the Japanese site and a package forwarding option to get packages shipped to locations outside Japan. It’s an additional cost but if you order a few pairs at a time the extra cost isn’t to bad and this brand is well worth the additional cost.
The Japanese call thongs T-Backs and they seem to be a far more popular style of mens underwear I figure this is likely due to the similarities to the traditional Fondushi underwear/swimsuit. The first thing you will notice when you visit the Creal site is they mostly cater to much more feminine cuts, prints and styles of men’s underwear. Popularity of men’s panty like underwear seems to be a thing in Japan and you will see a few sites that sell these sometimes called manties. This might scare off most men with all the frilly styles but this company also offers a few non frilly more masculine designed of thongs and bikinis that are really a joy to wear. Some men wear woman’s underwear as they often have softer materials and much better build quality and attention to detail then most mens targeted underwear. So I can see why a few small sellers like this exist. Though I am not really into frilly underwear like some I do love the selection of materials these small neigh companies bring.
Some of my favourite thongs and bikinis from Creal are:
1 – Men’s T-Back, glossy smooth fabric
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/creal-shop/mzt1342/
- Nice and slim front pouch
- No front seam
- Slim thong back
- Slim waist
- Very stretchy and soft material with a shiny outside and a cotton like inside.
- Great all around wear.
2 – Men’s T-Back, Side Glen Check Argyle
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/creal-shop/mzt1312/
- Front and back made of very stretchy white Lycra.
- Front has a nice seamless front pouch.
- Nice contrasting waist fabric
- All around wear. Good for warm weather.
3 – Men’s Bikini Fundoshi Shorts Cotton Gauze
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/creal-shop/mzb1382/
- A very interesting bikini that doesn’t have legs elastics.
- Amazing soft cotton
- Flattering cut
- Nice high sides.
- Very nice lounging or sleeping underwear.
4 – Creal T-Back Bear Tenjiku Seamless
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/creal-shop/mzt1317/
- No crotch seam
- No Front seam
- Great stretchy cotton lycra fabric
- Slim Front
- Slim Sides
- Slim rear
- Comfortable for sleep and lounging or all day wear.
5 – Men’s Bikini Tricot 2way Binder String in Seamless
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/creal-shop/mzb1328/
- No crotch seam
- No front seam
- Great stretchy soft Lycra fabric
- Narrow front
- Moderate back
- Great for active days
This site has so many other great styles and cuts but these are a few I enjoy.
Thank you to Chris for sending in some of the pairs in his drawer. Stay tuned for more from Chris’s collection in the near future. If anyone else would like to put in a submission, check out my share the good post on how to join in.
Ways to Support The Bottom Drawer by Shopping
Message to the author. I think in order to fight the sigma men have against thongs and bikinis, we must refrain from referring to styles, or cuts off thongs and bikinis, as feminine. I see this a lot when advertising on eBay or Amazon. I often see the style referred to as “sissy” “feminine”, even “gay”. This does not help the cause, fight, or battle, which our small group stands for.
I agree 100%
Thanks for sharing your underwear favourites, its always good to see what others are wearing and why. I’ve not heard of this brand before, so its good to check out new sites.
Yes, I agree with Black Stallion about labelling mens underwear as Gay or sissy or feminine, but I don’t think there is much we can do to change that, its a marketing this I guess, although I’m not sure why they do it as I’ve never searched for gay or sissy underwear, so why they do it I’m not sure.
There is plenty they can be done. The fact is, of that’s how they describe these products which suit or preference of Swimwear, or underwear, that’s what they think of and associate or sexual preference which have nothing to do with one or the other. Basically profiling clientele.
Wow
I almost forgot about this series. I definitely have to send in my latest adds.
Thanks Chris this is a great collection and I too want to check out this store. The styles for bikini is really drawing me. Not one for shiny anything but definitely the cuts look great.
Thank you TBD for continuing this series.
These look great. How does Japanese sizing compare with Western? I imagine that Japanese XL may be the same as Western L or even M?
Hi! Ya the Japanese sizes can be 1 to 2 sizes down from North American sizes. So if you’re a Medium US at L or LL is the size you want. I only order LL from this company. That said I have found that a lot of Japanese underwear that I have purchased has generally lots of stretch and is sized in expectation to stretch around the wearer. I have some pairs from another Japanese brand called TM and some of the L size underwear look like a boys size 10. I know this as one of my TM bikinis made it in to my nephews underwear drawer by mistake. Ha!
So my point to above mentioned about marketing verbage is to not support those who use such verbage.
Black stallion
I agree.
Thank you for sharing a manufacturer I haven’t come across before. I love the Side Glen Check Argyle. It looks like a nice traditional thong style and cut which I prefer to wear.
Your welcome. It’s a great T-Back and great for hot summer weather.
Great to see another contribution to this topic as it’s a great way to discover brands we haven’t heard of. I’m sure many of us are guilty of speculating on the type of underwear worn by the people we encounter in our daily lives or see on the various media outlets. Who hasn’t checked out a neighbour’s washing line to see if it’s the usual suspects of boring boxers or something more daring?
I’m pleased to see that Chris doesn’t shy away from colours that are deemed to be more feminine eg the pink tanga.
I checked out the website that he mentioned and although they have some great products, I was disappointed that the garments were displayed on mannequins rather than real models. I just don’t think you get a true representation of the item when presented in that way.
Look forward to seeing the rest of Chris’s collection and hope more of the followers will be prompted to submit their own collections.