The Underarchive

I am considering posting pictures of myself on this account to show off pairs I love but don’t see people talking about. I know there’s three dudes in America who fight me on eBay whenever these come up for sale. Are you interested? I’m a chubby man but I’m told I’m handsome.

A men’s thong laid flat on a light colored wooden table. The thong is dress shirt blue and has a gray waistband with “Polo Ralph Lauren” repeating in black lettering with a single black line.

A men’s string bikini brief laid flat on a light colored wooden table. The brief is dress shirt blue and has a gray waistband with “Polo Ralph Lauren” repeating in black lettering with a single black line.

Polo Ralph Lauren micro modal thong and string bikini brief. I remember seeing these on the Macy’s site back in 2001 and wishing I lived near a big city. This color was called dress shirt blue. It also came in a string bikini brief style. #mensunderwearhistory #stringbikinibriefs #manthong

I find Locktober fascinating. I am someone who has difficulty with intimate contact so seeing that there is a practice where I could hold a key and stay clothed while providing pleasure to someone else sounds nice. Everyone can enjoy the concept in a way that meets their needs!

Plumes! I wish they would re release the versions in the shimmery fabrics that shine different colors at angles. There was a mid blue that would flash purple, green and gold in the light.

Another old Fruit of the Loom Commercial. They had clips known as Brief History. This is about Napoleon Bonaparte who’s uncomfortable with his first briefs that he changes from that to tighty whities. Take the hat off, Bonaparte. 😊 #tightywhities #whitebriefs #fruitoftheloom

Yves Martin bikini briefs, tanga briefs, and boxers from the Sears Canada catalogues for 1999 and 2000.

Older briefs ads...

I may have posted these catalogue segments before...but they are fun.

Thank you so much for this information! I can use it to find even more history!

A photograph of a glass display window in the wall of a red brick building. A series of men's torso mannequins are arranged in a four wide by six tall grid on glass shelves. Each is dressed in a pair of full rise briefs with white contrast piping. The fabric color of each brief varies, to create a gradient effect when viewed at a distance. The fabrics are colors of baby blue, bright blue, navy, purple, pink, magenta, fuchsia, oatmeal, orange, red and yellow.

A photograph of a man against a white background taken for Los Angeles Apparel's online store, cropped to show only from the pectorals to the tops of the knees. The man stands in akimbo stance while wearing a pair of bright green full rise briefs with white contrast piping and waistband.

An American Apparel (now Los Angeles Apparel) display window featuring wall-to-wall men's ringer briefs c. 2010s, and the product photography from their website today. I got my first pair in 2005, and the style is still sold to this day! Style 44015.

Fascinating! I want to do some research on who currently produces these products because they might be using prison labor now.

A half-page magazine ad for Jockey International Skants. The left side of the ad is back text on a white background in bold all-caps type that says "What the well undressed man is wearing this year. Jockey International Skants". The right side of the ad is divided into four rectangles, where full-color pencil illustrations of one man from the chin downward are wearing various styles of Jockey Skants underwear. He is clean-shaven, cleft-chinned, and has a lean swimmer's build. He models the the Skant brief in white, primary yellow, brown print, and a royal purple in a silhouette that is more akin to a low rise brief.

What the well undressed man is wearing this year - Jockey International Skants. Not sure of the time period of this ad but guessing 1970s to late 1980s? If you know, please comment! #underwearhistory #underwearadvertising #jockeyunderwear #jockeyskants #skantsbrief #skants

A black line drawing on a light blue background of a man smiling as he trims his face with a plug-in razor. He is wearing a white Jockey Skants brief. The ad copy reads "new! daring! Jockey SKANTS brief. The bikini-type underwear. 100% stretch nylon. Made only by Coopers".

Speaking of the Jockette/x-brief/St. Tropez Jockey style, it was also known as a Skants brief! Here's a magazine announcing this new! daring! innovation in men's furnishings (and it was almost scandalous at the time!) #underwearhistory #underwearadvertising

A scan of a magazine ad page. It is divided into three columns with a banner across the bottom. It is in grayscale except for the center image, which shows a man wearing a mid-rise or low-rise Jockey y-front brief in a red and white pattern and dark red contrast trim. The colorful man is adjusting his watch and slightly smiling at the camera. Interestingly, the waistband is tunnel and not exposed elastic, so the contrast piping effect calls out the Y-front more easily. The gentleman in the leftmost column has white hair and a mustache, stands with his arms crossed, wearing nothing but full-rise Jockey y-fronts and a smile. The gentleman in the rightmost column also has arms crossed, but is much younger with a surfer shag of white-blonde hair. He wears a pair of leopard patterned Jockey Jockette briefs, also known as x-briefs or St Tropez style. The ad copy below them reads 'Jockey introduces the Semi-Brief. Now we've got every man covered. At last there's a men's brief for those who've grown out of one style but aren't ready for the other. The Jockey Semi-Brief. It's made from cotton interlock with all the comfort and support of a regular brief. including the Y front opening. But with the fashion and style of a Jockette. You could almost say it was the best of both worlds. Comfort and style.'

A Jockey ad announcing the 'semi-brief'. That sounds zingier than mid-rise or low-rise. I love the Jockette/x-brief/St Tropez silhouette that the surfer dude on the right has on! #underwearhistory #underwearadvertising #Jockey #jockette #semibrief #yfront

A series of colorful print images in an accordion foldout featuring men wearing brief or bikini brief underwear. They are standing, leaning or reclining and all of them really enjoy having a towel or sweater draped around their neck. A blue band runs across the top with Schiesser branding in the upper-right corner. Text such as 'Blue Bird', 'Balestra' and 'Jacques S.' are superimposed over the images below the blue banner.

A series of colorful print images in an accordion foldout featuring men wearing brief or bikini brief underwear. They are standing, leaning or reclining and all of them really enjoy having a towel or sweater draped around their neck. A blue band runs across the top with Schiesser branding in the upper-right corner. Text such as 'Blue Bird', 'Balestra' and 'Jacques S.' are superimposed over the images below the blue banner.

A series of colorful print images in an accordion foldout featuring men wearing boxers, briefs or bikini brief underwear. They are standing, leaning or reclining and all of them really enjoy having a towel or sweater draped around their neck. A blue band runs across the top with Schiesser branding in the upper-right corner. Text such as 'Blue Bird', 'Balestra' and 'Jacques S.' are superimposed over the images below the blue banner.

A fold-out catalog or mailer of Schiesser underwear lines - Blue Bird, Balestra, and Jacques S. These images were from an eBay listing. I feel like this is from the 1990s but the metadata is lost. Do you know? Comment if you do! #mensunderwear #underwearpackaging #underwearadvertising #bikinibriefs

A photograph of a single men's Jockey y-front fine rib cotton brief in retail packaging. The packaging is a plastic sleeve with a cardboard insert partially covering the garment. The insert features a full color print of a man's body wearing a brief.

A closeup of the Jockey Australia fine rib cotton y-front brief showing the ribbed pattern of the fabric and the man's torso centered in the shot on the cardboard inset.

The reverse side of the Jockey Australia brief packaging showing the size chart (with Australia, New Zealand, and centimeter sizing) and care instructions.

A photograph of a 4-pack of men's Jockey Classics low rise y-front briefs sold in America. The plastic packaging is printed with product details and a photograph of a man modeling the brief. The man's face is visible.

International markets get cool stuff like wide-rib knits and packaging that shows the contours of the male form while the home market doesn't. Jockey Australia looks more human, Jockey USA looks like a video game texture. I wish the wide rib knit fabric would make a return for US Jockey customers.

New Jockey microfiber string bikinis on the way (style 4588). I love these colors and patterns. I hope the fit, especially in the rear, is better than the disastrous sport stability pouch versions (style 4268) that assumed every customer has a Brazilian butt lift and enough ass for three people.

A scan of a Spiegel catalog page. The left column is a photograph of a man wearing Calvin Klein full rise briefs and tank top. The tank top is tucked into the briefs. The man stands in three-quarter profile with his arms in a swing motion, his gaze cast down and to the left with a pouty expression. The right side column lists product descriptions and pricing. The lower half of the right column shows two photographs. One is of six tank tops laid flat and photographed overhead. They are red, blue, black, gray, primary yellow and green in color. The bottom photograph shows six bikini briefs in purple, black, gray, hunter green, blue and soft yellow photographed in the same way, with a retail store box laid in the shot. The retail box is a grayscale photograph of a man's torso wearing the bikini briefs, shot at an angle with text saying 'Calvin Klein' running down the left side.

"Calvin Klein knows what today's man wants" - true (at the time!)

A scan of a Spiegel catalog page from the late 1980s or early 1990s (date estimated by the layout, font style, the particular cut of the bikini brief silhouette, and the design direction of the photography.)

Two photographs in one - in the first, a man with a hairy chest and forearms lays upon a white duvet on his stomach, looking at the camera. His briefs are visible in the background of the shot. In the other photograph, a young man in glasses wearing only a pair of briefs (or a pair of trunks with the legs tucked in) is standing up reading a book, smiling and talking to someone out of frame.

A man stands with his back to the camera, looking over his shoulder with an unreadable expression. He is wearing a pair of white briefs with 'American Eagle' printed on the waistband and the word 'FLEXY' printed across the upper portion of the rear panel.

A young man in a pair of tie dye American Eagle briefs lays on a bed over a white fluffy blanket. He rests his face on his hand and stares into the camera with a slightly bemused expression.

Four men lay on a pallet of blankets and pillows on a hardwood floor, talking to each other, laughing and pointing at a camera aimed at them from overhead. They wear a selection of American Eagle boxer briefs and briefs and seem to be having a good time!

In 2016 for April Fools, American Eagle did an 'Aerie Man' photoshoot. It makes me sad that it was a joke, with the subtext being that briefs or skimpier options are worthy of mocking and not something men should wear.

If you know someone who thinks like that, unfriend them. #underwearhistory

The Jockey Elance bikini is my forever favorite! It works for EVERY situation. I'm working on a post charting the evolution of the advertising and packaging. It seems Jockey no longer wants to advertise or promote the men's Elance line and it only gets (limited) new colors twice a year now. :-(

A photograph of a printed catalog page. There are full-color photographs of men's torsos clad in various low rise briefs, bikini briefs, and tanga briefs. Each product photo of a man wearing a garment has a flat-lay of the same product superimposed. Neons, stripes, paisley, sport prints and white/blue/green/black solids are displayed.

A catalog featuring Canadian-made men's fashion underwear by Ives Chevalier and Prodige. I have thoughts on how various factors killed off mainstream availability of sexy men's underwear. When's the last time you saw a variety of sexy options in a big box or department store? #underwearhistory

A picture of a department store gondola shelf in a Dillard's department store. The shelving is stocked with Roundtree and Yorke full rise / full-cut briefs in sets of three wrapped in soft plastic. A poster sleeve with a dark wood surround is mounted atop the gondola. A lean and muscular young man on a neutral background is looking up and above the photographer as they capture him clad in a pair of sky blue Roundtree and Yorke full rise briefs.

A silly gripe: department stores should post the in-store product photography online. I don't think I've ever seen a Dillard's store brand model look *sexy* before, and this gentleman accomplished it. Too bad about the lighting glare.

A variety of colorful men's swimming briefs are laid flat on a white bedspread. A clear plastic box in the upper portion of the frame contains many more swim briefs neatly folded.

Some people might go their entire lives without seeing an image this beautiful. #speedo #swimbrief #undewearhistory

Great question! The solids are 100% cotton along with some patterns. Stripes and other patterns are 88/12 or 85/15 cotton-polyester blend.

The Bluesky auto-moderation service letting an image that has a man's buttocks clearly exposed remain visible on my profile while routinely auto-hiding product photography that reveals nothing and is chaste enough to hang on a Wal-Mart shelf in the year 1995 is....frustrating.

Two magazine pages show a variety of men's underwear. Some are in 'flat lay' style and not being worn, some are shown on models' bodies. Styles include no-fly slips, fly-front briefs, bikini briefs, short leg boxer briefs, tangs (aka sport briefs aka string bikinis), thong, and a racer-back short-leg biking singlet. All text is in French and prices appear to be in francs, meaning this magazine was pre-Euro currency.

Speaking of international catalogs, here's one in French that features different underwear styles by brands HOM, DIM and Athena. I'm wondering if this catalog was like International Male or in wider distribution like Sears? It's French and my understanding is they are less hung up on showing skin.

A photograph of a catalog page featuring men's underwear. The page is divided into thirds vertically, with the first two columns each having two photographs of men's torsos modeling underwear with an inset photograph of the packaging laid across each photo. The vertical third to the right of the page provides descriptions, item codes, and pricing for the four styled showcased, which are a boxer, boxer brief, y-front brief and bikini. The lower right corner of the page features the Protocol brand logo (a cursive P in a circle surrounded by the text 'particularly suited to your state of affairs') and a red maple leaf with 'MADE IN CANDA' printed below it in a black box.

Still working hard on sorting those thousands of images! While I work, here's a catalog page advertising Canadian-made Protocol brand men's underwear. Other Canadian brands I hope to show here in the future are JM, Stanfield's, Yves Martin and Prodige. Which other Canadian brands can you think of?

😊🩲🏳️‍🌈😍😍😍👍

A screenshot of the macOS finder status bar showing 10,756 items in a folder.

So it turns out I had way more men's underwear packaging and product photography than I thought. Working on cataloging / tagging this behemoth so I can start planning posts. Would you be interested in seeing a comparison of box art / product photography vs. found images of people wearing the style?