Underwear Guy Review: Jameswinston Co. NEON Hipster
Designer/Manufacturer: Jameswinston Co.
Website: www.jameswinston.uk.com
Price: $24.00 (approximate cost based on exchange rate)

I reviewed the new 2008 Petit Brief from Jameswinston Co. Underwear not too long ago and now I'm following up with a review of an earlier release product line: the NEON Hipster. This item was part of the second generation of Jameswinston Co. underwear when a more brief hipster cut made sense as an addition to help diversify the lineup which was initially limited to more traditional trunk styles. The NEON hipster line stands out from the rest of Jameswinston Co. underwear for its bright color palette which contrasts against the rest of the lines which are typically more muted natural tones. As stated on the manufacturer's website you should consider that the NEON line is cut tighter than the rest of the products and I personally recommend you size up in all situations given that even after I switched up to a large these squarecuts were still form-fitting...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Toot Underwear Leopard Squarecut
Designer/Manufacturer: Toot Underwear
Website: www.pants-ya.com
Price: $32.00 (approximate currency conversion from Yen to Dollars)

Toot Underwear is an exclusive high-end line of men's underwear designed and produced in Japan. Specializing in unique designs with interesting mixes of fabrics, patterns and colors, Toot Underwear has been copied all over the world by various labels including Undergear and Pulse Underwear. I have ordered more than a few items from Toot Underwear and thought it was overdue time that I highlight a product from their line. On the Toot website products are not given specific names but are referred to by cut and then by a cryptic style number. This squarecut style is available in a broad variety of colors and patterns but the general shape and fit is the same so you can use this review as a good guide for quite a few Toot items...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Undergear Big Rib Bodysuit
Designer/Manufacturer: Undergear
Website: www.undergear.com
Price: $19.99

For this review I'm covering a slightly more unusual underwear item in the form of the classic Undergear Big Rib Bodysuit. This may be one of Undergear's longest-running products next to the bootlegger brief. This is a unique item produced exclusively by Undergear although you can find other men's bodysuits or leotards produced by NDS Wear, California Muscle and BodyAware among others. Often used in dance, gymnastics, or general workouts, leotard/bodysuits typically consist of a tank or full-shirt top that includes a brief or thong bottom designed as a single piece to keep the top in place through all sorts of active movement. Usually these garments are made out of nylon/spandex combinations but in the case of this version from Undergear 100% cotton is used throughout...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Artificial Flavor Tie Dye Low Rise Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Artificial Flavor
Website: www.aflavor.com
Price: $27.50

Artificial Flavor has released several new designs as well as refreshes of their past collections for 2008 and this week I thought I'd give the new Tie Dye brief a try. I reviewed the corporal brief a while back which was a mostly positive review so I expected a similar level of design and performance from the tie dye brief. Available in a mixed color pattern of orange/brown or green/brown the look is definitely as titled: tie dye. Each brief is unique with a random pattern of splotchy color applied all over the 50% cotton 50% polyester fabric. Artificial flavor underwear runs true-to-size with the medium cut working out well for a standard 32-33" waist. The waistband is a fairly basic production as a 1 1/4" woven element in dark brown with bright yellow logos repeated all the way around...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: AussieBum Lightning Trunk
Designer/Manufacturer: AussieBum 
Website: www.aussiebum.com
Price: $30.00 (plus import and currency exchange fees)

AussieBum underwear continues to innovate within the men's underwear market with new designs, materials and patterns on a regular basis. One of the latest releases by AussieBum is the new Lightning trunk made from 87% micro modal and 13% spandex printed in a bold and somewhat wild plaid pattern available in pink (as shown in this review), 2 versions of blue and black. The printing of the micro modal material does add a small amount of stiffness to the surface making it not quite as soft as bare fabric but after a couple of wash cycles this effect is negligible. Next to the bold print the waistband is probably the most noticeable design element with a giant 2 1/2" tall woven metallic silver band with AussieBum logos repeated all the way around...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Mansilk Silk Knit Thong
Designer/Manufacturer: Mansilk by Mary Green
Website: www.mansilk.com
Price: $15.00

Mary Green's line of men's silk underwear has been a mostly quiet business with virtually no advertising or marketing campaigns to speak of. Despite the low profile of the brand the various thongs, bikinis, briefs and boxer-briefs sold under the Mansilk label are readily available via a broad selection of online stores. The key market differentiator for Mansilk underwear is its use of silk materials for the various undergarments. Available in a broad variety of colors the silk knit material that makes up this thong is soft, stretchable and smooth to the touch making it wearable in a variety of situations. This thong has been on the market for many years and follows a very classic cut available in no less than 10 different colors including the white version shown here...<< MORE >>

Reader Comments and Questions 6th Edition
What underwear to wear in the heat of summer...trunks that fit great but don't break the bank and some readers share what's in their underwear drawers.

Well, clearly I didn't get to my next Reader edition until now unlike what I had hoped for which was to publish last weekend. On the upside I was able to get quite a few reviews out which I'm happy for and they were positive ones as well!

There's so much new underwear to review and try out that I've recently gotten in-hand including the CK Active Tech hip brief and CK Micro Modal brief, Clever Dragon print foil boxer brief, Life Underwear bikinis, Artificial Flavor tie dye briefs, AussieBum Flash boxer brief, Undergear Thong (different from the Contour version) and the Jameswinston S-Brief. I will keep working away at the reviews to get you the latest hits and misses for men's underwear this season.

This Reader Edition had a lot of links and images to track down as well as a lot of additional research to find the best recommendations for Drew's question about what briefs would be good for the heat of summer so I hope you find the information useful. After the "heat" question I've answered Tony's request for advice regarding trunks that are affordable and finally some long overdue spotlight on reader's underwear drawer photo submissions.

If you've written in and haven't seen a response yet-keep reading. I'll work on answering more questions ASAP!

Thanks for reading!

Underwear Guy

Read the rest of the article: << MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Undergear Contour Thong
Designer/Manufacturer: Undergear
Website: www.undergear.com
Price: $9.99

Undergear's website and catalogs cycle through a broad range of styles and brands every season. From big names like C-In2 to smaller niche lines like N-Fini, every month offers a new array of cuts, designs and colors. One Undergear constant that has not changed much over the years is the Contour line of underwear. This Undergear in-house line consists of a variety of boxer briefs, squarecuts, bikini briefs, briefs and thongs manufactured in an array of colors and prints. The Contour line has always been priced within a more affordable range and this thong is no exception coming in at just under $10. There are several color options to choose from including dark tones like olive green and bright colors like my purchase: raspberry. The raspberry color is very bright and almost neon in hue so if you like highly saturated colors you can go with this featured color or the bright orange version called "sun"...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Jameswinston Co. Petit Bikini Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Jameswinston Co.
Website: www.jameswinston.uk.com
Price: $25.00 (approximate cost based on exchange rate)

There has been a lot of underwear blog coverage of Jameswinston Co. underwear lately due in no small part to a clever and effective marketing campaign. Fun advertising imagery and sexy new cuts have been added to the previously released boxer brief and trunk styles and I thought it would be interesting to try out the new products. For a little background, Jameswinston Co. is a fairly recent newcomer to the men's underwear market with their first product introduction in late 2006. The first Jameswinston products were trunk-style hipsters which I liked at the time but wasn't motivated to purchase. The following product release that got my attention was the Neon range (look for a review soon) which was a briefer trunk in bright colors with a form-fitting design and some nice accent details. Fast-forward to the last few weeks and we've seen the introduction of the new Petit Brief (bikini brief) and S-Brief (squarecut style brief) which bring some nice variety to the Jameswinston Co. lineup beyond the hipster styles... << MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: C-In2 Bamboo Mesh Street Jock
Designer/Manufacturer: C-In2 
Website: www.c-In2.com
Price: $19.50

I am working on adding more jockstrap reviews to the site since I've been getting more requests for that specific men's underwear style lately. In this review I am highlighting a jockstrap I've owned for a little while now: the C-In2 Bamboo Mesh Jockstrap. In one of my earliest reviews I detailed the Slider Brief version of this line so you can check out that review for more of the general background information. This jock is the most minimal cut within the Bamboo line while still retaining the same soft and stretchable fabric made of a unique 98% bamboo-based rayon fiber and 2% spandex blend. Interestingly enough, the new colors of charcoal and coffee have a different blend that is 69% bamboo, 29% cotton and 2% spandex...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Vizeau Yon Cutout Bikini Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Vizeau
Website: www.vizeau.com
Price: $20.00 (approximately)

A while ago blog reader Anthony e-mailed me suggesting I try Vizeau underwear. I had known about Vizeau for some time but his e-mail finally prompted me to purchase my first pair of their underwear recently. There isn't a whole lot of information about the company on their website but what I can tell you is that they are a U.S.-based swimwear, underwear and clothing company that has been on the market for several years now. The designs Vizeau produces are usually more provocative and revealing than standard every-day underwear and the price-points fall into the premium-level of underwear at $20 for this pair of bikini briefs from the Daily Underwear line. Vizeau releases specific design lines on a seasonal basis that include a variety of cuts from g-strings to boxer briefs that typically share the same color palette and fabric...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Go Softwear Metallic Crowns Trunk
Designer/Manufacturer: Go Softwear
Website: www.gosoftwear.com
Price: $20.00

Go Softwear has continued to diversify their men's underwear range through 2007 and 2008 with interesting selections for fabrics, a nice array of cuts and a variety of colors. One of the newer lines introduced recently is the Metallic Crowns collection available in black with gold details or white with metallic blue details. I purchased the white version of the trunk and you can find a jock, low-rise brief, brief and retro short version of this underwear line as well. The material is a 90% cotton 10% lycra blend which should be fairly stretchable although it's surprisingly somewhat stiff and not particularly soft. Sizing can be hit or miss with Go Softwear but more often than not it's a good idea to purchase a size up from your normal range so I bought this trunk in a large and I'm glad I did...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Jockey Classic Low Rise Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Jockey Underwear
Website: www.jockey.com
Price: $14.00 2-Pack

The low rise brief from Jockey was probably my first "fashion" underwear purchase. That was several years ago back when there were far fewer options for fashionable men's underwear and your choices were limited to Hanes or Fruit of the Loom multi-pack fashion underwear found in stores like K-Mart or Jockey and Calvin Klein underwear found in mall department stores like Macys. I saw these low rise briefs on sale a few months ago and thought for the sake of revisiting a classic underwear item I would try them out again to see if they had held up under the test of time. The design of the Jockey Low Rise brief has not changed much from what I can tell with an exposed 1 1 /4" elastic waistband in white with old-school Jockey text repeated around the entire waist...<< MORE >>

Reader Comments and Questions 5th Edition
Directions To Under...Where? and Underwear For The Ages? Swim and Underwear for guys who prefer to point North and can you wear briefs after 40?

It's long overdue for a reader question and answer article so here are my responses to two readers who sent in some detailed requests for advice. I'm not sure if I can own the title of men's underwear expert-it was never my intention-but I appreciate that these readers felt like I had something useful to say regarding their underwear purchasing options. If anything I hope some of this writing is entertaining and maybe it's informative for some of you as well. There are so many more questions that have been sent my way the last month and I'll try to answer more of them soon. If I'm lucky I will be able to post the official 6th edition of Reader Comments and Questions this weekend. Thanks again for reading!

Underwear Guy
Read the full article: << MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Calvin Klein Tech Active Jockstrap
Designer/Manufacturer: Calvin Klein
Website: www.cku.com
Price: $24.00

By reader request this review covers the new Tech Active Jockstrap from Calvin Klein. It seems like every year Calvin Klein discontinues one line of underwear and then subsequently replaces it with a very similar line with a new name the next year. Part of this is smart marketing to be able to reintroduce new lines on a regular basis but it's also a reflection of the need to continuously evolve product styles and fabrics. The Tech Active line is Calvin Klein's new athletic-oriented underwear line meant for active guys or for specific athletic activities. The Tech Active line is priced at a higher point than some of their other lines of underwear running $24 for this jockstrap and about equally more expensive for the other cuts which include a sport brief, low rise brief and a trunk. Your color options are fairly limited with just black and white available for the jockstrap although the other cuts do have a red option...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Gigo Underwear Mirror Trunk
Designer/Manufacturer: Gigo Underwear
Website: www.gigo.com.co
Price: $22.00

Gigo Underwear is a Colombian-based underwear label that has been on the market for some time since its founding in 2004 but has only shown up prominently on the North American radar the last year or so. Gigo offers a wide-variety of designs and styles that are very eye-catching, many items include bold graphics, metallic foil prints or other interesting design elements like mesh or as with this brief: a shiny metallic finish. The signature style for Gigo is the trunk although they do offer a long-leg boxer-brief and brief cut in some of their styles as well. Not unlike many other South American labels you are strongly advised to order a size up with Gigo Underwear as they are definitely cut much tighter than normal, particularly on the legs. The waistband on these trunks measures 1 1/2" tall and is made from a standard elastic with a minimal amount of texturizing on the interior to help prevent itching or roughness...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Emporio Armani Logo Essential Stretch Cotton Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Emporio Armani
Website: www.emporioarmani.com
Price: $22.00

These are the infamous David Beckham briefs that have been featured in the ad campaign images talked about and reported on virtually every type of media in connection to the frenzy surrounding the Beckham's arrival in the US. Emporio Armani most likely had a good estimate of the return on investment they would get for signing on David as a model for their men's underwear launch and I think it's paid out very well for them. I admit I was curious about the underwear, wondering if the product would come event close to matching the hype, and as my last review concluded, it hasn't been a disappointment. These hip briefs are a little more interesting than the style from my last review as they have some different design choices that make them stand out better from the sea of hip briefs available...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Skinxwear Enhancer Hip Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Skinxwear
Website: www.skinxwear.com
Price: $10.00 (Approximate)

The second-place pick from the recent reader poll was this Skinxwear Enhancer Hip Brief which I bought online from an eBay seller in Malaysia. I don't know too much about Skinxwear since it isn't sold in the US but what I've been able to track down is that it is (I believe) a Malaysian-based company with a fairly broad range of men's underwear in a variety of cuts including thongs, bikinis, hip briefs and trunks with varying materials colors and patterns depending on the line. The styles of Skinxwear trend towards more minimal coverage and revealing, thin fabrics or mesh so I would draw a close parallel to N2N Bodywear in terms of an equivalent US-based designer...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: C-In2 Tat-2 Low Rise Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: C-In2
Website: www.cin2.com
Price: $22.00

Thanks to a recent reader poll it was clear that several of you were interested in knowing more about the C-In2 Tat-2 Low Rise Brief so here's the review that won the majority of the votes. These low rise briefs were a recent addition to the C-In2 product family that added a little more graphic flair beyond the previously released colors and patterns of the standard line. There were several color and graphic combinations introduced with the first round of designs available in a trunk cut and this low-rise brief cut. The fabric and sewing patterns are totally new for C-In2 and are not based off of any previous releases. Common across all the garments is a solid color base with contrasting waistband, leg-band and pouch piping accents and a screened graphic on the backside which explains the "Tat-2/Tattoo" name...<< MORE >>

Reader Poll: Help Me To Decide What Underwear To Review Next
Let me know which underwear item you want to see reviewed on the site and I'll prioritize the most popular picks.

Update: Thanks readers for all your votes! There was a clear favorite for the review picks with the C-In2 Tat-2 Low Rise Brief winning by a wide margin. The second-place vote went to the Skinxwear Enhancer Low Rise Hip Brief. I have updated the blog with reviews for both of those underwear items: C-In2 Tat-2 and Skinxwear. Thanks for your continued support and readership!

Hello readers and thanks again for sending in questions and adding comments. I'm working to keep up and if I haven't gotten to your question or comment yet I apologize-but I will get to them! The number of subscribers and unique visitors keeps increasing week to week so I feel added pressure to keep updating new content as a response to the added views. I appreciate that you take time out of your day to visit and read since we are all busy with what else goes on in our lives and there's never enough time to do it all...but we can try right? Speaking of trying to do it all, I have a ton of new underwear I'd like to review but I could use your help in prioritizing because otherwise I'm going to go crazy and try to post them all in 1 week which is too ambitious I think. To that end I am running a poll to allow you to vote and influence what is featured next. I've left this with multiple selection boxes so you can pick more than just one of the choices. Thanks for voting!<(click on "MORE" to access the poll) << MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: 2Xist Thong
Designer/Manufacturer: 2Xist
Website: www.2xist.com
Price: $10.00

After reviewing the C-In2 thong it seemed like a natural follow-up to review the 2Xist y-back thong. The 2Xist brand has been a men's underwear fashion pioneer since its founding in 1991 when it entered the market with a core line of t-shirts, boxer-briefs, briefs, sport briefs, and this thong which has remained a 2Xist standard throughout the years with just some minor updates on the design. The 2Xist core line is labeled as the 3100 range and consists of a 100% cotton fabric available in just the basic colors of black and white. The sizing of 2Xist underwear is generally true-to-size although I found that because the elastic of this waistband doesn't have a lot of stretch to it, the feeling was a bit on the tighter side. The waistband is not uncomfortable but I just wanted to flag that for anyone who might fall on the upper range of a given size e.g. closer to a 33" - 34" waist on a medium considering that I fall an the lower range of a medium at 32"...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: C-In2 Thong
Designer/Manufacturer: C-In2
Website: www.cin2.com
Price: $12.00

I thought it was long overdue I review some of the core staples of the C-In2 line given that I keep mentioning how much I like their underwear and yet I haven't reviewed very many of their items. This review covers the classic C-In2 thong which has been a core offering since the inception of the line. As a core item, this thong is only available in white, gray or black in 100% cotton fabric with the classic microfiber C-In2 waistband. I have found the sizing of C-In2 underwear to be very consistent and this thong in my usual medium fit well with the a good waist measure and an appropriate cut on the strap lengths for the back. The waistband is just a hair over 1 1/4" tall with large C-In2 logos woven in gray over white and repeated all the way around...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Gregg Homme Basixx G-String
Designer/Manufacturer: Gregg Homme
Website: www.gregg.ca
Price: $18.00

Gregg Homme is a long-running high-fashion Men's Underwear line based out of Canada. I have always been a fan of Gregg Homme underwear for its unique styles, materials, colors and the continuously changing nature of their lines. Gregg Homme underwear has changed a great deal over time and the recently created 3G Actualwear label is a new a sub-brand that features slightly more conservative styles while the main Gregg Homme line has started to diverge into more fetish-wear clothing with the use of pleather, mesh and revealing designs. Besides the seasonally rotating lines Gregg Homme has also added a more stable core line of underwear that does not change as frequently as the rest of the lines that includes the Basixx line. The Basixx line includes the Push Up and Mesh lines available in a variety of cuts from a full trunk down to this minimal g-string in only black or white...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Frank Dandy Gallichi Low Rise Brief Review
Designer/Manufacturer: Frank Dandy Superwear
Website: www.frankdandysuperwear.com
Price: $22.00

Although Frank Dandy is a recent entrant in the North American men's underwear market but they have made quite a splash with their unique and fun prints for their line of underwear. Frank Dandy Underwear is a Swedish-based company offering a broad selection of under-clothes for both men and women including some shirts. For the men's line there are now 4 cuts ranging from a full boxer-brief, then trunk, then a full-cut brief and this new cut which is a low-rise brief. I tried the full-cut brief a while back when Frank Dandy underwear was new and although I liked the designs, I found the cut to be much too high on the rise of the waistband (higher than a typical brief cut would be) for my preferences. I was pleased to see this new cut introduced in the past couple of years and finally had a chance to try a pair out...<< MORE >>

N2N Bodywear 2008 underwear and sport lines product images

The Spring 2008 fashion cycle is almost here for consumers and there will undoubtedly be many launches announced in the next few weeks. N2N Bodywear is not yet selling their latest lines on their site but some early pre-order options on other sites have revealed the newest lines including some new design directions for N2N Bodywear. The new underwear range is a basic 100% cotton blend that includes contrast color piping and is available in 3 basic colors: white, black and gray. The new exposed waistband style is a bit of a design departure when viewed in comparison to the majority of their recent releases although the pouch design appears to still retain the classic N2N Bodywear profile. Photos and additional comments after the jump...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Go Softwear Go Natural Trunk
Designer/Manufacturer: Go Softwear
Website: www.gosoftwear.com
Price: $28.00

The use of alternative fabrics for men's underwear has been on the rise over the last couple of years and now we're seeing an interesting contrast emerging between highly processed synthetic fabrics and natural, unprocessed materials. While Go Softwear has been traditionally known for bright colors, prints and smooth synthetic and cotton/spandex blends they recently have branched out with their new line: Go Natural. The Natural line is composed of 43% organic cotton, 54% hemp and 3% lycra for a little bit of stretch. The current line is available in three cuts including a trunk, brief and jock as well as a sleeveless tee. There is only one color available called "natural" which is an off-white yellowish hue achieved without the use of extreme chemical bleaching which would go against the concept of an environmentally-friendly line of underwear...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Emporio Armani Stretch Cotton Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Emporio Armani
Website: www.emporioarmani.com
Price: $19.50

Emporio Armani underwear has been on the market for some time now but they've recently bought themselves a lot of publicity for signing on David Beckham as the feature model for their latest advertising campaign. With all the attention paid to the man wearing the underwear I was interested in finding out if the actual product itself was worthy of the hype or if it was all just corporate marketing in over-drive. There are several variations of Armani Underwear available for purchase online and in-person in stores which is how I purchased these Stretch Cotton briefs from Macy's. The underwear comes in boxes with a style of artwork very reminiscent of Calvin Klein Underwear with b/w front and back photos and the Emporio Armani Logo centered in the middle...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: American Apparel Baby Rib Men's Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: American Apparel
Website: www.americanapparel.net
Price: $12.00

Blog reader Brian wrote in with some questions one of which was concerning my opinion on the American Apparel (AA) baby rib brief. This review covers that item in all its unfortunate detail and hopefully will help other readers make an informed purchase decision. For those of you unfamiliar with American Apparel it is a Los Angles, CA-based designer and manufacturer of sweatshop-labor-free clothing for men and women. The clothing items from AA are usually simple and basic but available in a broad variety of colors and a good range of fabric blends including organic cottons. Although anyone can wear these clothing items I would say in terms of marketing, AA clothing tends to be directed towards a younger consumer crowd in the roughly 18-30 y.o. age range. AA has sold a limited range of men's underwear for a while now with the primary item being this baby rib brief...<< MORE >>

Reader Comments and Questions 4th Edition
What's enhancing you? Reader questions regarding underwear that lifts, defines, shapes and just about everything else to make you look better in the package department.

I’m still working on answering the many questions that come in but I’m making progress and I’m honored that readers care about my opinions enough to the extent they have questions to ask! Today’s Reader Edition covers just two questions since I had so much to say in the answers and the article was getting fairly long otherwise.

Men’s profile enhancing underwear for men has advanced leaps and bounds over just the last few years and now there are numerous ways to help shape and define or otherwise give you that extra lift in the front. Reader Chet had a multi-part e-mail that spawned a general review of all the options out there-so read on and keep writing!

Underwear Guy (click "more" for the full article)<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: N2N Bodywear Tropic Boxer
Designer/Manufacturer: N2N Bodywear
Website: www.n2nbodywear.com
Price: $21.00

N2N Bodywear utilizes unique fabrics in many of their underwear lines including net mesh, brushed tactel and in this review: a soft 60% polyester 32% rayon and 8% spandex blend that makes up the Tropic line. The Tropic line of underwear has been available from N2N for several years now and is produced in a wide range of cuts including a Boxster, G-String, Cutaway Sport Bikini, Brief, Bikini, Thong and this full length Boxer/Trunk. The available colors have changed seasonally and this time around I purchased the "coral" color which is a orange-pink hue. Other available colors include white, sand (beige), green, lavender and blue. I've found that most of N2N Bodywear's underwear runs true-to-size and these boxer-briefs were no exception with the mediums working well for the stated 30"-34" waist...<< MORE >>

Today’s Entry: Reader Comments and Questions 3rd Edition
Open note to the readers: Thank YOU! Compliments, Skimpy Underwear recommendations, Wedgie-Free Undies and Low-hanging Problem-Solving Underwear.

Hello underwear blog readers, I realize it’s been a while since I’ve written back or responded and as usual I have to apologize for my lateness. Things continue to be crazy-busy in my life so it’s sometimes hard to keep up with all the questions and comments but I want to say they are very much appreciated and I really care about everything you have to write since it’s your participation that helps keep things lively and interesting on the blog. I wasn’t able to respond to all the e-mails or comments in this latest post but at least it’s a start and rest assured I will be working on writing up more as soon as possible.

Thanks again!

Underwear Guy (click to view full article):...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: N2N Bodywear Net Hip Brief (Bikini)
Designer/Manufacturer: N2N Bodywear
Website: www.n2nbodywear.com
Price: $15.00

Rounding out the trio of N2N Bodywear items that I've reviewed this last weekend is this Net Hip Brief. For the sake of keeping things from getting too revealing I wore the N2N Brushed Tactel string underneath the mesh but the review will pertain to wearing just the net hip brief by itself. N2N Bodywear sells a variety of mainstream men's underwear items as well as a complete lineup of erotic intimate wear. The "net" line by N2N Bodywear consists of a variety of cuts including string, thongs, briefs, trunks and this hip brief in black, white and red colors. I'm categorizing this "brief" as a bikini given the minimal cut, thin covered waistband and low rise. The hip brief cut is low rise like most N2N items with just enough to cover the front and back but no more...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: N2N Bodywear Raider Wrestler
Designer/Manufacturer: N2N Bodywear
Website: www.n2nbodywear.com
Price: $40.00

This review is a bit of a departure from the traditional underwear items as I'm trying out the N2N Bodywear Raider Singlet for a change which doesn't fit into any of the previous categories. I don't intend to start regularly reviewing bodygear types of items but I have a couple of other singlets that I may highlight to round out the category. I reviewed the N2N Bodywear Raider Runner not too long ago and wasn't particularly impressed with the fit. This time around is a little different with the singlet turning out to be a reasonable purchase. The raider line from N2N Bodywear is characterized by a unique 83% nylon 17% spandex blend fabric with hundreds of small holes punched through to create a net texture. The raider line is available in a variety of colors with this singlet manufactured in white, black and ice blue...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: N2N Bodywear Brushed Tactel String
Designer/Manufacturer: N2N Bodywear
Website: www.n2nbodywear.com
Price: $13.00

If you're ever looking for a more risque underwear item designed for men then N2N Bodywear will probably have something to fit the bill. From c-ring socks to mesh to this string you can choose items to wear that are nearly nothing. This string is designed as the most minimal coverage underwear you'll probably ever wear with just a small pouch kept in place with a tiny set of strings for the waist and up the backside. The brushed tactel line of underwear from N2N Bodywear has existed for several years and there's a good reason, it's amazingly soft and comfortable to wear with a very stretchable 92% nylon 8% lycra blend available in white, black, camel and scarlet red. Since there isn't really a waistband to attach any wash/care label the only tag to be found on this item is a very small 1/4" square size tag on the inner-right of the pouch...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: N-Fini Mesh Squarecut
Designer/Manufacturer: American Eagle Outfitters
Website: www.n-fini.com
Price: $19.99

Every once in a while I’ll see a pair of underwear that I have a feeling won’t work out but I’m curious enough to try it out that I’ll buy it anyway. When Undergear started selling this seamless mesh squarecut (they define it a trunk but I’ll refer to it as a squarecut due to the short leg cut) I noticed it for the unusual design and construction which looked interesting and unique. I waited a while and then ended up ordering it several months later and surprisingly you can still order it years after its first introduction. Once I got the underwear in-hand I found out this was not an Undergear-label item as I originally thought but a rare men’s item from women’s activewear and lingerie label: N-Fini. N-Fini sells a variety of items for women with virtually all the garments made out of the same 90% nylon 10% spandex mesh material...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: American Eagle Oufitters Low Rise Trunk
Designer/Manufacturer: American Eagle Outfitters
Website: www.ae.com
Price: $12.50 (2 for $20)

American Eagle Outfitters is a ubiquitous mall retail store selling a range of every-day apparel for young men and women including a modest selection of underwear for men that is typically available in a single boxer-brief style. In late 2007, American Eagle started selling updated underwear styles in bold colors and new cuts that were first brought to my attention by blog reader Matt (see original blog reader e-mail under “Reader Comments and Questions 1st Edition”). These trunks are a bit of a departure for American Eagle as they are lower rise and more form-fitting than their traditional boxer-brief style. The price is certainly right at just $12.50 per pair or an even better steal at 2 for $20. The big question of course are these a bargain or does the low price reflect a low final score? Let’s find out with the review starting at the color selection and graphics...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Diesel Studded Logo Low Rise Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Diesel
Website: www.diesel.com
Price: $36.00

Diesel clothing is an Italian-based label originally founded in 1978 by Renzo Rosso and Adriano Goldschmied. The core Diesel product is premium denim but their retail locations and online website also sell a complete range of apparel including a line of underwear for both men and women. I picked up these special edition Diesel briefs at my local retail store where they could be found in Black, white and red in low-rise brief and boxer-brief cuts. Retailing for around $36 Diesel underwear falls into the premium price range with designs that are often more detailed and artistically inspired than many other underwear labels. Although Diesel underwear is often displayed on hangers these briefs were packaged in a special metallic-foil box with a die-cut window to reveal the color...<< MORE >>

A Peek Inside My Underwear...Drawers
So many choices and not enough days in the year to wear them.

A while back blog reader William had asked me how many pairs of underwear I owned and I didn't have an immediate answer then-and I still don't have an answer now-but today I thought I'd give you a peek inside at least the top 3 drawers of my underwear collection. I do like to keep most things organized and when you have a lot of pairs of underwear it's helpful to be able to find things if they are folded and grouped by certain categories. I included some approximate counts under each label/category and there's of course plenty more not shown here...maybe some future post will include the other drawers...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: AussieBum Breathe Bikini Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: AussieBum
Website: www.aussiebum.com
Price: $24.50 AUD (international orders will include additional duty and currency fees)

I've had my eye on these Breathe Bikini Briefs for some time ever since they were introduced several years ago by AussieBum-back when they were just starting to diversify their product line. The styling was distinct and clearly inspired by their swimwear line. With bold color blocks on the sides and a drawstring this underwear item could easily be confused as swimwear but instead of nylon or spandex like in a swim brief you are treated to a comfortable 90% cotton and 10% elastine blend. The two side panels (same design on both sides) are 100% nylon which create a nice design element to tie-in the swim influence. The nylon material on the side panels is one-way stretch that expands along the horizontal direction of the brief. The nylon material is very thin and shiny which is almost (but not quite) see-through...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: N2N Bodywear Raider Runner
Designer/Manufacturer: N2N Bodywear
Website: www.n2nbodywear.com
Price: $36.00

N2N Bodywear offers a broad range of underwear, athletic gear and some items that are harder to categorize. The Raider Runner item falls into that odd in-between category of men's wear that is not exactly athletic gear and not precisely underwear either. This Raider Runner by name implies running leggings for athletic wear but the large mesh material is obviously not meant to be worn in public (for most communities at any rate) so I am categorizing it as unusual, if not novelty underwear. All of the N2N Raider line is composed of the same 83% Nylon 17% spandex material that is punctured with hundreds of small holes all over the surface that make the material mesh-like although not exactly mesh since the holes are so large that it's more like a net material...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: DeeJay Enhancer Long John
Designer/Manufacturer: DeeJay
Website: www.deejay.com.au
Price: $56.00

Considering that for at least some of us in the world, a cold winter is in full swing, I thought it might be a good time to feature another longjohn product review. This longjohn is from Australian underwear brand DeeJay which has been on the market for several years selling a variety of underwear on their website in a broad mix of cuts, patterns and materials. One of DeeJay’s top selling items is the Enhancer Longjohn which is a more daring take on the traditional longjohn profile. This longjohn is composed of a cotton/lycra blend although the percentage mix was not stated on the website or the tag so I’d take a guess at about 5% spandex. The material is reasonably stretchy with a medium weight to it. You are limited to white as the only color option with sizes ranging from small to large. The fit is true-to-size with the mediums running a standard 32” - 33” although keep in mind these are meant to be very form fitting longjohns as a matter of the design and cut...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: AussieBum Flaunt Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: AussieBum
Website: www.aussiebum.com
Price: $27.23 AUD (international orders will include additional duty and currency fees)

Over the past couple of years, AussieBum has rapidly expanded their line of underwear and sports gear to include a variety of designs, colors and patterns. In late 2007 the product lineup continued to grow with the expanded use of new fabrics including the Flaunt line which is composed of the new-age fabric: micro-modal. AussieBum originally introduced modal fabric with the Freedom boxer line but the Flaunt line is their first experiment with micro-modal in the boxer-brief, trunk and brief formats. This review covers the brief cut in black with red accents courtesy of UnderU4men which is one of the very few retailers that sells AussieBum in the US. As mentioned earlier, the material is a blend of micro-modal at 87% and the remainder 13% is spandex for stretch...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Mansilk Silk Knit Mini Brief (Bikini)
Designer/Manufacturer: Undergear
Website: www.mansilk.com
Price: $15.00

I recently reviewed the Mansilk Silk Knit Sport brief which was a successful pair of underwear so I thought I’d follow-up with another cut from the same designer: Mini Brief. For more information on Mansilk you can read the previous review and also visit their website here. This item is labeled as a “Mini Brief” but I’m categorizing it as a bikini given the minimal cut, low-rise, small covered elastic waistband and high-cut legs. One of the big pluses to the Mansilk underwear line is the broad variety of colors available in every cut and this bikini is no exception with 10 colors available including my purchase featured here: Forest Green. The fabric of this brief is 100% silk that is knit in a manner that allows for a surprising amount of stretch but you should be warned that this is probably the thinnest fabric from which you can manufacture underwear so don’t expect to be fully covered with the single-layer front...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Undergear Flawless Mesh Squarecut
Designer/Manufacturer: Undergear
Website: www.undergear.com
Price: $20.00

Although most of the time underwear is purchased for functionality in every-day wearing situations, every once in a while it’s fun to purchase specialty underwear that you know will only be worn occasionally. Undergear has been increasingly broadening their line of house-branded underwear to extend further out from the basic Contour line into more daring and unusual cuts and fabrics. This squarecut is from the flawless mesh line introduced by Undergear a few years ago and still available on their site. The original flawless mesh underwear line included a thong, brief and tanktop in a broad variety of colors including the bright pink featured here but has now been reduced to just this squarecut in 3 colors: nude, turquoise and black. An unusual choice for Undergear, the fit is not true-to-size and runs a full size small so you will definitely need to size up...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Andrew Christian Low Rise Hustle Brief
Designer/Manufacturer: Andrew Christian
Website: www.andrewchristian.com
Price: $26.00

Andrew Christian has rapidly become a major player in the Men’s underwear world with an impressive range of designs covering the gamut from metallic prints, sports inspired themes and rhinestone studded graphics in brief and squarecut profiles. This review covers the “Hustle” brief which was one of the earlier releases from Andrew Christian and is still readily available from a variety of online stores. This pair of underwear can be termed “classic brief styling meets rock and roll” with an exposed 1 ¼” elastic waistband with woven Andrew Christian text, contrast gray piping, functional fly and dynamic metallic printed graphics on the back. The fabric composition of this brief is a thick and comfortable 55% cotton, 35% polyester and 10% lycra for stretch. The fit of most Andrew Christian underwear is not true to size and you should make sure to purchase one size up in order to get the right fit...<< MORE >>

Underwear Guy Review: Go Softwear Rayon Lycra Bikini
Designer/Manufacturer: Go Softwear
Website: www.gosoftwear.com
Price: $17.00

Every once in a while I find a pair of underwear that I really look forward to being able to wear despite the broad variety of choices I have available to me. These Go Softwear Bikini Briefs have been some of my favorite underwear options for quite a while and I realized it’s long overdue that I highlight them in a review. These blue bikinis are actually from an earlier release of the line and are labeled on the fabric tag as 90% cotton 10% lycra but I also have the newer ones which list the content 46% Rayon, 46% Polyester and 8% lycra. I can’t tell if this was a production issue with the labels being incorrect on the earlier release or if they truly changed the material but luckily the overall composition and feel is almost the same between the two. Although the colors have changed over time the styling has remained the same and they are one of my top picks for men’s underwear...<< MORE >>

Reader Comments and Questions 2nd Edition
More answers to your questions about undergear.

The questions keep coming in and I have some more responses and answers for you. Hopefully you found the last reader comments and questions article useful and interesting so here’s more to share. We cover a broad range of topics including package enhancing swimwear etiquette, missing boxers and underwear collecting.

Blog reader Mark in Pennsylvania had a question about wearing enhancing swimwear in public:

In regard to male enhancement swimwear, do you think it's o.k. to wear a low rise style swim brief (having male enhancement) to a coed (male/ female) health club for lap swimming purposes, or do you think it would be too revealing and not appropriate. Most of my time will be spent in the pool or hot tub rather than walking around. I do not have greatly "toned" muscles or abs but am not overweight either (6'1", 160lbs.).

...Mark in Pennsylvania << MORE >>

Spending Limits On Underwear
How Much Is Too Much?

My review of the Ed Hardy Orange Tiger Brief was an interesting one in that it had some fit issues that I couldn’t really reconcile in the final score without creating a split recommendation. You can read that extra-long review here. That analysis challenge inspired me to write this separate article about underwear pricing and what you’d be willing to pay for that extra-special pair of underwear. In the past I’ve spent upwards of $60 on a single-pair of foreign-designed underwear but that’s an extreme rarity for myself. Clearly I buy a lot of underwear but I have my limits so it has to be a really special feature, fabric or design element to justify a higher