The Kavalier

View Original

Real Men Wear Briefs | Why You Should Wear Briefs (Or At Least Give Them A Chance!)

Hey gents! First off, please note that the title of this post is sarcastic. Real men don’t allow themselves to pigeonholed by silly aphorisms, least of all when it comes to their choice of underwear. I don’t care how you gird your loins, but I’ve recently become a card-carrying briefs man and I’m proud of it. I’m going to tell you why I think it’s worth giving briefs another chance.

I’ve had a long and variegated history when it comes to underwear. I got my first pair of boxers when I was in middle school to help me save face in the locker room. In college, I started to slim down my clothing. My boxers, with their excessive fabric and bunching, no longer fit me once I started wearing tailored trousers, so I switched to boxer briefs. I mostly wore Calvin Klein and Express because those were the cheapest brands I could find at the time. 

When I made that switch, I swore I would never go back to boxers because I loved the additional support and structure that boxer briefs provided. A few years later, I made a pouch underwear video that now has nearly one million views and by the time it got released most of my vast underwear collection had become boxer briefs. I also started wearing trunks because I didn’t like the way boxer briefs rolled up my leg, and no matter what any company says, boxer briefs always roll. If you exercise, run, or even just move a lot, boxer briefs will roll up your thighs. But trunks don’t ride up as much since they have less fabric. 

So why the switch?

I started flirting with the idea of switching to briefs so I could avoid the discomfort of the fabric rolling. I picked up a few pairs and started adding them into my daily rotation. I’ve since switched to wearing them almost exclusively because they offer great support but eliminate the bunching of boxer briefs and trunks.

The transition reminded me a bit of jammers. You know, those longer swimsuits created in the early 2000s for competitive swimmers who were too insecure to wear Speedos. Sexy, aren’t they?

Credit: Ezi Sports

Not.

IMHO the insecurity around swimmers not wanting to wear Speedos is similar to the stigma a lot of men have around briefs nowadays and I’m here to tell you that if you want to wear briefs it’s time own your choice with confidence like I did. Switching to briefs made me say “whoa!” This is underwear that is comfortable, supportive, breathable, and definitely won’t roll up your legs. Briefs give your tailored trousers a streamlined look and, believe it or not, allow more freedom of movement whether you’re giving a presentation in the board room or reaching your PR on the squat rack.

Granted, there are other factors to consider. You may want to stick to boxer briefs if you’re excessively overweight or scrawny. And then there’s the question of what type of underwear your SO likes to see you wear. But nowadays you have myriad choices beyond the tighty whities you wore when you were 8, so that’s no excuse not to give briefs a try: browse the department stores, Amazon, Instagram, check out my favorite brands and I’m sure you’ll find something your partner will enjoy seeing you in.

Can’t go wrong with a classic.

So there you have it, gents. My case for briefs. I just wanted to make a quick post suggesting that you give them a try the next time you’re shopping for underwear. I hope you enjoyed this article and that you read it because you value my opinion at least a little bit. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone says or thinks about you, including me. Take my suggestions with a grain of salt. Real men wear whatever they want and what is most comfortable to them. But if you try briefs, you might realize why our grandparents and dads always wore them:

They’re extremely comfortable.

Two brands I recommend you start with if comfort matters to you as much as it does to me are Mack Weldon and Wama Hemp.

As always, I love to hear from you! Leave a comment down below and tell me whether you’d give briefs a try. Or tell me why not. I also get a lot of messages from you guys on Instagram and Twitter, so I’ll be checking those out too. It’s great to hear from you guys, no matter what you say.

Until next time gents, this is the Kavalier. 

P.S. Want to see the rest of my underwear collection? Click here to check it out: