One of the major fashion developments of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries has been the growth of the so called designer fashion label now emerging in a form that is financially more affordable for the everyday shopper. One such area where the designer label has started to make its presence felt is that of male underwear.
There is no doubt about it. Male Underwear has come along way from the days of the humble undergarment to the wide selection of Briefs, Boxer Shorts, Boxer Briefs that we see available today from mass suppliers to the more upmarket garments with designer labels such as Calvin Klein et al.
The history and use of undergarments has always been the same. They were designed to be clothes worn under the other clothes, often next to the skin and the original purpose was to keep outer garments from being soiled by excess perspiration. The underwear was also designed to keep the wearer warm in colder climates.
Certainly design has come along way since the simple loin cloth but the principle is the same. Protection of sensitive parts of the body!
Modern men’s underwear was (as they say) largely an invention and development in the 1930's with the emergence of what we would now call briefs and heralded an age where comfort was now the byword and functionality though still important now started to take less of an influential role in design.
In the 1970's health and practicality began to be replaced by an increased focus on fashion, design and sex appeal and as such designer labels such as Calvin Klein began to assume an increased profile amongst suppliers.
It was also from the 1990's onwards that saw the rise and rise of the boxer briefs. Made popular by many of the music and film stars of the era this was now when men’s underwear really started to establish itself as a fashion force in its own right.
There are a great many health and leisure aspects to men’s underwear ranging from the argument about whether or not the emergence of tight fitting underwear really has been responsible for the lowering of adult sperm counts. There are countless pieces of research in this area of men’s health and to be honest opinion is divided with a great many persuasive arguments for and against and as many would say, at the moment the “Jury is still out” in this matter.
What cannot be disputed is the negative effect that increased bodily heat and temperature has on decreasing levels of active sperm in men and therefore anything that good design and well manufactured garments can contribute to the overall health and well being of men has to be applauded.
With regards to men’s underwear and sports activities it can be argued that it is by and large down to the growth in the mass popularity of many sports activities. These activities such as running and some of the more traditional sporting activities such as boxing have shaped (in more ways than one) the very nature of the underwear that men wear nowadays on a day to day basis.
Stephen Morgan writes on a number of men’s issues concerning fashion and health and more on the above can be found at Calvin Klein Underwear and Designer Underwear
