Chances are, you're far past the days of wearing trains and puppies on your underwear. Once you get older and start figuring out your personal style and comfort, you might not know where to start with your underwear selections. Underwear for men comes in so many different styles, fabrics, cuts, and more. Trying to make a good decision for what's best for you can be difficult to do if you don't have a good baseline.
While an underwear guide might not be what you were looking for or expecting when you started your underwear shopping journey, hopefully having a good underwear guide can help to point you in the right direction for your style and comfort level.
Briefs
Briefs have gotten a bad rap over the years, but the writers of this underwear guide feel you shouldn't dismiss them so easily! With elastic waistbands, a Y-shaped fly in the front, and full coverage, briefs are the ultimate in both comfort and style. Because briefs are both full-coverage and form-fitting, they're perfect to wear under dress pants for a suit, if the weather is hot outside, or even for a sexy date night.
Briefs don't have all of the extra fabric that boxers or boxer briefs do, which reduces the amount of bunching around your thighs when you sit down. This makes sitting more comfortable since you don't have to constantly adjust the bunched-up fabric. This is also perfect for more form-fitting pants like slim-fit dress pants or skinny jeans.
Boxers
If you don't like the more restrictive feeling of briefs, you're in luck! Boxers may be exactly what you're looking for. Boxers have the same elastic waistband that briefs do, but they're much looser and don't offer any support. They also have a button fly at the front.
If you're the type of guy that likes to sleep in their underwear, then boxers are what you're looking for. They're loose-fitting and usually made of cotton, so they absorb any sweat. Also, because they're basically shorter shorts, they're great for modesty purposes if you have children–for example, if you accidentally open the door and you forget you're only wearing underwear.
While boxers are comfortable, they're not very practical to wear under most clothing. Because they're loose fitting, they bunch up underneath your clothing and make it extremely uncomfortable when you sit down. They're particularly ill-suited for tighter clothing like skinny jeans and tight dress pants, and they're not going to give you any support during physical activities like working out or playing sports. However, when it comes to lounging around the house or taking a nap, boxers can be the pinnacle of comfort.
Boxer Briefs
Boxer briefs are the best of both worlds. They have the form-fitting support of briefs but with the more full coverage that boxers provide. Boxer briefs are the ideal type of underwear for men for working out because they provide the same coverage that boxers provide, all while being more form-fitting. This means that they offer more support so you don't have any unnecessary movement.
Because they're form-fitting, boxer briefs feel amazing to wear under basically any kind of pants. While you may have a little bit of bunching due to the fabric on the thighs, the bunching won't be nearly as bad as you'd experience if you were to wear simple boxer shorts. Boxer briefs are also great for men who like the feeling of briefs, but find they tend to chafe. Having the fabric on the thighs helps to prevent skin chafing and provides more comfort.
If you consider yourself to be a boxer kind of guy, but want to transition to wearing more briefs, then boxer briefs are a good stepping stone between the two. You get the same kind of form-fitting support that you'd get from wearing briefs but a similar coverage to boxers. If you're on the fence, then give them a try!
Thongs, Jockstraps, and G-Strings
Men's jockstraps, men's thongs, and men's G-strings are not the most popular types of underwear for men, but no underwear guide would be complete without them! Generally, these types of underwear aren't popular because many don't enjoy how they look and feel. They do, however, tend to be common with the bodybuilding community or those who have very well-sculpted bodies because they're a great way to show off your stature.
Men's thongs are designed to have a small space in the front to keep everything contained, combined with slim fabric strips along the hips and exposed buttocks. Men's G-strings are very similar to the design of the thong, but fit a more minimalist sense of style. Instead of thin strips of fabric, many G-strings will simply have strings, hence the name. Both styles have a rear string that goes up through the center of the buttocks that many people find uncomfortable.
Men's jockstraps used to be saved solely for gym class, but have recently been making a popularity comeback. Men's jockstraps have an elastic waistband and fabric in the front to keep everything contained. They also leave the buttocks entirely exposed, unlike thongs and G-strings. Two elastic bands around the thighs hold it in place. Similar to thongs and G-strings, however, many men don't like the feeling of the elastic around the thighs, so they tend to avoid jockstraps.
ABC Underwear
Whether you're a basic briefs guy or like living more on the edge with a thong as your underwear of choice, you'll be able to find everything you need at ABC Underwear. We offer all different styles of men's underwear, including briefs, boxers, thongs, and more not listed in this underwear guide. We even offer personalized underwear for special occasions–or for that special someone.
Check out ABC Underwear today to see all of the fun styles that we offer!
