Ultimate Guide: Mens Underwear (2024) Styles and Types

Some models in this post

• Raul Uscanga
• Ortwin J. Guerra
• Ramiro
• Kito Shelby
• Randhy
• Nico Zetta
• Jordan Morello

The styles of men’s underwear that will be discussed in this blog post are–

• Boxer briefs
• Boxer shorts
• Briefs
• Jockstraps
• Thongs and G-Strings
• Trunks
• Wrestling singlet

The styles go from the generally acceptable to the more daring–jockstraps, thongs, and g strings.

The Underwear Expert started as a subscription club for men’s underwear.

Setting up a subscription is easy. The website asks about your underwear preference, waist size and your preference in colors or patterns on the underwear. With this information, the website will offer the customer its recommendations.

Now, in addition to underwear, the website offers other products to its audience. The owner is Michael Kleinmann, who has many years of experience in the underwear industry.

I found information for this post in a journal article, Datta, Dibyendu Bikash (2018), A Review of Men’s Underwear Styles and Its Various Fabrics, Trends in Textile and Fashion Design, 2 (2)-2018, June 18.

While doing research for this post, I found a New York Times article by Journalist Max Berlinger, in which he reviewed some underwear brands.

After the publication of this post, I wrote a post on the history of Calvin Klein advertising in Times Square, New York City.

There is another blog post on the brands and fabrics for underwear for workouts.

Ortwin is a male model who lives in Colombia. He did some modeling work for Washington, DC-based Jimmy Trendy.

Ramiro is a male model, student pilot, and CrossFit enthusiast who lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a vegetarian and works at an Argentine organic chocolate company.

One of his favorite brands is Lacoste.

Kito Shelby is a model with well-defined abs. He lives in Argentina, plays fútbol.

In the photos, he wears the brands, Wide (a brand based in Argentina), Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Kito had an interview with News Digitales (en español). Also, Kito had an interview with República Z in Argentina (2023, en español)

Randhy is a male fitness model who is from Venezuela. He lives in Brazil.

In a photo, Randhy wears Eyelit (a brand based in Argentina) briefs.

Wayne Bernard, aka the glute god, a fitness influencer who lives in Florida is known for his leg workouts and clothing that suits all those muscles.

His merch, https://glutegod.com/.

Read more about Jordan and his brand in a separate blog post.

There are many brands of men’s underwear, among the most popular is from PVH Corp. , which owns some of the most popular brands like Calvin Klein, and Tommy Hilfiger. Another brand is Lacoste.

Then there are niche e-commerce brands, like

• Marcuse
• JOR
• Walking Jack
• Shortys Apparel
• Code 22
• Ballistic Menswear
• Eclatant Sportswear

Boxer shorts started in 1925 and were known as “shorts for boxers”. The length of the shorts extended to mid-thigh. The benefit of the boxer short was its baggy style, which allowed for ample airflow. The disadvantage was this baggy form because the fabric bunched up under the top clothing.

Boxer shorts are still available. The design has moved more toward a closer-to-the-body fit in the current style (for example, the Bang and Strike Hard Times boxer. The slim fit allows the wearer to wear slim-fit or skinny pants or jeans.

Where the boxer shorts had a full fit, briefs were designed for a close-to-the-body fit and support. Also, briefs showed more of the thighs than boxer shorts.

(Based on my casual observation of Instagram models and photographers, the brief is popular.)

Briefs were introduced in the 1930s. Briefs provide comfort through air circulation and overall snug support.

In the 1990s, fashion moved toward low-rise pants and jeans. So the low-rise brief was developed to go with these garments. The waistband for the low-rise briefs sits at the hip level.

This style suits everyday purposes as well as more-active pursuits.

The boxer brief was a relatively more-recent development, starting in the 1990s by fashion designer John Varvatos. The boxer brief is in the mid-point between the traditional baggy boxer shorts and the snug fit of briefs.

This style provides support for everyday activity, including exercise. The style also fits under slim-fit pants and jeans.

Typically, the trunk is shorter in length than the boxer brief and shows more of the thigh (but not as much as a brief).

The trunk can be used for everyday wear and active pursuits.

The jockstrap was designed for cyclists, starting in 1888, to prevent saddle sores. The jockstrap leaves the gluteus exposed but provides support for the body parts in the front. At first, the front of the jockstrap was hard, but then the front became soft and flexible.

The jockstrap is perfect for active pursuits, if the wearer is comfortable with having the glutes exposed, and for more-intimate activities. For example, see the range available at Jack Adams. 

The Men and Underwear blog has an article about the “Naked Underwear” release from Teamm8, an Australia-based brand. Among the selections in the release are jockstraps.

• Model: Loren Cruz (Canary Islands, Spain)
• Photographer: Adrian C. Martin

Like the jockstrap, the gluteus is more exposed with a thong. The exception is that the backside of the briefs is removed (G-Strings even less), leaving a thinner portion of the fabric in the back center of the garment.

(I briefly discussed these items as people who favor them are a select market. A targeted Internet search will lead the interested reader to examples.)

Also like the jockstrap, the thong is for active pursuits (see examples at Jack Adams).

The purpose of the blog post is to give the reader an idea of the range of options available to men researching what type of underwear to wear. Most can be worn every day. A new possibility is wearing mesh shorts as underwear.

What styles or brands are your favorites? If you favor one style, what style are you willing to try out and why?

Let us know in the comments below.