With the pandemic, I was fortunate to have a full-time job that I could do from home. My employer is starting to make plans to open to a hybrid arrangement (part of the workweek at home and part of the workweek at the office).
While working from home, I did not have much need for the dress clothes that I wore to the office. I did not do telework in casual clothes, as I found that I could not get into work mode without dressing somewhat more formally than jeans and a t-shirt.
Now that I will return to an office commute (maybe?), I had an interest in refreshing my wardrobe. Perhaps, the reader is in the same position. First, I looked for pants. I tend to wear wool dress pants that I pair with a blazer or sports coat.
It is a neat outfit. However, rain can present a problem—soaking the wool and ruining the crease. This happened to me several times. While I will not give up on wool pants, I was searching for pants that are formal enough for the office and can deal with rain well.
I found a category of pants called men’s tech pants. The pants typically have cotton, some elastane for stretch, and polyester for some water resistance. I found several brands that sell this type of pants. Most are formal for a workday, and a few others have a casual design.
I also added two pants from Mott and Bow for comparison: The Everyday Chino and the Mercer Twill Denim. Both pants have mostly cotton with some elastane for stretch.
I decided to try Mack Weldon’s Maverick Tech Chino. I was familiar with Mack Weldon through previous orders. I decided to try the Maverick Tech Chino because it was like the pants I had worn for work from home days (100 percent cotton). I bought the belt that Mack Weldon recommends for the pants. I wore the pants as some when I received them.
Despite the cotton in the pants, the fabric is a little stiff. (The pants get a little less stiff with wear.) They are comfortable for my sedentary job. While I planned to use the pants for work, I also wore them to the supermarket and the coffee shop.
The pants have been working well for me. I will likely buy another pair.
New pants to suit at-home or in-office wear. Also, they can be used for casual events.
Have any of the stretch chinos discussed interested you? If so, let us know in the comments. If you have any questions about these pants, please send a message or write a comment. I will try to answer it in the blog.
Introduction: Lounge Shorts and Finding Garcon Francais
With the challenges of the year 2020, guys are looking for comfortable clothing to wear while working from home as well as to relax and run their errands. One item that has proven to be popular are shorts in the lounge category. These shorts are alternatively called pajama shorts. However, those with pockets and with the proper design can be worn outside of the house.
French Brand Garcon Francais and Killian Belliard, Fitness Influencer
While researching another blog topic, I found the lounge shorts by Garcon Francais, a brand that has its clothing made completely in France. However, the brand does sell to people outside of France (the website has versions in English and Spanish also currency is available in Great Britain pounds and U.S. dollars).
I knew of Garcon Francais brand from Instagram from Killian Belliard, a model and fitness influencer. Garcon Francais posted some photographs of Killian in Garcon Francais lounge shorts on the brand’s Instagram profile. (Photographer: Pascalpprl.)
At the Garcon Francais website, the brand places the lounge short in its men’s homewear category. Garcon Francais has a price point that is toward the high end (49.17 Euros or approximately 57.87 US dollars). According to the product description, the lounge shorts are designed for a guy to feel comfortable to relax in during the evenings. The fabric composition is 93 percent cotton and 7 percent Elastane. The short colors available are red, dark blue, and grey. (The waistband is in a contrasting color.)
My favorite color is blue, but I also like to boldness of what I call fire-engine red. While the price was toward the high end, I liked the pockets, the tapered fit of the legs, as well as the overall refined yet casual appearance of the shorts.
Comparison with Box Menswear and Nice Laundry
Previously, I have done a blog post on a lounge (bed) short from Box Menswear (no longer available), which did not have pockets and they have a wider fit. Another lounge short that I reviewed was from Nice Laundry. The Nice Laundry shorts are similar in appearance to the Champion men’s gym shorts that were popular when I was in school, except the Nice Laundry shorts have an underwear-like liner, have a shorter inseam, and have a tapered leg.
Decision Made: Buying the Lounge Short
I selected the dark blue shorts, called the “flag short pyjama bottom,” and a pair of the navy boxers (not reviewed here). The sizing in European sizes tends to be a bit smaller than US sizes. So, it was wonderful that Garcon Francais provides a convenient link to its size chart. My size was available as XXL (36-inch waist). The largest size available is XXXL (38-inch waist).
I figured that since the shipping cost to the United States was 20 Euros (approximately 23.60 US dollars), I should have an order big enough to justify the shipping fee.
With my selection in the shopping cart, I paid using a credit card. Everything went smoothly. The package arrived at my house through the U.S. Postal Service about 4 days later. (I wish there was a tracking option available so that I can see where the package is.)
The order arrived in a brown padded envelope. Inside there was a blue paper folder with a red elastic band with the invoice. The clothes were neatly folded inside with a card showing where parts of the clothing were sourced in France and care instructions. I commend the brand for the efficient use of resources in lower use of packaging materials.
Quality
With the price point, I expected very high quality and I was not disappointed. Neat stitching and soft fabric (just as described on the website).
Fit
I like the relatively slim fit of the shorts and the length looks and feels right. I am happy that the sizing information was accurate.
Conclusion
I am very happy with my order. The refined, casual styling and fit ensures that I will be enjoying wearing the shorts for a long time. I likely will return for the red shorts.
I hope that this review has been helpful to you.
If you have found that lounge shorts are a favorite of yours, enter a comment with the brand and style below. If you have a favorite outfit for your leisure time, inform us also in the comments.
Men’s Leggings, Joggers, and Track Pants: A Review of the Popular Slim-Fit Clothing
Introduction: General Men’s Fashion Observation
The blog post will provide you with information as you consider leggings, joggers, or track pants to your wardrobe. I will provide a description of each style, describe where guys have been wearing the clothes, and then I will provide a short review of the 5 brands I found while doing research for examples for this blog post.
In viewing social media pages, I see many of the influencers rocking their street style and gym wear with leggings. In my research, I even found that leggings and tailored sweatpants style have reached the office-dress level, for example, the Mack Weldon Radius Pant.
In my informal observation of men’s fashion selections where I live, the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, the choice leans toward slim-fit pants for the office and slim-fit, tailored sweatpants/track pants. I think that the track pant slim-fit look is neater and more adaptable with the pocket.
I get full use of my pockets with traditional pants. I use them for my wallet, keys, notes. As a result, would tend not to favor leggings, which do not have pockets. Because of the slim-fit nature of the pants, I would be selective about the things I carried so that the nice lines would not be broken.
What are Men’s Leggings Called
You may have found this blog searching for men’s leggings. You have found the right spot. Men’s leggings, sometimes referred to as “meggings” or compression pants, have been popular. The leggings typically do not have pockets, making them have an athletic purpose and use.
Joggers and Track Pants
While men’s leggings typically do not have pockets, there is a version of slim-fit, body-hugging pants that do have pockets, the jogger or the track pant. These pants typically have a related top that can be worn with them.
As the Firestone pant has pockets, it can be worn in and out of the gym. If you are interested there is a top that goes with the pant, the Firestone II hoodie.
Reebok has a track pant called the Speedwick Knit track pants. The track pants have pockets. The fabric composition is 100 percent polyester tricot. (If interested, see a blog post at Pinecrest Fabrics about tricot fabric. Essentially, the fabric is durable and can be worn daily.)
Box Menswear has a fitted jogger in black and stone. These joggers have pockets as well. The fabric composition is 100 percent polyester. The joggers appear to have a slim fit but there is a little more room than a body-hugging compression-style pants.
While researching for this blog post, I found that there is another style of pant that is just about the joggers and track pants, the slim-fit sweatpants. I consider this more in the sweatpant category, so I did not cover them in this blog post. An example is the Vanquish Fitness Elevate tapered sweatpants. It appears to have been an exceptionally popular item, as it is available only in the extra-large size at the time this blog post was written (January 2020).
Another interesting option is slim-fitting, track-pant-like jeans. One example that I found is from Rufskin, the Slick stretch denim jeans. The fabric composition is 98 percent cotton and 2 percent Spandex. The appearance appears to be a leveled-up track pant. Like the track pants, the brand has a top that can fit with the jeans, the Trooper shirt.
Leggings are athletic clothing, but men have been wearing them while doing other activities–resting at home, running errands, traveling, yoga, running, and even more-intimate moments. I will discuss men’s leggings for these purposes in the blog post below. (For legging-style pants with pockets, see the discussion of track pants above.)
Review of 5 Brands of Men’s Leggings
As there is a wide variety of activities that men can wear leggings, there are also several brands that have leggings for sale. I will review 5 below.
According to the product description for Kapow Meggings originals range, the brand’s leggings are designed to fit like a second skin. The leggings are designed with high stretch polyester and elastane. The leggings could be used for a number of activities: yoga, gym, festivals, running, accentuating one’s street style.
The Box Menswear leggings appear to be designed more for athletic wear (no pockets), though some of the photos I have seen on social media, buyers are wearing them for lounge activity. Of course, you could pair them with shorts or under pants (with pockets) to wear running errands, and so on.
Box Menswear models, Josh Riquelme and Fran Dullon in Box lounge leggings.
The product description states that the fabric composition of the brand’s leggings is 95 percent bamboo cotton and 5 percent Spandex.
The Adidas Saturday Long Tights, are designed for running. A more fashion-conservative black, the Adidas leggings are ventilated to keep the wearer comfortable and dry.
The Adidas leggings are made of 79% recycled polyester, 21% elastane interlock.
One Athletic’s Mtech run legging is another legging made for runners (no pockets). I could not find information about the leggings’ fabric composition on their website.
According to the product description, the active dry compression pants are meant to have have a skin-tight fit to support weight lifting, running or other athletic activity.
The fabric composition is 55 percent Nylon, 38 percent polyester, and 7 percent Spandex.
Conclusion
I have found that the leggings and track pants categories to be fairly interesting. The slim-fit pants style has been popular and I was surprised to find a wide variety of styles available.
I am interested in learning about my readers’ likes and dislikes in leggings as well as men’s fashion generally.
Have you found an item that you liked in the blog post? Perhaps your go-to slim-fit pants style was not covered in the post? Please leave me a comment below or email me at info at menswearnews.com.
While I was writing a blog post about the styles of men’s underwear, I found out about the lounge shorts that e-commerce company Nice Laundry sells. I decided to purchase some to see what the shorts are like. Below is a type of unboxing combined with an initial view.
Background on Nice Laundry
The co-founders
According to the Washingtonian Magazine, Nice Laundry was founded by Ricky Choi and Phil Moldavski in Washington, D.C. The co-founders, who both grew up in the D.C. metropolitan area, used to work at a company called Living Social.
A start with socks, then added underwear
Nice Laundry initially started as a website to sell socks. The company also recycles old socks, a policy that the company has had since its beginning.
The company has moved to New York and was mentioned in the New York Times. The company started selling underwear in 2016, according to the N.Y. Times.
Fly or no fly?
It seems that when Nice Laundry started selling underwear, the underwear did not have an opening in the front. This was a design issue, as explained in an article in Complex.
Today, however, the underwear at Nice Laundry has an opening in the front, excepting the lounge short.
The Ordering Process at the Website
The ordering process is straightforward at the website. A customer has the option to add customized details to the item, if desired. (Be advised that adding customized details makes the order a final sale, as noted at the website.) I ordered two lounge shorts, one the 4 inch inseam version, and the other, the 6 inch inseam. Because it was my first order, I received a complementary pair of socks (a nice touch).
Arrival of the Package
The order (lounge shorts and socks) was in a slim box, which was shipped from New Jersey. The box has two lids: the outer and an inner lid, which covered the order. The shorts were packed neatly, each in a re-closable bag (not sure of the material).
Shipping box for orderOrder in the shipping box
The Lounge Shorts
The lounge shorts appear to be mesh gym shorts, but there are slight differences. The lounge shorts have a liner in them, so that they can be worn without underwear. In addition, the shorts contour the thigh such that there is no opening. This is an important detail if a guy decides to wear them without underwear. The material is soft to the touch and feel nice on the skin.
The outer material is nylon; the inner material is micro-modal. The shorts were made in China.
Black 4 inch lounge shorts
Referring to a previous post, the lounge shorts appear to be a compromise between boxer shorts and the boxer brief with the mesh short fabric. Quite an interesting design and one that I like.
At this point, I have not tried to wear them under pants or jeans, as my intention was to wear the shorts by themselves. But I may try it. I have started to buy slim-fit pants and jeans, and I am not sure if these shorts will fit under them.
Burgundy 6 inch lounge shorts
As expected, the 4 inch inseam version shows more thigh. This version seems more like boxer briefs. The six-inch inseam seems more like gym shorts.
The Socks
I have noticed the range of colors and designs with socks. I typically have worn dark blue, grey, or black dress socks or ankle sports socks. The company sent a pair with more color and design than I have been used to wearing. As the socks came as a free gift with the order, I will try them.
A note on “high-water” pants
(It appears to be the current style (at the time of this writing in November 2019) to wear pants that are somewhat short to show off the shoes and socks. I will not adopt the “high-water” pants style.)
Conclusion
I am happy with my purchase. I think they will be a good option for wearing around the house and outside on warmer days. (At the time of this writing, it is nearly December (cold) where I live.)
In August 2020, Box Menswear added 4 new underwear styles to its product selection. In addition, there is a new model wearing the clothes in the promotional photos, Matt Luscious, a fitness model and YouTuber from Canada. Matt worked with Photographer Paul Jamnicky.
Check out the blog post for more information about the new range selections.
Continue on with this blog post, which describes the 2019 additions.
Introduction
Box Menswear, an e-commerce company based in Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom.
I will start with a discussion of the brand owner, Luke Mills. After that, I will present information about preparations for the sale started in October 2019 with a photo shoot in Texas. Following that, I will discuss Box Menswear’s new item releases.
Josh Watson (left) and Daniel Shoneye (right) in Box Menswear king fit boxers.Daniel, photo by Alex WightmanTrevor J. by Carlos “Trey” Salazar. Trevor wears Box Menswear briefs and football socks.
To see photos of the items, please go to the Box Menswear website, and see the Box Menswear Pinterest page.
The Box Menswear brand, founded in 2014, is part of the Misfits Group, Ltd. The Misfits Group, according to its LinkedIn page, has other brands– Misfit Cosmetics, Pretty Little Palettes, and Petite Prosecco.
Luke Mills Interview with Bang and Strike
Luke did an interview with one of the stores that stock Box Menswear product, Bang & Strike.
In the interview with Bang & Strike, Luke provided the inspiration for the name of the brand, Box.
I just wanted super duper soft boxer shorts, that you can wear all day. I used to get told off as a kid for putting my hand down my trousers and rearranging my bits and bobs in my boxer shorts as they get all tangled up and uncomfortable and stuff like that, and I wanted something that didn’t do that. The name comes from my mum, because one of the many words for your private parts was your ‘lunch box’. There is a statue above Lewis’s in Liverpool, and the statue is a naked man with his willy hanging out, and she always called that his ‘Lunch Box’.
Above is the sizing chart for Box Menswear clothing.
The Preparation: The Texas,
United States, Photoshoot
In October 2019, Box Menswear had a week-long photoshoot session in Texas in the United States of America. The group had 19 models and 5 photographers (and the Box Menswear owner, Luke).
The models: Dan Tai, Josh Watson, Josh Jakobs, Daniel Shoneye, Alex Grant, Reno Gold, Carlos Effort, Paul Cassidy, Seth Holbrook, Ridick, Kyle Hynick, Fran Dullon, Refugio Hernandez, Rossilino, Dan Soar, Braydan Ifould, Anthony Stefanelli, Mojib.
(As a side note, through social media posts, I discovered that some of the models traveled to the United States for the first time for this trip: Dan Tai (UK), Braydan Ifould (Australia), Carlos Effort (Spain), and Paul Cassidy (Slovakia). (If there are more, please let me know in the comments.))
The photographers: Alex Wightman, Peter Fletcher, Texas-based Carlos Salazar, Rafa, and Jake O’Donnell.
The photo shoot started in Dallas, Texas, and then in Austin, Texas.
Josh Watson and Anthony Stefanelli
During the photoshoot in Texas, among the photos were some demonstrating the height differences among the models. Some photos feature models Josh Watson and Anthony Stefanelli. Josh is 6’4″ or 1.93 meters; Anthony is 5’3″ or 1.60 meters. The difference in height makes for striking photos.
Models Josh Watson and Anthony Stefanelli. Photos: (left) Box Menswear Instagram, (right) by Alex Wightman.
Mojib and Mario Andrion
In 2021, Mojib (1.67 meters, 5’6″) was in Tulum, Mexico with Model and YouTuber Mario Andrion (1.89 meters, 6’2″).
Daniel Shoneye and Fit Media Productions
In 2021, Model Daniel Shoneye was featured in an abdominal workout video for the YouTube channel, Fit Media Productions.
In 2022, Daniel demonstrated proper form for push-ups (press-ups).
Josh Watson’s Interview with Only Fans
Josh Watson had an interview with Only Fans. In the interview, Josh discusses his background as well as his favorite activities.
Micah E. Williams and James Loy for Fashionably Male Blog
Box Menswear has released new items for sale:
loungewear, new selections in underwear, and two items related to a campaign
for a UK organization, the National AIDS Trust.
Loungewear: Leggings and Lounge
or Pajama Shorts
Loungewear appears to be a popular clothing
category. The clothing is designed for wearing in one’s home–chilling after a
workday, dressing for a work-from-home day, or just for watching TV or doing
house chores. The clothing appears to be related to pajamas, or sleep clothing,
because you can wear these clothes to sleep in.
The key is that the clothing should look neat,
as stated in an article by Men’s Health.
Box Menswear has responded to this requirement with two items, leggings, and
lounge (or pajama) shorts.
Loungewear: Total Comfort Lounge
Leggings
In the loungewear category, Box Menswear has two colors for the Total Comfort Lounge Leggings available for sale, grey, and white, The fabric used for the leggings is new for the company. Box Menswear underwear typically has 92 percent cotton and 8 percent spandex.
The fabric in the leggings is 95 percent bamboo cotton and 5 percent spandex. According to the company description of the leggings, the fabric is “super soft bamboo cotton material” which are designed to “keep your legs warm without feeling restricted.”
Fran Dullon in Texas
The leggings are designed to be worn by itself
or with shorts. The issue is how a guy would feel having his manhood visible to
the world. I did a quick search engine search and found an article at Men’s Health,
where the author, Brett Williams, asked staff on their opinions on how to wear
leggings in the gym. Most of the guys’ questions would choose to wear shorts
over the leggings in public. The author ultimately decided to wear the leggings
by themselves–but with a shirt big enough to cover his manhood.
The colors that Box Menswear has for sale, grey and white could be more revealing without shorts and a grueling, sweaty workout at the gym or for an outdoor run. One of the photos on the webpage has Ridick in soaking-wet leggings. The fabric becomes transparent, and the fabric does become somewhat revealing in the manhood area but not totally.
[So, dear reader, what is your say, leggings with or without shorts? Drop a comment with your thoughts.]
Loungewear: Men’s Lounge (Pajama
or Bed) Shorts
In a previous post on this blog, I reviewed the various styles of men’s underwear, One style reviewed was the boxer shorts, and the Bed Shorts resemble this style.
Dan Tai
Dan Tai. Photographer: Rafa
The Box Menswear Bed (Lounge or Pajama) Shorts, you can sleep in them and do house- or apartment-related things wearing them. The fabric for these shorts is bamboo cotton. The lounge short come is two sizes only (small-medium and large-XL) because of the loose design. The shorts do not have pockets.
Note: The shorts that Dan Tai wears are no longer available. Box offers a different styles of pajama shorts on its website.
For the leggings, there is a struggle for the guy to decide if he wants to show the outline of his manhood to the public. With Box Menswear’s Totally See-Through Mesh Shorts, the option is left to a guy to wear underwear, jockstraps, or nothing at all under the shorts.
(The fabric content for these fishnet-style shorts is not mentioned in the product description.)
Men’s Underwear: Boxer Briefs
While the product descriptions at Box Menswear have “boxers”, the fit of the Box Menswear boxers is actually a boxer brief. Boxer shorts have a full fit, while the Box boxer fit close to the body. For more discussion about this distinction, you can read my previous blog post.
Men’s Underwear: Box Menswear King Fit Boxers
With the new items, Box Menswear added the color black to its existing king fit boxers range, which previously was only available in white.
The fabric content is for the body of the boxers, 96 percent Bamboo Viscose and 4 percent Elastane. For the vent, 88 percent Polyamide and 12 percent Spandex.
The King Fit Boxers are available in two lengths, 4 inches and 6 inches.
These boxers are fitted, so the company advises sizing up on them. The size range runs from small to 2XL.
In addition, Box Menswear added a king fit boxer selection with a mesh panel, for more-daring guys.
The largest portion of the new release involved jockstraps, a style of underwear that I reviewed briefly on a previous blog post.
Box Menswear’s products already includes jockstraps, but this version has a ribbed texture. The fabric content is the typical Box Menswear combination, 92 percent cotton and 8 percent Spandex.
The colors available are cobalt, pale plum, blackout, burgundy, light grey, military green, pale pink, and red.
[Readers: I am curious about these transparent items, jockstraps and the boxers. Readers, please share your thoughts in the comments. If this is a fashion trend, it would be interesting to hear more about it. My thought is that these are more-intimate items for use with significant others.]
Men’s Underwear: Box Menswear
Thongs
I reviewed thongs briefly in a previous blog post. The Box Menswear thong was created based on customer requests. The fabric content appears to be the same as the king fit boxers. The thong is transparent in black and in white.
[The request from customers and brand fans for
a transparent thong may have answered, in part, my question about these
transparent items. The reason for liking these garments is still not revealed.
I am interested in hearing from readers about transparent, or see-through,
underwear.]
Men’s Underwear: Red on Red Jockstrap and Briefs
Box Menswear with the red on red jockstrap and briefs is donating a portion of each sale to the UK-based National AIDS Trust in support of World AIDS Day on December 2, 2019.
The fabric content of both the jockstrap and
briefs is 92 percent cotton and 8 percent Spandex. The waistband for these
items are slightly wider than the other jockstraps and briefs.
In addition, to having a new range for sale, the company has existing product lines for sale, sports shorts, socks, boxer briefs, jockstraps, briefs, trunks, swimming trunks, and swimming briefs.
Box Menswear: Sports Shorts
When I first learned about Box Menswear, I first looked at the sports shorts 2.0 collection. While these can be worn for athletic pursuits, these shorts could be worn as lounge shorts or as even a trimmer form of the boxer shorts, as discussed in a previous blog post. The fabric content is 92 percent Elastane and 8 percent Spandex.
The Box Menswear sports shorts have a trimmer fit in black, and the company recommends that a customer size up to ensure a good fit. If the customer prefers a looser fit, the company recommends white sports shorts.
The sports shorts 2.0 are different from the previous Box sports shorts in that the shorts are label free. As a result, the shorts could be worn as underwear.
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