The Greatest Underwears Ever?

June 9, 2006 2:24 PM

Guys: Please name for me your favorite brand of skivvies.

J.Crew was my preferred supplier of undershorts (knit boxers -- soft, snug, yet supple... mmmm) but they seem to have discontinued them.

Hopefully the hive mind that is ours will know of the Greatest Underwears Ever, and I can buy a hundred pairs and be done with it.

posted by o2b to clothing, beauty, & fashion (33 comments total)

Hanes boxer-briefs.

Nice elastics, and they look good too.
posted by Imperfect at 2:28 PM on June 9, 2006

I'm not a guy, but my husband swears by his Munsingwear briefs.
posted by Biblio at 2:32 PM on June 9, 2006

good old banana republic boxers... although sometimes you have to cut off the tag so they dont scratch. Good colors and design
posted by cdcello at 2:35 PM on June 9, 2006

CK boxer-briefs. A little spendy, but you can find deals.
posted by TonyRobots at 2:40 PM on June 9, 2006

Patagonia--the patterns are usually hideous, but the comfort, and durability, is top-notch. Unfortunately, they're rather expensive, but Patagonia's history of lefty eco-activism takes away some of the sting.
posted by box at 2:40 PM on June 9, 2006

I'm a huge fan of Ex Officio synthetic boxers. They are similar to patagonia, but I like the plainer look at slight texture. Very comfortable and they do not ride at all
posted by names are hard at 2:54 PM on June 9, 2006

Hanes, knit cotton boxers. Love 'em.
posted by knave at 3:00 PM on June 9, 2006

In Praise of Boxer Briefs, in Slate.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:04 PM on June 9, 2006

I personally generally wear knit boxers (I think they're Perry Ellis) from the local department store.

I really like the Hathaway knit boxers they have at Costco, but I only have 1 package (3 pair) because they NEVER have small at Costco. (I didn't think I'm that far outside the norm for size, but I guess at Costco I am. Go figure.)

Still, if you need medium or larger and do the Costco thing, check them out. They're pretty soft, seem to last for a while, and are quite reasonabl in price.
posted by JMOZ at 3:21 PM on June 9, 2006

Fruit of the Loom boxer briefs. But I don't know if I'm happy with them. I'm afraid of trying new things.
posted by UnclePlayground at 3:23 PM on June 9, 2006

La Senza has some really comfy boxer briefs for men hidden amongst all the ladies underthings.
posted by metaname at 3:44 PM on June 9, 2006

Boxer-briefs from The Gap
posted by falconred at 4:09 PM on June 9, 2006

I like the "square-cut" style boxer briefs from the Gap.
posted by Hlewagast at 4:10 PM on June 9, 2006

CK Boxer briefs or trunks (especially the microfibre)
Ginch Gonch briefs
AussieBum briefs
2(x)ist for sexy undies
Gregg
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:22 PM on June 9, 2006

Old Navy Boxers from the discount basket. $3.99 a pair. Nothing fancy but they get the job done.
posted by ND¢ at 4:26 PM on June 9, 2006

I like American Apparel.
posted by purephase at 5:07 PM on June 9, 2006

Another vote (from my husband) for Munsingwear. Available at Sears last time I checked, which is one reason we originally picked them -- figured they'd be easy to find again.
posted by theredpen at 5:08 PM on June 9, 2006

Hanes boxer-briefs here. Very good quality, long lasting, nice "package" presentation according to the missus.
posted by Scoo at 6:33 PM on June 9, 2006

Another vote for the Gap.
posted by gimonca at 6:47 PM on June 9, 2006

I wear CK boxer briefs (well, in a perfect world I do -- I only have a couple of pairs, and the rest of my collection is crappy Hanes boxer briefs because I can't afford to replace them all -- but the CKs are definitely my "good" underwear. They're the ones I wear on dates. ;-D)

As a sort-of unrelated question that I always meant to put to Ask Metafilter, but found to be almost too superficial: do straight men ever wear 2xist underwear, or is it pretty much entirely a gay thing? I'm gay myself, but I see guys wearing them at the gym (in New York City, it bears noting) and I can never quite tell if that's a brand that crossed the bold metrosexual frontier.
posted by logovisual at 7:06 PM on June 9, 2006

It bears noting that I also have pairs of boxer briefs from the Gap, but they have completely lost their form/shape over time, whereas my CKs have not. The Hanes also shrank considerably, and some are coming apart at the waistband. (To offer data not provided by the simple listing of names.)
posted by logovisual at 7:07 PM on June 9, 2006

I (straight guy) have a pair of 2xist boxers. I think I got them at Target. I don't like them as much as the regular Target brand that they seem to have discontinued. I bought them because I liked the colors of the stripes. I had no idea they were a "gay thing."
posted by booth at 7:44 PM on June 9, 2006

Square cut Old Navy boxer briefs. Good (snug) fit and have withstood repeated washings (50+) without much deformation and they are cheaper than the Gap ones similarly designed.
posted by karmaville at 8:43 PM on June 9, 2006

Jockey boxer briefs but since I had to look at the label just now to know what brand they were, I probably have some from other brands also.
posted by octothorpe at 9:23 PM on June 9, 2006

I bought six pair from these folks four years ago and still wear all of them. The shorts are well-made and the patterns go beyond basic pastels and plaids. For any left-handed Mefites, check out this option.
posted by namret at 10:06 PM on June 9, 2006

Barrington briefs...think I got 'em at Target. Most important comfort feature: fabric-covered waistband.
posted by kittyprecious at 6:22 AM on June 10, 2006

Whatever's on sale, brief-wise. I haven't found one to be better than the other (as long as they have the normal double panel fly and not that weird one that allows "escapage").
posted by Doohickie at 9:12 AM on June 10, 2006

I like the Frui of the Loom boxer-briefs that say "fruit of the loom" in small blue lettering on the waist band purely for aesthetic purposes. I usually wear my pants lows and I have a lot of t-shirts that aren't that long, so very often the band of my b-b's are visable.

The ones that say "FTL" are not as aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, I grew up in a household where playing more than $10 for a 3-pack of skivvies is a wasted extravagance... and it's a moral I've held on to.
posted by travosaurus at 10:01 AM on June 10, 2006

Whatever is on sale at Target. Same thing with socks. That way I can have plenty of identical socks. It makes things a heck of a lot easier at laundry time.
posted by drstein at 10:22 AM on June 10, 2006

Fruit of the Loom boxer briefs. Or any boxer briefs. I like regular boxers to lay around in occasionally, but for some reason the waistbands seem to irritate if I wear them all the time. There are other pros and cons that I won't get into.
posted by JamesMessick at 6:51 PM on June 10, 2006

Right store, wrong product. I wear J Crew broadcloth boxers exclusively.
posted by willpie at 8:23 PM on June 10, 2006

Jockey "pouch" boxer-briefs. They make a number of different ones, but here's what you want: The ones that are 96% cotton, 4% lycra. Why? Because they hold their shape / snugness all day long, are comfortable, stretchy, look good, don't ride up, etc. etc.
posted by fearless_yakov at 3:48 PM on June 11, 2006

CK boxer-briefs, only on sale. Button front.
posted by Four Flavors at 2:17 PM on June 13, 2006