And I mean proper ones - big baggy oxford cotton boxer shorts - the only choice for the Ivy man. I used to get them from Brooks Brothers and they were wonderful - high-waisted, soft, lots of ball room. It was like wearing a proper old Brooks oxford around your privates. But now? Where do you get them? Any UK sellers/manufacturers? And please nobody say M&S. I mean gentleman's boxer shorts - full cut, luxurious, magnificent.
I muddled along with Fruit Of The Loom for a while. But they had no buttons so I had to be very careful not to wear them with the Levis chinos I was so fond of. You had to unbutton the Levis, lower the waistband, flip your tackle over it. All highly unsatisfactory.
What's Paul currently selling?
Karl-Heinz boxer briefs. For that Helmut Berger in Visconti vibe.
Personally I wouldn't spend loads-of-money on boxers, ( had some Sunspel yonks ago that were very good but quite expensive), I've got some from Uniqlo which are good, but my go-to supplier is GAP, bought some recently online still good for around a tenner (or less) a pair, nice stripes, checks etc,
When you’re hung like a Grand National winner you value the extra support offered by Y fronts. A few years ago I bought some US army surplus underpants (unissued I hasten to add) and I was so pleased with them that I later bought several packets by mail order. They’re made to military specs and endure under the most difficult conditions, they last and last. The only thing is that they are brown, but I guess that’s a very practical colour as soldiers in combat can get into some very frightening situations. I call them G.I. Grundies.
These days I use dark checked, tartan,striped boxers. Back then I used to use plain colours including my favourite mid blue. White boxer shorts (which I have) are, nowadays, for me, an accident waiting to happen. Especially after a night on the Guinness.
Woof's posting ^ amply demonstrates exactly why Mrs. Woof goes around with a big smile on her face.
It also reminds me of Mailer's 'The Naked And The Dead', in which the young grunts are advised to 'Keep a tight asshole'.
Trunks for me. Always a treat for The Mrs when I take off my strides and she catches a tantalising glimpse of my shirt tucked into my pants. I assume.
Woof - funny, made me chuckle out loud.... Robbie get some of those (brown) pants Woof wears for your Guinness nights.... maybe Woof can send you a sample NWT pair....
There's a bloke in Fulham who makes shirts and also makes boxers from excess fabric. Not as good as Hilditch and Key, but then about 1/3 the price.
Last edited by Uncle Ian (2021-12-16 15:33:43)
Stax I still have nightmares regarding Woofs pants. He once posted a photo of them and it took a long while to get the image out of my head. Perhaps it's a blessing we can't post pictures now otherwise I think Woof would be illustrating them again.
An image of Woof in his underclothing would haunt me until the end of my days. Possibly beyond the grave.
Luckily he only posted a photo of the pants. He wasn't wearing them, I'm glad to say.
Breathes sigh of relief... I still haven't recovered from that mental picture of him leaning over washing the Saab in his patch Madras shorts.
'Get a mental picture, Father, get a good mental picture...'
‘ Luckily he only posted a photo of the pants. He wasn't wearing them, I'm glad to say.’
It’s just as well I left that stuff to Thee Captain.
Uniqlo aren't as generous as old school but they're good enough for me. Sunspel are nice but at 35 or 40 a pair I can resist unless I see any more cheap on Ebay.
It might be considered an indulgence to buy USA-made underwear from the USA. The potential buyer might stop and think: hang on, I can get something a little more interesting for an extra couple of dollars. And yet, one does sometimes see underwear still in quite attractive packaging, so one is tempted. Did Hanes do anything nice? They probably did.
Thee Captain was quite a character. More workwear than Ivy yet he was a regular customer at J Simons. Didn't his avatar feature him sitting on the bog?
Frank: Okay you guys, let's talk underwear
Trapper: OK but make it brief
In my case, age and gravity have rendered boxers impractical for anything but sleeping.
And I spend a lot of time crashing around trout streams. It's sweaty work.
The solution: These Space Age boxer briefs from Duluth Trading. Made of some Miracle Fabric, they buttress the naughty bits and minimize the moisture.
Never Say "Chafing" Again.
https://www.duluthtrading.com/mens-buck-naked-performance-boxer-briefs-76015.html?dwvar_76015_color=DHT&cgid=mens-underwear#feature=hpvn1&start=1&cgid=mens-underwear
Last edited by Patrick (2021-12-17 06:58:01)
A wonderful reason to be on 'Talk Ivy' ^. Duluth Trading have only been mentioned twice and yet a quick glance at Ebay reveals some nice items. A little like Bean perhaps?
Kind of. Quality is uneven, and they think it's funny to promote their long rise jeans as "Ballroom."
I have loved these clothes for 35 years, even wrote a book about them, but Woof's brown military Y front revelations have ruined the Ivy Look for me. I need to be cleansed, detoxed and reprogrammed. Do they still do electric shock therapy?
TRS, my daughter is intending to train as a psycho-therapist. A ten per cent discount might be made available to friends and family.
Last edited by A Fine Sadness (2021-12-19 12:46:13)
Therapy might help thank you. I can't stop thinking about brown Y-fronts and it is making me question much about myself.