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Why women are buying men's underwear Why women are buying men's underwear
(14 days later)
Things are moving apace in genderless fashion and, as per, women are ruining everything. According to Marks & Spencer, the Official British Empire of British Underwear, women are starting to buy men’s underwear, with some increasingly close to out-buying them.Things are moving apace in genderless fashion and, as per, women are ruining everything. According to Marks & Spencer, the Official British Empire of British Underwear, women are starting to buy men’s underwear, with some increasingly close to out-buying them.
The British retailer claim half of their men’s underwear is currently bought by women, and while it’s impossible to ascertain how many of these are women purchasing for partners/parents and how many for themselves, the retail chain says it “does suggest that men’s underwear is a common consideration for women irrespective of whether or not they are wearing it themselves”. Without jumping to conclusions while jumping wholly to conclusions, does this mean that the final frontier in gender-specific clothing – underwear – no longer exists?The British retailer claim half of their men’s underwear is currently bought by women, and while it’s impossible to ascertain how many of these are women purchasing for partners/parents and how many for themselves, the retail chain says it “does suggest that men’s underwear is a common consideration for women irrespective of whether or not they are wearing it themselves”. Without jumping to conclusions while jumping wholly to conclusions, does this mean that the final frontier in gender-specific clothing – underwear – no longer exists?
Of course not. That would be absurd. But it does make you wonder what’s going on. At M&S, their most successful collection – bar Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s excellent lingerie line – is currently the 28-piece David Gandy for Autograph line, designed by British male model, David Gandy. The boxers are great: luxe, louche and sophisticated, they also have the unique cache of being as much for women as men. Team Gandy have confirmed that David “did design his collection very much with women in mind” confirming something else we’ve known for some time, that Team Gandy is no fool. That the Rosie collection now features a pair of feminine, lace-panelled shorts is no coincidence either. Masculine underwear or even men’s underwear is longer the sole preserve of men.Of course not. That would be absurd. But it does make you wonder what’s going on. At M&S, their most successful collection – bar Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s excellent lingerie line – is currently the 28-piece David Gandy for Autograph line, designed by British male model, David Gandy. The boxers are great: luxe, louche and sophisticated, they also have the unique cache of being as much for women as men. Team Gandy have confirmed that David “did design his collection very much with women in mind” confirming something else we’ve known for some time, that Team Gandy is no fool. That the Rosie collection now features a pair of feminine, lace-panelled shorts is no coincidence either. Masculine underwear or even men’s underwear is longer the sole preserve of men.
So what’s the appeal in loose and manly underthings and what should you buy? Writer Eleanor Morgan has been wearing men’s underwear for years “because they are so comfy” but admits the David Gandy boxers were a game-changer. She wears them “in bed, around the house, anywhere really”. I’ve been walking a similar path for years (if only the path between the loo and my bedroom) going for the American Apparel Y-fronts, something loose from Blue Harbour when I’m skint or reaching for Gandy’s if I’m feeling special. To me, it’s a welcome and marked move away from the thongs of youth, and quite frankly, a step towards equality. Like Morgan, I agree that if anything is worth sleeping in, it’s a pair of men’s underwear.So what’s the appeal in loose and manly underthings and what should you buy? Writer Eleanor Morgan has been wearing men’s underwear for years “because they are so comfy” but admits the David Gandy boxers were a game-changer. She wears them “in bed, around the house, anywhere really”. I’ve been walking a similar path for years (if only the path between the loo and my bedroom) going for the American Apparel Y-fronts, something loose from Blue Harbour when I’m skint or reaching for Gandy’s if I’m feeling special. To me, it’s a welcome and marked move away from the thongs of youth, and quite frankly, a step towards equality. Like Morgan, I agree that if anything is worth sleeping in, it’s a pair of men’s underwear.
The trend in unisex underwear was further crystallised in the spring, when Calvin Klein reissued its original pants from the early 90s. Now we all know Calvin Klein operate a tight pant game. And reissued as part of a media campaign encouraging people to tweet #mycalvins, the label was clearly tapped into a style we were resolutely comfortable with. Elsewhere, though, the trend was building foundations in a more high fashion direction. Famously unisex-friendly Swedish brand Acne recently launched a line of “gender-neutral” underwear. “It’s underwear for real kids and not models,” the label’s creative director, Jonny Johansson, told the FT, before getting Ryan McGinley, the man who would perhaps have shot those grainy CK Wahlberg campaigns were he a little older, to shoot the campaign. Elsewhere in Sweden, singer Beatrice Ali posed on the cover of an EP in Y-fronts, while American Apparel’s pop-coloured Y-fronts remain consistent bestsellers. The trend in unisex underwear was further crystallised in the spring, when Calvin Klein reissued its original pants from the early 90s. Now we all know Calvin Klein operate a tight pant game. And reissued as part of a media campaign encouraging people to tweet #mycalvins, the label was clearly tapped into a style we were resolutely comfortable with. Elsewhere, though, the trend was building foundations in a more high fashion direction. Famously unisex-friendly Swedish brand Acne recently launched a line of “gender-neutral” underwear. “It’s underwear for real kids and not models,” the label’s creative director, Jonny Johansson, told the FT, before getting Ryan McGinley, the man who would perhaps have shot those grainy CK Wahlberg campaigns were he a little older, to shoot the campaign. Elsewhere in Sweden, singer Beatrice Ali posed on the cover of her album in Y-fronts, while American Apparel’s pop-coloured Y-fronts remain consistent bestsellers.
For one male writer – let’s also call him David – the rise of unisex underwear has left him cold. “It started early – whatever she [his girlfriend] came wearing to our dates was compromised by the evening’s later activities, so she’d just borrow something of mine to sleep in.” Not initially against it – “it was a reminder we were recklessly sexual people” – events reached a tipping point when they moved in together: “She still wears my pants in bed.” As to why, he says: “I think because girls’ underwear is expensive and uncomfy and she hates shopping.” However, the choice of Gandy’s undies is inexplicable: “Do they think they’re his personal underpants and he might come round to get them back?”For one male writer – let’s also call him David – the rise of unisex underwear has left him cold. “It started early – whatever she [his girlfriend] came wearing to our dates was compromised by the evening’s later activities, so she’d just borrow something of mine to sleep in.” Not initially against it – “it was a reminder we were recklessly sexual people” – events reached a tipping point when they moved in together: “She still wears my pants in bed.” As to why, he says: “I think because girls’ underwear is expensive and uncomfy and she hates shopping.” However, the choice of Gandy’s undies is inexplicable: “Do they think they’re his personal underpants and he might come round to get them back?”