The
Underwear
Lifespan
As a general rule, you should replace all the underwear you wear daily once a year to keep things fresh, hygienic and fitting well.
The Best Underwear Is the Pair You're Wearing
Thinking of switching up your style? It's a little complicated.
Here at Valet., we do a lot of testing. Every week, we sample new foods and drinks and we're happy to be guinea pigs for grooming product launches. We're constantly road testing gear and clothing to bring you, our loyal audience, the best products worth your time and money. Recently, talk in the office turned to underwear and things got a little quiet—and a little awkward.
Some guys weren't all that eager to talk about what kind of underwear they had on. Or even what kind they preferred. It seemed like a few were afraid they'd made the wrong decision, were stuck in a rut or didn't invest enough in quality when it came to what they wore underneath the clothes they had put so much thought into. Eventually, most everyone loosened up and we were able to talk freely about the kind of underwear that is best.
Of course, it's a funny thing, talking about something that seems as insignificant as underwear. "I'll wear whatever," said one unbothered writer. "It's not that big of a deal." Maybe he's right. Once upon a time, being a boxers or a briefs guy was a defining trait of a man's character. But it's 2019. Why be so binary? After all, what is underwear ... other than a simple, soft layer of fabric between you and your clothes?
Then again, it's the only article of clothing that most of us wear all day and then sleep in all night. It's first piece of clothing you put on after a morning shower—something that's constantly up against your body. They're the last thing you take off before having sex. And speaking of genitals, your underwear generally determines how comfortable your crotch and ass are, which can mess with a man's all-day comfort levels pretty severely. When we thought of it this way, we decided underwear was worthy of serious consideration.
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It turns out, we ask a lot of our underwear. But what we discovered was that many men settle for and suffer through underwear that's merely adequate. Most guys stick with what they've always worn, even if they're curious about other styles. A few of the guys who wear boxers felt like they might be old fashioned but didn't know how to update their underwear drawer. So we called in a handful of options to try as a team, from performance briefs and high end boxers to modern engineered boxer briefs and some sexy, silkier styles. And then we hit an interesting snag.
You see, the guys who wore boxers had a real problem with the boxer briefs. They didn't like the clingy feel and felt like they rode up in strange ways. "How do you wear these things," one tester asked me while passing in the hallway. "My junk is all squished and there's no fly ... how the hell do they expect me to piss?" He wasn't exactly wrong. Then another guy who typically wore briefs or tighter trunks said that he initially liked the feeling of luxury boxer shorts until he wore them around for the day. He said he missed the support and that boxers tended to bunch up or get twisted in his pants. The upside? "The fly makes peeing at a urinal really easy."
The longer the experimenting went on, the clearer it became. Guys don't like change. Especially when it comes to how they handle their dick when they use the restroom. This is totally acceptable. After all, some of us have been wearing our chosen style for years—decades even. Myself? After a short-lived flirtation with boxers in high school, I quickly adapted and embraced boxer briefs and trimmer trunks. I've been wearing them now for more nearly 20 years, and while I'll deviate slightly in terms of a few finishing details, I pretty much stick to what I know and like.
Which is exactly what our experiment has taught us. Your underwear needs to comfortable. It should feel good when worn under your everyday clothes and look good when worn on its own in front of your significant other. They should make you feel like you're pulling on a second skin. Which is why whatever type of underwear you're wearing right now is the type of underwear you should be wearing.
In other words, there really is no bad style of underwear, only bad pairs of underwear. What makes a pair bad? Holes, for one thing. Men, please take stock of your underwear drawer and toss any underpants that have worn-out waistbands, tears or stains of any kind. You deserve better. So does the person you're sleeping with you. Novelty prints pretty much make a bad pair too. They're the kind of cutesy boxers a mom buys for her son, not what a man buys for himself. Keep things simple and you'll keep things sexy.
You don't have to switch up the style in order to feel "more modern" or "in fashion." If you treat yourself to quality underwear, you'll be good. There's nothing wrong with experimenting and if you want to switch up your undies to match your mood, your day's activities or what you've got planned after dark, by all means, do just that. But one kind of underwear isn't better than another. It's all about what you feel best in.
