The Search for New Underwear

I have been wearing Fruit of the Loom underwear since I got out of diapers, so nearly five decades. Over the years, I have evolved from white briefs to colored boxer briefs, but it’s always been the same brand. I’ve experimented with silk boxers and bikini briefs, but boxer briefs are where I’m at currently.

The underwear that Fruit of the Loom makes has also evolved. It is probably better in some ways, and I’m sure it is cheaper to manufacture now, but one thing that has declined is comfort. Mainly, this is because the tension of the waistband has increased to ridiculous and uncomfortable. As my older, more comfortable underwear wears out, and I look at what is available in the stores, I find myself reluctant to buy any more underwear made by Fruit of the Loom.

What to buy, then? The Hanes underwear doesn’t look any better. Perhaps it is time to switch to some premium product. I can afford it, I think.

Relevant to this is a conversation I had with a friend on social media, who want to know if anyone really uses the “fly” that men’s underwear is made with, and why manufacturers still make it that way. It seems that no one does. However, manufacturers still make it this way because it’s what men buy, even if they don’t make use of a “functional fly”.

I looked at some underwear in the store yesterday. Jockey and Adidas made some underwear that would probably be comfortable. However, they both had functional flies, so I chose (for now) to skip those.

I found some made by Nike that do not have a functional fly. I’m wearing a pair now. They are comfortable, which is the point. They’re definitely not pure cotton. Nike calls it Dri-FIT. I don’t know what they’re made of. Polyester microfiber, I guess. The package I bought cost $45 for three pairs. When I look online, I should be able to buy the same thing much more reasonably.

I’m not sure if I should go all in on these, or experiment with other things.