Women are buying men's underwear

Article’s original title :-
‘Why women are buying men’s underwear’ – copyright acknowledged per Guardian 29 Oct 2014

The article says it was ‘Prompted by the M&S claim about half of their men’s underwear is bought by women. Meanwhile, Acne have launched a line of ‘gender-neutral’ underpants.’ It then asked the banal and feeble question - Are men’s undies the latest example of unisex fashion?

Per the author – ‘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.

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I put my comments here and the article continues later; 436 people commented and the majority were drivel. Of the interesting or worthwhile comments, the majority were women saying men’s underwear was more comfortable with wider top elastic, more space, no VPL, less of the scratchy lace and so on.

Combining other comments, several said, men’s underwear is less overt, less sexualised, more practical, better made, cheaper and lasts longer.

A quantity of women said they bought for their men and several men endorsed that they couldn’t be bothered to go shopping.

BUT as regards ‘equality’ there were a few removed comments but not one that I could see saying that some men crossed the gender divide in the opposite direction and enjoyed wearing women’s panties (or other cross-gender clothing.). Sauce for the Goose but not the Gander.

A couple of comments I have extracted parts of said

#1
Women have co-opted every item of men's clothing now. Lots of women wear men's clothes all the time, like socially-acceptable cross-dressers.
Cowboy clothes, soldier clothes, workwear, sportswear. Polo necks, tank tops, vests, waistcoats. Shirts, suits, parkas, anoraks, T-shirts, bomber jackets, denim jackets... the women's and mens's floors of Gap are pretty much identical, really. All that men have left to call their own are ties and beards.
I don't know why women cross-dress so much. My wife never wears mannish outfits - she's cool enough to dress as a woman without being 'girly'. But then, she used to be a stylist at Vogue.
I am non-plussed at the hordes of lady-men around, with their wardrobes seemingly comprised of garments a 12 year-old boy would wear. This pants thing finishes it off.
It goes without saying that it is socially forbidden for a man to wear a skirt. Strange.

# 2
Apart from those who have been individually interviewed and whose evidence must presumably be believed, the numbers of women buying men's underwear is in no way connected with the numbers of them that wear them.
Having said that it's a common practice for women to wear clothing of their partners. Pyjamas are certainly one such and I have no doubt that more intimate items are also favoured.

#3
Women wear "men's" underpants: latest unisex fashion trend.
Men wear "women's" underpants: crossdressing sexual fetish.

Back to the original article
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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.

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.

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.”

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My final comment – until it is acceptable for me to wear panties then it will be ‘equally’ unreasonable for women to wear ‘my’ clothing.

Women can and do wear (starting from the bottom) shoes, socks, trousers, jeans, pants, shorts, shirts, vests, t-shirts, suits, waistcoats, tuxedos, ties, hats for day-wear, eveing-wear, work-wear and holiday-wear.

If at the same time I can wear silks, satins, jerseys, tulles, chiffon, georgette, taffeta, net, velvet in cotton, wool, linen, leather or lycra in every shade of every colour and in every style and fashion that I wish – then there will be equality and maybe tolerance.