[sebbie]

Part XXVIII

For a period of time in the 1990s, thong underwear was readily available in a host of different brands and designs. The big department stores may have sold a half dozen different premium brands made by companies such as Calvin Klein® and 2x(ist)®. There were all sorts of ideas with respect to how big or small these should be. The Calvin Klein version seemed to simply cut off the back from a cotton brief and replace the back with an elastic cord running from waisteband to pouch. The 2x(ist) version had what they called a T-back set up to only fit right if the band cut deeply between the glutes. I guess if I were to hand out a consolation prize in thong design it would have to go to 2x(ist) not Jockey. It appears that there is a current version of the 2x(ist) T-back thong still being made—these were completely off the market for awhile.

In the 1990s, even the big discount stores sold thongs for men. Target had a version. So did Kmart under their then “house brand” Joe Boxer® label. Jockey had their “Life” brand sold only at Wal Mart that included not only cotton briefs but also skimpier briefs in a choice of cotton or slicker stretch-Lycra® blends. For a time they were selling both fabrics in either colorful no fly bikini briefs, string bikinis (with the “string” usually being the elastic waistband or as a full thong).

These discount store brands typically featured a somewhat wider back perhaps one-half to three quarter -3/4 inches wide and made to stay on top of the guy’s rear and not cut between the glutes. Perhaps the designs where the thong back cut deeply between the glutes were a bit much for a lot of guys, and these designs were designed to appeal to a potentially larger group of wearers who were somehow not as interested in the erotic aspects of thong wear. After all, wearing a thong that is tugging and pulling in various places is something of an “acquired taste” for many guys. Straight guys in relationships also faced the problem of trying to guess what the female partner would think of him wearing a thong. Women always have their own ideas as to what a guy’s underwear should or should not look like. Nearly every guy grows up in a situation whereby mom decided what the boy should wear, and the idea of a guy even expressing a preference in this regard is normally something that happens long after puberty happens with some guys being young adults living away from home with mom no longer doing the laundry before they really get the opportunity to make their own choices.

Then there is the problem of how a thong work in a situation such as a gym locker room where other guys my age might be able to casually observe what I am wearing and whether or not what I am wearing is fitting and proper. This is what I call the “loose plaid boxers” phenomenon. A guy’s choice in undergarments is determined not by what he wants to wear but rather by what he thinks the other guys his age would want him to wear and whatever it is better not be too colorful or racy!

The other problem for straight guys after they get over the issue of wearing something mom might not approve is the problem of whether what I choose will meet the approval of my female partner. And this could be wildly unpredictable as to what is OK or not given that females to the extent they may know anything at all on this subject they probably learned from mom. Guys want to look sexy but at the same time dare not be too adventurous in this respect lest the female not understand and then loses it. The whole idea that a snug-fitting pair of underwear can be used as something a sex toy in masturbation s probably an idea that a lot of females will be unable to readily understand and accept as anything close to normal guy behavior.

I presume gay guys and gay male partners are more accepting and adventurous in this regard and that’s why a lot of a lot of the racier underwear styles seem to be focused on the gay male market. Two males should understand how each other is wired in this respect than a male and female couple.

The racier underwear styles in recent years seem to have increasingly moved out of the bricks-and mortar stores with the big selections now on the Internet. If a guy wants a pair of racy underwear, he can buy it in private and not have to deal with the sales clerk problem. Many uys worry about buying racy underwear when the sales clerk is female. What will she tjink of me doing this? What if the clerk is an older female the age of your mother? What will “my mother think? What if the sales clerk is a guy? If the item is too racy will the male clerk conclude I am gay? Is the male clerk doing the transaction gay himself and is that how he meets other gay guys? These complicated issues can all be avoided by buying on line.

The other thing that interests me is that the 1990s was a period of time when there was lots of options in skimpy underwear, briefs and thongs even as the jeans guys were wearing were always cut really loose and sloppy. Why were guys buying all this skimpy underwear that would make a lot more sense if the jeans that were being worn were skinny and body-conforming? Were guys buying the skimpy underwear to use as a liner to give some male support under the socially acceptable for any occasion plaid cotton boxers? Did guys find a way to remove the boxers and skimpy underwear together so that other guys would not even be aware of the existence of the skimpy underwear? These are some interesting questions.

I checked. It’s possible to still order “Joe Boxer” brand men’s thongs on the Kmart Website!

To be continued….