The Underarchive
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underarchive.bsky.social
The Underarchive
@underarchive.bsky.social
120 followers 180 following 47 posts
I love men’s underwear packaging and advertising too much. Posting my personal archive to see if I am the only person left with this specific interest.
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underarchive.bsky.social
I am considering posting pictures of myself on this account to show off pairs I love but don’t see people talking about. I know there’s three dudes in America who fight me on eBay whenever these come up for sale. Are you interested? I’m a chubby man but I’m told I’m handsome.
October 21, 2025 at 4:48 PM
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Polo Ralph Lauren micro modal thong and string bikini brief. I remember seeing these on the Macy’s site back in 2001 and wishing I lived near a big city. This color was called dress shirt blue. It also came in a string bikini brief style. #mensunderwearhistory #stringbikinibriefs #manthong
A men’s thong laid flat on a light colored wooden table. The thong is dress shirt blue and has a gray waistband with “Polo Ralph Lauren” repeating in black lettering with a single black line. A men’s string bikini brief laid flat on a light colored wooden table. The brief is dress shirt blue and has a gray waistband with “Polo Ralph Lauren” repeating in black lettering with a single black line.
October 21, 2025 at 4:17 PM
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An American Apparel (now Los Angeles Apparel) display window featuring wall-to-wall men's ringer briefs c. 2010s, and the product photography from their website today. I got my first pair in 2005, and the style is still sold to this day! Style 44015.
A photograph of a glass display window in the wall of a red brick building. A series of men's torso mannequins are arranged in a four wide by six tall grid on glass shelves. Each is dressed in a pair of full rise briefs with white contrast piping. The fabric color of each brief varies, to create a gradient effect when viewed at a distance. The fabrics are colors of baby blue, bright blue, navy, purple, pink, magenta, fuchsia, oatmeal, orange, red and yellow. A photograph of a man against a white background taken for Los Angeles Apparel's online store, cropped to show only from the pectorals to the tops of the knees. The man stands in akimbo stance while wearing a pair of bright green full rise briefs with white contrast piping and waistband.
March 17, 2025 at 10:30 PM
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What the well undressed man is wearing this year - Jockey International Skants. Not sure of the time period of this ad but guessing 1970s to late 1980s? If you know, please comment! #underwearhistory #underwearadvertising #jockeyunderwear #jockeyskants #skantsbrief #skants
A half-page magazine ad for Jockey International Skants. The left side of the ad is back text on a white background in bold all-caps type that says "What the well undressed man is wearing this year. Jockey International Skants". The right side of the ad is divided into four rectangles, where full-color pencil illustrations of one man from the chin downward are wearing various styles of Jockey Skants underwear. He is clean-shaven, cleft-chinned, and has a lean swimmer's build. He models the the Skant brief in white, primary yellow, brown print, and a royal purple in a silhouette that is more akin to a low rise brief.
March 16, 2025 at 4:09 PM
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Speaking of the Jockette/x-brief/St. Tropez Jockey style, it was also known as a Skants brief! Here's a magazine announcing this new! daring! innovation in men's furnishings (and it was almost scandalous at the time!) #underwearhistory #underwearadvertising
A black line drawing on a light blue background of a man smiling as he trims his face with a plug-in razor. He is wearing a white Jockey Skants brief. The ad copy reads "new! daring! Jockey SKANTS brief. The bikini-type underwear. 100% stretch nylon. Made only by Coopers".
March 13, 2025 at 10:58 PM
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A Jockey ad announcing the 'semi-brief'. That sounds zingier than mid-rise or low-rise. I love the Jockette/x-brief/St Tropez silhouette that the surfer dude on the right has on! #underwearhistory #underwearadvertising #Jockey #jockette #semibrief #yfront
A scan of a magazine ad page. It is divided into three columns with a banner across the bottom. It is in grayscale except for the center image, which shows a man wearing a mid-rise or low-rise Jockey y-front brief in a red and white pattern and dark red contrast trim. The colorful man is adjusting his watch and slightly smiling at the camera. Interestingly, the waistband is tunnel and not exposed elastic, so the contrast piping effect calls out the Y-front more easily. The gentleman in the leftmost column has white hair and a mustache, stands with his arms crossed, wearing nothing but full-rise Jockey y-fronts and a smile. The gentleman in the rightmost column also has arms crossed, but is much younger with a surfer shag of white-blonde hair. He wears a pair of leopard patterned Jockey Jockette briefs, also known as x-briefs or St Tropez style. The ad copy below them reads 'Jockey introduces the Semi-Brief. Now we've got every man covered. At last there's a men's brief for those who've grown out of one style but aren't ready for the other. The Jockey Semi-Brief. It's made from cotton interlock with all the comfort and support of a regular brief. including the Y front opening. But with the fashion and style of a Jockette. You could almost say it was the best of both worlds. Comfort and style.'
March 13, 2025 at 10:54 PM
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A fold-out catalog or mailer of Schiesser underwear lines - Blue Bird, Balestra, and Jacques S. These images were from an eBay listing. I feel like this is from the 1990s but the metadata is lost. Do you know? Comment if you do! #mensunderwear #underwearpackaging #underwearadvertising #bikinibriefs
A series of colorful print images in an accordion foldout featuring men wearing brief or bikini brief underwear. They are standing, leaning or reclining and all of them really enjoy having a towel or sweater draped around their neck. A blue band runs across the top with Schiesser branding in the upper-right corner. Text such as 'Blue Bird', 'Balestra' and 'Jacques S.' are superimposed over the images below the blue banner. A series of colorful print images in an accordion foldout featuring men wearing brief or bikini brief underwear. They are standing, leaning or reclining and all of them really enjoy having a towel or sweater draped around their neck. A blue band runs across the top with Schiesser branding in the upper-right corner. Text such as 'Blue Bird', 'Balestra' and 'Jacques S.' are superimposed over the images below the blue banner. A series of colorful print images in an accordion foldout featuring men wearing boxers, briefs or bikini brief underwear. They are standing, leaning or reclining and all of them really enjoy having a towel or sweater draped around their neck. A blue band runs across the top with Schiesser branding in the upper-right corner. Text such as 'Blue Bird', 'Balestra' and 'Jacques S.' are superimposed over the images below the blue banner.
March 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
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International markets get cool stuff like wide-rib knits and packaging that shows the contours of the male form while the home market doesn't. Jockey Australia looks more human, Jockey USA looks like a video game texture. I wish the wide rib knit fabric would make a return for US Jockey customers.
A photograph of a single men's Jockey y-front fine rib cotton brief in retail packaging. The packaging is a plastic sleeve with a cardboard insert partially covering the garment. The insert features a full color print of a man's body wearing a brief. A closeup of the Jockey Australia fine rib cotton y-front brief showing the ribbed pattern of the fabric and the man's torso centered in the shot on the cardboard inset. The reverse side of the Jockey Australia brief packaging showing the size chart (with Australia, New Zealand, and centimeter sizing) and care instructions. A photograph of a 4-pack of men's Jockey Classics low rise y-front briefs sold in America. The plastic packaging is printed with product details and a photograph of a man modeling the brief. The man's face is visible.
March 13, 2025 at 1:17 PM
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New Jockey microfiber string bikinis on the way (style 4588). I love these colors and patterns. I hope the fit, especially in the rear, is better than the disastrous sport stability pouch versions (style 4268) that assumed every customer has a Brazilian butt lift and enough ass for three people.
March 11, 2025 at 4:55 PM
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"Calvin Klein knows what today's man wants" - true (at the time!)

A scan of a Spiegel catalog page from the late 1980s or early 1990s (date estimated by the layout, font style, the particular cut of the bikini brief silhouette, and the design direction of the photography.)
A scan of a Spiegel catalog page. The left column is a photograph of a man wearing Calvin Klein full rise briefs and tank top. The tank top is tucked into the briefs. The man stands in three-quarter profile with his arms in a swing motion, his gaze cast down and to the left with a pouty expression. The right side column lists product descriptions and pricing. The lower half of the right column shows two photographs. One is of six tank tops laid flat and photographed overhead. They are red, blue, black, gray, primary yellow and green in color. The bottom photograph shows six bikini briefs in purple, black, gray, hunter green, blue and soft yellow photographed in the same way, with a retail store box laid in the shot. The retail box is a grayscale photograph of a man's torso wearing the bikini briefs, shot at an angle with text saying 'Calvin Klein' running down the left side.
March 6, 2025 at 12:30 AM
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In 2016 for April Fools, American Eagle did an 'Aerie Man' photoshoot. It makes me sad that it was a joke, with the subtext being that briefs or skimpier options are worthy of mocking and not something men should wear.

If you know someone who thinks like that, unfriend them. #underwearhistory
Two photographs in one - in the first, a man with a hairy chest and forearms lays upon a white duvet on his stomach, looking at the camera. His briefs are visible in the background of the shot. In the other photograph, a young man in glasses wearing only a pair of briefs (or a pair of trunks with the legs tucked in) is standing up reading a book, smiling and talking to someone out of frame. A man stands with his back to the camera, looking over his shoulder with an unreadable expression. He is wearing a pair of white briefs with 'American Eagle' printed on the waistband and the word 'FLEXY' printed across the upper portion of the rear panel. A young man in a pair of tie dye American Eagle briefs lays on a bed over a white fluffy blanket. He rests his face on his hand and stares into the camera with a slightly bemused expression. Four men lay on a pallet of blankets and pillows on a hardwood floor, talking to each other, laughing and pointing at a camera aimed at them from overhead. They wear a selection of American Eagle boxer briefs and briefs and seem to be having a good time!
March 2, 2025 at 8:15 PM
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A catalog featuring Canadian-made men's fashion underwear by Ives Chevalier and Prodige. I have thoughts on how various factors killed off mainstream availability of sexy men's underwear. When's the last time you saw a variety of sexy options in a big box or department store? #underwearhistory
A photograph of a printed catalog page. There are full-color photographs of men's torsos clad in various low rise briefs, bikini briefs, and tanga briefs. Each product photo of a man wearing a garment has a flat-lay of the same product superimposed. Neons, stripes, paisley, sport prints and white/blue/green/black solids are displayed.
March 2, 2025 at 8:06 PM
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A silly gripe: department stores should post the in-store product photography online. I don't think I've ever seen a Dillard's store brand model look *sexy* before, and this gentleman accomplished it. Too bad about the lighting glare.
A picture of a department store gondola shelf in a Dillard's department store. The shelving is stocked with Roundtree and Yorke full rise / full-cut briefs in sets of three wrapped in soft plastic. A poster sleeve with a dark wood surround is mounted atop the gondola. A lean and muscular young man on a neutral background is looking up and above the photographer as they capture him clad in a pair of sky blue Roundtree and Yorke full rise briefs.
March 2, 2025 at 7:59 PM
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Some people might go their entire lives without seeing an image this beautiful. #speedo #swimbrief #undewearhistory
A variety of colorful men's swimming briefs are laid flat on a white bedspread. A clear plastic box in the upper portion of the frame contains many more swim briefs neatly folded.
March 2, 2025 at 7:39 PM
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Speaking of international catalogs, here's one in French that features different underwear styles by brands HOM, DIM and Athena. I'm wondering if this catalog was like International Male or in wider distribution like Sears? It's French and my understanding is they are less hung up on showing skin.
Two magazine pages show a variety of men's underwear. Some are in 'flat lay' style and not being worn, some are shown on models' bodies. Styles include no-fly slips, fly-front briefs, bikini briefs, short leg boxer briefs, tangs (aka sport briefs aka string bikinis), thong, and a racer-back short-leg biking singlet. All text is in French and prices appear to be in francs, meaning this magazine was pre-Euro currency.
February 23, 2025 at 10:49 PM
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Still working hard on sorting those thousands of images! While I work, here's a catalog page advertising Canadian-made Protocol brand men's underwear. Other Canadian brands I hope to show here in the future are JM, Stanfield's, Yves Martin and Prodige. Which other Canadian brands can you think of?
A photograph of a catalog page featuring men's underwear. The page is divided into thirds vertically, with the first two columns each having two photographs of men's torsos modeling underwear with an inset photograph of the packaging laid across each photo. The vertical third to the right of the page provides descriptions, item codes, and pricing for the four styled showcased, which are a boxer, boxer brief, y-front brief and bikini. The lower right corner of the page features the Protocol brand logo (a cursive P in a circle surrounded by the text 'particularly suited to your state of affairs') and a red maple leaf with 'MADE IN CANDA' printed below it in a black box.
February 23, 2025 at 10:44 PM
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So it turns out I had way more men's underwear packaging and product photography than I thought. Working on cataloging / tagging this behemoth so I can start planning posts. Would you be interested in seeing a comparison of box art / product photography vs. found images of people wearing the style?
A screenshot of the macOS finder status bar showing 10,756 items in a folder.
February 22, 2025 at 5:40 PM
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Basic Equipment no fly bikini briefs c. 1997. I love the muted earth tones and the simplicity of packaging. Interesting that they were manufactured in different countries and then the packaging was labeled in the final step with a marker. #underwearhistory #bikinibriefs #mensunderwear
February 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
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Fruit of the Loom fashion briefs circa 2001. I remember being furious that Hanes and FOTL would not just release a low rise fly front brief. FTL eventually did for a period around 2010-2013. Full rise briefs do nothing for me, but I appreciate how happy they make other guys.
February 18, 2025 at 8:48 PM
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Hanes men’s bikini briefs circa 1999. I miss the global village coffeehouse / “tribal” prints of the 1990s.
February 14, 2025 at 5:53 PM
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Jake Taylor string bikini briefs from around 2004-2007. This was a “store brand” like Covington/Merona/Mossimo #underwearhistory #stringbikini #mensunderwear #underwearpackaging
February 13, 2025 at 9:20 PM
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Jockey Pouch no fly brief c. 1993. The pouch line @ Jockey is about the H-fly and this is like a Poco brief but with exposed elastic for the waistband. IMO this was the forefather of the Calvin Klein body range hip brief. #underwearhistory #jockeypouch #lowrisebrief #nofly
February 12, 2025 at 10:23 PM
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Jockey Life / Life by Jockey string bikini briefs circa 2001-2003. This line was a Walmart exclusive and seems to have been fully discontinued as of 2022-2023 and replaced with US Polo Association brand. #underwearhistory #mensunderwear #stringbikini #bikinibriefs
A photograph of a clear plastic box with shelf hanger. A picture of a Caucasian man wearing white string bikini briefs with a narrow waistband and an olive colored tank top over a sky blue background with the word “life” in lowercase next to his smiling face. Three undergarments are visible folded and stored in the plastic box. A photograph of a clear plastic box with shelf hanger. A picture of a Caucasian man wearing white string bikini briefs with a narrow waistband and an olive colored tank top over a sky blue background with the word “life” in lowercase next to his smiling face is printed on cardboard and slid into the box in front of folded undergarments. Three undergarments are visible folded and stored in the plastic box. The size sticker is red with white text and indicates the package contains men’s size small garments.
February 12, 2025 at 5:52 PM
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Fruit of the Loom high cut bikinis c. 1987. Made in the USA which is great, but only went to size large. #underwearhistory #bikinibriefs #mensunderwear
February 12, 2025 at 5:22 PM
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Bill Blass Collection for Hanes 1980s-early 1990s. They had a string bikini in this line but it’s very rare. The hi-cut silhouette still provided great range of motion. This is when product photos would still show chest hair before the “smooth” look #underwearhistory #mensunderwear #bikinibriefs
February 5, 2025 at 2:44 PM