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What's a Boxer Shorts ?

Boxer shorts (also known as loose boxers or as simply boxers) are a type of undergarment typically worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement ("footwork") is very important. Boxers come in a variety of styles and design but are characterized by their loose fit.

History of Boxers

In 1925, Jacob Golomb, founder of Everlast, designed elastic-waist trunks to replace the leather-belted trunks then worn by boxers. These trunks, now known as "boxer trunks", immediately became famous, but were later eclipsed by the popular Jockey-style briefs beginning in the late 1930s. Around 1947, boxer shorts started to gain in popularity again. The two styles, briefs and boxer shorts, had varying ratios of sales for the following forty years, with strong regional and generational preferences.

In 1985, in the U.S. men's briefs were more popular than boxers, with four times as many briefs sold compared to boxers. Around that time many of the men who preferred boxers were older men who became accustomed to wearing them during their time in the U.S. military, and best selling color of boxer shorts was white. Around that year that time boxers were beginning to become popular among young men who wore boxer shorts with varying colors and prints. Boxer shorts got a fashion boost in 1985 when English model and musician Nick Kamen stripped to white Sunspel boxer shorts in a 1950s style "Launderette" in a Levi's commercial. Since the 1990s, some men also opt for boxer briefs as a compromise between the two.

Design of Boxers

Most boxer shorts have a fly in front. Boxer shorts manufacturers have a couple of methods of closing the fly: metal snaps or a button or two. However, many boxer shorts on the market do not need a fastening mechanism to close up the fly as the fabric is cut and the boxers are designed to sufficiently overlap and fully cover the opening. This is commonly known as an open fly design.

Since boxer shorts’ fabric is rarely stretchy, a "balloon seat", a generous panel of loosely fitting fabric in the center rear of the shorts, is designed to accommodate the wearer's various movements, especially bending forward. The most common sewing design of boxer shorts are made with a panel seat that has two seams running on the outer edges of the back seating area, creating a center rear panel. Most mass-produced commercial boxer shorts are made using this design.

Two less common forms of boxer shorts are "gripper" boxers and "yoke front" boxers. Gripper boxers have an elastic waistband like regular boxers but have snaps, usually 3, on the fly and on the waistband so that they open up completely.

Yoke front boxers are similar to gripper boxers in that the wide waistband yoke can be opened up completely, and the yoke usually has three snaps to close it while the fly itself, below, has no closure mechanism. There are two types of yoke boxers: one in which there is a short piece of elastic on each side of the waistband which snugs up the yoke to fit the waist; and "tie-sides" which have narrow cloth tapes on each side of the waist yoke, like strings, which are tightened and knotted by the wearer to make an exact fit. This style of underpant was very common during World War II, when the rubber needed for elastic waistbands had to be used for military purposes.

Boxer shorts are available in white and solid colors including pastels, and come in a variety of patterns and prints as well; Traditional patterns include "geometrics" (small repeating geometric designs), plaids and vertical stripes. Additionally, there are innumerable "novelty" boxer short patterns. Boxer shorts are produced using various fabrics including all cotton, cotton/polyester blends, jersey knits, satin, and silk.

Source : Boxer Shorts Wikipedia