Frankfurt – When it comes to their choice of underwear, men fall into two distinct categories: those who like close-fitting pants and those who prefer a loose fit.
According to a recent survey carried out by the German industry magazine “TextilWirtschaft” (textile economy), most men prefer snug shorts, with the Y-front style a hands-down winner over the roomier boxer short variety.
Much to the dismay of the majority of women, 42 per cent of men still choose the white, ribbed classic with the convenient slot to the fore.
Y, or fly-front briefs, either white or patterned, are most popular with mature consumers. “TextilWirtschaft” notes that it is mostly younger men who prefer the slightly scantier variety which shows off more of their legs.
Embellishments such as buttons and other frivolities are generally frowned upon. The reason? While support is important, men don’t like anything too constraining under their jeans, one 40-year-old thinking man from Frankfurt suggests.
With boxers and Y-fronts such clear favourites, plain, closed thongs do no better than ninth place in the survey. Even worse off was the all-in-one which caught the eye of a mere four per cent.
Given men’s insistence on comfort, it is no surprise that women’s demands for erotic styling go mostly unanswered. Two German female accountants show little sympathy for the male of the species. “A real cheek is the what they called the ‘tent effect’ – briefs that are ten years old and “bulge in all the wrong places”.
The magazine reveals that it is above all young women who long for the thrill of crisp mini-briefs, thongs and tight-fitting boxers, as opposed to humdrum Y-fronts.
Neither are all-in-one experiments to be laughed at, although only one in four women has a soft spot for loose-cut boxer shorts. Men in colourful underwear can likewise expect to be turned down.
One factor weighing in favour of the fairer sex in the underwear war is men’s apparent dislike of shopping for undergarments, with less than half prepared to take matters into their own hands. The number of married men with actually shop for briefs sinks to 28 per cent.
A quarter of all German men own only ten pairs of underwear, while the average German male can boast of a collection of 18. Underwear can expect to see service for four years before making way for a replacement, mostly in the shape of a fiver-pack – buying in bulk puts off shopping for at least another year.
Germans do not expect to pay more than 12 marks (about 5 dollars) for their nearest and dearest, with a mere one in five willing to splash out more than 25 marks on a single pair.
