N2N 2011 Has Arrived!

It is one of my favorite days of the year. N2N Bodywear has debuted their 2011 collection. In the next week I'll be doing a full review of this year's collection, but for now here are a few of my favorites from this 2011.

Dream Lounge Robe

Popsicle Trunk

Raider X Wrestler

N2N Signature Jock

Sheer Runner

Summer Dreaming with Timoteo

It may be cold here in Lexington once again, but I am still ready for swimsuit season to get here. It may be that I've seen too many scarves, gloves, boots, and Carhartt jackets, but I am in love with so many of the new swimsuits this year. Timoteo is just as ready for the summer as I am. Recently they released their swimsuits for 2011 and these style are just the perfect thing to usher out those winter blues and get you seeing the blues of salty ocean water or the crisp aquas and turquoises of a refreshing dip in the pool. I spent some time on their website this morning deciding which suits I want to be seen in this summer, here are the ones I have been able to narrow it down to:

WAVE RACER: $52.00 A simple, clean, and sexy cut that is perfect for exercise or play! This style comes in three additional colors.

SPEEDSTER: $49.00 I am a huge fan of retro styles. This square cut suit, with its low rise waist and cleanly cut bottom is a perfect update to a very retro style. This style comes in four additional styles/patterns.

CONTENDER: $46.00 This is the style that I am going to have to go with. I have a complete addiction to turquoise. I especially love when turquoise is accented with white. This suit, like the previous two suits has a front pouch built in for comfort. This suit comes in two additional colors.

SUPER LOW: $38.00 This one came in a very close second for me. I love the pattern, and of course the low cut. I am a sucker for anything low cut. I am having trouble not staring at this one. This style comes in eight additional colors.

Underwear Etiquette: Going Out or Bottoms Up!

My group of guy friends and I go out a lot, at some points I think we live for the weekends. One of the guys has named our group “The Glitter”, which pretty much defines the group. At last count we roll ten deep, and are well on our way to having a reality show on Logo—then when ratings are high enough we will jump-ship to Bravo. Think Real Housewives of Atlanta mixed with the A-List and a whole lot of Sex and the City thrown in for good measure. I am the self proclaimed Carrie Bradshaw of the group. (However the other nine may argue that—watch for their comments below) I love my guys to death; I would give them an organ if they ever needed it, excluding my liver, something about all the vodka tells me it probably wouldn’t be of much use. I digress; there is an actual point to this post. I am known for judging hard, that’s probably indicative of why I review underwear as a hobby, and I am judging them for their underwear. I suppose judging one of them for his addiction to Taco Bell at 3:00 am would be more appropriate, but I’d much rather judge their boxers. Now don’t get me wrong, all nine of them aren’t guilty of bad choices in the underwear drawer; several of them actually have taste that I am envious of. The other night one of them pulls me aside at the bar “I found your blog yesterday” at that point I just started stuttering. (In my mind I just kept thinking “please say Simplicity, please say Simplicity (which is my personal blog) don’t say M.U.B.”) He replies with “I ordered so many pairs of underwear today” BUSTED! (at this point I had only told one of “The Glitter” about this blog, and it wasn’t him.) So now that “The Glitter” knows about me being a contributor to M.U.B. it has me thinking about what, in my opinion, one should wear when going out. As a group of single twenty-somethings no one really ever knows who is still going to have their pants on by the end of the night, so a good pair of underwear is imperative. Over the past couple weeks, and over many glasses of vodka I have put together my list of tips, anecdotes, and comments on what underwear are good to be found in after the sun sets on a weekend night.

1. 1) Skip the boxers. Period. End of Story. In my humble, and somewhat biased, opinion one should never wear boxers when drinking. Why, you may ask. My biggest reason is, well when you’re dancing (read grinding) you never know which direction your lil’ guy is gonna go, but I say things are only going up from here. So you need some support, or a lot of support. Wear something that is fitting to the body. Secondly boxers just aren’t sexy, personally seeing a guy in boxers is a huge turnoff. For me boxers are just downright uncomfortable to dance in, but for the love of God do not think I am giving you permission to go commando.  UMan adds: I agree.  One should really never wear boxers. 
2. 2) Wear dark colors. By wearing navy or black you minimize the appearance of sweat or spilled liquor on your undies. Every weekend you will find me religiously in a pair of black boxerbriefs. This rule goes hand in hand with number three.
3. 3) Keep it simple. Patterns are fun, colors are great, and by no means should you ever wear anything boring.
4. 4) Stay classy. You’re out, you’re meeting potential partners, friends, or dates, don’t scare them off by revealing the waistband of a jock strap or the string of a g-string when you “dip-it-low.” I personally am most comfortable taking my pants off in front of someone if I’m wearing a pair of boxerbriefs, but there is nothing wrong with a good pair of briefs. Just save the mesh, metallic, or studded undies for nights of sobriety. If you want to scare a potential partner off just strip down to a mesh thong or tuxedo patterned pair of boxers. Keep it classic and keep it classy and chances are it won’t be too hard to avoid going home alone at the end of the night. Look for a forthcoming post on these types of underwear… and exactly why the hell I have a box full of them.
5. 5) Go for quality. Hanes and Fruit of the Looms were good and well when we were kids, heck they are what I wore until I turned 14, but we’re all adults here, so unless you’re working in a field or digging a ditch wear something of quality. If you’re dancing/getting blackout drunk there is a good chance your waistband is going to show at some point, so dress to impress.
6. 6) Be original. No explanation needed.
7. 7) This one is my bonus type… If you plan on getting black-out, take your own bedding, it makes spending the night on the bathroom floor a whole lot more comfortable.

To make things even easier I have picked a few of my favorites for wearing out:

• 2xist Neon Trunk Black $24.00 from International Jock

• Ergowear MAX Premium Contrast Brief Black $22.00 from International Jock

• Calvin Klein Steel Micro Boxer Brief Antique Plum $26.00 from International Jock

• 2(x)ist Sliq Trunk in Hibiscus $24.00 from International Jock

So it is almost the weekend, and I hope you are going out at some point, but are you and your undies ready? If so, put a sexy pair on, go out, have a drink, have another, then have a vodka in my honor, (Ketel One) and have a damn good night. Bottoms Up!

…oh and don’t judge if you see “The Glitter” and me at Taco Bell… just blame it on the red head.

2(x)ist Neon

Just a couple days ago one of my favorite brands launched a new collection of underwear. 2(x)ist debuted their new Neon collection. The brand has this to say about Neon:

"Taking cues from ideas of the future, fast living, and the digital age, NEON dazzles with bold color in our specially-engineered Soft-Fle(x) Cotton for the man in perpetual motion. The NEON Sliq Trunk itself features an Ultra Low Rise—hitting about two inches below the hip—and the (X)-treme Contoured Pouch for an even more enhanced profile than ever before. And with brilliant hues like Hibiscus, Mediterranean Blue, Black, and White (all contrasted with fluorescent elastic piping), NEON makes the future look brighter than ever. Shine on in NEON."

The collection consists of several low-rise pieces including a sports brief, trunk style, and a pouch brief. The collection also has a forthcoming V-neck t-shirt. 2(x)ist Neon can be found in Macy's stores and online at macys.com.

On a final note, if you haven't checked out 2(x)ist's website lately be sure to do that. It looks outstanding.

Obsession: Gregg Homme

This week I am absolutely and utterly obsessed with Gregg Homme. The level of sheer sexiness that envelopes each pair from this brand is beyond words. I am a sucker for a sexy pair of underwear, and I can assure you that you can't and will not go wrong by wearing a pair of Gregg Homme. G.H. recently debuted their 2011 collection, so I'll let them describe this years collection-- while I try to get my drooling under control:

The new 2011 GREGG HOMME collection unveils a completely new generation of men's underwear. Think your silkiest pair of briefs feels like second skin? Forget everything you believe you know! GREGG HOMME's newest technology redefines the rules of comfort and pushes the limits of support where no man's privates have gone before.

Our new TORRID and COMMANDO collections introduce the new GREGG HOMME revolutionary and "radically thin" 8-way stretch fabric. Developed in Europe with top-of-the-field knitting machines, our new fabric features an unusually high level of spandex (the best, from Lycra© that is) to confer the "nearly unlimited" stretch and the ultimate body wrapping experience. GREGG HOMME pushes the audacity by crowning these new ultra light creations with fine, soft, yet reinforced elastics, often used and loved in the opposite gender underwear world.

Below are my favorites from this years collection. (The descriptions are G.H.'s not mine, seeing how I'm speechless over these designs I feel like their statements could be more effective than mine.)

(Above) TORRID: The hot and steamy TORRID from Gregg Homme is a highly sensual underwear collection made from a unique, hyper-stretch bodyhugging fabric. Each style successfully mimics the ’naked’ feeling under clothing, letting you forget you’re wearing it!

PUMP-UP: The men’s underwear revolution starts here! Gregg Homme’s highly original PUMP-UP collection features Advanced Enhancing Technology: a suspensor system made up of an opaque European ultra-light microfiber fabric that delivers both the support and shaping that a lot of men crave in sexy underwear.

PROVAKE: Another perfect example of Gregg Homme’s mastery of designing some of the sexiest men’s underwear on the planet, the PROVOKE collection is made from a unique distressed mesh fabric that looks rugged yet feels soft against the skin. For teasing and pleasing, there’s no denying the charismatic, attention-getting qualities of the PROVOKE collection!

Top of the page: HERCULES: Gregg Homme offers you a legend in the making! The heroic HERCULES group is a masculine underwear design of epic proportions! Featuring a silver, leather-like fabric adorned with matte sequins that give the impression of chain mail, the HERCULES collection will make its wearer feel sexy, rugged, noble, and brave!

HELP! My Underwear is Boring

So, I’ve been away from the world of underwear for a while, which has led to my underwear collection becoming pretty worn out and boring. It has gotten so bad that in an effort to have enough underwear to make it through the week I have even resorted to wearing Fruit of the Looms. I am embarrassed to even admit that. Now that I am back in this world of underwear I am super excited to start buying some new undies. As I rebuild my collection I ask for your help. Since most of the pairs I buy will be used for future reviews and photos I need to know what you’re into and what brands and styles you would like to know more about. I am up for wearing anything (excluding boxers) so have no fear and suggest away. In the mean time I ask that you don’t judge me in my Fruit of the Looms to harshly.

Obsession: Piss and Vinegar

Obsession is a new weekly series that starts today. Every Wednesday I’ll be showing a few of my favorites from a different brand. I know when I’m browsing for underwear online I seem to almost always stick with a few brands and forget so many others. With Obsession I will be featuring up-and-coming brands, obscure brands, or brands that really break the standard underwear mold.
 

This week I am obsessed with Piss and Vinegar. The brand has been around a couple years, but here at MUB we have only done one post about them, which was right after the brand first hit the scene. The name was what first caught my attention. I was on Men’s Underwear Store and saw the name in the side bar. The two nouns “piss” and “vinegar” quickly drew me in and I was soon obsessed. The brand’s use of large graphics and bold colors is a fun twist on the standard underwear I have been buying as of late. Below are a few pictures of my favorite designs from Piss and Vinegar. You can find their entire collection at Beyond Big Branding. My favorite design from the brand is in the picture above. The undies are called “I Love Jesus” and have a heart right smack-dab in the middle of the crotch. I feel like for a lot of us guys are guilty of wearing our hearts on top of our crotch so this design is quite fitting. I am also obsessed with their solid color low rise briefs. These seem rather standard, but the colors that they have chosen for the briefs are a modern twist on many of the brightly colored briefs I’ve seen out there from other brands. Each pair of underwear ranges from $25.00 to $35.00 a pair. You will notice that many of the designs are tongue-and-cheek, which for me only adds to their appeal!

(Re)Introduction

Hey guys, let me (re)introduce myself. I’m Chandler and I’m just your average 21 year old guy who has a passion for underwear, swimwear, and all things skivvy-related. For you long-time MUB readers you may remember me from a few years ago when I was a bright-eyed 18 year old finishing up my senior year of high school. Now some time later I’m halfway through my college years, a little more experienced, and still in love with a good pair of underwear. My goal here on MUB is to keep it light-hearted, fun, and equally informative. You’ll see me doing a lot of swimwear reviews as we approach the summer months, I’ll be writing a lot of post about my experiences in the underwear world and as a thrifty college student you’ll see me doing plenty of posts about sales happening at my favorite brands. I may be a underwear lover by night, but by day I am a full blown social networker—so make sure to become a fan of my page on Facebook (simply search “MUB Chandler”) follow me on Twitter @jockboychandler and of course stay on top of it all by reading us here at MUB. On Facebook I’ll be posting quick links to sales and updates from some of our favorite brands and stores. On Twitter you’ll find my daily pics of what underwear I’m wearing and other random pics from the ever eventful adventures of me in the big city of Lexington, Kentucky – a place where you never know where you’re going to find a guy in nothing but his underwear. So follow me, like me, read me, or post me… and lets have some fun.

Keep it classy guys!

Chandler

A Jock Review by a Jock

Hey Guys,
This is a test guest review by Chandler. If you guys like what he writes, let me know and he may become a full-time reviewer. Here's a bit of information about this jock boy:
This year he’ll be starting his senior year of high school in backwoods Kentucky. He does a lot of traveling, and whenever he's on vacation he likes to pick up new underwear or swimwear. At his high school he plays varsity soccer, swimming, and track, "I’m a bit of an athlete" he says. But he's also known for his sense of style, "I’m a sucker for really good underwear, and I feel its less important the price, and more important how the underwear makes you feel. I love to wear swim briefs, and whenever its swimming season, my teammates are always amazed by the new 'speedos' I wear. My friends are always asking me for advice on what to wear, so I guess I’m a little obsessive about what I wear." Well there you have it, so without further ado I give you Chandler's review.
I once read somewhere that N2N should attach a label to all their products saying "Shave your pubes" and from the very moment I put on the N2N Tropic jock I found this statement to be true, this jock is truly low-rise. N2N Bodywear has long been know for its innovative designs and use of fabrics, and this one definitely does not come up short on either. This jock is designed using slim straps and their Tropics fabric, which is part rayon and part spandex. This makes the jock very light and breathable, and allows the fabric to contour to you. It has a certain way of just gently cupping, and giving the right amount of support. This isn't your old school jock either; I am an athlete in every sense of the word I run three miles a day and play four varsity sports at my high school, so I would say I'm used to wearing a jock, although in recent years I have opted for compression shorts for support, but when its 90 degrees outside a jock seems much more comfortable. I found that the N2N was not only supportive, it was the most comfortable (and sexy) jock I have ever worn. I am a big believer that a jock is not only for sports but should also be comfortable enough to wear as regular underwear. So I found that after wearing this one for several days, and washing it nightly, that I have no complaints with anything about this jock. During the day I often forgot I was even wearing one, which I feel is a sign of great underwear. Before wearing this one I was afraid of how my jeans would feel against my bare behind, (I personally have never worn a thong, and prefer full coverage in the rear) but I actually think that was one of my favorite parts of this jock. I put the jock to the ultimate challenge by wearing it to a soccer scrimmage. Normally stuff wants to fall out, but with the N2N everything down there stayed in place. When running down the field everything held tight, and unlike jocks with wider straps the N2N didn’t constrict any leg movement. My only complaint on this jock is after several washes the straps in the back started to stretch, and caused the front to sag as well, which allowed for bunching right between the legs.

All in all this is the best jock that I've worn, it is a great value, and I have now converted from a true compression shorts follower to a faithful jock-strap wearer. Whether you are an athlete or not, this is definitely one of the most comfortable pieces of underwear you could ever add to your collection. And don't forget to shave your pubes (if you're wearing this one).

MY RATING:

Overall, I give the N2N Tropic Jock a total score of 7 based on the following criteria:

FIT -- 6 (out of 10)
COMFORT -- 10 (out of 10)STYLE -- 7 (out of 10)
QUALITY -- 7 (out of 10)
VALUE -- 8 (out of 10)

********** 7

-Review by Chandler
Please comment and let me know if you'd like to see Chandler continue posting some reviews.