Buy new Undies for Charity (Late Notice)

Hey guys.  Just came across this.  Australian underwear company Grundies is giving $1 from every item sold to Blue September - a men's cancer awareness organization.  This promo has been ongoing all month, so there's still a good week left to take advantage of this deal.  So go on and get yourself some new undies and feel good about your purchasing knowing that you're doing your part to help. 

Review: Popduds

A popular trend of late seems to be using the men's brief as a canvas for one's artistic endeavors.  We're not just talking your everyday comic prints from H&M or aussieBum, I'm talking actual artists choosing to display their work on your pants.  Step into the picture, Jackson Walden.  Jackson is a graphic artist who has chosen to expand his canvas to encompass clothing by creating a line called Popduds.  This line of course includes underwear. 

Today I'm going to review the Popduds brief.  So let's get down to business and start with style.  The style of these briefs is reminiscent of American Apparel with screen printed graphics.  In fact, some of the briefs in the Popduds line are done on American Apparel blanks (the ones with white waistbands).  But today I'm only going to focus on the one's designed and manufactured by Popduds (the ones with the colored waistband).  Since Popduds does use AA briefs in their collection, they are obviously inspired by them.  But unlike the AA briefs that have a colored background with white elastic, these are the exact opposite with a white background and colored elastics.  Like many briefs of this style, they do have a fully functional fly, but it is really just a stylistic feature (in my opinion) to allow for more colored elastic - I would never actually use it.  The white body is then screen printed with an image that is placed in a specific position on the briefs.  I say this because the designs are actually done with the location in mind, it is not just a big screenprinted pattern that is then cut out to fit into a brief design, the images are placed in specific locations relative to the brief's design. The style is very fun and whimsical.  It reminds me a little bit of the little boys' briefs that I used to buy in 3 packs in Target back in the day (in a good way).    They bring back memories and make me smile - even the frownosaurus that I'm wearing today.  

Now the first thing you want to do after you get these things (besides smiling and reminiscing about your childhood) is to wash these things AND dry them.  Yes I said dry them (there are very few cases where I will tell you to actually use a machine to dry your undies).  This is because, as Popduds informs me, they are not preshrunk and so will not fit properly until you wash them.  I tried wearing a pair without washing and drying them first, and the babyrib cotton stretched out ridiculously throughout the day and never quite recovered even after washing and drying.  So lesson learned, be sure to wash these things AND dry them before wearing.  Now on to the fit.  These are a full-coverage brief. They are not skin-tight, but instead have a little bit of breathing room.  Normally I would hate this, but the elastic bands are nice and tight and hold everything in place and the extra room is a little refreshing.  Now these are by no means what I might call "baggy briefs", but they are simply just a little bigger than the micro and low-rise briefs that are so popular these days.  

The babyrib cotton of these briefs is oh-so-comfy.  And the extra room makes these a comfy pair for daily wear.  They do stretch out a bit during the day, especially if you do a lot of physical activity.  But the elastic bands are nice as they hold everything in place, but not too tightly.  While these briefs do have a bit of extra fabric, they stay in place and do not ride up.  They are a great choice to bring a little fun into your average day.

So far my briefs have gone through numerous washes with no major signs of wear.  The screen prints have faded a little, but that is to be expected.  They are still comfy and funky and fun to wear.  And at $18 a pair, these briefs are a great investment that's sure to bring a smile to your face every time you take off your pants.  And if they're not enough to bring a smile to your face, know that part of that $18 you spent goes to a charity of your choice - so what's not to smile about?  Go out and get yourself some Popduds. 

MY RATING:

Overall, I give the Popduds brief a total score of 8 based on the following criteria:

FIT -- 8 (out of 10) - Full coverage, mid-rise.  A little looser than some briefs, but not baggy. 

COMFORT -- 10 (out of 10) - 100% babyrib cotton, great comfort throughout the day. 

STYLE -- 9 (out of 10) - Fun.  Brings back childhood memories. 

QUALITY -- 8 (out of 10) - Not preshrunk.  Prints fade a little after multiple washes, but otherwise hold up well. 

VALUE -- 9 (out of 10) - Very inexpensive.  Plus part of your purchase goes to charity!

**********8

New Store: AlphaMaleUndies

AlphaMaleUndies is a new underwear retailer out of Ireland stocking a wide range of styles, cuts and colors.  They stock designer labels like Andrew Christian, LASC, Tribe, Pikante, Punto Blanco, PPU, Clever, Joe Snyder, Teamm8, Todger and Ed Hardy.  They just started advertising with us at MUB, so as a special for MUB readers right now you can save 20% off your purchase by using coupon code 'MUS234' at checkout.  This offer does not apply to sale items. 

Attention Chicagoans: Want to Play Dodgeball in Your Underwear?

In celebration of Jockey's new men's sport collection known as "Unordinary Underwear for Unordinary Athletes" and in observance of National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, Jockey is challenging all Chicagoans to play dodgeball in their underwear.  Jockey is hoping to break the world record for the largest dodgeball game.  To break this record they need 1,200 players to participate in this event on September 25th.  For each player that signs up, Jockey will donate $5 to the Prostate Cancer Foundation*.  And they're also gonna be giving away free undies!  So if you live in Chicago, get out there and go participate in this great event.  It's a great cause, and really who can pass up free boxerbriefs?  To find out more information, check out Jockey's Facebook page and RSVP at the Facebook Event.   

New Brand: Grundies

Grundies is a new brand of underwear coming from Australia.  It seems there are a lot of underwear brands in Australia these days.  But Grundies is a little bit different.   When clothing company Pacific Brands moved its manufacturing offshore, over 2000 Australians lost their jobs. Melburnian and former Pac Brands employee, Tony Vass, witnessed the impact of the mass redundancies first hand and vowed to tread a different path, investing in local manufacturing and creating his own underwear line: "Grundies".

"The day Pac Brands announced it was moving manufacturing overseas was a pivotal day for me" Tony says. "That decision cost thousands of people their jobs, many of them close colleagues of mine. That was the day I decided I was going to be the master of my own destiny, create my own underwear line and put back in to the Australian garment manufacturing industry."

Grundies underwear launched early 2010 and is the culmination of over 2 years of research and development, utilising some of Australia's best underwear designers and local manufacturing facilities. It was important for Tony to manufacture locally.  

Tony is aiming for a distinctly Australian flavour with Grundies, from the name which derives from Australian rhyming slang for undies - "Reg Grundies", through to the design of one of his Grundies ranges featuring iconic images of the Australian flag and the southern cross.

With three different ranges - a basics range called "originals", a "signature" range which has a more street flair, and an "aussie" range which hearkens back to its roots - Grundies is off to a great start and they are definitely worth checking out.  Also stay tuned for a review soon. 

2(x)ist Sliq now available at UnderBriefs

First off I'd like to welcome our new advertiser UnderBriefs.  UnderBriefs is a great new resource for underwear shoppers online and they sell many great brands like 2(x)ist, Baskit, Elementos, and Timoteo and they always have free shipping to the U.S.  Today they are pleased to announced that they now have the brand new 2(x)ist Sliq (pronounced sleek) collection.  The collection comes in both black and white.  The black has a nice, crisp red stripe across the top for that extra oomph.  The Sliq collection comes in a y-back thong, sports brief, trunk, and brief.  It is reasonably priced between $16 - $24 at UnderBriefs. 

Brand Profile: Tighte Whities by Brand Dave

Two years ago artist and designer Dave Peterson launched branddave.com, a website featuring his original screen prints and t-shirts. In summer 2010 he decided to add men's underwear to the mix, and tightewhities.com was born. The idea is to embellish basic men's underwear, like briefs, by adding graphics that are funny, cool, and stylish. Something different from the other underwear out there! All the briefs and t's on the site are custom made using American Apparel blanks, and are easily customizable.

Underwear is sexy, so Dave wanted the site to be sexy too! On his site you can see the model slipping in and out of each pair on the main page and the gallery (caution, there is some nudity on his site so it is NSFW). 

Dave's designs are fun, fresh and cheeky.  In fact, you might even say they're a little cocky. With fun, strategically placed sayings like "You know the Drill", "Tastes Great", and "Mr. Happy".  These Tightewhities from branddave will bring new life to your underpants and they're reasonably priced at $10 - $14 so they will keep your wallet happy as well. 

Allen Walker for International Jock

Allen Walker is one of the newest additions to the impressive lineup of handsome male models who adorn the pages of International Jock. Allen has been in Los Angeles pursuing his modeling and acting career for just over six months. He recently signed with Nous Model Management where his career has been flourishing. In addition to his recent mens underwear and mens swimwear shoots for International Jock, Allen has worked for Abercrombie, completed an editorial for Out Magazine with photographer Doug Inglish and another with photographer Bruce Weber.

Allen is 23 years old, played football in college, and is extremely comfortable in front of the lens. You can visit International Jock for even more photographs of this outstanding male model.

Free shipping from 2EROS

2EROS is offering free shipping on orders of $50 or more until the end of August.  All you have to do is enter coupon code free0810 at checkout.  And believe me, with so many great options to choose from you shouldn't have any trouble spending $50 at 2EROS. 

50% off Sale at Teamm8

Teamm8 is running a fantastic sale at the moment. They are offering 50% off select merchandise plus free worldwide shipping. This is all for a limited time only, so hurry. If you're unfamiliar with Teamm8, check out my review here.  I'm really liking the bright, bold colors that they are now offering. 

Core-Point Promo Extended!

A while back I told you about Core-Point's exclusive discount code to receive 60% off everything in store until the end of July.  Well now they've extended that promo so you can take advantage of that savings until the end of the month of August!  Just use coupon code UBLOG10 at checkout. 

National Underwear Day is Today

Today marks Freshpair's 8th annual National Underwear Day.  Instead of the usual festivities in New York City, this year Freshpair has moved the celebration online.  So this year it's not just New Yorkers who get a chance to get some free pairs.  From now until August 14th Freshpair is giving away 5,000 pairs of underwear, no strings attached.  All you have to do is fill out the simple form on their website and you're entered to win.  You even get to select your style preference!  For more details, check out Freshpair's site.

Also, as further celebration, Freshpair is offering 25% off many of their top brands including 2(x)ist, Unico, and Go Softwear.

Freshpair also cites some startling statistics about underwear: Did you know that 80% of Americans never change the style of underwear they wear in their adult lives, and 60% of those people don’t even wear underwear that fits!  Whether it’s the wrong size, fabric or cut, people have been settling for second best for far too long.  So we think that now is the perfect time to try a new fit or style and spruce up your underwear wardrobe. 

Question of the Day:

Do you wear multiple styles of underwear or do you stick to the same thing every day?