That is the question (apologies to Shakespeare)! As design lead at Body Aware, I hear many opinions on pouches in men's underwear. For example, should underwear have a pouch emphasizing the goods, or should it follow convention and rely on fabric to hold and flatten? Or somewhere in between?
Body Aware was founded in the UK in the late 1980s when there was little choice in underwear besides “tighty whiteys” or “Y-fronts”. You could select any color as long as it was white and any fabric as long as it was cotton jersey. So we set up a sewing factory and introduced a seamed pouch concept, new materials, and colors into a small but growing range of pieces. Many British men loved the chance to free themselves from boring and ugly underwear, resulting in our decision to expand the company to the USA. We wanted to challenge American men to give up their striped cotton boxers and wear something that would turn their partners on rather than turn them off!
Today, Body Aware sells its pouch-enhancing underwear for men worldwide, and we feel pretty proud that we did our bit to alter the course of men’s underwear. Currently, there are dozens of companies employing these concepts we introduced 30+ years ago, but we still strive to be leaders in underwear fashion, quality, and innovation.
The pouch is the heart of men’s underwear and can be styled in many ways. Pouch shaping is generally accomplished with a center vertical seam. However, most mass-market underwear brands incorporate minimal curvature to the seam, or else just use a small dart at the base of the pouch area. This creates a little room in the front, but nothing too substantial, causing the pouch to flatten and hold everything close against the body.
At Body Aware, we are not constrained by the conventional view that men should hide or minimize their endowments. Just as women celebrate their breasts with bras that lift and separate, we do the same for men in the underwear department. We believe men should be “body aware” and have the option to wear pouch briefs that show off their best assets.
Our design process develops the shape for a new style using professional pattern-making software. Next, from the selected fabrics, we cut out the pattern, and sew a rough sample to test the overall concept. Initially, this is done on an anatomically correct mannequin. Next, an accurate sample set is produced and tested on fit models as the pattern is modified and perfected, often over 3 or 4 iterations. Finally, if the underwear passes our comfort, fit, and aesthetics standards, the fabric is ordered and dyed, and production commences.
Underwear development in the early stages.
Another popular silhouette is called the drop pouch, which pushes everything downwards and out, giving the appearance of longer goods. Some designs incorporate an inner shelf in the pouch to push out balls with or without elastic, similar to a cock ring. Some pouches have lower pouch space within the pouch, often called ball hammock underwear. In addition, we can incorporate a butt curved seam to accentuate the cheeks.
Examples of our excellent pouches.
Our pouch underwear shapes are incorporated in many of our designs, from thongs to boxer briefs. Even our ever-popular swimwear includes great pouch designs, which will get the self-assured guy noticed on the beach.
But when is a pouch not necessary? If a fabric has an excellent 4-way stretch, a plain bikini-style brief works well for those who prefer good support and everything held close against the body. For example, this may be the preferred fit for running or other athletics.
As a designer, I enjoy the challenge of making underwear that gives our customers that extra confidence that comes from knowing they are wearing underwear that makes them feel and look good.
For our marketing department, pouch underwear that emphasizes the male anatomy does present some extra challenges in advertising. Social media, shopping channels, and even Amazon routinely reject advertisements that show even a hint of the male bulge in any underwear photo. Of course, double standards exist in advertising men’s versus women’s intimates, but that is a subject for another day!
So what do you look for in underwear, specifically concerning the pouch shape? Do you prefer a pouch where everything dangles free, a pouch that flattens, or an engineered pouch that pushes everything forward? Would you like to see an extra-large pouch range for those lucky enough to be above average down there?
We love to hear from our customers, so please share your thoughts and suggestions below!
David, Body Aware Design Labs
14 comments
I’ve tried several pouch briefs and thongs over the years. I’m above average in size (85-90 percentile) and some of the pouches make my goods look insane, sometimes ridiculously so, especially if I’m showing (but not erect). And if I’m not showing, the extra fabric bunches up and it looks bad. These designs are definitely hit or miss. Extra room is great but too much just doesn’t work.
I love a pouch especially if there is ring built in to keep everything pulled forward. Its all I wear.
Now that I’ve discovered enhancing underwear, I hate to wear anything plain and boring. Not only does the package look better when held up and out, and it also feels better to have your underwear cuddle your parts outward instead of squeezing them between your legs. I have a few pair by BodyAware; Dazzling Satin Boxer (non-stretching material doesn’t really conform to the goods very well), Italian Uplift Boxer (not bad fit – the translucency is great though), but can’t remember the others. The best enhancing pair I have were a pair where the pouch really holds things up and has a looser “bump” area for the penis ride up & out, so it’s free to bounce around and wag like a happy puppy. Even better than pouched underwear is the sheath style that have a small pouch for the balls and a perfectly sized sheath for the wiener, leaving it free to dangle and jiggle. Some direct the sheath directly out the front, giving it a really nice anti-gravity effect. I have 3 of those from different manufactures, and they’re all a bit different in fit and wigglability. The only negative about the one I have is that they don’t use a flat seam inside the sheath, so you end up with dents all long the length of it, and there have been times when the seam works into the hole at the tip and can be painful. Another amazing style is the “erector” ones. I have 2 from a few years ago that have a ball pouch, then a hole above that that leads to a separate outer sort of hammock that holds the wiener straight up against the stomach, just tight enough that even normal activity doesn’t result in it settling and folding down. It’s great to lean up against something and feel sensitivity along the bottom side of the shaft. One style I keep searching for is a singular pouch that has a drawstring that closes off the pouch around the stuff, then goes around the waist to keep it on, if I remember correctly. I used to see them in dirty magazines when I was a kid in the ‘70s, now I can’t find them anywhere, except some very small ones made by hand in China that don’t fit me (a caucasian) and don’t have a waist string to keep them on. Make a high quality one of these that can be worn all day without cutting off the circulation from the good parts and I’ll be impressed. You can probably tell I’m a big fan of clothing that thrills the penis.
While there are different styles suitable for very different times , I find a center seam up the pouch to chafe , sometimes rubbing against the seam as I move , especially if worn under slacks for a long time . Best is when a thin fabric can " shape " to the wearer with no or small low dart , away from the most sensitive place on a man’s body . Had a few g-strings like that years ago , amazing stretch …no seam .
Fascinating! I love seeing the behind-the-scenes development of your products, truly an art form. One major request for me would be to bring back the double-lined satin pouch brief, perhaps with new colors and prints? Those undies were magic!