Underwear Collectors? These men tell us all about their underwear infatuation!
To make a distinction, we first have to look at the fetish definition. The Merriman-Webster dictionary describes a fetish as an object or bodily part whose real or fantasied presence is psychologically necessary for sexual gratification.
Under this denotation, an individual who is exceptionally aroused by undergarments has an underwear fetish. It can be that they get arousal from exposing themselves to others in underwear or from the smell of used undies, or even having a voyeuristic excitement watching someone in their underwear, among others.
Ultimately, if underwear gets you excited in any way, shape, or form, you might have a fetish, and that's O.K. I'm all about people letting their freak flag fly. Now that's settled; who is an underwear collector then?
Well, that would be me, for example. Because I'm someone who enjoys garnering things of a specified type, in this case, underwear. I still remember (and even have) the first "designer" briefs I bought a CK Cotton Stretch Hip Brief in black with a blue waistband and neon green lettering. I got them at their outlet at least ten years ago.
This was a big thing for someone who decorated his college apartment bedroom with men's underwear ads. The thought of finally wearing what the male models were wearing on the ads was exhilarating. As a college student, I was all about the briefs and anything lycra and shiny. But once I discovered jockstraps, I ventured into more erotic styles.
Just like me, there are a lot of underwear enthusiasts out there! So, I made it my mission to find out what tickles them about it.
32-yeard old Ben (@rudebodybuilder) tells me that as a young boy, walking through the underwear aisle at the department store, he got excited seeing all different underwear styles and the men wearing them. The first pair he ever bought was a classic bike #10 jock - he still has it and wears it pretty frequently.
When it comes to buying underwear, Ben says, "I chose based on how I think it will look and feel on me. Everyone has a different body and proportions, so some brands fit better on some guys than others. I always want pairs that are going to make me feel sexy, confident, and comfortable."
For him, what sets Body Aware apart from other brands is that every style and pair is insanely comfortable and fits his body like a glove. Plus, that is a small business that supports the LGBTQ+ community and is also body positive. Encouraging all to accept and love themselves by showing off their beautiful bodies with their products.
Luis (@gaymenthongs), who's 34-years old, tells me that at one point, he believes he had almost five hundred pairs of undies, but unfortunately, when moving out of NYC, he had to downsize and get rid of a lot. However, since discovering his infatuation for thongs, he's been adding different ones to his collection. He tells me, "I don't' know why I was so apprehensive about them; the way they hug my body, lift and display everything is beyond sexy."
51-year-old artist, writer, and teacher Kenny (@kswanphd) discovered his underwear fascination when he was seventeen years old. His first pair, an Eminence thong in royal blue, is long gone now. He doesn't know how many he has but does tell me that he has three drawers to hold them all - it sounds like quite the collection. Like many other men I interviewed, Kenny enjoys Body Aware's feminine styles, cut for the male body.
These men are genuinely fascinated with underwear - (@UnderwearL) 45-years old, has bought and sold over 2000 pairs in his lifetime. 50 years-old David (@D01903) has a collection of over 600 pairs. When asked if he considered an underwear collector? 52-year-old Mitchell (@mitchellhammock) said, "collector, or someone that might need help? And you know what, that thought has also crossed my mind.
"Whether you have an underwear fetish or consider yourself a collector, Body Aware's quality, not to mention its variety of styles and fabrics, will make a great addition to your obsession, I mean collection."
– Jorge Gallegos (@manchic)
23 comments
I started out when I was a teenager and there was little choice in colors or styles of underwear available in stores where I lived. At that time I lived at home so there was no way I was going to order by mail and have the possible embarrassment of my mother seeing what I ordered. However she was an avid sewer and made made a lot of her own dresses, and there was always fabric laying around and I had picked up the rudimentary sewing techniques by watching her over the years. So one day when she was at work for the day, I found a beautiful piece of turquoise fabric in her scrap box, and actually made a pair of bikini briefs. I had no idea about how to make a pattern fit, but used a pair of my old white tighty whities for a rough shape, and the resulting fit was not too bad. I loved wearing and admiring myself in them, although washing and hiding them presented some problems! 20 years years later, I love perusing underwear sites and have a very stuffed drawer of styles, fabrics and colors, but my favorite style is the narrow side bikini with either a nicely defined pouch, or else a totally flat front, but no fly openings thank you!
Interesting article. I would say that I’m more of an underwear conisuer than an underwear collector and have enjoyed BA underwear for many years. My favourite underwear being silk mini briefs and tangas from BA which have currently been withdrawn. Although selective when purchasing, I have a wide variety of styles. Mini briefs, thongs tangas, bikinis stretch satin briefs, see thru and a small selection of black lace minis. When it comes to fabric, I much prefer silk. or sheer nylon as they feel the most comfortable next to the skin. What I did discover when I first started wearing silk and nylon panties was the line of my slacks looked much better when these were worn underneath instead of the more bulky traditional men’s underwear. So consequently, I greatly increased the amount of silk and nylon undies I possessed. Until I read your blog, I did think that having over a hundred pairs was rather excessive, but clearly I was wrong!
I have had an underwear fetish / collection since I was 15, I think my first sexy pair was a snakeskin bikini from the Broadway department store in So. Cal. I soon started searching out styles out of the Italian men’s vogue, NIKOS, HOM, and others. Living in SO Cal gave me a lot of exposure, International Male had Male Power, (horrible quality, in sexy styles) I would go to their sales at the store on Santa Monica Blvd, I remember how exciting it was to dig through 100’s of unsorted pairs with other gay guys. (I still have some of these) I ventured into designer underwear, Gianni Versace, on Rodeo Drive, The original boutique had a very very small mens store upstairs, it when his photo shoots here all done by Bruce Weber. $100 a pair, I thought I was insane. (especially when some a*hole tried to rip them off of me at an underwear party one night) Now at 52, I’m still an underwear fanatic, I have close to 1000 pairs, sometimes I just spread them all over the floor and roll around in them naked. Will I stop this ? probably not, as long as I still look good in them, which I do, not as good as when I started this 37 years ago, but still hot anyway.
I’ve always loved sexy panties. I am very girly and pretty undies do it for me. I can’t resist buying, especially when there is a model with a gorgeous bubble bottom showing a thong to best advantage. If only I could look that gorgeous, I’d love to be an underwear model! I’ve got far more panties than I need, but I enjoy ringing the changes. A mesh jock strap one day, pink frilly panties the next, a thong the next and so on!
I agree with the one poster above. Body positive seems a bit questionable. You have gorgeous models but I guarantee half of your customers do not look like that.
And what about guys who have Smaller packages? Not all, but some of the underwear is not suited for a guy with a smaller penis. I’m sure the same can be said for guys with larger packages.
Cater to your customers who have real, varying bodies, not just the surfer looking guys with 6 pack abs and chiseled muscles.