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How You Got Your Undies

Underwear! Yep, you’re probably wear a pair right now. But why? Why do we put on that small piece of clothing underneath everything else we may pile on? And why is it that talking about them is considered so off limits?

 You’ve probably never really thought about why you wear underwear. You’ve probably just grown up doing it day in and day out and never really pondered it at all. So how did that happen? How did underwear just become a part of our lives – and something that is just accepted? Here’s the brief history. Read the whole thing, trust me, you’ll probably learn something (but it won’t be painful and there won’t be any test at the end).  And when it’s all said and done you’ll see your underwear, panties, thongs, briefs and boxers in a whole new light.  

There was that whole Adam and Eve thing in the garden with the fig leaf, but we don't need to go that far back or talk about why in the world they would choose to put a scratchy leaf on some of their most delicate parts!  The loincloth is the ancient predecessor of underwear – where it all began. It was pretty much just a strip of cloth that went through the legs and around the waist – even King Tut was found buried with more than one hundred of them. Historians are pretty sure that men were wearing them in ancient Greece and Rome but still wonder what women were wearing underneath those robes. As the years rolled along, the loincloth was replaced by a loose fitting trouser like cloth which went from the waist down to the calves with a nice little flap for men so they could pee without untying the whole contraption. Women got to wear a smock, which sometimes had some leg wrappings to go with it.  No closed underwear or crotches for women. They needed easy access and plenty of air to keep their you-know-what from "decaying."

The 18^th century came along and with it came linen which meant everyone could get into the undergarment act. And everyone pretty much wore the same thing – a union suit – which was basically long-johns and covered you from wrist to ankles. But still you ask “Why?” Why were we so concerned with covering up underneath? What was with all this layering? Was it really that cold in the world back then? It seems to have been about hygiene sort of. See people didn’t take showers and baths as often as we do today and they cleaned their clothes less often. So if you had that undergarment separating your dirty body from your clothes you could wear your clothes longer. Just imagine the smells that surrounded that time in history!

About 1910, the union suit got split into two halves. A couple of years later the first bra was invented  – some creative woman tied two handkerchiefs together, then made some for family and friends. The next thing she knew, it was being sold all over the US and that nasty little torture device known as the corset, with all it’s whalebone and metal, was on it’s way out. Women all over the country could breathe again. From there it was just one improvement after the next – better materials and the bloomers got shorter and shorter. By the 1920’s panties were looking much closer to what you find yourself wearing today.

Modern men’s underwear appeared in the 1930’s. Briefs with a fly were called jockey shorts because they gave support as good as a jockstrap. Boxers appeared about the same time and were so named because they looked like the shorts worn by prizefighters.  This was the first time an elastic waistband was used on underwear.

But still, the purpose of underwear was function and hygiene – or so we thought. Really we had become a much more sanitary, clean species so we really didn’t need all these layers. We still kept wearing them though. So why not make them interesting? It was only natural that underwear became a fashion statement. Those unmentionables began to be made in several fabrics, in many colors and in many styles. Hygiene, function and durability were not the sole considerations anymore.

We don’t really need underwear at all - though most of us do prefer them. Maybe because of habit - heck, we've done it pretty regularly since we were born. Maybe we just like that extra layer so our clothes don't rub us the wrong way. Most of society is pretty good about cleaning themselves and their clothes so most of us aren't wearing undies to cover that up. So why wear underwear at all??? And there are plenty of people out there who feel just that way – known by some as “freeballing”, “freebuffing”, or the ever popular, “going commando.” Personally I am a big supporter of, fan of, and proponent of underwear wearing. And for me underwear has a very important purpose and role in my daily life  - - - JUST FOR FUN. You underwear should make you smile, laugh, grin, get inspired, or give you that little boost that you need in a day. So whatever you choose to wear underneath all that other stuff, keep it fun and interesting. Life’s just too short to wear boring underwear!