When Steven Lien, a onetime ski-shop proprietor and information technology specialist in Portland, Oregon, dreamed up a small-business venture last year, his friends and family were not even polite about what they thought of his prospects.
"Everyone was like, 'There's no way that will work,"' Lien recalled.
Now, almost five months since Under U 4 Men opened its doors on Broadway in the heart of downtown Portland's business district, Lien could open a restaurant just to serve humble pie. Instead, he is planning two more branches. His small specialty store, which sells only novel or little-known brands of men's underwear, has outperformed even his own forecast.
"The store was profitable within 30 days," he said. "And I didn't open on Gay Street, USA. I opened on Main Street, USA."
Novelty underwear, for decades the butt of jokes, has, in the last two to three years, turned into a serious business, capturing a significant share of the US$1.1 billion men's knit-underwear (that is, excluding boxers) market. In all their goofy glory, briefs in bright colors, zany prints, new materials and daring cuts are undermining the classic white brief's long-held status as king of the hill. In 2006, white's share of the market dipped below 50 percent for the first time in decades, if not ever.
It is hard to believe, so eyebrow-raisingly offbeat, and atypically masculine, are many of the selections. The cheery rainbow of colors, 20 in all, at American Apparel. The low-low rise of Go Softwear briefs. Bamboo fabric from C-IN2 and soy-based fabric from 2(x)ist. Oversize race-car prints from Diesel. Soccer graphics in Andrew Christian's new line. Groovy 1970s-sunset supergraphics on Frank Dandy Superwear. And, unlikeliest of all, the little-boy, Underoos-inspired nuttiness of fire trucks, motorcycles and hot dogs all over Ginch Gonch underwear — they're fairly crying out to be called underpants.
Not since the Peacock Revolution of the 1960s has there been such variety, all of it going to disprove a cherished maxim of men's wear: that a man is more loyal to his brand of underwear than to any other article of clothing. Now connoisseurship trumps loyalty. Once-tentative customers now log on to sites like InternationalJock.com, one of the most comprehensive men's underwear Web sites, selling brands like Justus Boyz, Wax, Play, Kyle, Artificial Flavor and AussieBum.
"There's been an explosion in printed underwear, low-rise underwear and different kinds of boxer briefs," said John Sievers, an owner of International Jock, who said that his business has doubled in three years. Underwear by C-IN2 and Andrew Christian, artfully constructed with seams or straps to make the most of a man's, um, profile, has done extremely well, he added. "All the Wonderbra sort of technology for men — we sell tonnes of stuff like that."
city slickers' knickers
As they say, it's all about packaging. For American Apparel, that means marketing that is a clash of squeaky clean and slightly raunchy. Picture an unshowered, unshaven guy in a pair of pink briefs with white piping, photographed amateur-style, and you get the idea. Using such imagery, American Apparel has sold more than a million of its briefs in the two years since they were introduced, according to Dov Charney, the line's founder. "They're one of our best-selling products now," he said.
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