Singlets

Last week I gave an expansive missive on the union suit.  Now it’s time to move forward in time with our Wayback Machine and approach another type of underwear, the singlet.

Thank goodness that men’s clothing magazines and other retailers took a hint from each other … remember how football jerseys and midriff shirts became everyday wear?  Well, the same happened for the singlet.  One day, out of nowhere, and boom!  There they were.

Singlets have become extremely popular since the 1980s – they’re comfortable, work as one layer instead of two, and come in a variety of styles and fabrics.  And unlike most underwear brands, manufacturers and designers have been adapting their styles to match what’s happening in the sports world – thicker over-the-shoulder straps; singlets that now have a “traditional shirt” top as opposed to the tank we’re all used to; the “mankini,” (not the Borat type, which is just .. wrong, and this is from a Speedo wearer), but a true suspender-and-boxer-brief-in-one combination that looks like it would be most cool; and one which rises to the mid-chest in case you don’t like one that dips so low.  No one can tell the difference between a singlet and a shirt-and-brief combination, so there’s no need to be self-conscious.  (And surprise, dear readers … they have Tarzan singlets, leopard prints which sling over one shoulder and butt-less singlets, for those nights of passion when you might need pajamas.  Or for role playing.  Whatever.)

If it hadn’t been for all those wrestlers (thank you Jarkko Ala-Huikku, Jake Herbert, Ben Provisor, and Pascal Strebel) and gymnasts (thank you Raj Bhavsar, David Durante, Sam Mikulak and Peter Vidmar), the closest most of us would come to a singlet would be a wrestling match or a gymnastics meet.  For my part, I would wear a singlet for the same reason I would wear a union suit – comfort is key and there’s always something to be said for a guy who thinks outside of the box, bucking the “normal” and “everyday” in pursuit of setting himself apart from his peers.  (And not because I’m a sucker for a wrestling match or gymnastics meet at your local university.)

Thank goodness for all of those underwear designers who do the same by making sure that we have lots of choices available to us.  (But seriously, underwear designers, we need to have a serious discussion about boxers.  Can we burn those?  Just get rid of them?  Send them into space with a payload rocket for the sun?)

More briefs, boxer briefs, sungas, Speedos, union suits and singlets for everyone!