Like a man who doesn’t need to raise his voice to command attention, there’s something about completely plain clothing that makes it hard to ignore. It’s just so confident.
And when the clothing is underwear, that confidence is compounded by an air of purity – as if wearing completely plain pants is an almost ethical choice. That mix of purity and underwear can be very appealing.
The plain white boxer epitomises this purity. No branding, no patterns, let alone any silly slogans. It is what it is. It’s not trying to be anything else.
It is also a design classic. Like the white tee, it’s clothing stripped back to its barest essentials. It is crisply modern, in fact you could say it’s a classic of 20th century modernist design. Its aesthetic is all functional – nothing at all is there for decorative purposes.
Boxer shorts were first developed in the US in the 1920s, an era of fierce competition and innovation in the underwear market. Originally they were actual shorts, worn by boxers (the fighting kind) in place of leather-belted shorts, but became a popular sensation as underwear. Their loose, relaxing fit must have felt deliciously unconstricting in an era when many wore woollen underwear.
But soon a great rival came on the scene: Jockey Y-fronts were introduced in 1935 and for a time the tide swung in their favour. But the boxer always bounces back. You can’t keep a classic down.
The modern revival of the boxer was kickstarted 25 years ago when it featured in the famous Levi’s launderette ad. A buff Nick Kamen stripped down to nothing but a pair of crisp white Sunspels in front of a roomful of men and women (and a nation glued to its TV screens).
It was in fact Sunspel who had first brought the cotton boxer to Britain in 1947. We not only brought it here, we perfected it – using all our experience of crafting long lasting, utterly comfortable undergarments.
The Sunspel classic men’s boxer is made from 100% finest luxury cotton, with a very long staple length – a minimum of 50mm, making it tangibly softer than shorter staple cotton. (Many manufacturers use shirt fabrics, which are far rougher; some shirtmakers even make boxers to use up excess fabric.) All seams are feld locked, which means they’re double-turned and stitched down to eliminate raw edges which not only look untidy but can be rough and itchy.
There are no buttons to get in the way, just an elasticated waistband of slightly brushed cotton which is soft against the skin. The fly opening is neat and functional. The Sunspel boxer has a generous fit to avoid the fabric cutting into the leg when the wearer is seated. And, most importantly of all, it has a wide back panel so there is no uncomfortable central seam to cut you in half.
In the opinion of men who care about such matters, the Sunspel plain white boxer is The One, the item of male underwear. Novelist Robert Elms calls them ‘the world’s finest undergarments’ and has a drawer full of them: plain white Sunspel boxers and nothing else.
The style writer Josh Sims says: ‘Of course, not just any old boxer shorts will do for those who take the garment seriously. The quality boxer short is a specialist item, as distinguishable from its inferiors as a Jermyn Street shirt is from a streetwear buy.’ He concludes: ‘If there is a king of the boxer short, it is Sunspel.’
But it’s the designer Richard James, who has boxers made for him by Sunspel, who nails the difference between a design classic and showier forms of male underwear. ‘The classic boxer looks great and feels great next to the skin. Loud orange pants with some brand name around the top – it’s not very sophisticated, is it?’