149. Boxers or Briefs?: MEN’S UNDERWEAR ADS, 1950s-1970s.

Before BENCH underwear introduced the Filipino males to skimpy underwear fit for cavorting on the fashion runway, our ancestors wore loin clothes or g-string to cover their modesty, over 7,000 years ago.  In fact we have local terms for those early undies—“bahag” in Pilipino,  “pinang” in Kapampangan, “kuval” in Ibaloy, “wanes” in Bontoc, and “ba-ag” in Kalinga.

As Filipinos were already wearing shorts before the Spaniards arrived , they took to wearing the Western ‘calzonsillos’ --drawstring shorts-- which were often hand-sewn. These evolved into buttoned-up,  commercially-produced white drawers, with opening in front. They were to become  staple underwear,  found in every man’s aparador from the pre-war American-occupied Philippines all the way through the 60s.

Modern briefs were introduced only in 1935, sold first by Cooper’s Inc. in Chicago. They were the invention of hosiery designer, Arthur Kneibler, who was inspired after seeing a leg-less male swimsuit. He made a fitted underwear, with an overlapping Y-front fly—and thus the Jockey shorts was born.

Boxer shorts in the U.S. found favor only after the war, adapted from pugilist’s shorts that came with elastic waistband introduced by Everlast in 1925 (Pinoys would take to them only in the '90s). Meanwhile, local Chinese undershirt and pants manufacturers cashed in on the growing demand for modern underwear that provided support and style, by branching out into underwear. Classic briefs were made of cotton, but in the 1970s, nylon briefs came into vogue.

On this page are early Philippine ads that show the evolution of the modern briefs and shorts over 3 decades.

DE LUXE STETSON SHORTS (1955,1957). “Once Tried, Always Used”. LEFT, Stetson Shirt and Pants factory was a leading manufacturer of shorts, pants and later, briefs, in the 1950s.  The  popular brand was available at all leading bazaars and department stores and it regularly advertised in major dailies, like this magazine ad, 1955. RIGHT. De Luxe Stetson Shorts, 1958.

YANKEE SHORTS (1955). “The Perfect Cut”, Shift to Tankee Shorts yourself, and feel real fine! A generic pair of white, snap-buttoned shorts popular during the post-war era, 1955.

HANFORD BRIEFS (1957). The brand HANFORD began in 1954, in the business district of Juan Luna, started by the Te family. HANFORD has become a well-loved tradition that has been passed from one generation to the next an continues to operate to this day. Currently, its signature model is Mikhail Daza who appears in their advertising, a far cry from this illustrated ad from 1957.

GUARD BRIEFS (1961). This “comfort brief” has all the elements of a modern brief—elastic waistband supported by 20 bands of rubber;  fine, duraknit fabric that will not shrink, and  a snug fit that will not chafe inner thighs. The manufacturer is not named. 1961.

LEFT: DERBY MEN’S BRIEFS (1961). DERBY is cut along the body line to allow for freedom of movement and a conforming pouch for gentle, ample support. Uncle Sam Associated manufactured this underwear, along with undershirts. RIGHT: MAYFLOWER (1961).A popular shirts that is the only one in  the market with a bar-tack reinforcement to prevent tear on the crotch area,

CRISPA BRIEFS (1963). Named after the department store chain & textile company owned by the Floro Family, led by Valeriano “Danny” Floro in 1956. The fabrics are ‘redmanized’, a process which pre-shrinks them, so the products are guaranteed to stay snug and fit. One of the most successful garments factory in the 60s thru the 80s, CRISPA even fielded a basketball team (‘Crispa Redmanizers’) in the games Philippine Basketbal Association (PBA) and won 13 championships. 1963.

VERTEX BRIEFS (1963). One of the earliest printed bikini briefs (without a front opening), is Vertex Briefs, that is made from cool, absorbent fabric yarn.

LEFT: WALKER (1963). WALKER brand was distributed nationally by Sehwani Marketing Corp. in Mandaluyong. It became a market leader in shirt and briefs manufacturing in the 60s decade. It s Gold Line briefs featured innovations like the superior elastic Lactron 37 and Permalex leg openings to ensure no irritation. RIGHT: DMC (1971). DMC was one of the first to introduce lightweight, nylon briefs in the market.

WARREN BRIEFS (1971). WARREN BRIEFS popularized the use of 100% nylon in underwear, which were lighter, softer, and easier-to-dry than cotton. The only problem was that they felt hotter, despite being thin,  and absorbed less. Thus, WARREN also had cotton, terry-towel and de-hilo briefs. WARREN also introduced the first unisex briefs in the market. It reached its peak in the mid 1980s, with full color advertising on TV and print.

MONSIEUR NYLON BRIEFS (1973). MONSIEUR was another briefs brand that jumped into the nylon briefs bandwagon. It enjoyed a measure of success, as it was looked at as a premium underwear, right down to its innovative cylindrical packaging.

FALCON BRIEFS (1975). A product of Veindra Garments Industries, Falcon Briefs was a short-lived brand in the mid 1970s, but the company still exists to this day but as a textile merchant firm.

LEFT: MONTAGUT (1975). MONTAGUT is a clothing company with origins in France, which, in 1925 sold lingerie and silk stockings. In the 60s, Montagut expanded to include clothing and polo shirts manufactured with Fil Lumière which became international brands. Its Philippine partner, French Fashion Philippines, Inc., launched the premium MONTAGUT brand of classic and fashion briefs, which featured a variety of prints. RIGHT: PURITAN (1978). PURITAN Quality Mens Underwear is manufactured and exclusively distributed in the Philippines by General Garments Corporation. Launched in the Philippines over 40 years ago, it is currently one of the leading brands in the market, with 3  main product categories: Briefs, T-shirts and Undershirts.