The History of Men's Underwear: From Union Suits to Bikini Briefs [Paperback]

Gary M. Griffin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

What did Roman soldiers wear under their togas? How about Napoleon, Henry VIII, and Abraham Lincoln? Get this book if you've ever wondered what men wore "down under" during the centuries. Features:

The famous Army photo of Elvis in his BVDs (p. 26)
The notorious codpiece which allowed aristocratic European men to explicitly showcase their genitals (p. 53-56)
The underwear brand preferred by well-endowed men who need extra room (p. 41)
The sensation caused when Jockey shorts were first introduced in Chicago in 1935 (p. 37-39)
The underwear scandal that nearly ruined Cary Grant’s reputation (p. 9)
How cobblestone roads inspired the development of the athletic supporter (p. 56-5)
The saga of "Foulproof Taylor," the athletic cup salesman who dared any man to hit him in the balls with a baseball bat (p. 58)
Specialty underwear—silk briefs, French-back boxers and Fundoshis—and where to get them (p. 60-61)
The only source for modern-day union suits (p. 61)
Mail order sources for the most unusual underwear styles in the world (p. 62)

From the Publisher

Added Dimensions Publishing, established in 1987 by Gary Griffin, is dedicated to distributing the latest in male sexuality research in a clear, straightforward manner, with a dash of humor.

The response to Gary Griffin's first groundbreaking book, Penis Enlargement Methods was so enthusiastic that his readers asked for more, prompting research in other related areas. This eventually resulted in a complete catalog of thirteen books. The goal is to take the mystery and taboo out of male sexuality and to help every man by providing factual information about his body and its function. As the Executive Director of the American Academy of Phalloplasty Surgeons, Gary Griffin witnessed an amazing increase in interest in the subject of male sexuality that shows no signs of abating. We appreciate your business and hope you enjoy our books. We look forward to hearing your comments and ideas for other books.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Added Dimensions Pub (October 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879967065
• ISBN-13: 978-1879967069
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,102,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Off to a bad start, June 7, 2005

By	S. C. Mitchell (Mesa, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The History of Men's Underwear: From Union Suits to Bikini Briefs (Paperback)

Almost the first item of "information" offered in this book is the assertion that "Prior to 1935, there was only one style of underwear available to American men -- the union suit, which came in every color imaginable -- as long as it was white." I'm comparing this to my reprint of the 1895 Montgomery Ward catalogue, which offers no union suits at all for men, but which does offer undershirts and drawers in white, gray, "fancy stripes", "natural wool", "light brown or camel's hair", "drab", scarlet, and cotton flannel both bleached and unbleached, as well as balbriggan (a knitted cotton fabric -- it took me three seconds at Merriam-Webster Online to learn that) and "gauze".

Another turn to my bookshelves brings me to the Sears Roebuck catalogue from 1897, where I find balbriggan drawers and undershirts in light blue, ecru and "cadet blue", as well as "fancy stripes", "beautiful subdued rainbow colored mixtures" and "fancy random figures" -- these last in "blue and white or tan and cream mixtures". I find merino undershirts striped in "light blue and white" or "fawn and cream". I find "grey merino" undershirts and drawers. I find "Dr. Reihl's Health Underwear" in "the finest uncolored Australian lamb's wool". Heavy winter undershirts and drawers are available in "olive brown or dark tan color". Undershirts of "fish net" are available as well.

So, men's underwear was available in any color as long as it was white, or gray, or tan, or brown, or blue, or red, or striped, or print, or natural, or "rainbow".

However, there are no union suits for men in either catalogue. Except in the Hollywood movies that Gary Griffin seems to use as his main research source, union suits, or "combination undergarments", were exclusively for women.

It took me less than ten minutes to look this up. I can't imagine that, even if the author had to go to a public library, it would have taken him more than an hour or two to locate comparable information ... if he could be bothered, which apparently wasn't the case. Instead, Mr. Griffin he selected his own specific area of interest -- men's undergarments from the mid-1930s onwards -- and dismissed everything outside that period not merely as uninteresting, but as nonexistent.

If the first two pages are this unreliable, how wildly at variance with reality is the rest of the book? As a source of information, "The History of Men's Underwear: From Union Suits to Bikini Briefs" is worse than useless.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really good history..., March 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The History of Men's Underwear: From Union Suits to Bikini Briefs (Paperback)

someone gave me this as a gag birthday gift, but I'm glad I didn't toss it out. I sat down to read it and it's actually well done. As a man, I've wondered why our choices seem to be either boxers or briefs, but there's a whole social/cultural/religious/physical context going on here. Fascinating.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating history, January 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The History of Men's Underwear: From Union Suits to Bikini Briefs (Paperback)

I have to admit, I thought this would be a lightweight book about a lightweight topic. But Griffin is serious about his subject and how this relates to social, personal and yes, political, religious and military history over the last 2,000 years.

It's a lot more interesting than one would think, and this subject has a definite correlation to sexual identity and freedom through the ages.