Boxer briefs

A man wearing boxer briefs

Not to be confused with Boxer shorts.

Boxer briefs are men's underwear. They are tight like briefs but still have long legs like boxer shorts. They are popular and are worn by lots of teenagers and young men. They are sometimes called retropants, retros or retro shorts. They are are fashionable men's underwear that, unlike boxer shorts, are not cut wide, but rather fit snugly on the skin. That keeps the penis and testicles from moving and bouncing a lot, which some men find uncomfortable. The name retros is used because the cut or style comes from underwear styles from the 1950s or even earlier. Boxer briefs reversed the trend from the 1960s through the 1980s in which the popular cuts (styles) of underwear and swimwear became smaller and smaller, especially for teenagers and younger men.

Boxer briefs are usually made of soft material and can be made in different colours. Some boxer briefs have an opening with buttons on the front. Others just have an elastic waistband and can be pulled on or off like briefs. The waistband is often a separate piece of elastic and is sometimes in a color. Some boxer briefs have elastic at the end of the legs, and stitching across the bottom. Waistband elastics with the brand name in large letters are sometimes worn with pants (trousers) hanging lower on the hips than the elastic so that the brand name is showing. Pants (trousers) that hang lower on the hips than the underwear elastic are called saggers and the style is called sagging or, in some countries, "low-riding". Having the elastic showing was a style some boys, teenagers and young men liked. It started in the late 1980s but sometimes came back into fashion in later decades.

Some looser styles of boxer briefs offer a compromise or middle option between very snug boxer briefs and lightweight, loose-fitting boxer shorts.

Image gallery

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  A pair of boxer briefs
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  Flamingo brand boxer briefs
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  A man wearing a pair of short-leg boxer briefs.
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  A man wearing long-leg boxer briefs.
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  Rear stitching on these boxer briefs avoids a central seam and outlines the buttocks.