Men should own at least 14 pairs of underwear. If you do laundry every week, then 14 is the magic number. 7 pants to wear one week and 7 during the next whilst the previous 7 prepare for the big clean.
That was pretty easy, wasn’t it? Isn’t it nice to have such a simple, concise answer!
Of course, this is just a suggested minimum. And, let’s face it, lots of us are lazy, lazy souls who hate doing laundry and will do whatever we can to avoid it - whatever the stinking cost.
In fact, we at Pants & Socks would make the argument that every man should have at least 25 pairs of pants in his underwear drawer.
To that end, let’s expand upon this question a little, go beyond the suggested minimum, and look behind the numbers for the real answers to the question: how many pairs of pants should a man own?
But, if you’re feeling a bit TLDR... it’s 25.
Seriously.
25 pairs.
How often do you change your underwear?
Aye. The first question that you must ask yourself - and answer honestly, now - is: how often do I change my underwear.
For 99% of us, it’s probably every day. For some it may be more than once per day. And for others… well, you need to change your ways if you’re wearing a pair of pants on full, consecutive days without washing them.
Why is this important? If you do indeed change your underwear every day (as most of us do), then you will end the week with 7 dirty pairs of pants ready for washing. And, if you only own 7 pairs of pants… you’re going to be a little bit stuck when it comes to laundry day, aren’t you.
How often should you change your underwear?
As for how often you SHOULD change your underwear, most health professionals would certainly recommend that you pull on a clean pair of pants every day to prevent an unpleasant build up of sweat, dirt, dead skin, and other nasties that all contribute to a bad smell and a bad time.
Let’s get into some more delightful detail, shall we? After all, we don’t want you suffering from any health or scent issues due to your pants!
If you don’t wash them regularly, or change them daily, your pants will experience a build up of bad bacteria (causing the smell), but can also be a breeding ground for fungi, yeast, and… let’s not forget fecal matter. Yeah… little particles are going to get on your pants. Think about that…
This can cause some nasty side effects for your skin, like acne and other genital irritants that are just a bad time and can be easily avoided by pulling on a clean pair of pants every day.
How often do you wash your underwear?
If you do stick to a precise schedule of doing your laundry every week, then 14 pairs of underwear will definitely do the job.
However, we’re willing to bet there’s a fair number of us out there who don’t have a schedule at all and prefer to put this off as long as possible.
To that end, you may want to have 21 pairs of pants - a 3 week supply to keep you lean, mean, and clean for longer between tussles with the washing machine or laborious trips to the laundromat.
What are you doing in your underwear?
This isn’t us being all nosey and up in your business. It’s a legitimate question to consider. Do you have the right selection of underwear for the activities that you undertake on a regular basis?
Sure, you’ll have your day to day selection, but what about gym underwear? Special occasion underwear?
See, you need to think about these things too - a pair of pants good for the office might not sit so well or provide the same level of comfort in the gym or halfway up Mt. Snowdon if you’re a hiker.
And do you have pairs of pulling pants? These are not the same as lucky pants … oh no … more they are the pants you keep for best. The ones you would be pleased to be seen in should you suddenly find yourself wearing nothing but your pants. We recommend you always have a couple of pairs that are going to make you feel a hundred dollars.
So, we can now see that the magic number has easily climbed to 25 pairs.
Should you get rid of some of your underwear?
Now, this is an important question: should I get rid of some of my underwear.
The short answer is: yes.
If your underwear has experienced a great deal of wear and tear - noticeable by holes appearing, the elastic becoming loose and tired, and the fabric losing its intended soft-touch texture - then you will need to retire them.
Put them on a longship surrounded by their greatest treasures, push them out to sea, and set them alight to pass to Valhalla in a blaze of glory.
If you look through your underwear drawer right now, we’re sure you’ll find at least 1 or 2 pairs that could be headed for retirement. After all, most of us don’t think about our underwear as much as we should, and only pick up new ones when they’re gifted on special occasions. Be honest, now: how often do you think about buying new pairs of pants? Probably less often than you should.
So, we put the question to you:
Do you need to own more underwear?
We may conclude, then, that the very minimum number of pants that a man should own is 14. But, it is even better to go for 21 pairs of pants to provide a 3 week selection.
Indeed, you’ll need some spares for sports or other tasks beyond the daily grind, hence the increase to 25 pairs, to make a nice round number and provide you with the perfect number of pants for your drawer. The golden ratio (of pants) has finally been reached!
25 PAIRS OF PANTS.
EUREKA!
Reading this has probably made you think, ‘hmm, perhaps I’ve been persuaded to pick up a perfectly posh pair of pants’ (if you’re in an alliterative mindset), to expand the size of your venerable pants drawer to the recommended number of 25. Well, lovely gentleman, you’ll be pleased to learn (or be reminded) that you’re in just the right place for such a task.
We at Pants & Socks are the finest purveyors of perfectly pristine, posh pairs of pants around. And we’re also alliterative aficionados.
We have plenty of pants, in all shapes and styles to suit any man - and our Below the Belt Blog (that you are currently reading) is also chock full of info on how to choose the right pants for you!
- Handy guide on all the underwear types we stock
- Find out exactly how to get the right sized underwear for you
- Find the perfect pants for warmer weather
Or, explore the BtB Blog at your leisure.
Reading through those will certainly give you the lowdown on what pants to look out for on our site and our personal top picks. But, if you’d prefer to go it alone and ponder the pants selection yourself, then visit the Pants and Socks homepage.
Now, get to it, and grow that pants drawer into something truly magnificent! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!