Men's Boxer Briefs

Taking the overall design and leg length found in traditional boxer shorts and combining them with the closer fit of briefs, boxer briefs are now one of the world’s favourite styles of men’s underwear. Their defining feature is a leg that sits just above mid-thigh and most have a concealed fly. They offer protection from chafing on the leg, ample support for your bits and pieces and have undeniable sex appeal. Originally created by Calvin Klein in the early 1990s, boxer briefs instantly took the world by storm as the new, sexy, stylish item of men’s underwear that everyone needed to be seen in - and that trend has very much continued to this day!

High rise boxer briefs, also known as traditional cut or full rise boxer briefs, are designed to sit directly on your natural waist. They’re intended to sit beneath all regular trouser cuts and are the most common style of boxer brief to be found on the market. Low rise boxer briefs sit below the natural waist and take up position more in the hip area. The intention of these boxer briefs is to sit under low rise trousers, which, again, sit lower than the natural waist and are designed to show off more of the abdominal area. As high rise boxer briefs would be visible above the waistline of such trousers, low rise boxer briefs were manufactured to blend seamlessly with low rise trousers and create an all new style.

Whether you buy high rise or low rise boxer briefs, the fit should be snug against your skin, but should not be too tight - none of the fabric should be digging into your skin at all or causing discomfort. If this is happening, you need a bigger size. This tightness is most commonly experienced at either the waistband or at the cuffs of the leg openings. If you have particularly well developed thighs you may be better off with a different style, which sits higher up the leg - either trunks or briefs will do this. Both types should also extend down your leg to the mid-thigh. Of course, some styles are slightly longer while others are shorter, but as a general rule, you should be looking for a mid-thigh fit. To stop your boxer briefs from chafing, you should adjust them after you’ve pulled them on, making sure that there is ample fabric support around your package and that everything is being neatly held in place. Again, pull the leg fabric down if necessary to reach that mid-thigh point to further reduce any chafing you may experience. If you need more info on this tricky topic, take a gander at our post on how to wear boxer briefs properly: https://pantsandsocks.com/blogs/post/how-to-wear-boxer-briefs-properly

Boxer briefs come in sizes that should mirror what you’d usually go for when choosing trousers for yourself. The key measurement to pay attention to here is the waist size - so, just choose what you’d usually wear for trousers. If you’re normally a 34” wasit, go for a 34” in your boxer briefs. Some brands may have slightly different sizing procedures than others, so be sure to check the details online before you buy - or the back of the packaging if you’re shopping in-person. Every product page has a link to our size guide which shows waist size against pants size for every brand.

Many men have a preferred brand that they shop with again and again, so, if you do have a favourite brand already - just go with that! You may own pants in another style from one brand already - we would bet our very own pants that it will have a selection of men’s boxer briefs for you to try as well! If you’re still a bit stuck, fear not! We’ve naturally got a blog post for just such an occasion to cover the very best boxer briefs for men: https://pantsandsocks.com/blogs/post/best-boxer-briefs