Willow Ridge

Willow Ridge - Fashion for Women

Enjoy quality, service and fashionable apparel - all with free shipping.  Willow Ridge

Fashions designed to take you through the week in style and amazing "wow" values have been the Willow Ridge promise for over 20 years and counting.

Fashion, footwear and apparel for women - Willow Ridge

Sit back and enjoy: your beautiful wardrobe is just a click away!

ullapopken.com

Special Occasion

Specializing in women's sizes 12 through 38, Ulla Popken® is devoted to bringing a unique collection of fashionable, quality apparel, tailored for comfort and fit, to our customers in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Close working relationships with a select handful of manufacturers in Europe, Asia, and India to produce our own designs, helps to ensure that we maintain our high standards for quality.

Inspiration

Headquartered in a rural setting outside of Baltimore, Maryland, the company's US operation carries on the Popken family tradition in textiles dating as far back as 1880 in Hamlin, Germany. The European company took on its current form in 1985, and now includes a chain of nearly 300 company-owned or franchised retail stores across Europe and beyond, as well as a substantial catalog and internet presence.

New Arrivals

In 1993 the Popken family branched out into North America. Today, Ulla Popken® offers a collection of apparel uniquely designed for today's woman who wants style with quality, value, comfort, and fit.

StacyAdams.com

The hottest looks around at StacyAdams.com

We Cover Your Style from Head to Toe

Great Selection of Clearance Merchandise at StacyAdams.com

Stacy Adams and men who know style have been a perfect fit for over 100 years. Founded in 1875 in Brockton, Massachusetts by William H. Stacy and Henry L. Adams, the Stacy Adams Shoe Company has long been a part of American Culture. From the roaring 20's and the post war boom, to prohibition and the jazz era, Stacy Adams has been there.

Cutting Edge Fashion at Stacy Adams

STACY ADAMS IS MORE THAN SHOES.
FROM HEAD TO TOE: WE COVER YOUR STYLE.

Prom Girl

Shop Prom Girl, the online prom superstore

Plus Dresses

Prom Girl... for that special occasion

Best Selling Dresses

Free Promgirl E-book with membership!

Shoes

Online since 1998, PromGirl.com is the perfect place to find all of your special occasion needs.  We specialize in teen fashions for prom, homecoming, formals, and any other teen special occasion. 

With our corporate office in New York City, we are able to search the market to bring our customer the most fashion forward prom styles. In addition to our amazing dress selection we offer the top lines of special occasion shoes and accessories.

What will you wear to prom?  find it here...

We want to help you through every step of the way of your big event!  Check out our Prom Tips page for ideas and tips to help you through preparing for your event.  We also offer contests giving away great prom prizes such as limo rides, our signature tiara tee and survival kit. 

Beautiful formal dresses from Promgirl

From tips to stories and from tees to gowns, we have it all. And if we don't, then let us know . Prom Girl is constantly evolving and expanding and we welcome any comments on our site. We take every suggestion into consideration.

All the prom accessories you could ever need!

We pride ourselves in customer service and know how important it is to you to feel safe while shopping on-line. We offer secure online ordering through VeriSign for your security and proudly accept all major credit cards.

OneHanesPlace.com

This month's special value!

OHP Mens

• One Hanes Place is your source for Intimates that Women Love to Wear. We've been bringing you values for decades... on bras, pantyhose, lingerie, panties, underwear, socks, stockings, clothing, athletic apparel, sportswear, plus size apparel, and more!
  
  
• Millions of smart customers take advantage of our terrific values on Hanes hosiery, L'eggs pantyhose, Bali bras, Bali panty styles, Bali lingerie, and more!
  
  
• We back every product we sell with our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
  
  
• Our website is easy to navigate and ordering is safe and secure.
  
  

High Quality OneHanesPlace Apparel

We've been bringing you values for decades... on bras, pantyhose, lingerie, panties, underwear, socks, stockings, clothing, athletic apparel, sportswear, plus size apparel, and more.

Back in the early 1970s, we launched our first lingerie & pantyhose catalog (then named Family Showcase of Savings). Soon millions of smart customers were taking advantage of our terrific values on Hanes hosiery, L'eggs pantyhose, Bali bras, Bali panty styles, Bali lingerie, and more.

Since then, we've added exciting new product lines: Playtex bras, lingerie, shapewear and underwear; Hanes panties and clothing; Wonderbra® push-up bras; Barely There® microfiber lingerie; Champion® sportswear and workout clothes; Hanes casual apparel; Hanes underwear for men; and more.

In the early 1980s we took our savings on the road. For years lucky locals had been able to save at our own factory outlet store, here in North Carolina, but we wanted to give other people across the United States the chance. Now you can save on our top brands at over 200 L'eggs Hanes Bali Playtex Outlet Stores.

Then came our latest addition: our One Hanes Place website, offering even more choice and convenience.

Today, through our catalog, outlet stores and website, we bring you the famous brands you love at great savings off suggested retail:

• Hanes Silk Reflections® and Hanes Smooth Illusions® pantyhose, including sheer hosiery, stockings, nylons, opaque tights, and more
• value-priced Leggs pantyhose, including best-selling Sheer Energy® and Sheer Elegance®
• beautiful Bali bras and lingerie, styled to feel great and flatter your curves
• popular Playtex bras and shapewear, offering comfortable shaping and support
• classic Hanes underwear for men and kids, famous for sturdy Hanes quality
• silky-soft Barely There bras, panties, camisoles, underwear, shapewear, and more
• Champion Jogbra® sports bras and bra tops, Champion fitness clothing, Champion performance apparel, Champion t shirts, Champion sweat shirts and sweatpants, and more
• Hanes and Hanes casual clothing, including Hanes Beefy-T® t-shirts
• an array of plus size lingerie and apparel, including Bali bras, Playtex bras, Just My Size® bras, Valmont® bras, and Glamorise® bras; Just My Size pantyhose and hosiery; Hanes Plus hosiery; full figure shapewear; plus size clothing: plus size swimsuits to size 32W, Champion® Plus activewear, and more.
  
  
  Playtex Bra Best Sellers

Craving everyday comfort? Choose from our collection of Bali® Bras, crafted for comfortable fit and full support. Or try Playtex® Bras, styled to shape and support you beautifully. You won't believe this is discount lingerie...you save on the intimate apparel America loves.
		Ready to take the plunge? Select Wonderbra®, the original push-up bra.
		Seeking microfiber's silky softness? Check out Barely There® bras.
		Working out? Try Champion® Jogbra® sports bras and Champion bra tops for sleek, no-bounce support.
		Looking for something special? See our minimizer bras, sexy bras, strapless bras, full figure bras, gel strap bras, bra and panty sets, and more intimate apparel.
		Plus, use our One Hanes Place® Bra Finder to pinpoint your perfect bra. Simply enter your bra size. Click. Then select your preferred features. In seconds, you'll see an array of bras to fit both your body and your preferences.

Order from the OneHanesPlace Catalog

Working Out?
Try Champion® Jogbra® exercise clothing and workout wear -- such as our Action-Tech® Champion Sports Bra (USA's #1 sports bra) and Power-liner® Shorts.

Just Relaxing?
Our Hanes styles will suit you to a T. Get cute, comfortable, cottony new Hanes tops, shorts, capris & loungewear, all with feminine flair. Plus, our popular Wear Around loungeshirt gives you room to relax.

Want swimwear that slims you, not your wallet?
Look trimmer in seconds® in our TrimShaper swimsuits. You¹d pay over $100 for swimsuits like this elsewhere! In regular and plus sizes. You won¹t believe the low price on our popular, slimming Princess Seam Swimsuit, now also in D-cup and mastectomy swimsuit styles.

Wonderbra Best Sellers

Looking for more?
At One Hanes Place you even save on hard-to-find items, like our Leading Lady Nursing Tank. We have Champion activewear and other styles in plus sizes, too.

Liz Claiborne

Liz Claiborne Inc. designs and markets an extensive range of branded women's and men's apparel, accessories and fragrance products. Our diverse portfolio of quality brands -- available domestically and internationally via wholesale and retail channels -- consistently meets the widest range of consumers' fashion needs, from classic to contemporary, active to relaxed and denim to streetwear.

Liz Claiborne Plus Sizes - New style just reduced!

In 1976, a relatively unknown dress designer, her textile veteran husband and two partners established, Liz Claiborne Inc., a design-driven company that would revolutionize the fashion industry - from how women dress for work, to where product is sourced, to how it is sold into and at department stores. With less than half a million dollars and a clear focus on design, quality and value, these four partners - Liz Claiborne, Art Ortenberg, Leonard Boxer and Jerome Chazen - created what is now a nearly $5 billion public company.

Established at a time when women were entering the workforce in large numbers, Liz Claiborne and her partners saw the opportunity to provide versatile, fashionable wardrobes that were appropriate for work, but still conveyed a sense of individuality and femininity. A working woman herself, Liz understood how liberating it would be to mix and match separates rather than have to rely on the traditional dress or gray flannel suit. Thus, out of a small office on 40th street in Manhattan, Liz Claiborne the brand was born, transforming the way women dressed and ultimately, how they shopped.

The concept was simple: Provide the ensemble driven sportswear that had been available for many years at designer level prices through the likes of Calvin Klein and Bill Blass, but make it affordable for the working woman.

There was a major stumbling block, however. Up until this point, department stores were by and large classification oriented - pants were in one department, skirts in another and shirts in yet another. To put together a wardrobe a consumer had to go from department to department and hope that the colors and pieces would match. Additionally, department store buyers were classification-focused and were not equipped to buy merchandise from one brand across product lines.

Liz Claiborne - New Arrivals in Plus Sizes

To overcome this, Liz Claiborne executives worked with retailers to test the concept of presenting all of the brand's related sportswear pieces in one department, streamlining the consumer's shopping experience.

As the Company grew, manufacturing and sourcing capabilities became more and more important. For the first several years the company was doing everything it could to keep up with demand and fill orders, largely using domestic manufacturers. Distribution executives were nervous wondering how they could possibly ship 50,000 units per week.

In the mid- 1970s and into the early 1980s the Company again questioned the norm in the apparel industry by testing the concept of manufacturing overseas. Liz Claiborne established a production control office in Hong Kong by mid-1976. However, as volume and orders increased, issues with getting the amount of merchandise needed at the right quality and price levels from the domestic suppliers began to arise, and sourcing more product overseas looked like the most viable way to address this issue. Using a poet blouse - one of the hottest selling, yet hardest to produce items as a test - Liz Claiborne executives contracted a factory in Taiwan to produce a large quantity. The quality and price of the garments that arrived in the warehouse blew everyone away and the rest is history - Liz Claiborne Inc. now sources its products in more than 40 countries around the world and routinely ships five million units per week in the U.S. alone.

New styles just reduced! Shop now and save at LizClaiborne.com

Liz Claiborne Inc. became a large company in a small industry very quickly and in 1981 went public to much fanfare. In a time when apparel company IPOs were not well received Liz Claiborne's offering was highly successful. And this was just the beginning...by 1985 Liz Claiborne Inc. was the first company founded by a woman to be listed in the Fortune 500.

Of the original founders, Leonard Boxer retired from the Company in 1985, and in 1989, after 13 years, Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg announced their retirement from active management. Jerry Chazen, the fourth original partner, became the company's Chairman in 1989. Paul R. Charron joined the company in 1994 as vice chairman and chief operating officer. One year later he became president and chief executive officer, and was elected chairman in 1996. Mr. Charron retired at the end of 2006, after 12 years at Liz Claiborne Inc.

In November 2006, William L. McComb joined the company as chief executive officer. In January 2007, Board member Kay Koplovitz, principal of Koplovitz & Co., a media investment firm and the founder of international cable television programming company USA Networks, became non-executive Chairman of the Board. On July 11, 2007, CEO William L. McComb announced the framework of a new organizational structure that was a crucial step in making Liz Claiborne Inc. into a more brand-focused and cost-effective business that can successfully navigate a rapidly changing retail environment. Accordingly, this new organizational structure puts "brand" at the center, enabling a more consistent, focused approach to brand strategy for all of the names in our portfolio.

The Company now operates via two distinct segments:

• Direct Brands: brand-centric, vertically organized
• Partnered Brands: Customer-focused, cost efficient

Shop Liz Claiborne Accessories

This structure reflects the distinct needs of each business segment, which have different growth prospects, capital requirements and cultural profiles. Our retail-based Direct Brands division will benefit from enhanced retail infrastructure and capabilities, while our wholesale-based Partnered Brands division will be better positioned to meet the needs of specific customers.

Direct Brands

Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, Lucky Brand and Mexx will operate under brand-centric, vertical organizational structures within the Direct Brands Division.

Partnered Brands

Partnered Brands include the Liz Claiborne group (Liz Claiborne, Liz & Co, Villager, Axcess, Claiborne, Concepts by Claiborne), the DKNY Jeans group, Monet group, the Cosmetics/Fragrances family of brands and Narciso Rodriguez.

Karmaloop

Karmaloop Gift Suggestions

Karmaloop is an online re-seller of name brand underground streetwear & fashion.
We are located in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts.

The Karmaloop Story

Karmaloop was founded in 1999 to battle the evil forces of McFashion. In a world populated by Abercrombie Zombies Karmaloop was created to provide a universally accessible alternative - a boutique to outfit cutting edge culture. Plus, it seemed like it would be fun to start a web site & get free clothes.

Against the odds, Karmaloop has weathered the storm & is a dot.com survivor! Karmaloop never received any venture investment and grew solely through the hard work of the Karmaloop staff & the support of the many we consider to be part of the Karmaloop extended family.

Every member of Karmaloop's staff is in their 20's. We don't just work for Karmaloop we live it (& all have closets full of clothes to prove it!).

Gender: Both Sex Men Women Size: All One Size XSmall Small Medium Large XLarge XXLarge Category: All Accessories Bags Blazers Buttondown Shirts Capris Denim Dresses Hats Jackets Jewelry Long sleeve shirts Magazines Other/Housewares Pants Polos Shoes Shorts Shrugs Skirts Sweaters Sweatshirts Swimwear T-shirts Tank Tops Tops Toys Track Jackets Underwear Brand: All *Karma NYC Boutique (Womens wear) *Karma Wares (Mini boutique) *Toys 2K 55 DSL 555 Soul Adidas American Apparel Arkive Ben Sherman Boxfresh Brooklyn Industries Chrome Emily the Strange Five Four Fornarina Freshjive Goorin Brothers Gsus In Case Industry Jib Hunt Junk Food Kreationism Le Tigre Live Mechanics Local Celebrity Lomography Loop Design LRG Manhattan Portage Members Only Minx Modern Amusement Nikita No Star Obey Option-G Paul Frank Penguin Plain Jane Poketo Puma Soul Rebel Spiewak Staple Design Syndrome Threadless Tokion truth Uarm/ Urban Arts Ubiquity UFO Vintage Vantage We Clothing Yo Japan! Z Brand Price: Any Under $30 $30 - $50 $51 - $75 $76 - $100 $101 - $200 $201 and up

Karmaloop has been through having one computer, storing clothes in my parents basement, carrying orders in shopping bags on the subway to drop at the post office before going to our paying jobs, working out of a tiny apartment, a crazy landlord at the piano factory, a crazy hosting company, low-money, no money, late pay checks, busted hotels, hundreds of trips on the Fung Wa (chicken run!) , chasing a crack head out of the office, sharing an office with crazy people, drinking binges, a flood in the warehouse, and about a million people telling us "the Internet, ha ha ha, you will never make money on the Internet!"

XLarge at Karmaloop

But through it all we always new we would make it for one reason: you!

Despite everything we were up against & all the crazy shit we had to go through, we had incredible support from our partner brands & you, our customers. You never doubted us, you spread the word, were patient when we screwed up, & gave us love when we did things right!

For this we are eternally grateful! Now go look good!

JustMySize.com

JMS.com specializes in plus size apparel (14W - 32W).  
For over 15 years, we've been offering famous-name lingerie, underwear, bras, panties, clothing, sportswear, pantyhose, socks, swimwear, and shapewear specifically for full-figured women.

Just My Size®. Your online source for brand-name intimates and bras (up to size 58J!) plus full-figure fashions & more in sizes X-6X, 14W-40W!
Find plus-size clothing in average, petite, and tall lengths.
And choose from famous brands like Just My Size®, Hanes®, Playtex®, Bali®, & more!

Shop Just My Size® with confidence. We make it simple.

Just My Size Intimates

Ordering is safe and secure at Just My Size®.
We offer our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
It's easy to sign up for our free e-mail program, which lets you know about private sales and Web-only offers.
We protect your privacy.
Our Just My Size® website is easy to navigate.
We provide 2 ways to save: our website, and our catalog.

Browse our plus size lingerie, bras, panties, pantyhose & more.
Click any department below to see our array of products.

Shop our Just My Size® online catalog.
Flip through the pages of our latest printed catalog--online here at the JMS website.
Request a FREE Just My Size® catalog.
Click here to receive our latest JMS Catalog.
Sign up for our e-mail program.
Click here to receive e-mails alerting you to private sales and special offers.
Tell your friends.
Click here to tell your friends about Just My Size®!

Request a Catalog

Looking for plus size lingerie, plus size clothing, full figure bras, plus-size shapewear, plus-size panties, plus-size swimwear, full-figure pantyhose, and latest fashions in sizes X-4X, 14W-32W? Shop Just My Size® online.
We offer Just My Size® plus size lingerie, Playtex® bras and panties, Goddess® bras, Glamorise® bras and shapewear, and much more--including the latest fashions under the Just My Size® label.
Not to mention Hanes® sheer pantyhose, Just My Size pantyhose, bra and panty sets, nursing bras, sports bras, sexy bras, bra tops, you name it.
Plus Leggs® hosiery, Champion® sports clothes, Hanes® socks, Hanes® stockings and hosiery and more.
All at affordable prices! Click to shop & save.

Order from Catalog

Just My Size® (clothing and lingerie), Hanes® (hosiery), Playtex®, Bali®, and Champion® are all registered trademarks.
Glamorise® and Goddess® are registered trademarks of the Glamorise® and Goddess® companies, respectively.

International Jock

International Jock: Fashion Underwear

Men's underwear, men's swimwear and sports apparel at International Jock - jockstraps, athletic supporters and underwear, hard & soft cups with jockstrap, compression shorts, mens thongs & men's swimwear.
Need a baseball jockstrap, groin cup, wrestling singlet or a suspensory?
We've got the biggest and best selection on the Internet.

A History of Men's Underwear

Today, when anthropologists visit the remote highland areas of western New Guinea, they find some native males of various ethnic groups wearing only a single and unique body covering.

That sole covering is an extremely hard and durable, sometimes colorful, gourd that has been dried out and hollowed. It covers the men's genital area - specifically the penis. These men wear nothing else.

Anthropologists call it a koteka, which, they say, is a phallocrypt or penis shaft. The fact that it is worn without other clothing indicates that it is not specifically a form of men's underwear. But it does indicate to us that covering and protecting the male's genital area speaks to the most primitive and basic of man's needs - food, shelter and, in this case, clothing.

The koteka is basic, and essential, to men in this region and the rest of the world has a modern equivalent of it today - although it is now hidden from view.

The koteka's antecedent is the hard cup, a vital and essential accessory in today's sports apparel line. Like its name indicates, the cup is extremely hard and more durable than a gourd.

It provides protection from severe injury to the groin area for a specific group of athletes. No professional baseball catcher, hockey goalie or rugby player would ever think to enter the playing arena without fastidiously securing his koteka, his hard cup, within his jockstrap.

In this examination we will take a brief look at the historical evolution of men's underwear. In addition, we will take a look at how many of the items within the historical line of men's underwear are familiar to us today. They are, in many cases, direct or indirect antecedents of those worn throughout the ages.

In a nutshell, we'll take a look as to how loincloths, codpieces, long johns and doublets evolved into briefs, boxers, shorts, trunks, thongs, athletic supporters, jockstraps, t-shirts and all the other items of men's underwear that are available to us today.

Here we go.

In the animal kingdom, the male is usually more ostentatiously colorful than the female, presumably to validate his masculinity and, thus, make him more attractive to potential mates.

Male humans, up until the last two centuries, dressed with as much brio as women. But then their clothes, and their underwear in particular, developed on singularly colorless lines. The present and future, however, would seem to offer considerably wider options.

Differences in anatomy have always dictated basic differences between women and men's undergarments. Women's underwear has been more about form, often to the point of distortion. It was an attractive covering featuring lace, ruffles, handiwork, and sheer fabrics. This emphasized sexuality rather than serving practicality.

Men's underwear, on the other hand, whether they are briefs or boxers, shorts or trunks, athletic supporters or jock straps have always been primarily functional in that they conform to the contours of the male body, and are made with sturdy and protective fabrics.

International Jock Thongs

In the Beginning.

The oldest example of men's underwear, the loincloth, dates back to the cave man. We know this because in 1991 a leather loincloth was discovered in the Alps along with the remains of Otzi, the iceman, who lived around 3300 B.C. Scientists discovered that Otzi wore a leather loincloth under his woven grass cloak.

The fact that he wore it under his cloak provides us with the earliest documentation of men's underwear. Abel Hugo, brother of the noted French writer Victor, reported that this basic ancient loincloth continued to be worn by shepherds of the Landes area of southern France all the way up to 1835.

Egypt's King Tut wore loincloths that were described by experts who studied them in 1979 - some fifty years after the discovery in his tomb. We are told that they were a long piece of linen shaped like an isosceles triangle with strings coming off the long ends.

These were tied around the hips and the length of cloth hanging down in back was brought forward between the legs and tucked over the tied strings from the outside in.

That being the case, the most visible and enduring artistic representation of the ancient times' loincloth is apparent when viewing any of the multitudinous artistic renderings of Christ's Crucifixion. And that event, Christians are told, occurred shortly after Jesus was "stripped of his garments."

Thus Christ's loincloth was indeed a form of men's underwear. Almost without exception, every artistic rendering of the Crucifixion displays this sole visible article, which was Christ's only clothing at that moment - his loincloth.

It is significant to note that the artist's interpretation of the style of Christ's loin covering was derived from his knowledge of waist coverings and undergarments that were contemporary to the time the portrait or sculpture was created.

To that end, we will sometimes see Christ's midsection covered by a loincloth that's joined together by ties or strings. Or maybe it will more closely resemble a bulky modern day bath towel with multiple folds that cover the entire groin area. Or it may appear to be a standard piece of white linen with a side tail flapping like a flag in the wind.

The latter was a favorite and important "interpretation" utilized by artists during the period of the Crusades. At that time, some artists portrayed the cuts at the ends of the "tail flap" of Christ's loincloth to be identical to the cuts or shape on the flags of heraldry of a specific group of Crusaders.

Thus the masters were capable of, and indeed did, stylize the crucified Christ's crucifixion garment, both to the political reality of the time as well as the designs of the undergarments that they were familiar with at that time the masterpiece was created.

Thus, it would be historically inaccurate, but artistically consistent, for a modern day rendering of the Crucifixion to depict the body of Christ wearing a pair of boxers or briefs, a thong, or even an athletic supporter.

As jarring and offensive as that would appear to the traditionalist (who would surely shout blasphemy), it would be traditionally acceptable in that today's painter or sculptor would be adhering to the centuries old tradition of covering the midsection of the crucified Christ in a style of men's undergarment that was contemporary to the time the image was being created.

International Jock: Wrestling Gear

"It's All Greek to Me."

The uninformed may find it strange that the Ancient Greeks never considered wearing any form of protection to the groin area during their celebrated Olympic Games. The Greeks had a lot of time to think about it because, after all, these events were the longest-running recurring event in antiquity.

The early Olympics were heady events. There were peripheral activities that came with the Olympic festival: artistic happenings, new writers, new painters and new sculptors. There were even fire-eaters, palm readers, and prostitutes. And, of course, there were the celebrated athletes, each of whom performed his feats without wearing as much as a single stitch of clothing.

A reader recently asked National Geographic magazine: "Why did the Olympic athletes compete in the nude?" Here's how that esteemed periodical replied: "The truth is that no one knows.

According to one story, it began when a runner lost his loincloth and tripped on it. Everyone took off his loincloth after that. But ancient historians have traced it back to initiation rites-young men walking around naked and sort of entering manhood."

The answer continued by adding: "We know how fundamental nudity was to Greek culture. It really appealed to the exhibitionism and the vanity of the Greeks. Only barbarians were afraid to show their bodies."

"The nude athletes would parade like peacocks up and down the stadium. Poets would write in a shaky hand these wonderful odes to the bodies of the young men, their skin the color of fired clay. But other cultures, like the Persians and the Egyptians, looked at these Greek men oiling one another down and writhing in the mud, and found it very strange. They believed it promoted sexual degeneracy."

We are told that Plato was a huge fan of Olympic wresting and Sophocles could be found hanging around the Olympic handball court. Aristotle and Socrates surely bounced around the various events.

One would think that the civilization that gave us these great thinkers would have had someone in their stable who would have thought hard enough on how to come up with the world's first and greatest jockstrap. Even a thong, bikini or the precursors of today's men's briefs or boxers would have been sufficient. But, no, that thought never occurred to any of those great thinkers.

Couldn't one of the women who were married to the "fathers of geometry" figure out the simple angles that are necessary to put together a men's t-shirt? Couldn't one of her sons have grabbed a brass wine goblet and modified it into some form of a genital protecting hard cup? Surely that would have been placed on a shelf at home after the festivities as a dearly cherished vessel that not only protected but benefited those early Olympic wrestlers.

The invention of a jockstrap or athletic supporter, or any other form of men's underwear, never occurred to them because historians tell us the Greeks went without underwear all the time - even when they were off the playing field. Simply put, they didn't wear underwear - ever. Oh well, great thinkers didn't always look for practical results.

After all there was a widespread rumor floating around after World War II that claimed the now world-renowned scientist, Albert Einstein, father of the atomic bomb, didn't know how to tie his own shoelaces.

International Jock: Fashion Jockstraps

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

In the 1950's, a little tike visiting his gramma would occasionally hear the wise woman order the command "Pull up your britches or you're gonna fall down." The little lad had never heard the word britches before but he intuitively knew that gramma was ordering him to pull up his pants.

At the same time her husband, the boy's grandpa, might have been entering the room wearing a new pair of gabardine slacks. The observant women would tell him, "You've got a piece of lint on your trousers." Granma was born in the late 1800's and probably didn't know that her terminology, specifically britches and trousers, are derivatives that date all the way back to the Ancient Romans.

These garments were Roman underwear. Granma could care less; she just wanted her grandson to be safe and happy and her husband to be smartly dressed.

At least as early as the second century B.C., the Romans were exposed to bifurcated garments. That was when the Teutons defeated one of their armies.

These warriors from the North were garbed in short tunics under which breeches or baggy trousers were worn as a form of men's underwear. This was sure proof to the Romans that they were barbarians.

Contrary to the usual result, instead of the defeated people adopting the conquerors' mode of dress, it was here the other way around. The invaders soon began to wear something resembling Roman dress. However, the Romans gradually accepted both long and short trousers as their underwear.

They were adopted first by soldiers, who recognized their practicality - something that is always noteworthy when considering the appropriate style, form or fabric of men's underwear.

In conservative Rome, meanwhile, both men and women continued to wear similar layers of tunic, plus toga, although men sometimes wore an extra under-tunic. These were usually shorter than those worn by women in order to accommodate their more active life style.

The subligaculum was also a kind of men's underwear worn by ancient Romans as evidenced by the Latin prefix "sub" which translates as "under."

However, gladiators, athletes, and stage actors frequently worn it as an outer garment - "for the sake of decency." The subligaculum most closely resembles a pair of shorts or trunks, or it could also be a simple loincloth that was wrapped around the lower abdominal area.

In 481 AD, when King Clovis ruled in the area near the current boarder of France and Belgium, his subjects wore breeches or braies. These ended at the knee or were long and cross-gartered. Either way, they were worn under a knee-length tunic thus making them a form of men's underwear.

It was much later that male and female attire diverged dramatically. Men shortened their tunics and exposed their legs in breeches.

These were not as short as men's briefs or trunks. Women continued to hide their legs under long skirts that reached to their feet. Thus it was men, not women, who wore the first in history, shall we say, to wear "sexy underwear."

International Jock: New Arrivals

Man of La Mancha and His Buddies

During the period when El Cid was galloping around Spain, the nobility wore fitted breeches under tunics that could reach to mid-calf or below - similar to the snug fit of today's compression shorts.

The lower classes, however, wore tunics at knee level with breeches that were loose and baggy thus they were afforded the comfort provided by the today's boxer shorts and men's briefs.

A century later, when Genghis Khan stormed through Europe, he would find a noble class whose breeches had shrunk. (Historians do not report if this was the immediate result of Khan's arrival - which assuredly meant doom.)

Nonetheless, he found the nobility of Europe wearing invisible drawers that served the same purpose of today's boxers or men's briefs. At the same time, the laboring classes made do with a breechcloth.

This was a strip of material, usually in the form of a narrow rectangle, which passed between the thighs and secured before and behind under a belt or string. The rectangular shape notwithstanding, this was clearly the predecessor of the currently popular men's thong.

At about the same time, the rigidity of plate armor necessitated the addition of padded linen linings that served as protection against the cold harsh metal. Additionally, armor clad men on horseback began to wear padded loincloths. Historians say that these were the real antecedents to what has been worn as men's underwear ever since.

The New World

The tunic started to disappear about the time Christopher Columbus set sail on his spice run to the Orient. It was morphed into the doublet which was a snug fitting buttoned jacket that men of his time wore. And, it is at this time that we see signs of men's legs being newly revealed and their outer clothing becoming more colorful and flamboyant.

The top of the outfit was formfitting and laced up the front - much like the mountain men would wear three centuries later while cavorting around the American West.

Men as well as women wore stiffened stomachers with pointed front panels. However, underneath, both sexes wore chemises, which is the French word for "shirts."

Thus at this point the world was introduced to what would evolve into the men's t-shirt because their garments also served as a nightshirt and, like the t-shirt, it is still worn for that purpose by many men today.

The outer garment was slashed at various places including the wrists and neck. The purpose of which was to selectively display various sections of the undershirts. Thus at this point in history, we encounter the introduction of "revealing or sexy men's underwear."

The style of the time allowed men to wear stockings that were decorated with embroidery. They were even bejeweled. Early hose stopped at the knee. But a short time before, the men who rode with Richard the Lionheart wore hose that had risen to mid-thigh and were pulled over the breeches. Clearly, this was the introduction of pantyhose for men.

Later men's hose often were tied with ribbons below the knees and were attached to the breeches. These were the decorative precursor of garters; they then were laced to the doublet. In the beginning, stockings were cut from either linen or wool cloth and shaped to the leg.

Knitting was little known until the time of Elizabeth I and when introduced, knitted hose meant greatly improved fit. Although elastic had not yet been invented the end result was not unlike the snug fit of today's athletic supporters, briefs, trunks, shorts and t-shirts.

Another "knit-fit" accessory would also appear later, specifically in the current reign of Queen Elizabeth II. They are the readily available leg warmers worn during rehearsals by both male and female dance students and professionals.

Codpiece Rex

By the sixteenth century the male codpiece was dramatically apparent. Think Henry VIII. Who, thanks to the various portraits painted by Hans Holbein the Younger, is probably the most recognized of all the British monarchs.

The codpiece began in this era as a simple, three-cornered gusset in the upper part of what is referred to as trunk-hose. These were short full breeches reaching about half way down the thighs.

The codpiece was enlarged into a stiff stuffed protuberance that echoed and emphasized the shape of the male sexual organ. These exaggerated "centerpieces" were sometimes used as a storage place for coins, snuff or sweets. A costume historian has written, "During this time the entire male population above the age of three appeared to be suffering from a severe case of priapism."

Today's male athletes wear the codpiece's lineal descendant, the athletic supporter or jockstrap, as a protection for their genitals. A derivative for male dancers is referred to as a dance belt.

In the world of ballet - the dance belt (or jock strap) is stuffed, not with a hard cup, but usually with women's sanitary napkins. This not only provides a little extra protection to the dancers' private parts but also permits the display of an enhanced symbol of masculinity for any number of ballerinos who need to portray that.

Renaissance men were also known to wear padding to flesh out their calves because a "fine leg" was considered to be most desirable.

Thus, the aforementioned Henry VIII, with his plumed hat, broad shouldered robe, slashed and decorated doublet, embroidered hose, beribboned garters and aggressive codpiece was the image of masculine power at that time.

Welcome to Brigadoon

Since Henry's England shares its northern boarder with Scotland, this may be the time to answer the inevitable question, "What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt?"

The early answer was "trews." This was a Celtic garment and a form of mens underwear, consisting of loose fitting breeches and hose. It was knitted into one piece and worn by Highlanders as they walked the moors.

Sometimes it was trimmed with leather, probably buckskin, especially on the inner leg, in order to prevent wear from riding on horseback.

While still not considered to be strictly an "accessory" of Highland or Scottish dress, the subject of kilt underwear has been of long standing interest.

Today, if a kilt wearer chooses to go without underwear it is often referred to as "going regimental" or in observance of "military practice." Some prefer to use the simpler term "dressing traditionally" in the name of Scottish national pride. This is because the former terms are associated with the British military. There is, in fact, no evidence of official policy regarding undergarments in military forces that wear the kilt.

When wearing the kilt it is not uncommon to be asked, "Are you a true Scotsman?" This does not refer to a man's ancestry in any way but is a polite way of inquiring whether the person is naked beneath the kilt.

Today's highland dancers and athletes, however, are bound by the nature of their competitions to clad themselves appropriately and modestly. In highland dance competitions and exhibitions, the regulations of the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing state the following regarding men's underwear: "dark or toning with the kilt should be worn but not white."

Highland athletes are also required to wear shorts of some type during the athletic competitions and most opt for either regular shorts of a Lycra fabric. This is the most famous brand name associated with spandex. Compression shorts would appear to be ideal for this need - provided they follow the color guidelines stated above. Suffice it to say, men's thongs, briefs, athletic supporters or jockstraps are a definite "no-no."

Les Miserables

Up until the French Revolution men's fashion was defined by knee breeches with stockings or tights worn underneath. The revolution's date -1789, for the most part, abruptly ended the trend of visible men's stockings and knee breeches which are commonly referred to as "culottes" by the French today.

The revolutionary cry "sans culottes" rejected knee breeches which were widespread in the aristocracy at that time. Instead, the introduction of the new fashion of wearing long trousers with knee-length socks or normal socks occurred.

This was a turning point in the history of European fashion, which still shapes typical men's wear today. Stockings and tights, as men's underwear, were still sporadically worn under knee breeches or long trousers but they became relatively rare at the time of the French Revolution.

The Age of Enlightenment introduced us to the dandies. These men did not subscribe to the relaxed mode of dress. The most notable dandy of this period was England's George Byran "Beau" Brummel, who branded himself with the smooth, wrinkle free fit of his clothes. He was known particularly for his meticulously kept underwear at a time when cleanliness was not given a high priority.

As meticulous as Beau Brummel was about his underwear, it would be consistent with his fastidious nature to wear a more gallant type of men's underwear in the form of men's thongs, shorts, bikinis or any of the other kind of sexy underwear that we have today. However those items were obviously not available to him at the time. Beau's contemporaries, the sporty Parisian dandies of the same era, were known to wear girdles.

This should not sound strange because throughout the centuries, some men in many nations, particularly those in the various militaries, have worn some form of a corset in order to facilitate the upright stance consistent with a warrior cult.

As recently as 1908 the Sears, Roebuck catalog offered a "male military corset giving the straight front effect that is so much admired." No doubt some unknown upper-class male passenger on the Titanic was wearing one when the ship went down.

There were two versions available at the time. One sold for ninety-two cents; the other for $1.50. Some obscure mail order catalog may still offer the male equivalent of the panty-girdle and tout it in the same way as was the tradition in the early twentieth century - for their "health-giving" features. Needless to say, these ads also count on the vanity factor to attract what few buyers there might be.

Meanwhile Back in America.

Cotton fabric, still commonly used today, occurred as a result of the invention of the cotton gin during the Industrial Revolution. Up to this period most people were required to improvise their own underwear in their homes.

Now it could be purchased from assorted vendors who acquired underwear items from various manufacturers. Thus, by the 1830's, a few decades prior to the Civil War, men were wearing manufactured under-drawers made of flannel.

By the end of the century some had adopted the three-piece knitted wool sleep suit. These contained a helmet, crewneck sweater and long drawers with feet. German reformer Dr. Gustav Jaeger advocated them.

Wool had previously been considered a habitat for vermin but personal hygiene was improving and Dr. Jaeger was persuasive. The British, in particular, subscribed to his theory that wool rather than linen made the perfect men's underwear.

John L. Sullivan, boxing's first modern world heavyweight champion, hailed from chilly Boston. He wore long wool drawers in boxing competitions. Thus, because of his enormous popularity in America these became known as long johns.

They were available as separate vests and ankle length drawers or as an all-in-one piece union suit. So named not because of the Confederate and Union states but because they were a unified all-in-one item.

The 1895 Montgomery Ward catalog offered union suits for ten cents. Their catalog, the "wishing book," tells us they came in "natural wool color, gray, and the very popular red." Union suits, either knee or ankle length, were buttoned down the front and had drop seats in the back.

An epitaph on a nineteenth century tombstone reads, "Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Uncle Peter Daniels/Too early in the month of May, he took off his flannels.

A pre-shrunk fabric was yet to be introduced and the union suit still remained popular as late as the 1920's. But even they had to be purchased in a "size larger" due to shrinkage when they were laundered the first time.

Today, almost every American has a clear idea of the union suit's style and shape. This came as a result of their exposure to the many cowboy movies that are set in the turn of the century American West.

Many of those movies had scenes where a cowboy or woodsman was taking off his clothes before jumping in a tub of hot water to bathe. And this cinematic action gave the viewer a peak at his underwear, his union suit, before he hit the water.

Jockey

Today, word "Jockey" or jock will draw some reference to a popular form of men's underwear. The shorts that bare its trademarked name is headquartered in Kenosha, Wisconsin and are said to employ over 5,000 people around the world.

The company was actually founded in 1876 by Samuel T. Cooper, a retired minister who jumped to the aid of lumberjacks who were suffering from blisters and infections caused by their shoddy wool socks. Shortly thereafter, Jockey took a leap from socks to shorts and that would ultimately result in a men's underwear revolution some time later.

Only two years before the aforementioned Mr. Cooper went on his mission to rescue the lumberjack's feet from misery; another mid-west gentleman was interested in helping out the bicycle jockeys who were cycling on the bumpy cobblestone streets of Boston.

C. F. Bennett of the Chicago sporting goods company, Sharp & Smith, invented the jockstrap in 1874. Twenty-three years later, Bennett's newly formed Bike Web Company began mass-producing the Bike Jockey Strap. Today, Bike is still the market leader in jockstrap sales.

The standard jockstrap, or athletic supporter, consists of a wide elastic waistband with a support pouch. It has two straps extending from the base that surrounds the rear end to attach to the waistband. The pouch, in some varieties, may be fitted with a pocket to hold an impact resistant hard cup that protects the package from injury during athletic practice or competition.

Bike Athletic recently announced the production of its 350 millionth jock strap. That honorable athletic supporter was taken off the assembly line on November 28, 2006. (Yes, athletes the world over gave thanks to the company during Thanksgiving week.) Then the historic jockstrap was framed and flown by DHL to Bike's headquarters in Atlanta two days later.

A month later, in January 2007, Ms. Jenny Shulman, Bike Athletic brand manager and expert on jock straps, issued a press release with her tongue firmly planted in cheek. A portion of it reads as follows: "There was no doubt in my mind that DHL would take care of our package the way we have taken care of so many packages for the past 130 years."

The Bike Web Company, now Bike Athletic, a division of Russell Corporation, invented the jock strap in 1874. It was designed to provide support for bicycle jockeys riding in the cobblestone streets of Boston. The athletic supporter quickly became known as the "Bike jockey strap." Eventually the name was shortened to "jock strap."

During World War I, the first cotton boxer shorts with buttons were issued to infantrymen for summer wear. They were so popular that men insisted on wearing them when they returned home

The Twenties and Thirties

The turn of the last century was celebrated with parlor piano and ragtime music. That gave way to the speakeasies and jazz of the Roaring '20's.

Men's underwear at that time would be made of a nainsook, which is soft muslin fabric, often used to make babies' clothing. Muslin, we are told, got its name from in the Iraqi city of Mosul. There muslin was first discovered by some Europeans at that same time that another group, we now call Pilgrims, were sailing to the new world.

Obviously muslin is a natural fiber, not a synthetic. We would have to wait some time for that invention which would allow designers to create much more vibrant lines of men's underwear such as the colorful men's trunks, shorts, thongs and swimwear that we have today.

However, the twenties did see the introduction of pre-shrunk fabrics and that would revolutionize 1930's men's underwear. Additionally, the twenties saw the introduction of the boxer brief which was named accordingly because it was an "abbreviated" version of its predecessor - the popular long john. The latter extended down as far as the ankles, whereas the boxer brief ended at mid-thigh.

Despite the fact that America was in the depths of the Great Depression, 1934 was a watershed year in the history of men's underwear. That was when Jockey introduced their Y vent shorts.

The company began making briefs in 1930's. Word has it that men's briefs were inspired by the then popular swimsuits worn on the French Riviera. Those were snugly fitting undergarments and considered to be quite risqué at the time.

Four years later Jockey invented Y-vent diagonal vent. The convenient innovative feature was adapted to their boxers and briefs after it was first applied to both their short and long length knitted drawers.

Today one can buy jockey shorts with access pouch or flap. Traditional high and low cut jockey shorts have vertical or diagonal flaps.

Shortly after New Year's Day in 1935, a major mid-west department store introduced the new Jockey brief. Management thought the widow designers were nuts in devoting display space to skimpy men's underwear on a day when the city was being hit with one of the worst blizzards in a long time. "Get those shorts out and put the long johns in that window." But customers knew a good thing when they saw one and six hundred packages of Jockey briefs were sold before the window dressers were able to dismantle the display.

In 1936 Munsingwear developed their horizontal vent "kangaroo" pouch line of men's underwear

The Forties and Fifties

For the most part, men's underwear designs remained static on the home front during the first half of the 1940's. That was because all American energy went towards the war effort. The war brought shortages and rationings.

One Jockey ad declared - "Uncle Sam needs rubber so Jockey waistbands are no longer all-elastic." At this point the woven waistband with two side buttons was reintroduced to men's underwear.

However, there was one major change in men's underwear that was not introduced to provide ease or comfort to the wearer; the following change actually saved the lives of the many American men.

The final scene of Clint Eastwood's 2006 fall release Flags of Our Fathers showed us a small group of marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mt. Surabachi. Following that celebrated moment the American warriors took a swim in the Pacific Ocean off Iwo Jima.

They were leathernecks and they wore white underwear. Eastwood, the director, and his wardrobe costumer got it wrong. The color of the men's underwear, that is.

The historical fact is, G.I.'s didn't wear white underwear during most of World War II - and certainly not at the time this scene took place.

By that time, all G.I.'s wore a military issued olive drab boxer style short. That color was chosen for camouflage purposes after the war began. It was especially important on the occasions when the shorts were drying on make shift clotheslines throughout the battlefronts. American military personnel realized early on that a freshly washed white pair of shorts drying on the line attracted enemy fire.

After that change was made, another wartime ad for Jockey headlined: "Target: White Underwear." It explained to those at home why the armed forces had switched from white to olive drab undershorts.

Considering everything that was going on at the time, it was hardly vital that the public have that information. But it does show us how American industry, all the way down men's underwear business, was doing their part in the war effort - not to mention building their positive public relations image with Americans at the same time.

Most of these olive military boxer style shorts came with an elastic waistband that allowed the brief to fit snugly around the waist. Those that had no elastic had two larger than might be expected olive colored buttons at the in the front of the waistband and on the fly.

At home post-war table milk was being pasteurized and homogenized and men's underwear was being sanforized.

This was a factory process that guaranteed the item would not shrink more than 1% after being washed. Prior to sanforization those that sewed had to estimate how much a finished garment would shrink after its first wash, the results were sometimes tragic.

The sanforization process was invented by Sanford L. Cluett. It came to its height in the 1940's. When Sanford died in 1968, Sanforized was licensed for manufacture by 448 mills in fifty-eight countries. Today the trademarks Sanfor (Europe), Sanforizado (Latin America) and Sanforized (rest of the world) are registered in more than a hundred countries worldwide for cotton and cotton blend fabrics.

Despite the squeaky clean Ozzie and Harriet image that was being portrayed by the then new medium of television, post war men and boys of the 1950s took some daring-do with the look of their underwear.

New print patterns were now available following the war shortages. The traditional solid white underwear suddenly began becoming more colorful with the availability of thousands of print patterns.

It started with simple geometric shapes - vertical lines, simple squares and triangles. Those gave way to various assemblages of floating dice, wild animals, cupids and playing cards. Basically, any theme that crossed the mind was ok.

While the basic shorts and boxers were still the standard, the creativity of their over-all print patterns was unlimited. This creatively would continue but would have severe consequence for one manufacturer some time later.

Specifically, on one occasion, United States Secret Service agents made a surprise visit to a manufacturer in order to confiscated a thousand pairs of men's undershorts. They did this on the grounds that they violated U.S. forgery laws.

The agents observed that the colorful pattern on that particular line depicted a series of floating one hundred dollar bills and federal currency cannot be duplicated for any reason. This was probably the first time in history that Uncle Sam fulfilled the age-old taxpayer's complaint "the government would even take your shorts, if they could."

The 1950's also saw the introduction of synthetic fibers to many clothing lines. Men's underwear manufacturers began experimenting with such fabrics as rayon, dacron and the new DuPont nylon and would eventually create the early predecessors of the new lines of athletic supporters and men's swimwear, men's trunks, shorts and thongs that we have today .

The t-shirt graduated from an "under" article to outer wear in the 1950's. Up until a point, some men would wear a t shirt as a visible torso covering primarily around the house -perhaps while doing yard work or repairs.

On some occasions he would be restricted to that area by his wife who might say, "Honey, you're not going to the store wearing that - put on a shirt." (She meant a shirt that buttoned up the front.) The t shirt was still considered an undershirt and some wives wouldn't let their husbands be seen in "public" without covering it up. The media, specifically the movie industry, just as it does today, would change that dramatically.

The '50's saw the entry of Marlon Brando, and James Dean - teen idols who were portrayed as rebels. Most notably by the former in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and the latter in "Rebel Without a Cause."

Brando and Dean wore t-shirts as "outerwear" throughout those movies. The former, in particular, displayed a sensual torso dripping with humid Louisiana sweat in some scenes of Desire, while the youthful Dean went through his trials and tribulations in a t shirt in the hot Southern California sun. This was nothing new to the teenage boys of the nation. They wore t shits to school and one that was Purex white in their "gym class."

There, it was a part of the standard American high school gym uniform - in addition to their jockstrap and solid colored pair of gym shorts that declared the school's colors.

On a Saturday night, some of these guys would take their dates to any one of the numerous "sword and sandal" movies. Most notably, those starring muscular Steve Reeves as "Hercules." The teen couple shared popcorn and kisses while watching the mythical hero romp around ancient Europe clothed only in a loincloth under which, undoubtedly, was a jockstrap, thong or traditional men's swimsuit.

The next day would find the couple enjoying the sand, sun and surf while listening to a transistor radio that told them who wore "Short Shorts" and an "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." This all took place while Gidget and Moondogie surfed the shores in their swimsuits.

A few years later, Annette and Frankie would do the same in their numerous Beach Party movies. Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, wearing Pendleton shirts and sexy swimsuits on their album covers, would soon carry these images into the next decade.

Pop music critics still say their "Surfer and California Girls" and the soon to arrive Mommas and Pappas's "California Dreamin'" would be partly responsible for the nation's greatest land migration from the East to West coast since the 1849 gold rush.

The Sixties and Seventies

Relatively speaking, things remained somewhat routine with regard to the development of men's underwear during the 1960's and 1970's. But the social conditions of that era were anything but routine.

Flower-powered hippies were rebelling by paying little or no attention to what they wore under their bell-bottoms and tank tops. In many cases it was nothing at all.

This was the time of protest. So while their male counterparts burned their draft card, women libbers gathered together and chanted, "Burn the Bra."

Given these cries for liberation, when the voice from the megaphone intoned the chant "What do we want?" the men certainly didn't respond with "Sexy Designer Jockstraps!"

Hey, these were radical people and their underwear was coming off - publicly. This was the era when naked "go go girls" gyrated atop beer stained bar tables to Grateful Dead music. Visitors at some beaches saw women go topless and men go bottomless.

Thongs, bikinis, briefs, jockstraps, t shirts, shorts and other in-day swimsuits were flung off and sent, as Bob Dylan says, "Blowin' in the Wind."

City officials in Redondo Beach, California were so offended by this newfound liberation they looked in their books to see if they had an ordinance to arrest the sunbather who dared to violate their public decency laws.

When they found their law they also found more than they bargained for. Their law was written at the turn of the century and stated that "two thirds of the torso of both men and women must be covered at all times while on the beach." Nothing was said about covering the groin area - it was just understood that it would be done when the law was written in the post Victorian era.

Laughable as it may seem today, they realized their law dated back to the early 1900's - when people "frolicked by the seaside." Then women wore "sun suits" or a one-piece "Miss America" style swimsuit and the respectable gentleman with the handlebar mustache would never appear on the seashore without wearing an undershirt above his swimsuit at all times.

The early seventies was a time of mini-skirts and muumuus, rebellion and revolt, power and protest. In 1975, Black Panther leader, Eldridge Cleaver even tried to reintroduce the Renaissance codpiece to contemporary male fashion.

His designer jeans incorporated a combination codpiece/penis sheath that, according to one description, could "accommodate a two-pound Portuguese sausage"

Cleaver's attempt to market this Renaissance fashion item made some headlines, most notably in the burgeoning underground press of that time. One such newspaper published a photo of a male model wearing a "see through" version.

The jeans were not made out of fabric but a clear plastic similar in thickness to that which your grandmother would choose to cover and preserve her new sofa. Readers were informed that it was designed to be worn without a jockstrap, athletic supporter, shorts or any other form of men's underwear.

Needless to say, the civil rights activist's new "jeans" did not catch on with many contemporary shoppers. Eldridge Cleaver may have designed them but Ward or Wally Cleaver's generation would never consider wearing them. They weren't ready for that yet.

They would wait, instead, for creative designers to come up with the less ostentatious but more vibrant lines of men's briefs, swimwear, trunks, shorts and other forms of men's underwear that is considered to be sexy underwear today.

Few could argue that one of the most celebrated photos of a woman in a swimsuit occurred in the forties with the "head over the shoulder" shot of Betty Grable wearing heels and a white one-piece swimsuit. We are repeatedly told that thousands of GI's hung it in their lockers as a reminder of home during WWII.

Would there ever be a photo of a man in a swimsuit that would gain an equally noteworthy place in history? And would that photo, like Grable's, not be created specifically for commercial advertising purposes?

The nation got that photo in the summer of 1972.

Just say the name Mark Spitz to anyone who as around at that time and it conjures up an image of a drop dead gorgeous young man with dark hair, neatly trimmed moustache, winning smile and gleaming pearly whites. Immediately prior to his photo shoot, Spitz had won his seventh gold medal at the Munich Summer Olympics. There they were, all seven medals, hanging around his neck blocking the view of his trim naked torso.

Spitz's event was Olympic swimming and he won more gold medals in a single Olympic than any other person in history - a record that still stands today.

This was the time when Vietnam was raging and American athletes fiercely competed against their Soviet Union counterparts during the height of the Cold War.

When the band played "Oh, say can you see." tv viewers thought, "Yes, we see!" him wearing his red, white, and blue trim men's swimsuit. It was a moment of true national pride.

The Spitz photo was carried on the first page of all the newspapers and on the cover of virtually every news magazine. It was one of the first to be reproduced as a gigantic wall poster that hung in many kids' bedrooms.

So there we have it, two of the most famous swimsuits in history. One on a woman; the other on a man - both taken during a time of war.

Grable's may have been motivating to men serving over seas during WWII, but Spitz's red, white and blue men's swimsuit was equally attractive to both men and women, not to mention young children and teens, who were at home in 1972.

The t shirt was used for a different purpose in the 1970's. T shirts still came in white and any imaginable color but they were now beginning to be used for advertising anything from a commercial business to one's allegiance to a particular rock band.

In short, they were the re-birth of the walking signboard that unemployed men wore during the Great Depression.

Some t shirt slogans contained more innuendo than direct advertising. One creative thinker marketed his t shirts with the then common banking phrase - "Substantial Interest Penalty for Early Withdrawal." This was obviously not to be interpreted as a loss on a short term financial investment at his local savings and loan but a warning to a potential sex partner that your performance in bed better be good if or when we go home together.

Additionally, the sixties and the seventies also saw the arrival of the "health club" chains, most with pools or saunas and some with masseurs.

They were geared to attract the businessman who knew he needed to exercise. He did this with free weights, run-in-place treadmills and the new Universal pulley machines. These health clubs, most notably the Jack LaLanne "European Health Spas," were a step up from the YMCA, which was the traditional option up to this point.

Those who had health club memberships during this time will verify that men in the locker room took off their traditional boxers and briefs prior to putting on their jockstraps and shorts in preparation for their workout. After which some would change into their swimsuits and take dip in the pool

The seventies also saw shortages in raw goods. Gasoline, beef, sugar and coffee were in disastrously short supply. But there was no shortage of bad taste in one area.

No examination of this period of men's fashion would be complete without mentioning the synthetic fabric - polyester. All one has to do to get a peek of this seventies fashion phenomena is to flip to the "Game Show Network" which currently shows endless re-runs of programs such as "The Newlywed Game" and "Hollywood Squares" - both were media creations of the seventies.

It was a period of men's pastel leisure suits, wide neckties and dress coats with even wider lapels - all made of polyester.

Perhaps the most iconic polyester suit of this period certainly is the white outfit worn by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Touch dancing was back in vogue by this time. There was his memorable scene at the disco where the famous dance pose was filmed.

This occurred after we see him in his bedroom preparing to go out for the night. In that scene he is combing his hair while looking in the mirror. His only piece of clothing at that moment is a red underwear bikini - clearly the predecessor to the men's thong which would arrive on the scene a decade later.

The seventies were soon to end and we would soon be introduced to entirely new lines of men's briefs, jockstraps, trunks, shorts, thongs, shirts and t-shirts

The Eighties and Beyond

Things calmed down in the eighties. Most college protesters chose to cut their hair prior to entering the professional work force. When that decision was made, up to this point, men went to "barbers" and women went to "beauticians." Both were now going to unisex shops and being groomed by a unisex "haircutter."

Women were now entering jobs that, for generations, were traditionally only open to men. Thus, we now begin to see the consolidation of the sexes in many areas of work and play.

The sport of jogging became the craze of the early eighties. It was a perfect activity for both men and women who wanted or needed to maintain their cardiovascular system it tip top shape. This type of physical exercise was not costly - no club memberships or expensive equipment was involved.

It was a solo sport whose basic requirements included a good pair of running shoes, a t shirt, undershirt, trunks, shorts and support wear for the women and an athletic supporter or jockstrap for the men.

This sport, was made popular, in part, by the track and field successes of Steve Prefontaine and Frank Shorter. It is still very much alive today as is evident by the many joggers that still dot the roadside of virtually every American community. Not to mention the long distance runners that participate in the annual marathons sponsored by almost every major city in the nation.

Jogging was just the beginning. It would, like many other individual sports, allow people to utilize their leisure time in a beneficial and health giving way.

That premise would literally throw open the door to the vast line of creative and functional sportswear and men's underwear that we have today. Few could argue that, in the eighties, this all began at the heavy duty gyms that were popping up all over the world.

Some say it all started with two men who had, at that time, last names that were nearly unpronounceable - Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

At the beginning of the decade the former was in the middle of his hit TV series The Incredible Hulk. That series ended in 1982, which coincided with the terminator's blockbuster debut as Conan the Barbarian.

A few years earlier both of these soon-to-be actors were heavily featured together as rival bodybuilding competitors in the highly praised, independent underground documentary Pumping Iron.

This low budget production gave audiences their first look at, what was then, the underground world of professional bodybuilding. It took them the inside a dank and pungent independently owed men's gym in Venice, "Muscle Beach" California.

Audiences were exposed a small collegial group of men referred to as muscleheads. Their sculpted bodies were minimally covered with old sweatshirts with holes, torn t shirts, saggy trunks or makeshift men's shorts worn over jockstraps as well as any other form of swimwear that other men would have gladly given to the Salvation Army years earlier.

Arnold entered the scene via motion pictures and the Lou did the same on broadcast television - but the eighties also brought us as many as a hundred different cable tv channels in most service areas throughout the nation.

That would allow an entrepreneur named Vince Mc Mahon to take advantage if the new medium while Lou and Arnold were doing their thing elsewhere.

Mc Mahon's stable of WWF's (now WWE) professional wrestlers appeared regularly on as many at six different cable television stations in the same week during this period.

Interested viewers, especially the young ones, were saturated with colorful cardboard characters with names equally as colorful - Hulk Hogan, Sergeant Slaughter, Andre the Giant and The Killer Bees.

Professional wrestling's premise for a standard match was to pit a hero against a villain. The latter would frequently appear in a freakish Halloween costume - like The Undertaker. His opponent, the hero, would be a minimally clad, oiled down, suntanned, super buffed bodybuilder wearing a form fitting men's swimsuit or colorful men's trunks.

Given the amount of body slamming in this sport, all of these characters were additionally equipped with genital protection within their jockstraps.

Cable tv also provided viewers with ESPN, one of the most financially successful stations to this day. With twenty-four hour coverage on multiple channels there was now plenty of time to air what some were calling "fringe sports."

Bodybuilding competitions were among those telecasts. Up to this point, bodybuilding was lucky if it got a twelve-minute time slot once a year on ABC's "Wide World of Sports."

It made no matter that ESPN aired these competitions at "off hours" during the middle of the weekday or in the wee small hours of the night because, by this time, the VCR was now in most homes

Those that watched those bodybuilding competitions saw massively built young men posing on stage in the briefest of briefs. It was not a pair of conventional men's briefs that we know today. It was a men's thong that had evolved from the standard men's swimsuit that was worn during the first Mr. America competitions of the 1950's.

The bands of the thong that embrace the rear end were now even narrower than those found on the conventional jock strap or athletic supporter.

Even that small amount of coverage disappointed one bodybuilder who placed lower than he would have liked in one competition. He was overheard telling his wife, "The damn strap on my thong covered the best part of my glutes. (He was referring to his gluteus maximus or butt.) It's one of my best muscle parts."

Some popular culture historians find it humorously ironic that the weekly sports events that lead up to, and include, the Super Bowl, NCAA Basketball Championship and the World Series are still aired free of charge on broadcast tv.

All these games are played by men wearing colorful uniforms. At the same time, bodybuilding, wresting, boxing and kickboxing have all switched over to the financially lucrative pay-per-view audiences.

Each of the latter contains men who compete with unclothed legs and torsos. For the most part, they wear a variation of the contemporary men's swimsuit whether it is a pair of men's trunks, men's shorts, or a men's thong.

Are we now just like the Ancient Greeks? Is there something about the semi-nude male body in athletic competition that is so strong it will now attract millions of viewers who are willing to pay to see it?

This attention to the male body came about, in the eighties, as a result of the impact of motion pictures and television, particularly cable tv. But the music industry also played its part.

This decade introduced the world to MTV, which had little conventional restraint in portraying the glories of the partially clad human anatomy of both young women and men in the music videos that they aired.

To that end it should not surprise anyone to know that, according to the Billboard charts, the biggest pop hit of 1981 was Olivia Newton-John's cry for everyone to get "Physical."

That song not only held at number one for ten weeks but, Billboard tells us, it was the it was the biggest hit of that entire decade because it remained at the top of their chart ten times longer than any other song of the 1980's.

If Newton-John were to chart her "Physical" hit again she might do it as Olivia "Neutron-Bomb" because things were about to explode with creative design in this new era of men's underwear that we began to see in the nineties.

No examination of contemporary men's underwear would be complete without mentioning the name Calvin Klein.

His bold and provocative advertising brought the subject of men's underwear out into the open in the mid-eighties. His men's underwear line has now been available for a quarter of a century.

In 1982, Calvin Klein introduced his men's underwear line, which turned the perception of men's underwear to one of a fashionable item.

Men's underwear was no longer just a practical product, rather one that suggested sex appeal. It also told men that they too can look like male Calvin Klein Underwear models, Antonio Sabato Jr. and Mark Wahlberg.

Not only a fashion visionary, Klein has also become known as a marketing genius who changed advertising by continuously pushing the envelope a little further.

Mr. Klein has become notorious for the nudity, obvious sexuality, and use of young prepubescent models in his ads, which have not hurt his success in the least.

Known in the industry as "Calvin the Conqueror," he was named one of Time's 25 Most Influential People in America. Thanks to his minimalist designs for urban dwellers, provocative advertising, and visionary ideas, Klein has become a twentith century icon.

Klein's entry to the scene resulted in an explosion in the increasing availability of stylish and more creative men's underwear designs.

Examples include C-IN2's "sling support system" which uses an adjustable elastic sling that lifts your private parts up and brings them forward or the "Wonderjock" which has a fabric layer that pushes everything out in front instead of down towards the ground

It doesn't matter if today's man routinely buffs up his body at a gym; whether he jogs or works out at home on a Bowflex or Stairmaster or has not yet found the time or motivation to do anything at this point in time.

With the added option of over night delivery via internet sales and service, there are now thousands of creative and functional men's underwear designs can be on the mind of a man one day and clinging to his waist the next.

Lines such as those currently available from 2xist, Andrew Christian, C-IN2, Dickies, Diesel and Justus Boyz and many others are just the beginning. Today it's all about comfort and creativity; without losing the age-old purpose of form and functionality.

Sometimes it's just simply getting down to the basics - just like the gourd wearing tribes in western New Guinea still do today.

We hope you enjoy our selection of men's sporting goods. We guarantee your satisfaction with all the products we carry and will do our best to satisfy you.

 

Frederick's of Hollywood

Women Want to Feel Beautiful.

Trend Setting Dresses from Frederick's

Frederick's of Hollywood is an innovative, world-renowned brand that captures the excitement and glamour of Hollywood by offering sexy styles that make women feel romantic, desirable and confident. Pride in our company, its heritage, its integrity and its products will remain the foundation of Frederick's of Hollywood.

The Covertible Halter Dress - Three Party Styles

In 1946, Frederick came to Hollywood
Or shall we say, a man named Frederick Mellinger founded Frederick's of Hollywood and a legend was born. Mellinger believed that incredible lingerie could make a woman feel beautiful-from the inside out.

More than fifty years later, the company is still the leading trend setter in intimate apparel and has earned a renowned reputation for flattering women of all sizes with its sexy signature styles. Frederick's found success in creating lingerie that is sexy, fresh and sophisticated.

Our Hottest Shoes.  Fredericks of Hollywood

A new star on Hollywood Boulevard
When Frederick Mellinger set out to create lingerie that made women beautiful, suddenly unmentionables were worth mentioning. Introducing little black underthings to the United States may have raised a few eyebrows with the American public, but it was a smash with many a glamorous Hollywood actress-the ones women worshipped as their style icons.

Select Bra Size: -- Any Size -- 32A 32B 32C 32D 32DD 34A 34B 34C 34D 34DD 34F 36A 36B 36C 36D 36DD 36F 38B 38C 38D 38DD 38F 40B 40C 40D 40DD 40F 42B 42C 42D 42DD 42F 44C 44D

After the opening of the first Frederick's of Hollywood store in 1947, the same Tinseltown stars who graced America's big screens and magazines came to rely on Frederick's for the sexy glamour that embodied the Hollywood lifestyle.

Frederick's New Markdowns

The ensuing decades saw changes in how America defined "sexy," and Frederick's found a way to keep up with the times-while often leading the way. After years of helping women "catch their man," Frederick's turned a corner, emphasizing the value of women looking and feeling sexy for themselves. This kind of change in attitude has maintained and increased Frederick's customer base and kept sales climbing. Women of all backgrounds, sizes, ages and tastes choose Frederick's for their lingerie needs, from everyday underwear to those special occasion styles that nobody does like Frederick's.

Party Girl.  Sexy Dresses from Fredericks.com

Rising young stars
More than a few of today's lingerie staples were born at Frederick's. "The Rising Star"-the world's push-up bra, was launched in the early 1950's to great success, and today is emulated by every intimate apparel manufacturer in the world. Still the leader, Frederick's currently offers more than 15 styles of push-up bras to suit every woman.

A gift from Frederick's won't stay in the box for long!

And push-ups weren't the only innovation Frederick's pushed out. Front-hook bras, bras with shoulder pads, padded girdles, body shapers and colorful fashion bustiers-Frederick's started it all. In 1981, the company introduced the thong panty to the American woman. Today, Frederick's offers more than 25 styles and sells nearly 40,000 weekly of its wildly popular "Rio" style-the fastest and largest-selling thong around the world.

But even with those smashing successes, Frederick's hasn't slowed down. Learn about some of our most recent innovations.

Final Closeouts at Frederick's of Hollywood

	Select Bra Size: -- Any Size -- 32A 32B 32C 32D 32DD 34A 34B 34C 34D 34DD 34F 36A 36B 36C 36D 36DD 36F 38B 38C 38D 38DD 38F 40B 40C 40D 40DD 40F 42B 42C 42D 42DD 42F 44C 44D

What's hot in Hollywood
Liquid Lift Collection. First sold in 1998, this water bra's unique push-up "padding" is actually a mixture of rosewater and oil. When worn, the water and oil combination warms to the body and creates a natural look and feel not possible with customary padding. The bra adds a full cup size and is completely puncture-proof. Since its introduction, the Liquid Lift Collection has become Frederick's best-selling bra line.

Everything you need for your wedding day...and night

Hollywood Exxtreme Cleavage Bra- After many years of creating innovative bras, Frederick's has done it again with the introduction of this cleavage-enhancing bra. A one-of-a-kind design allows wearers to customize the amount of cleavage and push-up achieved.

The home of sexy lingerie since 1946.

Select Bra Size: -- Any Size -- 32A 32B 32C 32D 32DD 34A 34B 34C 34D 34DD 34F 36A 36B 36C 36D 36DD 36F 38B 38C 38D 38DD 38F 40B 40C 40D 40DD 40F 42B 42C 42D 42DD 42F 44C 44D

Signature Fragrance- No off-the-shelf fragrance, this scent was created by the Frederick's team to bring the sexy brand to life. The development of the fragrance was led by Frederick's CEO, Linda LoRe, former CEO of Giorgio Beverly Hills. The resulting fragrance captures the spirit of the brand-bold, sexy, flirty and fun-all in a bottle.

Fredericks.com Full Figured Favorites

A new era
Although Frederick's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2001, during that period it turned once again to its innovation and creative spirit, poising itself for significant growth and a turnaround of the brand. In true Frederick's style, the company has experienced positive sales and brand development since emerging from bankruptcy protection in December 2002.
Shop Frederick's of Hollywood Plus Sizes

Frederick's innovation, plus its 175 retail stores, highly successful catalog and Internet sales channels, have led the company to become one of the 25 most recognized brand names in the world.

Full Figure Lingerie at Fredericks.com

Florsheim.com

Fresh Looks at Florsheim.com

Florsheim has been in business over 110 years and is a distributor of Men's dress and business casual footwear. We also have 30 brick and mortar retail stores. Our mission is to deliver products of exceptional value, quality, and style. We are the number one brand in Men's Dress and Business Casual Footwear. We carry the hard to find sizes including sizes from 5-16 and widths from AA to 5E. We also offer an extensive line of accessories, which complement our great collection of footwear including hosiery, belts, and shoe care products. Our top selling styles are the Como Imperial, Riva, Berkley, and the Duke.

Leahther Soles-Rubber Soles we have it at Florsheim.com

In 1892, Milton Florsheim began producing shoes in a small factory located in Chicago, Illinois. The first pairs of Florsheim shoes made by Milton and his father, Sigmund, were a remarkable combination of style, comfort and high quality workmanship.

From Casual-Dress we have you covered at Florsheim.com

Milton realized from the very beginning that a high quality product was only one of the factors necessary for success. He understood that a strong distribution network was the other key component and would be essential in making certain his exceptional footwear found its customers. Accordingly, he provided support that enabled a number of entrepreneurs to establish retail businesses, which made Florsheim shoes readily available to the consumers in hundreds of small towns and villages across the nation.

Airport Friendly Shoes at Florsheim.com

Thus, the Florsheim Company was formed on the breakthrough ideas of mass-producing shoes of exceptional quality, and the establishment of a strong, entrepreneurial dealer network. Not surprisingly, this combination was an immediate success.

Holiday Savings at Florsheim.com

Around the turn of the century, the company began exploring other innovative methods of distributing and selling its shoes that would enhance the already established network. These included expanding wholesale distribution to metropolitan areas around the country, and the opening of a series of company-owned retail outlets. These outlets became the Company's Flagship stores that displayed and sold the entire Florsheim product line. Now, the partnership that would help Florsheim grow from a small factory into a brand and organization valued and respected all over the world was firmly in place.

Don't forget the slippers-Florsheim.com

In May of 2002, the Florsheim trademark returned to its roots when purchased by Weyco Group. Weyco Group, located in Glendale, Wisconsin, is currently the headquarters of Florsheim Shoes. The senior officers of the company are fifth generation Florsheim and proud to revitalize their family business. Weyco Group envisions expanding their market by appealing to younger customers. Yet, the company still strives to maintain the quality and classic styles that makes us who we are. The first major step of development was the introduction of 'Dot Matrix' technology-an injected gel in a removable foot bed for added comfort. With the new generation of Florsheim offering flourishing ideas and innovative technology, Florsheim decided to add a phenomenal design team to further invest in the appearance of their shoes. Currently, the company is adding a state of the art design center that will be the envy of the industry and create synergy within our design team. Today, Florsheim continues to revolutionize designs and technology to meet the demands of every customer.

The Fitting Gift-Florsheim.com

Weyco Group (Florsheim) has one of the best distribution centers in the country. With a state of the art conveyor belt system located in the Company's warehouse, Weyco Group is able to ship an average of 600,000 pairs of shoes a month. The conveyor belt system has also diminished a majority of the manual labor used in put aways, picking, packing, and shipping.

Great Selection of Clearance Merchandise at Florsheim.com

Through strong ideas like this, we will continue to forge even closer partnerships with our loyal dealers. In addition, we will continue to deepen our understanding of our customers' lifestyles and needs. Our on-going research into improved comfort and fit will expand. Our unparalleled selection of styles and sizes will grow. And our commitment to quality will never falter. Because even with all our success, we have never and will never change the fundamentals upon which Milton Florsheim established his company.

Shop a Wide Selection Of Shoes

We offer an extensive collection of Men's Dress and Business Casual footwear and accessories, including Shoe care Products, Belts, and Hosiery.

Hard to Find Sizes - Florsheim.com

Check Out Our New Arrivals

We Are Rolling Out the Red Carpet for You - Florsheim Imperia

We Have the Style That Is Right for You

The best. Again.

We Have Your Size.

Superior Technology. Superior Comfort.

figleaves.com

Check out what's hot in fashion at figleaves.com

figleaves.com is the world's largest online seller of branded intimate apparel.

New Swim is here

We offer the A to Z of branded underwear, swimwear, exercisewear, nightwear and hosiery for men and women. From Aubade to Zimmermann - we have the alphabet covered.

The Best in Bras

You can choose from big name, modestly priced favourites like Wonderbra through to top of the range designer lines like Malizia by La Perla.

Find the perfect pair of panties at figleaves.com

We are about a whole lot more than fashion and everyday bras. We carry every style of lingerie - from bridalwear through to nursing bras.

figleaves.com Slimming Shapewear - banish the bulge!

So whatever point you are at in your life, we are there with you.

60 Years of the Bikini at figleaves.com

And we understand that men and women - especially women - come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you are an A cup or a J cup, you want pretty and sexy lingerie and you will find it at figleaves.com.

Shop menswear at figleaves.com - 
stock up on your favorite stylish brands of underwear, 
swim and nightwear. Returns are FREE.

While the choice is huge, it couldn't be easier to find what you are looking for.

Great Gift Ideas from figleaves.com

You can shop by brand, size, price, colour, style or occasion or, if you know exactly what you are looking for, we will take you directly to it in one click.

60 years of the bikini - Take a walk through time and celebrate with figleaves.com

You can easily return goods if they don't fit or if they don't meet your expectation. It's our famous 'no hassle' returns policy. If you're in the UK we even pay the returns postage.

Shop swimwear for your shape at figleaves.com and find the perfect fit. Free Returns!

What's more, you can check out your purchases at home - no queuing for or embarrassing moments in luridly lit changing rooms.

Shop Summer Dressing for DD+ at figleaves.com 
and find out what lingerie to wear under the season's hottest trends. Free Returns!

Underwear makes a great gift for both men and women. If you are buying for a loved one then we can send your present in a beautiful gift box along with a personalised message. Alternatively, you can send a gift certificate so that the recipient can choose exactly what they want themselves.

Shop figleaves.com for the best in Resortwear...Sizzling Swim and other great Fun Fashions

We know how much you appreciate speedy delivery - in stock items are usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Give the Gift they'll never return...a figleaves.com Gift Card - Because it's what's underneath that counts!

figleaves.com is not a manufacturer - we buy products from the best manufacturers around the world and are constantly on the look out for new product, ranges, styles and brands. If you find something you think we should provide, we'd love to know.

Shop our fashionable Activewear at figleaves.com - Free Returns

Sometimes manufacturers let us down and we are unable to get something we have promised. We apologise in advance because we know how frustrating this is.

figleaves.com - The Best Online Source for Lingerie, Bras & More...200 Brands

But enough about us. You, the customer, are at the centre of everything we do. We want to hear from you. If you have a suggestion as to how we can offer a better service, or simply have a query on an order, please call or email us. We especially want to hear from you if you feel we have let you down as we are committed to learning from our mistakes.

Shop figleaves.com for the best brands in Men's underwear, swimwear, sleepwear and more!

Shop figleaves.com for Miraclesuit Swimwear..get fabulous control all while marinating a sexy, stylish look!

Get your wardrobe fundamentals with our T-Shirt Bra basics at Figleavs.com!

Stylish Sleepwear at figleaves.com

Find your perfect pair at figleaves.com... Hosiery for every occasion!

dELiA*s

ALL Jeans &  Pants: Buy one, get one HALF OFF at dELiA*s! Inseams 28" – 36". Sizes 00-1920.

As you probably already know, we're one of the leading marketers of clothing, accessories and roomwares to teen girls & young women - and we've been doing it since 1993.

Shop dELiA*s for the latest denim, tees, accessories & more.

dELiA*s, Inc. is a direct marketing and retail company comprised of three lifestyle brands primarily targeting consumers between the ages of 12 and 19. Its brands - dELiA*s, Alloy and CCS - were formerly part of Alloy, Inc.'s Alloy Merchandising Group and are well-established, differentiated, lifestyle brands that generate revenue by selling apparel, accessories, footwear, room furnishings and action sports equipment predominantly to teenage consumers through direct mail catalogs, websites and, for dELiA*s, mall-based specialty retail stores.

Can't decide what to get? Give her a dELiAs*cOm gift certificate!

Charles Tyrwhitt!

SALE - Up to 60% off men's shirts, ties, cufflinks and suits at Charles Tyrwhitt!

Thank you for choosing Charles Tyrwhitt (pronounced "Tirrit"!) Our aim is to surprise, delight and excite you, our customer. If we can fulfil this aim then we will succeed and I hope that you will find this site makes shopping for shirts a more exciting experience.

I started the business back in 1986 (my full name is Nicholas Charles Tyrwhitt Wheeler). We operate from our flagship shop in London's Jermyn Street, and have grown to become England's largest maker of quality shirts through the Internet and mail order.

Jermyn Street has been famous for its quality retailers and craftsmen since 1730 when the perfumery Floris set up shop at No 89. Since then it has become home to the finest quality shirt makers in the world and Charles Tyrwhitt continues to offer its unique combination of quality and service to all those able to visit Jermyn Street and also almost half a million customers around the world.

Find something perfect for the man, woman or children in your life from Charles Tyrwhitt

Cross Selection of Men's Items

Cross Selection of Women's Items

Men's Pajamas + Underwear

Men's Shoes

Where are your products made?

We make our products to the highest standards in a range of countries: UK, Italy, Romania, Czech Republic, Malta, Egypt, Tunisia, Peru, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, all offering different elements that help to improve the products we sell. We have learnt over the years that it is best for you if we go direct to the market leaders or areas of expertise to manufacture our products. This leads us to various countries where investments have improved services.

Classic and casual clothing for Kids at Charles Tyrwhitt.

Large selection of men's and women's British quality formal shirts, 
casual shirts, ties, shoes, cufflinks and more at Charles Tyrwhitt - 
now available in USA.

BrightDiamond.com

BrightDiamond, Inc. is a family-owned jewelry business committed to selling the biggest selection of high quality jewelry at the lowest prices possible. Like every family, our family has grown and changed with each generation.BrightDiamond, Inc. represents the next generation of our jewelry business as we take our 20 years of experience and bring it forward into the 21st century.

View Brightdiamond.com's Hot Diamonds Sterling Silver and Diamonds Collection!

The relationships we have built over the past two decades with jewelry manufacturers allow us to offer low prices to our customers. These years of experience also help us recognize and select those manufacturers creating the highest quality merchandise. BrightDiamond, Inc. combines these years of past experience with the modern convenience of the Internet, bringing the best jewelry to you, whenever and wherever you want to shop. But this new generation of our business will not forget the important lessons learned from previous generations: high quality, great selection, low prices, and--now and always--putting the customer first!

Whether you're looking for classic Jewelry designs, 
or trendy new pieces, Brightdiamond.com offers  a 
wide variety of Jewelry collections at fantastic prices. 
With free shipping and an easy 30 day return policy, 
shopping for Jewelry online has never been easier! 
Click here to start shopping!

Thank you for allowing our family to be a part of your family's most cherished moments--engagements, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or any time you want to show someone you love just how much you love them.

Getting Married? Make sure your special day shines.. 

BrightDiamond, Inc. . For every occasion .

View BrightDiamond.com's expansive collection of glittering Wedding Day Jewelry.

Planning a  Proposal? Click here to View BrightDiamond.com's dazzling Engagement Ring collection!

 

Booty Parlor

BootyParlor.com - Where Sexy Meets Fabulous

At Booty Parlor, our goal is to make you happy. Very happy.

Click Here to become the World's Best Lover

Booty Parlor is one of America's fastest growing sexy beauty and lifestyle brands.

From cosmetics and lingerie to sensual candles and other bedroom accessories to a fabulous collection of designer sex toys, Booty Parlor has everything to make women feel sexy.

Click Here to See Who Loves Booty Parlor...

Exquisite packaging and products made from the highest quality ingredients and materials set Booty Parlor apart. The Booty Parlor experience is fun, fabulous, and never intimidating. Never before have products for the boudoir blended so well with the rest of a woman's fabulous wardrobe. Booty Parlor's cosmetics and body treats aren't just about looking sexy - they're about feeling sexy and confident, in and out of the bedroom. From relaxing at home with a luxurious bubble bath to causing a commotion on the dancefloor with a body shimmer that smells and tastes as tempting as itlooks, Booty Parlor wants women to feel sexy no matter where they are.

Click Here for a Sexy Lifestyle

A favorite with celebrities and fashion magazines, the brand has been featured in media outlets such as Cosmopolitan, Angelino, Star, In Touch, Nylon, Lucky and Domino and celebrity fans include Angelina Jolie, Carmen Electra and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

All of Booty Parlor products are available online, and certain ranges are also available at select retailers nationwide. In addition, customers can create an "at home" Booty Parlor experience with a fabulous Booty Parlor trunk show styled home party.

Books Men Need

 

Boden

Boden: Good Times, Great Clothes

Before you know it, you'll be wanting to flaunt an ankle, bare a shoulder, or even flash a knee. Our new clothing range will make the covered bits look just as good too.
Boden was founded in Great Britain in 1991 and has consistently been one of the fastest growing companies in the country. Since launching our website and catalogs in the USA in 2002 we have been bowled over by the fantastic response this side of the pond. US customers are continually telling us "There's nothing like Boden in the USA."

Boden brings a fresh new British style, covering a wide range of family clothing.

After five burglaries, one office dog, nine Christmas quizzes, twelve nights spent in the warehouse, one consignment of refugees arriving with a clothes delivery, four office moves, quite a few sense of humour failures, a few sackings (but thankfully not many), 2 venture capitalists, 6 awards, about twenty fantastically annoying customers (mostly related to me), a couple of crooks, 520 Kings Pizza ("Continental" medium thin crust with extra anchovies for me), a great team spirit, one incredibly tolerant wife, bucket loads of sweat and even more laughs, we're still here!

Choose from a quality, fun, stylish selection of women's, men's and children's clothing from Boden

Bodenusa.com

* Boden was founded in 1991
* We initially launched with just 8 menswear products
* In 1994 we launched womenswear
* Childrenswear (Mini Boden) followed in 1996
* Our web site launched in April 1999
* Today we employ over 500 hard working staff
* We despatch over 3,000 orders every day from our warehouse

High quality clothing for the whole family from Boden

 

Bare Necessities

Underwire Bras at Bare Necessities

Full Figure Fashion

Named as one of the 10 fastest growing inner city companies in America by the ICIC and Inc. Magazine - BareNecessities.com is the premiere online retailer of women’s brand name intimate apparel and men’s designer underwear. With over 35 years of experience satisfying the intimate apparel needs of women of all shapes and sizes in our retail stores, BareNecessities.com provides the care and knowledge of your favorite local bra store combined with an amazing selection that far exceeds that of a department store – all from the comfort of your own home.

Average figure, plus size or petite – BareNecessities.com has the bra to suit your needs and your body. Our incomparable selection of bras range from size 30AA to 54H – a true range of sizes and styles to fit the full range of real women’s bodies.

BareNecessities.com is a consummate fave of both our loyal customers and the press as well – we’ve been featured in InStyle, Lucky, Shop Etc. and many other publications.

Give a BareNecessities.com Electronic Gift Certificate this Holiday. It's always the perfect gift!

BareNecessities.com carries over 125 of the top intimate apparel brands. Spanning the gamut from everyday favorites - Bali, Wacoal and Jockey, to luxurious designer lingerie by Betsey Johnson, Roberto Cavalli and La Perla - as well as men’s designer brands such as 2(x)ist, Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss.

Our unparalleled brand selection fully represents the varied needs of our customers as well as the finest style, quality and value.

- All Sizes - 30A 30AA 30B 30C 30D 30DD 30E 30F 30FF 30G 30NC 32-34 C-D 32-34 D-DD 32A 32AA 32B 32C 32D 32DD 32DDD 32E 32F 32FF 32G 32NC 34-36 C-D 34-36 D-DD 34A 34AA 34B 34C 34D 34DD 34DDD 34E 34F 34FF 34G 34H 34I 34NC 36-38 C-D 36-38 D-DD 36A 36AA 36B 36C 36D 36DD 36DDD 36E 36F 36FF 36G 36H 36I 36NC 38-40 C-D 38-40 D-DD 38A 38B 38C 38D 38DD 38DDD 38E 38F 38FF 38G 38H 38I 38NC 40-42 C-D 40-42 D-DD 40B 40C 40D 40DD 40DDD 40E 40F 40FF 40G 40H 40I 40NC 42B 42C 42D 42DD 42DDD 42E 42F 42FF 42G 42H 42I 44B 44C 44D 44DD 44DDD 44E 44F 44FF 44G 44H 44I 46B 46C 46D 46DD 46DDD 46E 46F 46FF 46G 46H 46I 48B 48C 48D 48DD 48DDD 48E 48F 48FF 48G 48H 48I 50B 50C 50D 50DD 50E 50F 50FF 50G 50H 50I 52B 52C 52D 52DD 52F 52FF 52G 52H 52I L M S XL

BareNecessities.com offers an unrivaled selection of brand-name intimate apparel, men's underwear and designer lingerie - over 125 brands, over 600 styles of bras alone!

Our high-powered search engine is the most convenient way to find your bra in your size - sizes 30AA to 54H. We make the search for the perfect bra simple - search by size, style, brand or price - even by color!

Over 35 years of experience is represented in the products and information that BareNecessities.com provides. Our buyers are expert bra fitters and their ongoing mission is to assemble the finest selection of intimate apparel available on the web.

Let us be your personal lingerie expert - our Fit Tips and Advice offer information on everything from bridal underpinnings to tips for men buying lingerie gifts.

 

allé Fine Jewelry

alle' Fine Jewelry's Bridal Collection

Gold --Bracelets --Earrings --Necklaces --Pendants --Rings ----------- Diamond --Bracelets --Earrings --Necklaces --Pendants --Rings ----------- Gemstone --Bracelets --Earrings --Necklaces --Pendants --Rings ----------- Pearl --Bracelets --Earrings --Necklaces --Pendants --Rings ----------- Platinum --Bracelets --Earrings --Necklaces --Pendants --Rings ----------- Watches --Men's --Ladies ----------- Bridal Jewelry Summer Sale Special Collection

Hottest Sales & Styles

allé Fine Jewelry was founded in 1996 by former Home Shopping Network and Mercantile Stores Company executives who brought 25 years of retailing and jewelry merchandising expertise to the Internet. allé Fine Jewelry was the first large dedicated jewelry store on AOL, CompuServe and MSN and pioneered the "manufacturer direct" business in the jewelry category. We are also an Amazon.com merchant partner. Leveraging our years of relationships with some of the largest and finest jewelry manufacturers in the world, the Company management was able to form strong alliances with these manufacturers that allowed for direct shipment to our customers with blazingly fast order fulfillment of the highest quality fine jewelry available. These alliances mean that we have access to the full inventories of these large manufacturers which in turn means that we can offer you an enormous selection of fine jewelry that is constantly being updated with the latest styles. This manufacturer direct structure also means that you will realize tremendous savings since our company has little of the overhead experienced by traditional jewelry retailers.

Utilizing some of the finest digital photography, we try to present each beautiful jewelry piece in a manner that allows you to evaluate your purchase in a pleasing display. From that picture you can see the piece in full detail, as well as see the provided information about the piece so that you can, in a fully informed way, evaluate your purchase.

The Eroscillator

Advanced Response
More intense, more frequent, longer lasting orgasms

Advanced Response Corp. ("ARC")
is located in the heart of New York City, New York (USA), housing its offices and warehouse a few blocks from each other.

ARC is the direct link to the Swiss Inventor and Manufacturer of the famous EROSCILLATOR®. ARC imports the product(s) then sells it on the internet and to its distributors

What are our products?

ARC offers the EROSCILLATOR ® and BROXO ® brands of scientifcally researched health care products.

 

By choosing a scientific approach to women's sexuality the EROSCILLATOR ® has won the endorsement and recommendation of famed sexologist Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer. It was clinically proven to be prefered over other sensual messagers by 73% of women and was clinically shown to bring 87% of previously fully anorgasmic women to orgasm.

To learn more about the EROSCILLATOR ® visit us at EROSCILLATOR.com .

BROXO ® devices are clinically proven to stop bleeding gums in 8 days and prevent & arrest gingivitis and periodontal disease.

With 167 University Clinicals, over 300 Patents Worldwide and a half-century of development since the first BROXODENT ® was introduced by Squibb Pharmaceuticals at the American Dental Association Centenial in 1959, the BROXO line of oral healthcare remain unequalled in its clinically proven efficacy.

To learn more about 50 years of BROXO ® products visit us at BROXO.com .

The clinically tested Ooh-la-la! ® is the only device ever conceived to achieve Penis Fitness & Training T.

To learn more about the Ooh-la-la! ® visit us at Ooh- la-la.com .

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