In general, guys only buy new undies when starting or looking for a new relationship. If a man buys more than 31 pairs a year, hes either still trying to impress his partner, or looking for a new one.
Mens underwear purchases peak at 23, then decline until 33, at which time they flat line in stable relationships. However, when men start to get divorced around 38-40, their underwear purchases begin to rise, briefly, before flat lining again at 44 as soon as they fall into a new stable relationship. So, in a sense, if your man trusts you to buy his underwear, he believes your relationship is stable.
For British men, tight briefs are most popular for men 19-26, boxers for 26-33, and y-fronts for those over 33. Because Im not exactly sure what y-fronts are, Im going to hypothesize a trend for American male underwear. Briefs are most popular for American boys until they hit puberty. Then they switch to boxers until they either grow into their new bodies or become comfortable with their awkwardness. Entering college with athletic bodies and time to work out, men blend the tightness of briefs with the length of boxers, favoring boxer briefs from 19-26. After graduation and marriage, their bodies begin ballooning into plus-sized office bodies. Because theyre still a bit self conscious like pubescent boys, they switch to boxers from 26-33. After 33, they stop caring, switching back to the white briefs their wives buy in value packs for them and their sons.
Debenhams is using this new research to justify their decision to market male underwear towards women. Call me crazy, but I figured that those images of models lying seductively in underwear were already for women.
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