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Sheliey SperryOaily Nebra&kan
Colorful briefs more popular
By KEJ.IA SODERBEHG
The underwear industry's "brief his
tory has become colorful in the past 10
years.
Until then, white shorts blinded eyes
that chanced a peak into a man's
shorts drawer. Now peepers see a
rainbow of colors.
Red, copper, yellow, green, light blue,
navy, black and gray are just a few of
the popular color choices available in
brief, jockey or bikini cuts.
Stanley Howard, director of the Play
boy underwear division at Ruby Inter
national in New York City, said about
80 percent of all underwear sold four
years ago was white. Now colored
fashions have captured about 50 per
cent of all sales.
Howard said men's fashion under
wear have been successful because of
women. He said women make 85 per
cent of Ruby International's initial pur
chases. In order to give colored underwear a
masculine appeal, Jockey Internat
ional hired nine athletes in 1977 to
model the company's wares. Allen
Barry, spokesman for the company,
said the ad campaign was launched to .
bring chic shorts into the lockeroom.
The company didn't want women to
buy men shorts so they would be hid
under pairs of white skivies, he said.
Colors are a recent development in
underwear fashions, but Barry said
Jockey underwear "has not changed
the design or style for 50 years."
Barry said Jockey's "classic brier
was among the first made of cotton
knit fabric and signaled a move away
from woven cotton boxer shorts.
The key to a good pair of underwear
Barry said, is using 1 00 percent cotton.
He said Jockey combines this feature
with real rubber waist and leg bands.
A good pair of underwear must have
four features," Barry said. "They must
be designed to fit well. They must be
comfortable. They must last. And men
have to feel good about wearing them."
Ruby's fabric and design are more
diversified than Jockey's. Howard said
Ruby makes underwear out of "every
thing from 100 percent cotton to 100
percent tricot." Fabrics used ranged
from mesh to terrycloth weaves. How
ard said the company's most popular
brief is made from a cotton-lycra
blend.
Ruby International makes Spauld
ing, Jordache, Javalin and plain label
underwear in addition to its Playbody
line.