Meet my lucky underwear!

     I'm a superstitious person. I believe it is a bad day if I see a crow on my way out. I don't cut my nail at night because I believe it will let you not able to be accompany with your parents when they pass away. I won't whistle at night, because I believe it will bring ghost. Also I believe something that will bring you good luck. I place a red envelope in my wallet to bring me more money, and my pink crystal bring me love; further more, I wear red underwear when I have an exam to bring me good luck!
Athletes are also a notoriously superstitious lot. For years, Michael Jordan wore the shorts from his national-championship-winning University of North Carolina days under his Chicago Bulls uniform.
I do believe such things that bring me good luck, but I want those lucky objects to also makes me look good and stylish, too. I like to talk about myself and what I put on me. When I talk about my lucky objects, it should be some other pros beside luck.

Under that idea, I will put Dylan Ribkoff's men's underwear sometimes when it fit my outfit. There are so many many story I can tell my friend, it looks nice, and it's comfortable, and it is made in Canada!
check on their website http://www.dylanribkoff.com/ to find your pairs of lucky underwear!
                                                                                                                          -----JEAL

How does one think of having business in the underwear industry?

Imagine a moment in your life where you desperately want to start your own business but have no idea what to build your business on.  Then one day, while going to the bathroom, you pull down your pants and receive a moment of clarity.  Odd place to receive a moment of clarity isn’t it?  Yet, for Dylan Ribkoff, this is how it happened.  Being an entrepreneur at heart and working for his grandfather’s company, Joseph Ribkoff, Dylan always dreamed to one day have a company of his own. However, at the time, the idea of “what” to build a business on was still unclear.  His idea came to him during that very moment during a flight to England.  While going to the washroom, he realized that of all the pieces of clothing he wore, his underwear was the one thing he felt ashamed of.  Then he remembered his shopping experience for the pair of underwear that he was wearing.  His experience was awful because on one end he would find all the same homogenous looking undergarments and on the other hand he would find the erotically over-designed undergarments with tacky slogans. That’s when it hit him, there isn’t a big market for high-end prestigious underwear lines.  Women had already quite a selection, but men were out of luck.  

Thus began Dylan’s journey to make a name for himself in the market.  By producing undergarments using high-end cotton and more flexible spandex for upscale comfort, Dylan marches his way in the market by promising quality in his entire production. In addition, being in Montreal and having his product build locally is another reason to acknowledge his success as his company respects its country of origin, Canada.

- Audrey

National Underwear Day!

Every year in the first week of August since 2003, there has been a special and important event, which takes place in Times Square, New York. It is known as National Underwear Day! The goal of this event is to raise awareness of the importance of your undies.

On this day, underwear is not the first piece of clothing which you put on, rather the last piece of clothing to be removed. You just want to spend the day in your underwear, feeling confident  and comfortable in your body. Hence, it’s all about you and your skivvies!

The most recent National Underwear day took place on Friday, August 5, 2011. In addition, it was the official 9^th annual Underwear Day and it was celebrated with Great Spirit. Throughout the month of August, more than 5,000 underwear’s were given away free of charge.  National Underwear Day got Americans into new fresh and comfortable underwear, which was the perfect size. After all, that’s their goal. 

Make sure to check out National Underwear Day in August 2012!

- Carlo

Why Dylan Ribkoff?

If you have read our blog so far, you have probably noticed that men underwear is the topic of our blog. As mentioned before, one of our inspirations in writing that blog is the Montreal designer Dylan Ribkoff, which collection was born only one year ago.  

I think that now is the time to tell you why Dylan Ribkoff over any other underwear designer. Ribkoff’s motivation is to provide people with underwear that fits their personality. Imagine that you have a different pair of underwear for every state of mind and every occasion. Imagine how that could complement your life. That is about it. Doing underwear is about making clothing that will make you feel confident and proud. It is about looking the way you want to look, and showing everyone else what you are worth.  It is about expressing yourself. Thus, no need to be a model or an athlete to wear Ribkoff’s underwear, you only need to care about yourself. That’s the reason why Ribkoff’s apparel is so comfortable. It is because it is made for normal life and it is made to be worn everyday to make you feel good.

The facts that Dylan Ribkoff's undergarments are made from premium quality cotton, that they are crafted in Canada, and that they need to pass very strict quality controls only add to the fact that underwear matters.

Because what’s underneath matters.

-J-F.

Feel free to check out their:

Website

Facebook Page 

Twitter Page

Does Sex Sell...?

I've been looking at ads selling men’s underwear for the past few weeks now and I’ve noticed a few similarities...hot guys with six or eight packs with HUGE enhanced packages. Manliness, sexual imagery, and overall raunchiness are what I’ve been seeing.

 

To sum up men’s underwear advertising in one word would be provocative. It seems to me that many brands are focusing more on selling sex instead of comfort or usefulness of the underwear.

So I started looking at the evolution of advertising men’s underwear and I found what I expected to find...ads used to be about comfort, feeling, style and simplicity.

 Yet the trends are moving quickly. It’s not about the underwear or even the fashion anymore. Not only is it about sex and raunchiness, it’s all about the sex appeal. In my opinion, sex appeal is more provocative than sex itself.

In the picture below we can see just how much marketing for men's underwear has changed. What do you think? Does sex really sell men's underwear? How effective do you think the "selling sex" technique is?

- Michelle

Sustainability is the way to go!

My dad used to tell me stories (and still does!) of his life in China. Due to Communism, he said it was very hard to find food to eat. Instead, people in his village cultivate their own food such as rice and vegetables, but also chicken and fish. Everything grew in an environment without any form of pesticides, and since villagers try to save as much money as possible they used animal feces as fertilizer and food to feed the fishes. Now, I know it might sound disgusting to you, but you don't even taste it when you eat the fish, trust me, I had some when I was visiting China in 2007! Here is a picture of rice plantations that I took during this trip:

It looks so pure and colors look so refreshing yet no pesticides were involved in this. I was wondering if this sustainability could work for cotton underwear, and found this video on Youtube:

Basically, the most toxic synthetic pesticide has been widely used in cotton fields, and this particular eco-friendly cotton farm in California has refused to use it. Therefore, the farmers have to monitor closely each plant and choose natural pesticide instead.

Dylan Ribkoff Apparel does mention sustainability in their products. They produce their underwear locally and they try to bring their materials into their factory in the most ecological way. This is another type of sustainability that could help improve our planet Earth.
I hope clothing manufacturers could emphasize on sustainable materials in the future because I would not mind spending a couple extra dollars for something that was grown in a 'healthier' way. Also, I hope this blog post would make you reflect on your purchasing decisions next time.

-Annick

Which Underwear For Today? The combination of underwear and outfit

After blogs that teach us how different men's underwear are, how to choose your underwear....

Now, it's time to show your underwear to others!!

It is rare for other people to see your underwear during daily normal time. However, you should realize that when you are bending and stretching, your band of underwear says hello to us :)

Boys, no matter how hot you are, as long as the underwear upon your pants is stained. oops! that is a big NG!

Also it is very important that your underwear match your pants. Imagine a loose boxer under your fit suit pants; or a sexy thong in your hip-hop jeans......

It is not only important to match the style, but also the color. In the pic at the right: because suit pants are more mature, within a white underwear is very easy to make youself an old man.......  ===========>

But here, the same underwear but with different pants, is it better?

Jeans is more casual, it is match with a sporty look underwear ^_^

Also, it was very popular among break-dancer to show their boxer while wearing loose pants. But apprently, there are people who have been sued for sex offensive because of this outfit. Although they ended-up not guilty, people wearing low cut pants may leave a bad impression in the eyes of other individuals.

OK....appropreatly show your underwear is still good, hollywood stars do so too, here comes some examples show how they match their underwear with their outfit

At the end, thanks to my friend's contribution, we have an example that is more close to us  :)

It is improtant to have your underwear match with your outfit, but the most important thing is.......... keep your underwear clean at all time!

- Jeal

Jewellery, Flowers and Underwear?

Hey guys,

This post is about statistics and numbers that Statistics Canada published concerning Valentine's Day. The thing that surprised me is the amount of money spent on V-day gifts. Without looking the website, if I asked you which gift items were purchased the most, you would say.. flowers, jewellery, teddy bears or chocolates. Wrong!!

According to Statistics Canada, people spent $580 billion on men's underwear, sleepwear and hosiery in 2009. Second highest was $3.1 billion for the total value of stationery, office supplies, card, gift wrap and party. Finally third place was for jewellery and watches sold - $2.8 billion. Those who received sleepwear and underwear might have a great night on Valentine's Day. 

I am surprised that Canadian citizens spend more money on gift wraps and cards than expensive rings and necklaces. I believe that it is a good idea to give underwear because they are not so expensive compared to jewellery. Plus, unlike bouquets of flowers, those products are very useful and durable since we need to use them every day.

Therefore ladies, I suggest to offer your man a fresh pair of underwear for Valentine's Day. Maybe you can try to invest a bit more into soft, high quality boxers. Just saying :)

Which gifts would you give to your loved one? Leave your comment below.

Please check out Dylan's website for more product details
Their Facebook page

- Annick

Brief History on Men's Underwear!

As most of us wear undergarments for comfort or simply because our culture considers it the norm, have you ever wondered when it all began.  The first form of underwear known is the loincloth, which was worn 7000 years ago.  It was known for being used by ancient Egyptians, hawaiiens, Japanese and Greeks in many forms based on the era and social class. The loincloths were replaced in the Middle Ages by trouser-like clothing called braies.  Braies were generally fitted with a front flap that was buttoned or tied closed.   During the renaissance, the codpiece came to be which allowed men to urinate without having to remove the braies.  Codpiece could also be used to store items like coins or other small things.  As its symbolism of masculinity became more acknowledged, the size of these codpieces continued to grow as a trend until it ended with the dawn of the 17^th century.  During the Industrial age, the invention of machinery began the mass production of homogenous looking undergarments.  It was only by the 1900s that this division of fashion became more of an interest to designers.  By the 1930, the first briefs were invented and as the years progressed, more attention was geared towards the style of the male’s undergarments.  Today, many companies are focusing on upscale designs for men’s underwear.  Who knew that all of this change began with a simple loincloth?

- Audrey

"Made in Canada" via China?

There are a lot of Canadian companies but are any of their products actually made in Canada?

If we look at Molson they actually have more breweries in the USA than in Canada. How about Roots? Their website screams Canadian, however in reality only 40% of their goods are actually made in Canada (the other 60% are made in China, Peru and India).

The article, Not Made in Canada shows that Canadian brands, who have their headquarters in Canada, are not primarily selling products made in Canada. For example: Le Chateau (40% made in Canada), Jacob (20%), Reitmans (0%), and Lululemon (undisclosed).

To tie this in with underwear, La Senza does not disclose the percentage of lingerie they make in Canada but most of their labels say Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. When researching men’s underwear on Google the first brand to come up is Dylan Ribkoff which is made completely in Canada.

As the global marketplace is becoming even more competitive, companies are producing products for cheaper by outsourcing labour and using foreign resources. However, does this come at a price? In my opinion, consumer perception and quality are affected when Canadian companies have products that are not made in Canada. At the end of the day, it’s all about trust in the sense that consumers are willing to pay more for a brand they trust.

What are your views on products that are actually made in Canada? Do you care where your clothing is made? Do you agree the idea in the image below?

- Michelle