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

Fashion Weeks

With many Fashion Weeks around the world come and gone, designers of men’s underwear have been extra busy showing off their collections of underwear. From Tokyo to Milan to New York City, male models have been walking down the catwalk on countless days with so many different types of underwear. From traditional underwear to more untraditional undies, we have seen them all.

            As a result of a growing trend in male skivvies, we have seen more designers from around the fashion world create male underwear and showing them off at the Fashion Weeks. It has become more and more competitive with the rise of more designers, who have entered the field. Hence, the increase in competition, can only be beneficial for the men. The men will have a better selection in underwear.

As we can see, men’s underwear is becoming as important as women’s underwear. After all, the men deserve it! Don’t you think?

- Carlo

Sex and Your Underwear!

Have you ever wondered how what you wear under your slacks affects your love life?

If you’re a man that believes that when you go on a date, your underwear's don’t matter because your lady will only see your undies once who have reached your end game. 

Unfortunately, you're completely wrong! You couldn't even begin to imagine the affect that men's underwear may have on women.

Luckily, Isabel Pen; writer of Men’s Fitness has given us some helpful tips for all the men out there who want to pick up their game.

TIP #1: Get Rid of Girl Repellent: We want to attract the ladies after a successful night out, not scare them away.

TIP #2: Enforce Quality Control: Just like you wouldn’t wear a ripped up suit to go to work, don’t leave the house with hoses in your skivvies.

TIP #3 Lose the Funny Stuff: You’re a grown man, not a kid anymore. Let it be emphasized by your wardrobe; as well as your underwear.

TIP #4 Consider The Material: Looking good is always important, but you also got to consider comfort for time to time. Get yourself the perfect fit!

TIP #5 Ditch the Tighty Whities
: Rejuvenate yourselves, don’t go for old men shivvies. Keep it young and fresh!

TIP #6 Don't Overcompensate: Don’t make the brand of the undies steal the show; leave that up to your junk. Avoid the tacky brands.

TIP #7 Avoid Being Flamboyant: At the end of the day, the goal is to impress the women. Just keep it simple and avoid anything to kinky.

Hence, a good place to start shopping for the perfect men's underwear is at Dylan Ribkoff. Find different pairs of underwear for any occasion. If it's to impressing the ladies or just for a night out on the town, Dylan Ribkoff's fresh and fashionable shivvies got you covered. 

- Carlo

Your Mom Sleeps Naked...and so does your Dad!

This article put together by Julianna Rae has a very catchy title that may bring up some surprising images that I’m sure you wouldn’t like to think about. It does discuss many interesting points regarding underwear. I’m only going to highlight a few key points but the image below is definitely worth reading if you want some fun facts on underwear.

Firstly, how does this article relate to promoting underwear? It was found that 31% of people wear underwear to bed and it’s mostly in the age range of 18-24. Underwear is essential in our everyday wardrobes and now essential at night as well. This is great for an underwear line like Dylan Ribkoff because they are targeting university students and teenagers around this and they focus on comfort but also fashion.

A second interesting point is that 64% own underwear for a reasonable amount of time, whereas 25% own them for over 5 years and 11% own them for over 10 years. Meaning that we are constantly looking for new underwear that is good quality and will last. Bottom line: underwear is an investment. Therefore a company like Dylan Ribkoff that actually cares about their customers and what they want is a key feature to success.

Finally, underwear is a hot holiday gift. So if you’re looking for a gift idea for your boyfriends, spouses, siblings, or even if you want to get yourself a gift, why not check out Dylan Ribkoff shop around for simple yet bold underwear. There’s a great variety of styles and colors. All their products are made in Canada using high quality fabrics that will last!

- Michelle

Attractive Alternatives for Designer Brand Underwear

As a student with limited budget, I often search for alternatives to expensive products that I cannot afford. Also, I want to find something with the same quality or better. For underwear, I would never spend more than 5$ for a pair of female underwear. The lingerie industry is expanding exponentially as for male underwear, it has just began to blossom a few years ago. This blog post is about alternatives for designer brand underwear. I truly believe that Dylan Ribkoff Apparel can provide all the following styles, but at reasonable prices and with the same high quality. It is especially aimed to young adults who have tight budgets, but want to look stylish in their underwear!
I stumbled upon this website Askmen.ca regarding the trends of male underwear for the year 2011. It is quite nice since they talk about different styles and shows some examples. However, when I found this:

$65 for a pair of “Fruit of the Loom” type briefs? I can’t even afford underwear this expensive!

Here is a product of Dylan Ribkoff’s line that I suggest:

Same style, more stylish and fashionable (let’s be honest!), it comes in a variety of shades, with 3 waistbands to choose from and…for around 1/3 of Equmen’s price! Moreover, each style is named after a city in the world.

Next: trunks!

CK’s trunks, quite nice, but I found better…

Currently on sale for $15! This is certainly a must-have. The colors combination seems much more vibrant 

and exciting. By the way, did you know that their fabric is made out of “the finest quality ring-spun yarn? This means that it results in a softer, more durable fabric, and takes 5 times longer to produce." (DylanRibkoff.com) This company does ensure the softness of their products which is the most important factor for men underclothing.

Last style: the infamous briefs

“Then select color….” Only the color black to choose from… where are the colors of the spectrum?

For around the same price (or less), you have a buffet of briefs in a variety of colors!

In summary, all I want to say is that Dylan Ribkoff Apparel provides same exact quality than other brands, gives a whole lot of colors to choose from, most of the times more affordable for college students. In other words, perfect undies!

Please support them by “Like!” their Facebook page for current promotions:

http://www.facebook.com/DylanRibkoff

Or visit their official website (online shop) at:

http://www.dylanribkoff.com/

- Annick