Q: What do you think of not wearing underwear with certain outfits? I think it looks very stylish to wear a pair of jeans and a T-shirt without underwear. It is more of a grunge or surfer look, but I have been able to pull it off. What do you think about this concept as a relaxed or casual style?

A: It looks stylish? What looks stylish, plumber’s butt? And anyway, how does someone know you’re not wearing underwear? And for that matter, how do you know you’re “pulling it off”? Sometimes the outline of a woman’s underwear is visible through her pants because the pants are thin and tight—a fine excuse for G-string wear—but jeans certainly shouldn’t give any clues to what lies beneath (or what doesn’t), nor should any other form of menswear I can think of. I’m a big underwear fan. It can be completely wild, your little secret under the most conservative outerwear. It provides warmth in winter and absorbs perspiration in summer. It provides control when spring springs, offers support for the instruments of progeniture and affords protection from zipper teeth or fly carelessness.

December 2001

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