UK Vs. US Underwear Battle, Part II

In the first part of the underwear battle, I looked at the differences and similarities in the styles of underwear on both sides of the pond.  Let’s pick up the battle and move on to other aspects!

The biggest difference the 3,000 or so nautical miles causes is cost.  Designer underwear is more expensive in the UK than over the pond.  UK underwear fans tend to pay the same amount in £ (pounds) what our US friends pay in $ (dollars) for the designer gear – i.e. if a pair costs $22 in the US, we’re likely to pay around £22 for the same item. With the exchange rate currently at around 1.55 dollars to the pound, that makes quite a difference! That said being said, there is plenty of affordable underwear out there; just don’t expect it to have CK or AussieBum on the waistband.

Costs can be cut if you’re not set on having the latest style as we have a couple of discount chains which tend to sell the less popular or last years styles at cheap prices.  Usually these are traditional boxers rather than trunks and most of the time only in very limited colours, often just black or white.  But if you’re just bothered about the name on the waistband, it can save you some money.

Underwear designed and produced exclusively for a particular clothing chain is much more popular in the UK. Ask many UK guys what is in their underwear drawer and the answer is likely to be M&S, Next, or something similar. All names that will mean nothing to most people outside of this particular island.  These are large clothing chains that cover virtually every town in the UK.  The underwear offered by these chains range from the budget to the luxurious, all styles, but are usually quite restrained on colours; the majority being darker shades which is not to my taste at all.  I’m all for bright colours! That said, they do produce some very comfy underwear and in days gone by when I wasn’t working and was a poor student, they more than sufficed!

So, there you have it…a quick round-up of underwear styles and buying habits this side of the pond.  One thing worth pointing out is that all of what I’ve written is based on my personal observations and not any statistical analysis.  Feel free to comment away!