Waistband:
Men's underwear has 3 types of waistband.
- Encased elastic waistband
- The sewn inside elastic waistband
- The sewn on elastic waistband
Encased elastic waistband is mostly found in boxers. Elastic is threaded through the casing and causes the boxer fabric to gather. This would be best for men who are allergic to latex. But major disadvantage is it leaves vertical red imprints on the body.
In sewn inside elastic waistband, elastic is exposed to the body. It does not leave red imprint marks on the body.
The sewn on elastic waistband is mostly found in briefs. It is very comfortable for the body and leaves very less red marks on the body. Several manufacturers are making their elastic waistbands with microfiber or having the inside brushed.
The fly:
Only 20% men prefer fly. Majority of men simply go up and over. That's why fly is mostly preferred as a decoration item than a functional feature. Whether men use it or not, fly will always be a stock feature on men's boxers. Boxer briefs and trunks will have a brief style fly treatment.
Inseam:
Lot of design changes have occurred between a man's legs. For increased comfort and improved fit, there is less of traditional intersecting of back, front and leg seams in the crotch area. Instead gussets and panels are becoming popular, and are very comfortable.
Gusset:
Gusset is generally available in diamond, rectangle or triangle shape, inserted in a garment to allow for more space and greater easy of movement. Gusset appears around the inseams. This allows the garment to have fewer seams. The underwear is thus form-fitting and comfortable. Inseams are becoming shorter. If inseams are very long, legs tend to creek up and so it needs frequent adjusting throughout the day.
Back Seam:
Back seam is a very important issue for most of the men. This seam will create a wedgy feeling. Most men don't like sitting on top of a back seam throughout the day. Most of the designer underwear don't have back seam. Instead, they have a gusset design to shape the garment.
Leg openings:
Men want freedom of movement without feeling that their stride is limited, or that their underwear legs need to be constantly adjusted. For woven boxers, look for boxers with plackets or slits on the side. These slits are usually 11/2 to 2 inches tall.
Jock cups:
The size of the cup gets larger as you go up in waistband size. There is no correlation between a man's waist size and the size of the package.
Silhouette:
Men's underwear should fit the body without binding or bagging, regardless of a man's size. Underwear that binds is uncomfortable. Don't buy underwear too big assuming it will shrink. Underwear today is cut to fit and will not shrink wash after wash.
Fabric:
Most of the men prefer cotton fabric. Highest quality cottons are pima cotton, supima cotton and Egyptian cotton. Microfiber is another very soft fabric for men's underwear.