In Praise of Y-Fronts - 6 Seams and Pockets

Such has been the impact of Y-fronts that they have become a universal shorthand for men's underwear over the years although none of the competition have the upside down 'Y' seam which gives the garment it's name. The fork of the Y frames the pocket in which the male organs rest in a most satisfying way.

The shape and size of the pocket varies, small ones creating a 'trapped' effect while broader styles bring the area forward visually.

The other salient feature, traditionally, is the high waist which looks a bit old fashioned in this day and age – but in a way that's part of the appeal suggesting an innate modesty in their wearer which is endearing. The wearer is no flashy kid but a mature adult who favours comfort over image and who expects to reveal his underwear only to the select few.

Modern Y-fronts however do make concessions to the trend to skimpier fits and this picture shows a lower waisted example which is by no means short on erotic appeal. The superman tattoo on this model makes a nice connection to the hey day of Y-fronts in the 50's and the joke about wearing of underpants on the outside.

Read Part 7

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On Praise of Y-Fronts - 9 The Competition

In the old days there was a rival to Y-fronts, the Wolsey X-Front design. The advertising picture attached shows the design but doesn't do justice to the garment which in later versions had a lower waist and broader 'X'. It looked quite good on a suitable model where the large X seams curving round the lower abdomen suggested restraint (to me at any rate!).

I can recall a striking advert where the X-fronted model was presented in a 'Tarzan' style scene, back pressed against a tree in the jungle with head turned trying to see round the trunk. In the background a camp fire could be seen through the trees suggesting wicked goings on from which he had just escaped from or in which he planned to intervene.

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After a period in which plain slips and boxers have been the staple underwear fare, fashions in men's underwear have veered back towards the Y-front sort of design in recent years. Visible seams have come back with Calvin Klein leading the way. Calvin's share with Y-fronts the essential qualities of loose fit and comfort which means they do not necessarily look terribly sexy on the average guy, but lets face it, we look through the eyes of non-average images!

The success of Calvins seems to have caused a general revival of interest in other brands. These days even porn stars wear seamed underpants – though generally they are not Y-fronts.

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In Praise of Y-Fronts - 8. Rear View Fantasies

As Mitchell is a fetish artist and mitchmen.com is a fetish interest site the sight of a male rear view inevitably conjures up fantasies of spanking.

The associations of 'should be worn and not seen' adds an extra twist of humiliation to this situation. This guy could almost be straight, that bedroom was certainly created by a woman and here he is presenting his Y-fronts and being punished for it.
(Picture by Young Designers Emporium of S Africa – but it's just an ad)

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The second picture from Man's Hand shows a public spanking of a man in Y-fronts, surely that's not a gay man? Have the revellers at the Folsom Street fair jumped a workman who made derogatory remarks as he passed by? Probably not but it's a nice fantasy.

Add a touch of bondage and the eroticism ratchets up a level.

Sorry no source info for this picture.

The way the leg seams shape the buttocks and highlight the thighs in these pictures is a feast for the eyes. Some of these underpants may not be Y-fronts although the effect is similar.

above: Cory from Captured Guys

Next time I'll look at contemporary rivals.

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In Praise of Y-Fronts - 14 More Sexy Bottoms

The original Y-fronts became a mitchmen favourite for their associations with unintended exposure and sleaze. These modern pictures celebrate the same erotic imagery.

This unusual downward view creates an impression of illicit peeking inside the model's trousers. Even though it is partially hidden, the white underwear is doing a terrific job of drawing attention to the shape of his buttocks and the valley in-between them. The submissive pose of the model – on his knees with hands behind his head - tells us that we are not simply witnessing a unplanned 'flash'. Has the undressing been interrupted by an opportunist or ordered by a captor? The downward angle gives us the captor's viewpoint, the severe cropping focussing in on the erotic area..

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In the second picture the sexual message is equally obvious, but the Y-fronts are doing their job of conveying modesty. In this position the underwear shapes Bekim's package better than his bottom and the visible seam doesn't contribute much – except to the sense that we were not meant to see this. This pose is a bit of a trademark at Buk Buddies and almost suggests the model is too shy or too straight to 'show all' (at least not yet). The fully clad top contrasted with his bare legs contributes to the same idea of modesty.

I'm not an out-and-out foot man but I do find the shape of bare feet very attractive in angles like this. Afficionado's of darker fetishes like me will see in the pose a man crying out to be suspended - in which event the Y-Front coverage will soon be dispensed with - perhaps forcibly – but I run ahead of myself!
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The final picture by Joe Oppedisano epitomises sleaze, suggesting the morning after a wild night out and we are treated to a cracking rear view. Just look at the sweeps of the seams! He's actually doing his washing (look at the hand) which is a less exciting scenario and his lack of enthusiasm is very Y-Front and manly. The dirty trainers suggest the model is as dirty as his surroundings but he isn't. The underwear actually looks quite clean but well worn (maybe wet) so we can see both buttocks outlined.

Joe's pictures are also available in hardback books, 'Testosterone' and 'Uncensored'

Read Part 15

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In Praise of Y-Fronts - 25 Y-Front Art by Mitchell

This is a previously unpublished picture by Mitchell showing a young man tied to the stake, struggling in his Y-Fronts.

Mitchell - Tied to the Stake
The absence of a background means you can imagine your own scenario.

With Y-fronts being worn it can't be a Wild West scene.
Perhaps it's a jungle explorer come unstuck?
 ..or an air crash survivor (out of the frying pan)?
...a military captive perhaps,
but obviously not a soldier with that unkempt hair.

Whatever the case, the outlook is bleak.

 Read this series from the start

A more recent Y-Front picture by Mitchell

In Praise of Y-Fronts 5 - Baggies

Because Y-Fronts are designed for comfort there is a tendency towards bagginess, especially in well used – or should I say much loved - examples. You can see this in the pictures of Dustin I posted earlier and I've added more views here (thanks to Buk Buddies again).

The baggy Y-front has been much ridiculed by the media and those women who get a kick out of mocking male stereotypes. Personally I don't find baggy underwear sexy in itself but the statement it makes about the wearer can be attractive. It certainly doesn't detract from Dustin's sexiness.

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The reality of any garment – male or female - is nearly always different front the glossy image portrayed by a model. And the image can be magnificent!

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Humble Y-fronts? No way, these garments are mighty masculine apparel.

The modesty more apparent than real in these examples.

On a practical level, any red blooded male will be happy to claim that 'room to grow' is essential whilst aficionados of the feel of cotton on the skin can (in private moments) appreciate the luxurious freedom of movement within.

Read Part 6

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In Praise of Y-Fronts - 24 The Last Word - More Hunks in Y's

Just in case there are any doubters left out there, here are some more hunks in Y's.

I can't imagine any of them being rejected by my readers!

Bekim from BukBuddies looking sweet and ready.

Plenty of man in these briefs.

Almost makes colours respectable!

POSTSCRIPTS
 see also:
Will Clark bulging in sexy Y-Fronts 

Al Parker demonstrating how the openings are used

Finally some more Y-Front Art from Mitchell 

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In Praise Of Y-Fronts - 3 Caught Undressed

I have always been turned on by Y-front style underwear on men. To me this garments seems to say 'I'm a man and real men don't dress in skimpy or coloured underwear, we wear practical garments'. And because the seams and pockets clearly show the functionality of the garment, they highlight what is contained within. So that same modesty also dictates they be kept hidden as far as possible. So when I see a man standing in Y-fronts, it doesn't mean he is trying to look sexy it means he has been caught undressed, his intimate garments exposed for all to see. That's sexy!

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These pictures are from Buk Buddies, now defunct,
but one of the few sites that proudly featured Y-Front style underwear.
The model is Dustin.

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In Praise of Y-Fronts - 7. From Behind

The high waist on Y's really comes into it's own when the wearer is seen from the rear.

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The sight of a substantial bottom filling out a pair of white Y-fronts is unbeatable!

The entire buttock is covered in white which hints at the treasure within. Bagginess banished.

The curve of the leg seam on the right guy makes me quiver and this image pops up quite a lot in my mitchmen drawings.

The pool table images are from the excellent Buk Buddies but I can't find the model on the current roster at the site.

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In Praise of Y-Fronts - 21 Garments of Restraint

I have described Y-Fronts as a garment for modest men. Being seen in them a cause for embarassment. How nice then to prolong that embarassment, that vulnerability, by tying up the wearer so he is unable to cover up and regain his composure.

Sleeping in underwear must be the ultimate statement of a modest man. But this picture shows that even loose fit underwear can hint at what's within. If robbery was the motive when this muscular man was caught asleep and tied to the bed his exposed buttock and writhing struggle to escape might well suggest another entertainment to his attacker when he comes to take his leave.

This man looks at though he was surprised while enjoying an early morning tea and smoke. The rumpled sheets suggest a struggle to restrain him, perhaps not suprising as the erotic bondage makes it clear that the the motive is not just robbery. The underwear detail is not clear in this picture but does produce a nice ball bag. The kneeling, head bowed pose is very sexy

In the last picture Randy of Captured Guys is taken on the living room floor. In this case the well-worn-in underwear, combined with the domestic surroundings and Randy's 'average guy' looks create a degree of realism in his plight. The attacker is still clothed but you can see which way his thoughts are going.

Read Part 22

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Neighbourhood Police - The Final Stretch - OutBound in Y-fronts

A prisoner awaiting his turn to be loaded into an unmarked van

catches the Commissioner's eye in his nice clean Y-Fronts.

 The 'Neighbourhood Cops' story by Mitchell reaches a shocking conclusion
as the Police Commissioner discovers that an undercover group
is transferring prisoners to a secret Annex of the prison
where they use abuse and punish them in a deplorable way.

Join Mitchell's yahoo! group to see the full set of pictures (link in sidebar)

In Praise of Y-Fronts - 1 (Boys will be Boys)

Today's post introduces a series of articles called 'In Praise of Y-Fronts'
in which I show my appreciation of a much loved garment.

 I love to dress my boys in white underwear.

In this series I explain why
and give some favourite pictures of how to wear them well.

Mitchell - Boys Will Be Boys

This picture is an image from Mitchell's "S+M Clinic" series posted at mitchmen (Yahoo Group).
All the pictures and Story can be seen by joining the mitchmen Yahoo Group (link in right sidebar).

Read Part 2 

Other titles in the In Praise Of..... series covered 
jock straps, swimming trunks and sailors 
and can be found by using the search functions.

In Praise of Y-Fronts - 22 More Y-Front Bondage

In these pictures our men are tied to objects. The combination of Y-style underwear and ropes creates a strange sense of unreality as though they had been plucked from everyday life, stripped and tied for some evil intent.

Shawn of Captured Guys struggles while tied to a chair - a simple restraint technique which inhibits access and serves mainly to keep the captive in one place. Perhaps while his belongings are searched or his clothes borrowed in for some criminal activity. It would not be suggestive were it not for the cradle around his nicely shaped package. There's a lot of straining going on down there.

Hunter of Academy Men is in more serious trouble, strapped to a medical looking platform so as to leave his body unprotected. The surroundings are very non-medical and so is the heavyweight harness on his head which is designed to accept a clip-on plug-gag - all rather ominous signs. The everyday underwear and apprehensive eyes suggest this is a very unplanned event.

In picture 3 Shawn Roberts of Captured Guys is truly majestic in this tip toe pose. He looks most unhappy being forced to pose in this uncomfortable position. Just two bindings, but this is the most vulnerable position of all

Read Part 23

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Y-Front bondage also in this article

In Praise of Y-Fronts - 15. Hi-Line Models

Before moving on to more exotic uses for the Y-Front, just 3 last pictures which celebrate the high waist, this time from the front view. This design is still around for bigger men to luxuriate in and although these pictures are posed you still get the little jolt of scandal from seeing the seams.

Clay Maverick cuts a suitably craggy figure which is completely appropriate for the masculine image of Y's. I'm not sure why he's pulling then out at the front, smoothing creases perhaps? Or an uncomfortable wet patch. The sheepish look on his face is very mitchmen – put in his place!

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The businessman with his neat, skin tight Y's is like a more grown up version of the lad in post No 11. With meticulous dressing like this, such a man in real life would hate to show us his intimate garments! Look at his face!



In the final picture the model poses as though amazed that all his other clothes have disappeared. He is stood on raised platforms as though forced to display his embarrassing state of undress for an watching audience.

Read Part 16

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In Praise of Y-Fronts - 23 Some Y-Front Art

A selection of pictures featuring Y-front style underwear pictures from pin up to raunch. I would have liked to feature Tom or Etienne in this section but I can't recall them ever using these garments in their pictures. Tom didn't feature underwear of any sort much and Etienne it seems was a shorts man.

Beach Palms by 'JuiceJ' of whom I know nothing. Obviously derived from a photograph, the romantic subject and style is reminiscent of Kimura but much crisper.

'Cotton Candy' by the prolific 'Kent' who regularly features the underwear theme. His pictures are sold on e-bay and regularly crop up in male art groups.

Trio by DAD. Quite an arty image but it homes in nicely on the eroticism of underwear.

A detail from 'Full Moon' by Teddy of Paris, the great, French, erotic artist. See also my A-Z article on Teddy. Look at GMBA archives for more (see sidebar for link).

Read Part 24

More Y-Front art in my 2016 A-Z post on Waistband

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Mitchell's Fetish Art for June

Mitchell - Y-Fronts Captive

"Twas on a Monday morning the gas man came to call 

The gas tap wouldn't turn, I wasn't getting gas at all

 He tore out all the skirting boards to try and find the main 

And I had to call a carpenter to put them back again 

Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do!"

 

(From: 'The Gas Man Cometh' by Flanders and Swan)

 

 The man in this picture is the Engineer who came to fix the gas (it was trouble with my mains cock).
He did quite a lot of damage to my skirtings, so I bundled him into the bedroom while we negotiated who should pay for it to be fixed. He was very uncooperative, I started searching his overalls for money. Well actually I removed them from his body first and in doing so inadvertently exposed his underwear which was all he had on underneath. It was pristine white and snug-fitting, but nice but very old-fashioned and he'd even tucked his vest into his high-waisted pants like a schoolboy does. By this time I had him tied, spread-eagled on the bed of course, so he couldn't couldn't cover anything up and his embarrassment was obvious (and rather pleasing if I'm honest). I immediately went to fetch my phone to make a record of him squirming - for my future enjoyment, you understand.

As my lens roved across his body seeking out artistic details to capture for posterity, the bulge in his underpants, nicely framed by the Y-seams, caught my eye. I couldn't resist experimenting to see if I could increase the swelling or at least to rearrange it so it looked bigger. This brought a growled response from him, but I got some fab pictures. For some reason that inverted-Y shape made me think of pitchforks and balloons, but when I told him that he didn't appreciate the joke for some reason. He started yelling and shouting, so of course I had to gag him - for the neighbours sake.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, he let me have my stopcock service for nothing in the end.
(and a jolly good job he made of it too, to be fair to the naughty boy)
I'm on the phone now, hoping to get a carpenter in tomorrow.

 

 (From: 'The Gas Man Cometh' by mitchmen)

 

 ~

 

I've always been turned on by Y-Front style underwear worn with a tucked in vest. It goes back to days spent ogling and dissecting the men's underwear pages of mail order catalogues. 

This style of underwear is very conservative and favoured by modest, unadventurous men (and I suppose 'large' ones) who appreciate the extra coverage afforded by the high-rise design. There's something very manly about it's no-frills practicality. It doesn't pass as swim or leisure wear when it's unveiled, but spells out firmly that this man is in and 'undressed' state and exhibiting a garment he didn't intend others should ever see. The tucked-in vest seems to amplify this buttoned-up, extreme modesty. For erotically minded viewers it creates a similar sexy impression to an 'all-in-one' suit or leotard.

 

 

For other pictures at mitchmen by Mitchell, click on the 'mitchpix' label below 

Also visit the mitchmen Gallery Hub

A-Z of Fetish Artists - Waistband

 Waistband - Y-Front Fantasy

Waistband - Ass Worship

Two images by an artist I know only as 'Waistband' and involving the worship of traditional white men's underwear. Many of us cut our teeth on gear like this, advertised in store catalogues. Functional underwear that isn't pretending to be anything else and is not meant to be seen makes the wearer look particularly undressed whenever it does see the light of day. 

There's memories of the famous Y-Front marque in the first picture although I can't recall ever seeing variants with a button fly like that depicted here. The second image portrays something more like the Calvin Klein revival style. Both varieties provide the glorious rear view that only comes with a modest capacious fit and high waist. This inbuilt characteristic of modesty makes the man who wears it all the more challenging and intriguing and sightings of him in his underwear acquire a rarity value.

This artist has his own distinctive 'woodcut' style that gives these images credibility. If anyone can supply more information about him (via comments) I'd be glad to hear from you.

If you like looking at men in this style of underwear have a look at my series 'In Praise of Y-Fronts'

 

For more articles in this series click on the A-Z label below or search for specific artists using the index page or search boxes (top right)

In Praise of Y-Fronts 17 - Colours

In the old days, underwear for men was white, end of story.

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Attempts by the Y-Front company to introduce light and dark blue versions with white seams met with grave suspicions of feminisation and brought ridicule from the straight-oriented male world of that time. Some of my earliest pictures picked up on this mood to create humiliation scenarios for the man caught wearing them. I'm think the critics were probably right – but for the wrong reasons.The highly functional design looks distinctly odd when jazzed up in this way.

The white vs colours divide still exists today but coloured underwear is commonplace. Designers have made clever use of colour to enhance the sexiness of the garment, but in making it self-consciously 'posey' have moved away from traditional Y-front 'values' and as a result, largely eliminated the sense of being undressed, exposed and vulnerable.


On the Aussiebum reds, the low cut waist is largely responsible for the considerable erotic appeal which on the slender model recreates the effect of swimming trunks. The dark colour exaggerates the size of his hips and emphasises the line of the white seams. The waistband sweeps around his body in a very attractive way whilst the leg and pocket seams curve together and dive out of sight between his legs.


The Diesels worn by Pedro Andreas of Stag Homme Studios look more like real underwear and the colour is very masculine. This image dismisses any notion that colours do not suit mature men but then this guy would make any garment look great, I suppose. It's a shame he ends up looking like an advertising hoarding, this underwear positively shouts at you, which is not terribly sexy.


The brown garment shows more restraint. It's another interesting male colour and the white seams are designed to give the model full credit for his bulges! These are more like shorts than briefs but I like the broad white leg hems which make his thighs look great.


Finally we have to have a Ginch Gonch boy.

This underlying design of this underwear is actually very traditional. Different patterns are patched together in a way that emphasises the seams and structure. The patterns themselves cleverly enhance the erotic areas, in this case with a net-like trellis design which increases the '3-D' effect just where the impression of size is wanted.

These garments are outrageously frivolous but in a peverse way they reinstate underwear as a garment which is best kept hidden and which clearly states 'I am undressed' when seen.
See more at http://www.ginchgonch.com/.

The rebellious Ginch Gonch style prompted me to create a mitchmen picture in which the two Ginch Gonch boys are punished for showing their outrageous underwear in public.

Read Part 18

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