A brief history of y-fronts; CELEBRATING 70 YEARS OF THE PANTS THAT STYLE FORGOT. (2024)

Byline: RYAN PARRY

THEY said they wouldn't last. But 70 years on, Y-fronts arestill holding their own - and ours, too.

The much-maligned "Y" has survived competition fromfashionable Calvin Klein-style trunks, boxers, tanga briefs - and eventhe cheeky thong.

The "unsexy" stigma, reinforced by John Major and MrBean, has been hard to shake.

And despite being sported by such sirens as Sarah Jessica Parker inSex And The City, Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels and even HomerSimpson - the pants are still seen as, well, a bit pants.

But the humble Y-front is here to stay - with the briefs now soldin 120 countries.

American firm Jockey came up with the idea in 1934, basing it onthe athletic support known as the jock-strap.

Here's 25 Y-front facts to celebrate 70 glorious years oftackle support.

IN 1910 Coopers Inc of Kenosha, Wisconsin, introduced the X-front,also memorably known as the Kenosha Klosed Krotch undergarment. TheX-front was a fiddly device with two overlapping flaps and buttons - itflopped.

BEFORE Y-fronts were invented, men pinned their long-johns to theinside of their trousers.

JOCKEY Y-fronts were the first underwear ever to be displayed in astore. Before 1935 all pants were bought discreetly from a salesman whor*trieved the required size from a hidden store-room.

Y-FRONT briefs then shot to fame in 1935 when bosses at a Chicagostore banned the skimpy pants from a window display. Before they wereremoved, 600 were sold.

FIRST imported by British retailer Simpson of Piccadilly, theY-front went on sale in Britain in 1938 and was soon selling 3,000 pairsa week.

WHEN the Second World War broke out, Y-front factories set up a WarDepartment to make parachutes for troops.

DURING the war, Jockey appealed to underpant wearers everywhere tosend back the elastic from old pairs to help with the war effort.

THE first ever Y-front commercial aired in America was on TheTonight Show in 1958. Host Jack Paar found the pants so hilarious thathis laughter strung a Y-front endorsem*nt out for two minutes instead ofthe allowed 30 seconds. The next day they sold out across the country.

THE largest pair of Y-fronts ever made had a 72in waist.

IN 1948 every male athlete in the British Olympic team was given afree pair of Y-fronts.

BRITISH men buy more underwear than anywhere else in Europe, withthe average bloke buying three pairs a year. It takes Italian men twoyears to buy as many pairs.

FORMULA 1 driver David Coulthard wears two pairs of Y-fronts forraces.

THE cast of blockbuster movie Troy wore Y-fronts underneath theirskirts when shooting the film.

CRINKLY crooner Julio Iglesias has been snapped swimming in afrumpy pair of Y-fronts. They can't have done his sex appeal toomuch harm though - he is thought to have slept with about with 3,000women.

IN the 1920s, modelling underwear was thought of as morally wrongand early advertising shots showed models in black face-masks to hidetheir identities.

THE Adventures Of Captain Underpants flew in to the rescue in 1997.This comic superhero saves the world wearing undies and a cape.

RESEARCH by Y-front-makers shows the average man's privateparts have increased in size over the past 20 years.

FILM star Johnny Depp donated his Y-fronts to a charity auction -they sold for pounds 1,600.

WEARING briefs too tightly raises the temperature of men'sprivate parts, making the wearer less fertile.

Y-FRONTS have been famously donned by Steve Martin, Babe Ruth,Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz, Dyan Cannon, Jessica Simpson, HomerSimpson, Steve McFadden and Mr Bean.

DAY Of The Week underpants were a craze in the 1950s. Each pair ofunderpants in the set of seven was labelled from Monday to Sunday.

SHOT-PUT champ Geoff Capes wore a 52in pair.

HARVEY Nichols says Y-fronts account for 38 per cent of men'sunderwear sales in its Knightsbridge store. Brummies are particularlyfond - more Y-fronts are sold in Birmingham than anywhere outsideLondon.

LABOUR MP Chris Bryant was forced to apologise when it was revealedthat he had sent a picture of himself wearing only a pair of Y-fronts toa gay website.

TWO Afghan refugees trying to reach England from France used theirY-fronts when the children's dinghy they were travelling on lostit* air-hole plug. They refilled the boat with air and used their pantsas an improvised blocker.

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CLASSIC: Homer Simpson is the latest man of fashion to sportY-fronts