From a fig leaf to loin cloth and then on to briefs and boxers, it’s a rather fascinating undercover journey for men. However, Modern Men’s underwear was largely an invention of the 1930s. On January 19, 1935 Coppers Inc sold the world’s first briefs in Chicago, Illinois.
The company placed a Y-shaped front and overlapping fly on knitted drawers in both short and long styles. They dubbed the design the “Jockey� since it offered a degree of support that had previously only been available from the Jockstrap (the company itself would later adopt the name Jockey, as well). Jockey briefs proved so popular that over 30,000 pairs were sold within three months of their introduction.
Today’s (May 19) Independent provides a fascinating account of this journey and reminds the male of the species that “for men, 19 January, 1935, was their equivalent of the day Mary Jacob patented the first bra in 1913 or the moment in 1959 when Glen Mills had the inspiration for tights – it was when Arthur Kneibler’s Jockey briefs first went on sale at a department store…
“After they went on sale in Britain in 1938, at Simpsons in Piccadilly, they sold 3,000 a week. In 1948 every male athlete in the British Olympic team was given a free pair of Y-fronts. Today, Coopers are known as Jockey International and are pretty much the biggest thing in briefs anywhere in the world…
(Briefs: Close fitting, knitted undergarments with an elastic waist band, with or without an overlapping fly front. Typified by the famous Jockey brand Y-front brief and produced in the mid to late 20th century by many manufacturers in many designs. Originally inspired by the brief swim suits worn in the South of France in the 1930s.)
“It would no doubt have gladdened the heart of Mr Kneibler to have learnt that this week, a pair of 37-year-old cotton Y-fronts – which is the British colloquialism for briefs – were sold on eBay for £127.
“They were the property of John Clarke, who had bought a selection of string vests and briefs from Marks & Spencer, sometime in 1969 or 1970. They were shoved into the loft when his wife expressed her dislike for them. His daughter felt there might be a market for antique underwear and so put them up for auction on eBay – she was right…”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.