A Tug reader was doing some research for one of his clients, was digging through the Chicago Tribune & Los Angeles Times archives, and came across a series of men’s shapewear underwear advertisements (known then as support underwear) that date back to the early 1960’s and was nice enough to forward them over.
While it’s fairly well known that male girdles have been around since 17th and 18th century fashion, where George IV was known to wear corsets, I was not aware that men’s support underwear had been offered as a mainstream clothing item prior to last year when I was introduced to the mens shapewear category when a UK reporter wrote about Equmen’s core precision undershirt and described it as Spanx for men. Once that happened, the men’s shapewear market exploded and we all sat back in amazement as we learned about all the mens support underwear that had surprisingly been on the market for some time, but had primarily been marketed to men recovering from surgery or as a temporary cosmetic remedy to mask the effects of gynecomastia (man boobs).
Apparently, as reported by the above reader’s father, men’s clothes got rather tight fitting in the 60’s and ’70’s and so manufacturer’s like Jockey, Mandate, and Munsingwear responded by introducing the following men’s support underwear. One thing to pay close attention to is how these manufacturers marketed these products back then, and how very similar that is to how companies are marketing them today — call that a coincidence or just creative copying.
Thanks to the Tug reader who sent these in! Enjoy.
Stay tuned to the site over the next couple of days – there’s another Tug Exclusive coming your way!
Jockey Ad – Vitalizer Briefs – Mar 14, 1963
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – Positive Support Briefs – Aug 21, 1964
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – Mandates Swim Trunks – Jun 6, 1965
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – Mandates Swim Trunks – Jun 6, 1965
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – Hi Rise Briefs – Slim 2 inches off your waist – November 15, 1966
Munsingwear Mens Support Underwear – Trims Your Middle – Apr 17, 1966
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – Shape Up. Slim Down – Oct 15, 1967
Mandate MensSupport Underwear – Slim Down in Mandate – Oct 18, 1968
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – Instant Slimming – Dec 6, 1972
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – September 19, 1977 – Graig Nettles Endorses Mandate
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – Jan 9, 1978
Mandate Mens Support Underwear/Boxers – Jan 12, 1979
Mandate Mens Support Underwear – The Support Boxer that Slims – January 21, 1980
I FOUND IT FUNNY WHEN SPANX (SP) ADVERTISED THE FIRST CONTROL UNDER GARMENTS F0OR MEN. IN 1967 AND 8 I WORKED AT A HIGH END DEPARTMENT STORE, IN THE ;MEN’S DEPT. WE SOLD A GREAT DEAL OF “MANDATES” TO MEN WHO DID NOT QUITE HAVE THE JOHN TRAVOLTA LOOK.
In the 60’s through the late 70′ s most men’s store carried Mandate, Jockey or Supp-hose support shorts. You could find them in almost any town larger than 10,00 population. They had a good market base centered on professional and business men.