A man wearing a Japanese traditional Fundoshi -red rokushaku- frontside

A man in a Fundoshi -red rokushaku- doubling as swimwear- backside

Sir Walter Raleigh in paned trunk hose and cannions, and his son in loose slops, 1602.

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Underwear

Undergarments, also called "underwear", "lingerie" (undergarments for women), or sometimes "intimate clothing" and "pants" in British English are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes. more...

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Some clothing is specifically underwear, while some is also used as swimsuit (if made of suitable material), and both T-shirts and some shorts are suitable as underwear as well as outer clothing. Suitability as outer clothing is, apart from outdoor or indoor climate, largely a social and sometimes even a legal matter. One of the criteria for shorts not to be suitable as outer clothing may be that it has a fly that avoids exposure of the genitals just by an overlap of cloth, without buttons etc.

In addition to keeping outer garments from soiling, undergarments are worn for a variety of reasons: warmth, comfort and hygiene being the most common. Undergarments are often used for modesty or erotic display; sometimes both of these motivations are simultaneously present.

Undergarments can also have religious significance, as in the special temple garment worn by followers of the LDS Church (Mormons). Some Jews use clothing that should neither touch the skin, nor be used as outer clothing: tallit katan or tallet ketannah or tzitzit. Every Jewish boy and man is supposed to wear Tzitzis (tassles) ?on undergarments, every day and always when attending synagogue . Some Hindus wear a Sacred Thread underneath their clothing that is supported on the left shoulder and wrapped around the body, falling underneath the right arm.

The two major types of men's underpants are boxer shorts (shorts-length and loose) and briefs (smaller and tighter), which are also referred to as Y-fronts in British English.

History

Ancient history

The loincloth is the simplest form of underwear; it was probably the first undergarment worn by human beings. A loincloth may take three major forms. The first, and simplest, is simply a long strip of material which is passed between the legs and then around the waist. The ancient Hawaiian malo was of this form, as are several styles of the Japanese fundoshi. Another form is usually called a cache-sexe: a triangle of cloth is provided with strings or loops, which are used to fasten the triangle between the legs and over the genitals. The alternate form is more skirt-like: a cloth is wrapped around the hips several times and then fastened with a girdle.

In warmer climates, the loincloth may be the only clothing worn (making it effectively not an undergarment), as was doubtlessly its origin, but in colder temperatures, the loincloth often forms the basis of a person's clothing and is covered by other garments. In most ancient civilizations, this was the only undergarment available (King Tutankhamun was buried with 145 of them).

Men are said to have worn loincloths in ancient Greece and Rome.