What Are Briefs?
Definition
Briefs are close-fitting underpants with no legs, held up by elastic at the waist and finished with elastic or bands at the leg openings. Unlike boxer shorts, which hang loose, and boxer briefs, which extend down the thigh, briefs cover only the hips and seat. They are made for both men and women.
Key facts
- Also called
- underpants, Y-fronts (men's briefs with a Y-shaped fly), Jockey shorts, tighty-whities (slang, white briefs), slips (French)
- Origin
- Unknown as a type; based on French ‘slips’. Mass-marketed in the United States from 1935 (Cooper's Jockey brief). Women's underpants were much smaller by the 1920s
- Category
- Clothing
- Typical materials
- Knitted fabric: knitted cotton in the 1935 Jockey brief; Lycra (spandex) and polyamide microfibres in later bodywear
- Key construction feature
- No legs; elastic at the waistband and leg openings; men's styles may have an overlapping Y-shaped fly
- Formality level
- Underwear, worn beneath clothing
- Word origin
- From ‘brief’ (adjective, ‘short’); the Online Etymology Dictionary records ‘briefs’ for short, tight underwear from 1934.
Where do briefs come from?
Briefs grew out of two 20th-century changes: women's underpants shrank as skirts rose after the First World War, and in 1935 the American underwear maker Cooper's launched the Jockey brief, a legless men's style based on French briefs, or ‘slips’.
Until the 1930s, men's underwear generally concealed the body, according to the fashion academic Shaun Cole, writing for the V&A. Nineteenth-century underpants came in short and long lengths and were made of linen, cotton, wool or silk. Women's drawers of the same century had separate legs, with the crotch left open or sewn closed. Caroline Cox, in the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion, writes that underpants became scantier as skirts shortened after the First World War, and were much smaller in the 1920s than in the 19th century.
The 1935 Jockey brief
In 1934 Arthur Kneibler, an executive at Cooper's, received a postcard from the French Riviera. Jockey's own timeline says it showed a man in a ‘bikini style swimsuit’. The V&A says the design drew on French briefs and swimwear seen on a postcard. Smithsonian Magazine dates the debut to 19 January 1935 at Marshall Field's in Chicago. It reports that all 600 pairs sold on the first day. Jockey's timeline puts it slightly differently: the store sold out its 600 packages by noon.
The name came from support. The V&A explains that such support had previously been available only in an athletic supporter, or ‘jock strap’, hence ‘Jockey’. Smithsonian Magazine reports that more than 30,000 pairs sold across the United States within three months.
When did the Y-front appear?
Sources agree on 1935 but disagree on the order of events. The V&A says Cooper's launched the Jockey Y-front in 1935, with a patented overlapping, inverted Y-shaped fly. Smithsonian Magazine describes Kneibler's original design as having a Y-front. Jockey's timeline instead says the Jockey short went on wider sale in 1935 and the Y-Front brief was invented later that year. They also differ on branding: the V&A describes the name woven into the elastic waistband, while Jockey's timeline dates the first brand name stitched into the waistband to 1947.
Sources differ on how new the design was. Smithsonian Magazine calls Kneibler's design ‘a brand new type of men's underwear’, while the V&A says the Y-front was based on an existing French style. What Cooper's clearly added was built-in support, a patented fly and national sales.
Later changes
Cox records that the 1960s brought matching bra and brief sets and the bikini brief, and that boy-style briefs have more recently come into fashion for women. For men, the V&A describes a closer-fitting, lower-rise designer brief launched in 1982. It also describes the boxer brief, a hybrid with the leg length of boxer shorts and the fit and support of briefs. Later, it says, Lycra and new polyamide microfibres, with seamless knitting, reduced sweat build-up and chafing. That led to a preference for the term ‘bodywear’.
What makes briefs briefs?
Three features make a pair of briefs: no legs, a close fit, and elastic at the waist and leg openings. The Online Etymology Dictionary defines the word as ‘short, tight underwear’. The V&A describes the 1935 Jockey brief as knitted cotton with Lastex elastic at the leg openings and waistband.
Because the leg opening sits at the top of the thigh, briefs cover only the hips and seat. A knit such as jersey gives the stretch a close, legless cut needs. Boxer shorts hang loose, so they can be cut from woven cloth. Men's briefs may have a fly; women's briefs have a closed front.
| Garment | Legs | Fit and use |
|---|---|---|
| Briefs | None; opening at the top of the thigh | Close-fitting underwear |
| Boxer briefs | Short legs down the thigh | Close-fitting underwear; leg length of boxer shorts, fit of briefs |
| Boxer shorts | Short, loose legs | Loose underwear that hangs from the waistband |
| Bikini bottoms | None | Swimwear, the lower half of a bikini |
The names overlap: a bikini brief is underwear cut like a swimsuit bottom, while a bikini bottom is made for the water.
What are the main types of briefs?
The main types of briefs differ by rise, front and cut: the classic brief, the Y-front, the low-rise brief, the bikini brief, the high-waisted brief and the boy-style brief for women.
| Type | What it looks like | Example in sources |
|---|---|---|
| Classic brief | The 1935 Jockey cut, with a higher rise than later low-rise styles | The 1935 Jockey brief (V&A) |
| Y-front | Men's brief with an overlapping fly whose seams form an upside-down Y | Patented by Cooper's, 1935 (V&A) |
| Low-rise brief | Closer fit and lower rise | A 1982 designer brief (V&A) |
| Bikini brief | Brief cut like a bikini bottom | 1960s (Cox) |
| High-waisted brief | Rises to the waist; worn in the 1990s under sheer designer clothes | Fashionable in the 1990s (Cox) |
| Boy-style brief | Women's brief cut like men's underwear | ‘More recently’ (Cox, 2005) |
How do you tell well-made briefs?
Well-made briefs have seams that stretch without cracking, elastic that keeps its width, fabric that springs back after stretching, and a label that accounts for every fibre.
Stretch the seams
Hold a side seam between both hands and pull it gently. Kentucky Cooperative Extension's guide to sewing knits says that seams on knits must stretch with the fabric or broken stitches will occur. It notes that a three- or four-thread serger stitch, also called overlock, finishes seams while keeping their stretch. Stitches that crack as you pull are the broken stitches the guide warns about.
Check the elastic
Stretch the waistband and watch its width. The same Kentucky guide explains that braided elastic narrows when stretched and can lose stretch and recovery when it is pierced by stitching, while knitted and woven elastics keep their original width. A waistband that narrows sharply as you pull, with stitching through it, is probably braided.
Test the recovery
Stretch a patch of the body fabric, then let go. Kentucky Extension advises checking a knit's recovery after stretching; fabric that stays bagged or distorted should be avoided. The guide notes that spandex adds extra elasticity to knits.
Read the label
- Small spandex percentages. Under US Federal Trade Commission rules, a fibre making up less than 5% of a garment is generally shown as ‘other fiber’. It may be named, with its percentage, when it has definite functional significance at that amount, and the FTC's own example is a small amount of spandex used for elasticity.
- Wool is always named. The FTC says wool or recycled wool must be disclosed by name and percentage, even below 5%.
- ‘Exclusive of elastic’. If elastic is part of the base fabric and covers no more than 20% of the surface, the label can give the main fabric's content followed by this phrase. Larger elastic sections must be listed separately as ‘elastic’ with their own fibres.
- Trim. The FTC counts waistbands, leg bands and gussets as trim, so the percentages printed on the label may not describe them.
Red flags
- Stitches that crack or pull tight when a seam is stretched
- A waistband that narrows sharply under tension
- Body fabric that stays stretched out after a gentle pull
- Jersey edges left cut and unbound: Kentucky Extension notes that jersey edges tend to curl
How do you wear briefs?
Wear briefs when you want underwear that lies flat under close-fitting clothes. They have no leg fabric to bunch inside slim trousers, as loose boxer shorts can.
- Match the rise. Under low-rise jeans, a low-rise brief keeps the waistband out of sight; under high-waisted trousers or skirts, a classic or high-waisted brief sits flatter at the waist.
- Size by waist and seat together. The leg elastic should lie flat at the top of the thigh. Deep marks after a day's wear mean the size or the cut is wrong.
- Under pale or sheer clothes, choose a shade close to your skin rather than white, which shows through.
Frequently asked questions
Who invented briefs?
It depends what you count as the first brief. Short, close-fitting underpants were already worn in France as ‘slips’, and the V&A says Cooper's based its 1935 Jockey brief on that style. Cooper's, which renamed itself Jockey Menswear Inc. in 1971, turned it into a mass-market men's garment after executive Arthur Kneibler received a Riviera postcard in 1934. Women's underpants had already become much smaller during the 1920s.
What are Y-fronts?
Y-fronts are men's briefs with an overlapping fly opening whose seams form an upside-down Y. The V&A says Cooper's patented this overlapping, inverted Y-shaped seamed fly and launched the Jockey Y-front in 1935. Sources differ on whether the very first Jockey briefs, sold in January 1935, already had it: Jockey's own timeline says the Y-Front brief was invented later that year.
Are briefs the same as panties?
Not exactly. Caroline Cox, in the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion, says underpants or drawers are known colloquially as ‘panties’. ‘Briefs’ names one cut: legless, close-fitting, with elastic at the waist and legs. Cox notes the bikini brief of the 1960s and, more recently, boy-style briefs for women. A thong, which Cox records becoming popular in the 1990s, is a different cut.
What does ‘exclusive of elastic’ mean on an underwear label?
It means the fibre percentages describe the main fabric, not the elastic. Under US Federal Trade Commission guidance, elastic that is part of the base fabric and covers no more than 20% of the product's surface falls under the trim exemption, so the label gives the base fabric's content followed by ‘exclusive of elastic’. Larger elastic sections must be listed separately, as ‘elastic’ followed by their fibres.
Why does my underwear label name spandex at under 5%?
Because spandex does a job at that amount. Under US labelling rules, a fibre making up less than 5% of a garment is generally listed as ‘other fiber’. The exception is a fibre with definite functional significance at that percentage, and the Federal Trade Commission's own example is a small amount of spandex used for elasticity. Wool is treated differently: it must always be named with its percentage.
Sources
- A brief history of men's underwear, Victoria and Albert Museum (Shaun Cole) (2026)
- Panties, Caroline Cox, in Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion (ed. Valerie Steele, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005), via Encyclopedia.com (2005)
- Our History, Jockey International (2026)
- Tighty-Whities First Hit the Market More Than 80 Years Ago, Smithsonian Magazine (year inferred from URL; no date shown) (2015)
- briefs (n.), Online Etymology Dictionary (2026)
- Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts, US Federal Trade Commission (2014)
- Sewing with Knit Fabric, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension (2006)
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