What lies beneath

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Friday, August 6, 2004

It's amazing the holidays you miss when your back is turned. Who knew National Underwear Day made its debut last year?

Thankfully, it's not too late to celebrate the second National Underwear Day, sponsored (not surprisingly) by online intimate-apparel retailer Freshpair.

And what an interesting name that is for a company that manufactures underpinnings.

Anyway, mark your calendar for Wednesday, National Underwear Day, because you'll certainly want to celebrate.

Freshpair's plans include sending 20 underwear models into the streets of midtown New York to solicit signatures for official recognition of the day.

Last year, similar activities inspired sanitation workers on Broadway to flash their boxers.

You can sign the petition yourself at freshpair.com and also check out a number of revealing results from last year's survey. Such as: Married men change their undies twice as often as single men. And 31 percent of men say they've tried on women's lingerie, while 82 percent of women have tried on men's skivvies.

According to Freshpair, the popularity of intimate apparel became apparent in 1327 B.C. when King Tutankhamen was buried with 145 of his loincloths.

Nowadays Americans spend nearly $13 billion on underwear annually (no word on what percentage goes to loincloths). SOURCE: Neale-May & Partners.