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Underpants

1986-1987 (made)
Artist/Maker
Jockey (manufacturer)
Place of origin
England (made)
United States (made)

Pair of men's Y-front cotton underpants.

Delve deeper

Discover more about this object
read A brief history of men's underwear From 19th-century ruffle-fronted shirts to 1990s Calvin Kleins, Shaun Cole, Associate Professor in Fashion at Winchester School of Art, explores the hidden history of men's underwear in this edited extract from the V&A book, 'Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear'.

Object details

Categories
Underwear
Men's Clothes
Fashion
Object type
Underpants
Materials and techniques
Cotton
Cotton (Textile)
Brief description
Pair of men's Y-front cotton underpants, made by Jockey, possibly in England or United States, 1986-1987
Physical description
Pair of men's Y-front cotton underpants.
Dimensions
  • Width of widest bead width: 3.5cm
  • Waist circumference: 65cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Outside leg length: 14cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
  • Crotch depth (front waist to back waist through crotch) measured inside garment length: 60cm (Note: Measured by Conservation)
Marks and inscriptions
'Y FRONT' and 'JOCKEY' (Along the elastic waist)
Gallery label
(16/04/2016-12/03/2017)
An American Innovation

Design and Technology are crucial to the development of the underwear industry. Arthur Kneibler designed the Jockey short for Cooper's Inc., Wisconsin, USA, in 1934. Its enormous success led to the introduction of the Jockey Y-Front brief the following year. Lyle & Scott produced Y-fronts under licence for the British and Northern European markets.

Y-front brief
Jockey International Inc. and Lyle & Scott
USA, Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Scotland, Rosyth, 1986-7
Cotton
V&A: T.44-1987
Given by the manufacturer
Credit line
Given by the manufacturer
Object history
Registered File number 1987/325.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.44-1987

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O352216/underpants-jockey/
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