A DC-based underwear fan can’t go ignoring the massive event that is Mid-Atlantic Leather weekend, now, can he? To be fully honest, I’m rather vanilla and reserved, so I didn’t go shirtless today and didn’t have a true harness. Instead, I wore a fun Andrew Christian tee with a seatbelt-material belt that I wore as a faux harness (left is me, right is AC’s pic of the tee):
Unfortunately, neither item is available any more… The tee because AC is an asshole that makes almost every item they ever produce a “limited run” item, and the seatbelt-style belt because each one is custom-made by one of the MAL vendors – I bought the Pokeball belt at last year’s MAL, and when we stopped by the same booth this year, they had similar belts but in different designs.
Anyway, I made two purchases in the MAL marketplace today: a Fort Troff jockstrap and a small vendor’s tiger-stripe singlet! Left is FT’s pic of the jockstrap, right is a singlet similar to the one I got, though the one I got has a MUCH lower front. X-D
Finally, I had tried on a few several of the pairs I ordered earlier this week (they came in quickly!) and I’ll get around to reviewing them ALL for you tomorrow! At least, all that are underwear – I’ll save the swim brief for later. Also, I’ll post one of the reviews today, with the most MAL-est pair that I ordered! I’m sure it should be pretty easy to guess which one. X-D
Material: 95% Cotton, 5% Spandex, with a slight ribbing effect; nice and weighty and sturdy, as with many Nasty Pig products. Every once in a while, it makes me itch a little or gives some general sensation of pull/dryness in areas where the fabric is consistently stretched, but it’s generally soft and warm, so not too bad overall. The discomfort might simply be me – I’ve always had sensitive skin, and I get the same feeling when tall socks are stretched over my upper calves, so it should be little to no worry to most of you, especially since I’ve only noticed the “problem” over my calves or shoulders instead of over the whole suit, which supports the thought that it’s not a problem with the material overall. Aesthetic: Since it’s one solid color, nothing sticks out much on first glance. However, the NP logo is nicely placed right where the logo on a regular polo shirt would be, giving a pseudo-professional look that you wouldn’t expect for an under-layer. Next of course is the series of button snaps that goes all the way from the neck, down through the crotch, and around up to just above the butt. This looks much slicker than the traditional butt-flap on union suits from days past. Coverage: As a union suit, it will completely cover your back, your arms, and your legs. With that much coverage, the occasional annoyance from the fabric is not-so-occasional, but as stated above, that might be just me. The full coverage grants some level of modesty, maybe enough to make you feel comfortable being seen in various situations with this showing. It also is great cold-weather wear, either under regular clothes or lounging about the house, as it completely covers your arms up to the wrists and legs down to the ankles, keeping those extremities a bit warmer than otherwise. Access: Any full-body piece of “underwear” such as a union suit, a onesie, or a singlet isn’t going to come off easily if you need to go to the bathroom (or want to do other things that need access). Union suits are generally the best of the full-body underwear as they’re usually designed to have access of some sort, and the Nasty Pig union suit does not disappoint! The long-line-of-snaps design eliminates the bulkiness and hassle of the traditional flap design, making it incredibly easy to go #1 or #2 (or do other things that need access) – and, as a bonus, it’s easy to show off your chest and/or abs whenever you want, too! Just undo whichever snaps are needed.
Overall: 3.5/5 – you should get one, but just one. Maybe two if you’re gonna be “using” it with someone often, but they’re expensive and always sell out really quickly each year. (Also, since they sell out, the colors they make each year seem to vary – the 2017/18 batch of Union Suits seems to not include blue, instead favoring a new grey option to compliment the black and red options.) Great for: Loungewear, Sleepwear, Sex wear Good for: Sexy wear
Material: 90% Polyamide, 10% Spandex, definitely lightweight and sleek and a bit sheer too, though also obviously synthetic, not the softest pouch fabric. (Straps are great though, soft & stretchy.) Aesthetic: Andrew Christian comes through with the bright colors and bold designs the brand is known for to bring the party/rave feel with this “Night Animal” print! The bold, pink, large-print text on the waistband adds to the feel; everything lets you know whoever wears this is proud of how they look. Waistband: Feeling-wise, what you expect of most waistbands, but every so slightly more synthetic-y than many of AC’s other waistbands. Still a good side. Generally sits between the hips and waist, but can be worn a bit higher or lower depending on preference. Pouch: Advertised as Almost Naked, but strays a bit more away from that design than even the Sport & Workout Boxer did, which is probably a function of the fact that the pouch has some required stability due simply to being a jockstrap – if there’s no structure in the pouch, there’s not structure in the jock overall. Still very comfortable and moderately roomy, but it doesn’t offer the freedom of movement of other Almost Naked pairs. As a side note, something that’s also probably a function of being a jockstrap (though not always a problem with AC jockstraps) is that the lower half of the pouch border feels slightly on the tight side for some motions or just when standing, putting a little hem pressure on your crotch occasionally – sitting and most motions are fine, though. Backside/straps: One thing AC does incredibly well at is making super-comfortable straps for their jockstraps, with a soft and stretchy strap that isn’t as “rough” as the straps are on vintage/traditional jockstraps. That’s probably a function of the fact that AC jockstraps are a bit more interested in comfort and look than honest athletic support, but I’ll take it! AC jockstraps have generally never let me down in heavy activity unless they weren’t comfortable enough to begin with. That said, there is one drawback to this pair, and that’s the tag: the material for the branded part of the tag seems stiffer than what AC has used elsewhere, leaving the corners & edges to poke & cut at the small of your back a little bit. Other: One maybe silly test I always do with jockstraps is to see how comfortable (or not) they are when you try to pull your junk out BENEATH the pouch when you’re in a squatting position – i.e. if you can go #2 easily (implying #1 as well) without taking the jockstrap off at all. This pair passes the test! Overall: 2.5/5 – the rating might be a bit harsh, because I wouldn’t say this is a “bad” jockstrap, but between slight lacks of comfort in the pouch fabric and in the tag, there are just a bunch of better jockstrap options out there, including from AC itself. Great looker, though! Great for: Sexy wear, sex wear Good for: Activewear
Tag index of the five rating levels I’ll give at the end of each review. Note: while I’ll award half-steps in the reviews themselves, I only put the tags at whole-integer values.
Undie Reviews DC 