On the Joys of Funky Colored Underpants

I’m not the most fashion-forward guy you’ll ever meet. I get a little freaked out when trying to figure out what colors go with what. Does this red go with this blue? Can I wear this patterned shirt with these shorts? Does this yellow flannel/black jean combination make me look like a bumble bee? So, most of the time, you’ll find me wearing pretty basic colors: lots of black, lots of white, and lots of hard-to-mess-up earth tones. You might also be surprised to know that I own one of the most fun, varied, and colorful collections of underwear around…because there’s just nothing like putting on a pair of funky-colored underpants to brighten up your day.

This trend began, like so many do, with an advertisement in the middle of a podcast. No, not Casper Mattresses. No, not Blue Apron. No, not even Simpli Safe! It was an advertisement, or rather weeks and months of the same advertisements, for Me Undies and all their fun patterns and colors that made me exclaim aloud, “dang, those boxers must be pretty good for them to advertise this much.” Well, my wonderful girlfriend took this exclamation to heart and got me a pair of deep purple boxers as a gift.

Little did I know that that single pair of beautiful royal purple boxers would forever change my life. Okay, maybe not my whole life but definitely my entire underwear drawer! Suddenly my eyes were opened to the possibility that I, someone afraid of patterns and bright colors, could wear the most opulent, most extreme, most awe-inspiring prints without fear. Over the course of the next few years, my underwear drawer went from a collection of boring plain undies to a virtual cornucopia, a feast for the eyes.

Greens, purples, blues. Pizzas, raccoons, Space Jam (the classic Michael Jordan one, not the LeBron one, obviously) I accumulated so many fun colors and prints that all my old boring undies were quickly replaced. And let me tell you, while it might seem small and inconsequential, there really is a spark of joy when you’re dreading the day and slogging through your morning routine and you grab a pair of undies out of the drawer and you see Buggs Bunny and Daffy Duck and Marvin the Martian in their game day uniforms staring back at you.

It doesn’t matter if I have to wear a collared shirt and slacks to work or if I’m so depressed I can’t possibly manage to wear anything besides sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt, because underneath those clothes (whether boring or sad or whatever) I have on a pair of the most fun undies you can imagine. It’s nice to reconnect with your inner kid who wanted the Spiderman undies or the ones with unicorns on them because they were just FUN!

So much of our lives are dominated by what’s cool, or what’s practical, or what’s fashionable… but why not put on a pair of funky-colored underpants and enjoy the knowledge that your underwear is more fun than the person next to you.

Are you a follower of funky-colored underpants or are you still living in SQUARESVILLE?