Briefs were first sold in 1935, so what did people wear before that?

Briefs have become an indispensable item for men. Their birth journey as well as their development also went through many interesting turning points, associated with the development of human consciousness.

So before briefs were invented, what did ancient Chinese people wear? Enter the long river of history and explore the mysteries of the times.

A "vacuum" time

We are now in a civilized and open age, in the hot summer everyone wears as little as possible. But no matter how little they wear, men will definitely still wear underwear inside.

But we can never imagine that in ancient feudal times, both men and women went out naked.

Then, with the development of society, people began to weave leaves into skirts and small clothes to cover important parts.

Picture 1 of Briefs were first sold in 1935, so what did people wear before that?
During the Western Han Dynasty, the prototype of 'fig leaf' pants that could be used to cover the lower body began to appear. (Illustration)

In historical records, we can see that ancient people did not wear underwear, and when they moved, their lower bodies were exposed. It was not until the Western Han Dynasty that prototypes of 'fig leaf ' pants that could be used to cover the lower body began to appear. However, the shape of this type of clothing is quite strange, these are pants that reach below the knee, called 'fig leaves', cover the calves and are tied around the waist with two strings.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, privacy was truly protected

During the Eastern Han Dynasty , a type of clothing that covered sensitive parts was invented. This is a clean piece of cloth tied around the waist to cover the groin.

Picture 2 of Briefs were first sold in 1935, so what did people wear before that?
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, a type of clothing that covered sensitive parts was invented, but this type of clothing was a sign of poverty. (Illustration)

It took the shape of our current underwear, but this type of clothing was a symbol of poverty. These are the clothes worn by farmers, manual laborers, and hard workers because they are convenient for work. For nobles who don't need to work, they basically won't wear this.

Pants were the most common type of underwear among ancient people

By the Ming and Qing dynasties, feudal ideology was so strong that it was not allowed to display body parts arbitrarily. Therefore, underwear was indispensable in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the waistband was invented.

Triangular briefs in the modern sense were invented by Americans in 1935. Briefs were first sold on January 19, 1935 by Coopers Inc, in Chicago, Illinois. They call it "Jockey" because it also has the same support function as the jockey's genital protection outfit. During this introduction, in just 3 months, 30,000 pants were sold. In North America, "Jockey" is the word commonly used to refer to briefs.