You might be familiar with the floral Japanese male bra that popped up online last week, leaving people confused and amused. You probably said to yourself, “This has to be a joke. This can’t be real.” Well it can, and there’s a market of men who enjoy wearing feminine-looking undergarments, and not because they want to look more like women (sorry ladies).
“There’s no variety in the men’s lingerie sold in department stores. It’s boxers and briefs, and if you’re really daring, maybe a thong!” says Australian male lingerie designer Brent Krause. “There’s no denying department stores sell good quality, functional underwear, and that’s fine for ninety percent of men. But not me.” These mangerie-wearing men like the fabric and feel of nice lingerie and believe it’s time for men to have a chance at feeling sexy in front of the mirror.
If you’re thinking these guys only exist on the other side of the world you’re wrong. Krause's male lingerie company Homme Mystere states that most of their customers come from the United States. Krause says the U.S. makes up about 40 percent of its customer base, with Western Europe and the UK making up another 40 percent. They even send merchandise to Russia and Canada.
“I don’t think the male bra industry is any larger in Japan than anywhere else. Certainly our numbers show the USA and Europe to be about the same in terms of size with Japan quite a distance behind,” says Krause. “In saying that, our wholesale sales are very strong into Japan, which suggests guys are buying our lingerie but prefer to buy from a local store that speaks the language.”
So who are the guys buying this mangerie?
