Toasty Boys

What do you get when you cut the legs off a pair of thermal long johns? Depending on how you cut, you might end up with a thermal brief or even a thermal thong, but if you’re not too creative with the scissors, you’d end up with a fine pair of thermal boxer briefs. That’s what Christopher Anthony has been doing pretty much all of his life. This invention of his youth has been a reliable way to keep his “boys” toasty (not hot) on any blustery day.

Now, he’s bringing Toasty Boys to the rest of the world. Toasty Boys are the first line of thermal organic boxer briefs. They’re made of 100% naturally grown cotton woven into a thermal fabric knit that is slightly looser than the typical thermal Long Johns that have been keeping deer hunters and Green Bay Packers fans warm for decades.

The Look: 3 out of 10. I’m not a huge fan of the look of the Toasty Boys. While the thermal weave is slightly more attractive than Wal-mart variety thermal Long Johns, the overall look is pretty plain. Currently, Toasty Boys are available in grey with a black waistband logo, or neutral with an orange logo. Neither color truly excites me, but I will say that the name is so clever that I don’t mind if someone catches a glimpse of the waistband while I’m wearing them.

The Fit: 8 out of 10. Toasty Boys are snug without being restrictive. I wear a small, which is technically for a 30-32 inch waist. I’m at the peak of training for a half-marathon, so I’m really more of a 28-29 right now. I was instructed to first wash the Toasty Boys in cold water with a low temp dry. If they weren’t snug enough, then I was to wash them in warm water with a warm dry. I kind of cheated and did a cold wash with a warm dry and they fit like a super comfortable glove right out of the dryer.

The Feel: 9 out of 10. I’m very pleasantly surprised at how good the Toasty Boys feel. Just looking at them, I thought the weave might feel lumpy, or leave a strange pattern in my butt after a day of wear. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The waffle weave is certainly not lumpy, and probably more comfortable than traditional weaves. I’m sure there’s a really good explanation for that, but who cares – they feel great. I’m here to tell you that there are no patterns (that I wasn’t born with) left on my butt after wearing Toasty Boys. The 100% organic cotton fabric is extremely soft. In fact, the toasty boys are softer than any underwear I own – except those that are made from bamboo. If the Toasty Boys were bamboo, I’d have probably given them a 10 for comfort.

Overall: 7 out of 10. I don’t want to put too much weight in my thoughts on the looks of these boxer briefs. I don’t think they’re meant to be the underwear you go out and buy to impress the person you’re dancing with at the club. They’re meant to be the boxer briefs you wear to the football game or even to the office on a crisp day. I’ve worn them in a cold climate and in the hot humidity of Florida with comfort. They certainly remain very comfortable all day long. Let’s face it, Sara Blakely’s Spanx won’t soon win any awards for best looking lingerie, but it’s a good bet that her designs are worn more often on Hollywood’s red carpets than any other designer out there.

I think Christoper Anthony’s first foray into underwear design is certianly no home run – maybe not even a base hit, but it is a solid at bat. I’ll put him on base and I eagerly look forward to his line of “Bamboo Boys” coming in the spring of 2009.