Within 90 days, 30,000 pairs of Jockey shorts were sold across America. Thus, Kneibler created a prototype: a legless undergarment with a Y-shaped opening for easy access-what we now call 'tighty whities.'Įarly adopters noted that the new undies were nearly as supportive as a jockstrap, so Kneibler dubbed them 'Jockey' shorts. But their loose fit couldn't compete with long johns. Just a decade earlier, boxers shorts took the market by storm. That image gave Kneibler an idea for a new type of men's underwear. It was a postcard from a friend visiting the French Riviera, which depicted a man wearing a short, snug, bikini-esque bathing suit.

In 1934, a Wisconsin-based fashion designer named Arthur Kneibler received a piece of mail that would revolutionize the male undergarment industry.