The trendiest fashion accessory of the year has been plucked from men’s underwear drawers and thrown onto the runway. Briefs, tighty whities, trunks – whatever you call them, women are wearing them. Boxers are officially having a moment.
Young women are swapping their usual knickers for breezy cotton boxers, styling them underneath low-waisted jeans, over a pair of tights or wearing them alone as shorts. And they’re not just stealing them from a partner’s drawer, but stepping into shops to find their own perfect pair. In its annual “How We Shop, Live and Look” trend report, John Lewis recorded that sales of boxer shorts bought and worn by women have soared by 20 per cent in the past year, listing them as a “defining product of the year” for 2023. In among the shiny air fryers, coveted pizza ovens and ever-reliable Birkenstocks that made the retailer’s popularity list for this year, boxer shorts for women seem like a glitch. So how did we get here?
