-WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
Karen Burrowes gives the side-on view of the popular 'boy shorts'.
Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter
THE BOY shorts have kicked the bottom out of the thong market. If one is to follow recent trends, it seems that the undergarment of little cloth has got competition from an unlikely rival.
The thong, which consists of a small triangle of fabric at the front and a narrow strip around the waist and between the buttocks, has long been considered by many women as uncomfortable and unnaturally revealing.
Having come up from its trashy beginnings in strip clubs, the thong gained mainstream popularity in the late 90s to early 2000s with celebrity endorsements.
Sisqo's Thong Song was the anthem of summer 2000. It signalled a change in the perception of the garment as not just a trashy, red light district item, but one with an image of confidence and sexuality. It earned respectability and popularity, especially with the young girls who wanted to identify with the 'video chicks', models and celebrities like Victoria Beckham who, by wearing the garment on TV, on the runways and in magazines, made it acceptable.
But the thong soon became an accessory, appearing above the waistlines of jeans and skirts.
However, seeing a model wear a thong on the runway, and seeing a 300 lb woman - or any woman for that matter - walking down the road with her thong strap positioned above her waistband are two totally different things and, in spite of its popularity - or perhaps because of it - the thong is becoming more and more trashy.
In fact, the displaying of the thong line above the waistband and under sheer garments defeats one of the main appeals of the garment - to eliminate panty lines.
So in comes the boy shorts, or cut off briefs, called the 'pon di river' on Jamaica's streets. The fabric fully supports the buttocks, extending just below it. More often than not the waistband is also low, which means that it can be worn comfortably with low-slung waistlines.
There is no strip of fabric parting the buttocks and the boy shorts also eliminates the panty line.
And there is also the factor of the celebrity endorsements. Starting with Cameron Diaz's frolic in the Charlie's Angels movie in 2000 through to Jennifer Love Hewitt's ad campaign for Hanes briefs in 2004, boy shorts are taking over the territory that was formerly the thong's.
Rose, an attendant from Miami Heat, a popular clothing store in Kingston, confirms that the boy shorts are more popular among buyers nowadays. "Every minute somebody buy one. A it a wear now. If you used to buy half dozen you have to buy one and a half dozen now," she says of stocking the store. "The ones we have already finish and we just get a different set." According to Rose, the sales of thongs has plateaued, while the sale of the boy shorts has escalated.
Rose believes that popular culture has a lot to do with the current trend. "When di girl dem see dem pon BET and other stations a it dem want," she said.
When The Sunday Gleaner contacted Angel's Fashions in Constant Spring, another hot spot for trendy clothing, the attendant Melissa said that the store was "out of boy briefs". Though she said that thongs were still a popular choice for buyers, she conceded that the boy shorts were gaining in popularity as well. "Women don't really like the little fine strings up in their bottoms. The boy shorts are a bit more comfortable," she said.
Dancehall Diva Keiva agrees. She says that though she likes the thong, the boy shorts are more comfortable and versatile. "I just wear one go to the store, but when I go I don't come out of the car," she said. "I wear dem in the day and wear dem around the house. Them very comfortable and I love them."
And, apparently, so do the men.
"Di pon di river dem look nice. Mi rather the pon di river," said Kavan Francis, when asked which he prefers to see women in.
"Mi prefer them more than thong. The thong dem look ordinary. The pon di river dem look good, especially if the woman have bottom," said Christopher Grant.
But not every man will give up the raw sex appeal of a woman in a thong. "Mi prefer the thong, because it fit pon di girls dem well an it easier fi tek off. No problem," said Demar Smith.
