FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Bernie Wallace Matt Hall
Hanesbrands Inc. Hanesbrands
Inc.
(336) 519-6250 (336) 519-3386
Bernadette.wallace@hanesbrands.com
matt.hall@hanesbrands.com
5 Tips for Giving the Perfect Gift of Underwear,
Intimate Apparel and Socks for the Holidays
Hanes survey shows that underwear is a
perennial favorite gift to receive,
but knowing what to buy is harder than you think
Nearly 30 percent of Americans
received underwear or socks as a holiday gift last year, and nearly every one
of them thought it was a “great gift to receive,” according to the consumer survey. The primary reasons for underwear as a great
gift were both practical and romantic: 66 percent of respondents said they
needed some new underwear, 17 percent said that receiving underwear meant that
someone thought they were sexy, and 13 percent had other “great” reasons.
Men are so comfortable receiving
underwear that one in four say they would gladly receive underwear as a holiday
gift from anyone, not just a spouse or girlfriend.
With the proliferation of underwear
and sock styles and the trend of more colors,
“First, gift-givers need to keep in
mind that consumers rank three attributes as most important in receiving
underwear or socks: comfort, style and color,” said Sidney Falken, Hanes
senior vice president. “Men’s T-shirts and underwear now come in
more patterns and solid colors than ever, with colors emerging as more
preferable to the standard white of the past. For women, panties come in
multiple styles and many colors. Our Top
5 Tips can help you make the right choice, even in the frenzy of a last-minute
shopping trip.”
Top 5 Tips for
Buying Men’s Underwear and Socks
It’s not a tighty-whities world anymore. Here are the Top 5 tips that will help you
steer clear of danger when buying underwear and sock gifts for men.
Tip No. 1: Know
What He Wears. Sure, you can’t go wrong with buying traditional briefs in
traditional white, but today, 70 percent of men over the age of 25 buy their
own underwear, compared with just 40 percent a decade ago. That means they know what they want, which
has led to an explosion of colors and styles available.
Tip No. 2: Give In Living Color. Color is starting to take over in men’s underwear
dressers. A significant majority –
two-thirds – of men’s underwear bottoms sold today are dyed colors versus
white. Color in men’s underwear tops is
starting to catch on with more than a quarter sold in color. If you like to give gifts with some pizzazz,
go with color, but don’t be too daring. The preferred colors for men’s underwear are
black, gray and dark blue.
Tip No. 3: Boxers
vs. Briefs vs. Boxer-Briefs is an Age Thing. The eternal question of
boxers or briefs is easy to answer. You
simply need to know the age of the wearer. Loose boxers are the dominate choice
for those under 25 (54 percent preference); tight briefs still reign with older
men, 45 and older (44 percent preference); and the compromise silhouette of
boxer-briefs is preferred by men ages 25 to 44 (39 percent preference).
Tip No. 4: The
Crew Neck is Tops. When it comes to underwear tops, the crew
neck is captain, but the fastest growing undershirt style is the V-neck. Measured by unit sales, here is how the
preference breaks down: crew neck (67 percent), sleeveless tanks (17 percent)
and V-neck (16 percent). Regardless of
style, remember color. Dyed-color
undershirts are the fastest growing in all three silhouettes, one reason why
more and more men are wearing their undershirts as outerwear.
Tip No. 5: He
Wants Boring Socks; Get Over It. Old school is where it’s at with his
socks.
Men want white athletic socks in crew length. Here is the break down: 57 percent preferred
athletic socks to casual or dress socks; 57 percent preferred crew length
athletic socks to no-show or low-cut ankle lengths; and 67 percent preferred
white versus gray and black colors. The
only glimmer of nonconformity was 23 percent said they would prefer black
athletic socks and 37 percent prefer low-cut ankle length athletic socks.
Top 5 Tips for
Buying Women’s Underwear and Socks
Okay men, keep cool and you’ll get
through this with no problems. Here are
the Top 5 tips for buying underwear and socks for her.
Tip No. 1: Know
Your Motivation. Remember it’s her gift, so carefully think through your game
plan if you want to buy a style of underwear that you prefer rather than she
prefers. For example, of the husbands who
bought their wives underwear as a gift last holiday season, 26 percent said
they opted for thong panties even though they knew that was the style worn by
only 17 percent of their wives. Do you
buy her what she wants to wear or what you want her to wear? Only you, brave
shopper, can answer that question.
Tip No. 2: Married
And Single Women Have Different Tastes In Panty Styles. The bikini-style
panty is the most popular for single women, and the hi-cut brief is the most
popular for married women. As for
trends, married women report wearing bikinis, boy shorts and thongs less often
than five years ago. For singles,
bikinis and thongs are just as popular as five years ago, but they are wearing
briefs and boy shorts less often.
Tip No. 3: Improve
Your Odds By Knowing The Trends In Panty Colors. The most popular panty colors are white, black and
prints/patterns. Married women also like
pastel colors, while singles like just about anything, including red, pink,
blue, purple and stripes.
Tip No. 4: Younger
Women Want Their Underwear To Help Them Look Good. Women of all ages report that the most important things
about their underwear are the style, the color and comfort. But for women under age 35 another big factor
comes into play: how they will look wearing their underwear. It doesn’t matter if they are married or
single, one in four younger women list this as a critical attribute for the
underwear they wear. Only one in 10 women ages 35 to 54 and only one in 20 age
55 or older care about this. So young
men, get ready to answer a variation of an age-old question: “How do I look?”
Tip No. 5: You
can never have too many socks (kind of like shoes). Unlike men, women
overwhelmingly prefer casual socks as a holiday gift, versus athletic or dress
socks. For colors, they prefer patterns
or prints (47 percent preference), followed by white or black.
About the Survey
The Hanes underwear and sock survey of 600
adult men and women was conducted online in late November 2009. The random
sample closely matches the
About Hanes
Hanes is a leading brand of intimate apparel, underwear, sleepwear, socks and casual apparel. Hanes
products can be found at leading retailers nationwide and online direct to
consumers at www.hanes.com. Hanes is a flagship brand of Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI: NYSE) (www.hanesbrands.com).
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