David King, owner of Vancouver’s Topdrawers Underwear since 1992, believes men are just as concerned about how their underwear should look, fit and feel as women are. “Instead of at wherever the traditional places that men buy their underwear from, they can come to us and they can get a whole lot more,” he says. “There is a market, definitely a market…there’s a certain percentage of men that are very much aware of what they’re wearing, and they want to wear certain types of underwear. They don’t want to just get the basic cotton ones from a department store.”
David welcomes both men and women, gay and straight, into his store, believing his customers’ interests transcend any constructed borders that exist around underwear. “Since we specialize in [underwear], they’re free to talk about it in an open, non-judgmental sort of way,” he says.
