After going through a bunch of medical issues, and basically being unable to excercise properly for about a year, I gained a lot of weight and realized that most of my old clothes and underwear don't fit properly anymore... I decided to go deal-hunting here on Amazon to find a couple of pieces to keep me somewhat decently clothed until I get back to my usual weight and body shape. Let's get the positive things out of the way first (because there are fewer than the negative things,): $21 is a decent, budget price of a multi-pack of "big name" brand of buckaroos. These are made of a very thin ribbed cotton fabric, which is very soft to the touch with just a tiny bit of stretch, without being restrictive or overly heavy. The waistband is also soft, and very smooth... No scratchy, gross ribbed elastic here. The color (I ordered the Navy/Cobalt/Porcelain combination) is very pleasant... Nothing flashy, but not boring heather gray, either. The color has held up to being through the wash twice without fading at all (which is especially impressive for the royal blue/"Colbalt" color.) Now, here's the bad: For most of my adult life, I have been quite conscienscious that I do not have what is generally considered a "normal" physique for an American male. I'm 5'9", and currently weigh 170lbs (my "normal" weight is about 140, which I know is skinny side.) Previously, I used to buy the XS size from AEO and the Gap, and maybe a size Small from some more expensive designer-type brands, and a 28" waist for pants. (At the moment, everything I have in those sizes is either uncomfortably tight, or on the verge of being unwearable.) I had never bought underwear from this brand before, because I could tell just from holding up a pair of size Small that it would be too big on me. Since I currently weigh about 30lbs more than I did back then, I figured that I'd check out this brand again, and bought a size Small in the hopes that they would be a good fit... Well, that hope was completely unfounded on my part. Disappointingly, these things are HUGE (bigger than any other size Small that I've ever worn.) And then on top of that, since these are 100% cotton (there is no nylon or elastene or any other synethic stretch fiber listed on the tag,) when the ribbed fabric stretches out (as it will invariably do as you move about over the course of the day,) it has nothing to snap it back into shape. Consequently, these quickly stretched out into ridiculously baggy and fairly uncomfortable and unsupportive wads of cloth. I honestly feel that the only redeeming quality about this package of undies is the price. At $21 (or $7/each,) these are about the same price (and pretty much the same quality) as a 3-pack of Hanes or Jockey (both of which I consider to be extremely basic underwear- they work for some people, but not very well for me.) The fabric might be just a tiny bit softer than something cheaper, but the fit and their inability to maintain shape and support is really disappointing. (I mean, seriously, it's not *that* difficult for manufacturers to blend in 1-5% of elastene.) If I had posessed any idea of how these would perform while being worn, I wouldn't have purchased them (or I would have returned them before washing and wearing them.) As it stands now, I'll just keep these in the back of my underwear drawer for emergency-only (a.k.a. "laundry day") use. Again, truly nice colors and soft fabric, but the sizing and their inability to maintain their shape is truly disappointing.
