A couple weeks ago I came across a new concept in Men’s Shapewear Undershirts, made by designer Greg Cross.

Instead of using compression technology to flatten your chest and sqeeze inches off your mid-section, Cross’ undershirt is padded in the shoulder and top chest area which gives you a more buff appearance by way of making your shoulders and chest look more full.

I’m teasing a bit (in a nice way) when I call it the “pump you up’ undershirt because when I first put this undershirt on a couple of days ago and looked in the mirror, an image of the Classic and hilariously funny Saturday Night Live characters Hans and Franz instantly popped into my head. (the ironic thing is that I actually felt more buff when I put it on)

Before we get to my initial thoughts, I thought I’d share a Hans and Franz video for those youngsters that aren’t familiar with them:

Classic stuff.

Here are some of my initial thoughts after wearing the undershirt for an entire day:

1. Cross sent me two of his undershirts - one medium, one large. Currently he uses the Hanes ComfortSoft undershirts as a starting point and then adds in his patent-pending retrofitting. Tried on the medium first, was happy with the fit, so I decided to wear that all day. The front of the medium undershirt is pictured here.
2. Giving some props to Hanes, the medium fit close (similar to a fitted undershirt, but not as stretchy) and generally comfortable to wear. It was a tiny bit tight because of the padding, but not too tight that I couldn’t comfortably wear it all day long.
3. As I mentioned above, I actually did feel a bit more buff when wearing it (even though it was all in my head). I think it was the combination of the padded shoulders/chest and the tight/close fitting of the body of the undershirt around my mid-section. If the body was a little looser, I probably wouldn’t have felt that way as much.
4. After trying on a couple of over shirts, I’ll have to admit, Cross was right - I looked slightly more in shape without it being over obvious that I had on a padded undershirt. Granted, because of the stitching and current design, if someone saw me with only the undershirt on, they’d know right away. Can’t wear this guy solo.
5. I had to switch from wearing a lighter colored casual button up short sleeve shirt to a darker one because the shoulder stitching on the undershirt showed through the light colored shirt. Since there is a vertical stitching line that comes down through the middle of the top of the shoulder you can see it through lighter colored clothes and it stands out. One possible way Cross could fix this would be to extend the padding to come to the collar and run the stitching around the collar so the stitching is in line with the undershirt’s stitching.
6. I think Cross could benefit from using a stretchy undershirt instead of the Hanes ComfortSoft undershirt. Although the undershirt was generally comfortable, it was a wee bit tight in my underarm area and around the shoulders due to the padding. A stretchy undershirt would be a lot more forgiving to various body types and conform to the wearer more comfortably.
7. As Cross noted in his product description, the shirt was a little warm to wear outside in warmer/hotter weather. It was in the 90’s on Monday here in northern California and while I was not uncomfortable (from a temperature perspective) indoors, when I was outside in the heat, I was slightly more warm than I like to be. If you notice in the picture above and to the right here, you’ll see some air holes that are cut into the padding. These air holes definitely help with the breathability. If they weren’t there, I would have been much warmer. I think if he moves to a stretchy, lightweight undershirt or possibly find alternate padding that’s a little less dense (it’s pretty light as it is) and more breathable, I think it’d make a difference.
8. While Cross’ seamstress does a nice job with the stitching, because the stitching is done outside of the undershirt’s stitching, the finished product looks more like a prototype/sample than a mainstream shapewear undershirt.  Once he finds an alternative way to stitch in the padding, I think it’ll have more appeal to a larger group of people.

All-in-all I’m pretty impressed with what Cross is doing here. I’m standing up clapping right now because of his innovative thinking. You just gotta give him credit for being so creative.

Although not quite ready for prime-time, I think the concept is sound, and with a bit more modernizing, Cross’ shapewear undershirt could become more mainstream and be a big hit with a segment of the male population. Here’s how you can contact Greg:

Greg Cross
email: gregcross37000@hotmail.com
425-221-1753

All I can say is WOW! For those of you who swear by wearing a wifebeater (ribbed tank, a-shirt), this sale is for you.

I’m not sure what’s going on over at Hanes, but this has got to be one of the best undershirt sales I’ve seen in a long time.

Normally priced at $11 for a pack of 4 ribbed tanks, Hanes.com has their Men’s TAGLESS® Ribbed Tank 4-pack on their Daily Deal sale for $5.99. But the savings don’t stop there. They are also adding an additional 20% off on your order which brings the cost of a single 4-pack down to a mere $4.79 (that’s $1.19 each). Plus, you get free shipping on orders of $45 or more.

Normally when I see discounts this big, it’s usually because a company is either discontinuing the line or it’s out of season. I doubt Hanes is discontinuing these extremely popular tanks, unless of course, they’re looking to promote their newer premium ribbed tanks which are much softer and more stylish looking (I saw them availalbe at Target a couple weeks ago).

Better take advantage of the sale while you can!

Thought I’d share this email exchange that I had with a marine who is going on recruiting duty for the next few years and is looking for some durable undershirts that will last him a while.

Tug,
I am in the Marines and will be going on recruiting duty in a few months for the next 3 years.  I will be using white undershirts on a daily basis as part of my uniform and wanted to know what type of undershirt you recommend.  The most important factors will be the fitting around the neck and the color.  I don’t want undershirts that will sag easily at the neck or after a few wears and washes.  Thanks for your advice.

In case you need my info:
5′ 5″, 150 lbs. athletic body type

My Response:

Hi E,

Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to get back to you regarding your question.

But, before I share the recommendations, I just wanted to take a minute to thank you from the bottom of our hearts (Mrs Tug and myself) for serving our country.  With everything going on around us, we sometimes don’t take enough time to truly appreciate the contribution people like you and others who are in our military make to keep our country a safe and wonderful place to live in. This might sound a little silly, but the Mrs. and I recently watched a movie called “Taking Chance” with Kevin Bacon, that chronicles one Marine’s experience [Bacon] when he was accompanying the body of a fallen young Marine back to his home town, and it completely moved us.  More importantly, it reminded us how very fortunate we are to have people like you protecting our country. Thanks so much all that you’re doing.

Regarding the undershirt recommendations, I’d like to suggest you consider trying one (or more) of these out:

1. Costco Kirkland Signature brand crew neck undershirts. These undershirts seem pretty durable, have a great collar that won’t sag, are pretty soft, and are pretty inexpensive from what I’ve heard. [Plus Mrs. Tug's dad swears by these undershirts and he was a military man]
2. Campbellsville Apparel Company 100% Combed Cotton Undershirts. Same specs as standard military issue undershirts. Good collar, pretty comfortable, great price ($9 for pkg of 3).
3. Alfani Stretch from Macys. Cotton/Spandex blend. Nice high collar, very comfortable, fits closer and better than standard box cut undershirts, shirt moves with you, your uniform will lay nicely over it.  ($17 for pkg of 2)
4. A reader also wrote in recently and mentioned that the Merona undershirts from Target are pretty nice. (Also a cotton/spandex blend like the Alfani Stretch, but only $9.99 for pkg of 2). Folks say they have a longer cut, so they might be a hair long depending on the length of your torso.

There’s a few other on this article on my site that you might want to take a look at.
Ask Tug: Tight Collar Undershirts that Don’t Sag or Stretch Out

If you decide to buy a selection of the ones listed above (or any other for that matter) to take with you, and you have the opportunity to write back in while you’re on recruiting duty to keep me and my readers posted on your progress with the undershirts, that would be greatly appreciated. I’d be happy to post all your updates on the site.

Let me know if you have any questions about the suggestions above or in the article.

Take care & Good luck!
Tug

E’s response:

Well thank you and Mrs. Tug for the support, it is greatly appreciated.

I think I am going to buy a package from each of the below recommendations (since I’ll be needing them for the next 3 years) and send you an update after some time.  Thanks again and I’ll keep you posted.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!

A little over a week ago, I posted an article about the new 2(x)ist Men’s shapewear FORM Collection briefs and trunks that will soon be available at select retailers this August. Since then, I’ve gotten several emails from readers who were wondering if I had any additional intel on the upcoming launch, so I decided to reach out to see if I could get some further details.

Well, I hit the jackpot when the man himself, Jason Scarlatti, Creative Director for 2(x)ist directly responded to my email inquiry and was kind enough to take time out to answer some of my questions. He also sent some exclusive, never been seen before photos of the new line that you can see first here at UndershirtGuy.com!

I’ve consolidated the information a little bit, but here’s the email exchange Jason and I had earlier today.

Tug: Do you have any more specifics on the date when the 2(x)ist Form Collection will be available for purchase? Do you have pricing  information?

Jason: Form is shipping 7/25/09.
It will be available to both online and store retailers at the same time (Freshpair.com, Barenecessities.com, HisRoom.com, Saks.com, Bloomingdales.com).  Saks Dept Store is doing a huge push on Form and all our specialty store doors will be carrying this product as well.
Contour Pouch retails at $18.00 comes in White and Black.
Trunk retails at $24.00 comes in White and Black.

Tug: Do you have any additional pictures you can send me that I can share with my readers? The only picture on the net is the Form brief. Wondering if you could share pictures of the trunk style or any other  styles that will be available.

Jason: Additional images can be found in this link below – I have also attached some “sexier” marketing shots we did..we did not go forward with the design of this waistband, it was just created for marketing. [Tug: all photos Jason pointed me to are attached here in the post]

Tug: Why did 2(x)ist opt to design underwear-style shapewear vs. the current trend of undershirt shapewear like the products from Equmen,  RIPT Fusion, Sculptees, etc. And will 2(x)ist be offering a compression/slimming undershirt anytime soon?

Jason: Our forte is underwear, which is why we chose to focus on underwear styled shapewear instead of shapewear tops.  We also wanted to create something more affordable on the market then the current high priced items from Equmen and Sculptees.

Tug: Would you be interested in offering a sample for me to  review on my blog, like I have other shapewear products? Also, as a side note, the 2(x)ist 100% cotton undershirt is in myFaves top 5 list. I love your products! If you ever want me to review new 2(x)ist undershirts that are coming out, I’d always be happy to try them out and write up a review.

Jason: Tug…(I love the name Tug – its GREAT!!) THANK YOU so much for your interest in 2xist, as well as your kind words.  We will definitely send you some tops when we launch the new lines.  I usually do not have anything in advance, before the product ships, but I am looking into it for you to see what I can do.  (I think its a smart idea to release it to you guys before it ships, so people can read reviews…but that’s just me!)  So I am investigating that on my end.
Thanks again and take care!

This is so awesome! Not only was Jason nice enough to share the above details, he’s also going to try to get yours truly a sample of the new Form Collection Men’s Shapewear trucks for me to try out and review here (hell, maybe they’ll hide my love handles some). If we’re really lucky, I’ll get a pair to try out right before they’ll be available at retailers. Ooh, now isn’t that cool?

Here’s some more photos. Remember, that a few of these are just marketing shots that have concept waistbands. The ones without the coloring in the waistband are the ones that are going to be available in late July.

Here’s the official press release I received 2(x)ist’s PR Firm.
2xist FORM Collection Launch