The Latest Concept In Mens Shapewear Undershirts – Don’t Suck It In. Look More Muscular Instead. Retail Undershirt Buyers, Give This Designer A Call.

Can I just tell you how much I love writing this blog. Seriously.

Nearly every week I’m astounded on how many new and creative undershirt-related ideas I come across as a result of being, what some may say, the Obi-Wan Kenobi of the men’s undershirt world. (at least i try)

The other day, during my normal morning ritual of going through emails from readers and scouring the internet for new undershirt news, I came across the following ad on craigslist:

LOOK-MORE-MUSCULAR UNDERSHIRT FOR MEN ($36)

New Men’s Shapewear Undershirts are worn as your undershirt / T-Shirt but have additional material (about 1/4″ thick) in the upper body areas, giving the appearance of a more muscular upper body.

The extra material is on the inside of the t-shirt- over the shoulders, upper arms, and across the upper back-Lats (which also improve the appearance of your posture). When worn as the undershirt with a regular shirt over it- there’s an improvement to the size of the upper body areas but is subtle enough to not be noticed as anything like extra padding or shoulder pads, etc.

Greg Cross' Muscular Shapewear Undershirt - Click to Zoom

And the difference isn’t so much that you would look dramatically different when you take your shirt off with someone (which of course is our goal, right!). You’ll look better when you’re wearing the Shapewear shirt as when you’re well dressed, but not like a different person when you take it off. And as women do when they wear the vast amount of shapewear undergarments currently available to them, and worn by most women. Stroll through the ladies underwear section of a department store and almost every item is not just underwear but also enhances the female figure. Most bras- pad, fluff, lift, shape, etc., waist slimmers (girdles) have made a huge comeback, and there are even one piece undergarments that cover and reshape almost the entire body. So now it’s mens turn.

Instead of spending countless hours struggling with weights in the gym, spending hundreds of $ on bodybuilding supplement (then finding out you’ve gained 5lbs of water weight that goes away as soon as you take a week off), do what I do and most men soon will be doing – get the t-shirt, once you do- you’ll never want to leave home without one on. Another benefit is the added confidence and influence at work and elsewhere gained by looking a little more muscular (why should the guys born with the good genes have all the fun- right?). Available in M, L, and XL. $59 each or $55 each for multiple purchases.

Well, color me curious - An undershirt that makes you look more muscular? What a nifty idea. I’ve gotta send this guy an email to learn more and hope he gets back to me. And he did. Here’s his response:

Hi Tug,

Thank you for your interest in my Men’s Shapewear Undershirt. I started making them for myself several years ago. I became tired of spending hours each week lifting weights with almost no results, but like most men, I wanted to look more muscular and attractive. More attractive to women, and more muscular to appeal to women but also to feel more confident around all other people anywhere. The undershirts were a simple and very effective solution. Now I would feel tiny leaving the house without one on, and never do – unless I’m going out with only an outerwear t-shirt on. They can be worn with a outerwear t-shirt over them but as with any underwear t-shirt, it can generally be seen that you’re wearing two t-shirts and if the outer t-shirt is very tight – that’s the only time there might be a little too much of a “puffy” look from the extra material. But when worn under any button up shirt, it’s not noticeable at all as extra material. A guy just looks a little broader in the shoulders, upper back (which also improves the look of the posture), and in the front shoulder area (or the entire chest with my version that has a strip of the extra material going across the chest area). I can’t imagine why any single guy in the 18 to 35 year old age group wouldn’t wear these undershirts instead of a regular one. Some might be concerned about being found out, but the change is not so dramatic that anyone would know something’s up when the cloths are removed.

Greg Cross' Muscular Shapewear Undershirt - Click to Zoom

I’ve been producing them using a regular Hanes underwear t-shirt with the extra material (which I think is a cotton blend, and is soft and comfortable) being about 1/3 of an inch thick and wrapping around the front, outer, and top of the shoulder and around the upper back (where it’s about 4″ tall). And the second version has material over the upper chest area. As the weather’s become warmer, I’ve had my seamstress add more breathing holes for airflow. My current ones have about a dozen holes about the size of a dime spread out in the padding material for airflow. However in some areas [climates] where it gets extremely hot, they might not be comfortable to wear during the daytime. Pictures are somewhat difficult because the t-shirts are all plain white Hanes undershirts and the padding material is the same white, so pictures just look like a picture of a white t-shirt. I’ve attached a couple of pictures in which I’ve placed a black line wear the padding material is. I’ll also send a 2nd email after this one with a picture of one where you might be able to see the material stitched on to the t-shirt (and in this one you might see a few of the holes for airflow when there were only 3 holes). It’s been surprising how difficult these t-shirts have been to explain, the few people (licensing agents) I’ve talked to have had very little idea what I’m talking about even after what I’ve thought was a detailed explanation. For as simple as it is, it seems to be a completely new concept to most. But as I mentioned in the craigslist ad, if anybody walks through any ladies underwear department in a department store, you can easily see how huge shapewear underwear is (it’s just completely unavailable to men).

I completed the provisional patent submission last December. My initial intent was to seek a licensee and work out a royalty deal. I thought once the application process was completed I would simply go show it to some of the big clothing makers and off we’d go. I then proceeded to spend the next two weeks just trying to find a direct phone number or email of anyone who makes decisions in a new product development department, or new merchandise buyer – and ended up not being able to reach one single person to even show them to. I then contacted a few licensing agents, but most of them are looking for high technology and software type things. Once a “t-shirt invention” is mentioned, they start thinking about what they’re going to have for dinner. I’ve been hoping to find some time to look for some small local retailer to carry them, but have had a very busy several months with other business. I’m also hoping to set up a web site soon. I’ve sold several from the craigslist ad so far but am anxious to do more.

[Also, the sizes I've made and currently have available are M, L, and XL. And can have smalls made as needed.]

If you have contacts in the apparel industry, perhaps you could be the licensing agent, or there might be some other way we can partner up. In any event, any publicity you can help with would certainly be appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg Cross

So this is pretty cool. In principle, his undershirts do for men what padded or push-up bras do for women – make us look bigger than we really are. Seriously, if some companies can make a men’s undershirt that make you appear slimmer, and others produce underwear/briefs/boxers that can make your “package” look bigger and your butt look plumper, why not an undershirt that makes you look more muscular?

Granted, I think the current undershirt design and manufacturing needs to be more professionally “finished” to gain mass market appeal, but the concept surely has merit.

While the idea of this type of padded men’s undershirt might not appeal to everyone, I love the fact that Greg is trying to innovate. He had a need, couldn’t find any undershirt product that met that need, so he decided to create it. This is exactly how many other successful undergarment (male and female) started. Anyone ever read the story of how Sara Blakely created Spanx or how Heather Thomson created the Yummie Tummie? Yep, that’s right – they’re doing pretty well right now, aren’t they?

Greg has graciously offered to send me one of his padded muscular undershirts to try out. If you’re are a licensing agent or buyer, in the apparel industry and interested in talking with Greg, or are simply interested in buying one of his custom made padded muscle undershirts, here’s how you can contact him:

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

Tell him you found out about him though undershirtguy.com!