75 years of service to men

Thanks to Arthur Kneibler and a postcard, men can wear comfortable underwear today. Before the great invention of the so called Jockey Brief - a short brief with a brand new fit - men could only choose between two kinds of underwear: longs and uncomfortable ones.

In the summer of 1934, Kneibler received a postcard from the French Riviera. It showed a man in a bikini-style swimsuit which inspired Kneibler to develop underwear for the common man. What was special about this underwear was a newly developed woven elastic for the waistband, which was also used on the outside of each leg to grip the thigh and hold the garment down. This special cut ensured more legroom and new wearer comfort. The new ‘hose’ were named “Jockeys” which derived loosely from “jock-strap”, another wording for an athletic supporter. Later the company renamed to its bestseller JOCKEY®.

Sales of the Jockey® Brief were an instant hit. Davis Store in Chicago was the first to sell the Jockey® Brief and on it’s first day in store, by noon, they had sold out its 600 pieces, and in the next week, they sold another 12,000 pieces. This performance was repeated in many stores across the country and JOCKEY® became an instant sensation.

These kinds of records are almost commonplace at JOCKEY®: In its 133 years of history, the company has proven that they know what it takes to come up with new ideas and cults. A good example is the Y-Front® which was invented only one year after the first brief and which has become the best and most sold item of underwear in the world. Another example of JOCKEY’s innovative drive is the fact that NASA approached JOCKEY in the 60s and asked them to develop space capable underwear.

JOCKEY® also has many very well-known fans? Andy Warhol for example, who put the Y-Front® on the cover of one of the most successful rock-albums ever: “Sticky Fingers” from the Rolling Stones. The fact that Warhol chose the Y-Front® was actually no surprise since the Pop-Art-Icon was an avid fan of JOCKEY®.

Mit anderen Worten: Der JOCKEY® Brief war sicher nicht die letzte wegweisende Erfindung, mit der aus dem Hause JOCKEY zu rechnen ist. Von ihrer Popularität haben die praktischen Slips jedenfalls auch nach einem Dreiviertel Jahrhundert nichts eingebüßt – und darauf wäre Arthur Kneibler mächtig stolz. In diesem Sinne: Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Jockey Briefs®! Und alles Gute weiterhin, JOCKEY!

Mit anderen Worten: Der JOCKEY® Brief war sicher nicht die letzte wegweisende Erfindung, mit der aus dem Hause JOCKEY zu rechnen ist. Von ihrer Popularität haben die praktischen Slips jedenfalls auch nach einem Dreiviertel Jahrhundert nichts eingebüßt – und darauf wäre Arthur Kneibler mächtig stolz. In diesem Sinne: Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Jockey Briefs®! Und alles Gute weiterhin, JOCKEY!

In other words: The Jockey Brief® wasn’t the last ground breaking invention from JOCKEY® and even after 75 years the JOCKEY Brief® is still a best seller – which surely would have made Arthur Kneibler very proud.

Having said this: Happy Birthday Jockey Brief® and good luck for the future.