The creative process began a little more than a year ago as Peter Whitney struggled to smooth out the legs of his boxers after he slipped his jeans on.
“It seemed like a little bit of a chore to me,” said Whitney, 46. “So I started wearing jeans without boxers, and it was kind of rough.”
Putting the coarse material and all that stitching that is inside the jeans against the, um, delicates isn’t bliss. But being uncomfortable gave Whitney the idea: “If you just line [the jeans] with boxers, then it’s just what you’re wearing normally.”
Whitney’s Commando Jeans cover the stitching on the inside of a pair of dark blue jeans with a blue plaid, cotton-poly blend sewn in boxer-like so you don’t need underwear. Whitney’s research found it’s a “big trend, especially on college campuses,” to wear jeans without undies, the commando style.
Whitney said the effect won’t be the same as when jeans-wearing actor Fred Dryer was told by network suits to wear some underwear when it was obvious he wasn’t while starring in the 1980s cop series “Hunter.”
“To me, it’s like I have boxers on as well, and it’s not obvious to anyone,” said Whitney, who was involved with start-up companies in Texas until moving to Chicago with his wife and child more than a year ago.
Whitney test-marketed the jeans at DePaul University, where a tester “felt like a rock star.”
Retailing for $67 and currently available only on www.commandojeans.com, the pants come in a fitted design that is in a boot cut. Whitney is talking to a few retailers about carrying the product.
Because nothing comes between you and your Commando Jeans, Whitney has an answer to those wondering how to fight the dreaded skid marks: “Wash your jeans.”
