Summer sweat control starts with underwear—Isetan Men's Net has strongly recommended "wearing long pants under your regular pants" as a shortcut to a comfortable summer, but the unfashionable image of "long underwear" from the fathers' generation still persists. This time, with the theme of "What if we looked for summer underwear that is functionally perfect but also looks a little more stylish?", we introduce "comfortable pants" to get you through the scorching heat. As you know, SIDO's "bandage pants" have evolved even further with the release of a new version. Shiro Nogi, the inventor of bandage pants, and Ohashi, the assistant buyer for men's underwear on the first basement floor Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building , explore their appeal.

Shiro Nogi (left in the photo), the creator of "bandage pants" and founder of SIDO, and Yasuhiro Ohashi (right in the photo), assistant buyer of men's underwear on the first basement floor Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building

Bandage pants made to overcome sweating

When you feel itchy after sweating, you might think it's just heat rash, but if left untreated, it could develop into a sweat rash, and then into a severe sweat all day long. This year in particular, with high temperatures and humidity, heat rash can worsen and even lead to contact dermatitis.

As anyone who has actually worn them knows, these bandage pants, made with the patented bandage fabric "HOHTAI®," are gaining fans with their slogans of being "breathable, non-sticky, and non-constricting." They aim to "eliminate all discomfort" for sensitive skin that becomes itchy from sweat in the summer or dryness in the winter.

"Shime Shirazu" - Boxer briefs that don't constrict, based on this concept.

Ohashi, I also love wearing long pants under my trousers, but at our last roundtable discussion we concluded that "you can't go out in public wearing just long pants," so we started thinking about cool summer underwear that could replace long pants, and we came up with bandage-style underwear!
Minoru Nogi says that the best-selling period for bandage underwear is from June to September, which is when people sweat the most.
Ohashi: What I find most unbearable at this time of year is how the elastic waistband of my pants is too tight, causing sweat to accumulate and making me itchy.
Nogi 's early bandage pants had a terry cloth waistband. The terry cloth was designed to absorb sweat, but in the summer, sweat would cause itching, and in the winter, dryness would cause itching around the elastic. To solve this, he cut the waistband off the product and made various modifications, resulting in bandage pants without a waistband.
When Ohashi released their pants without an elastic waistband, it was groundbreaking. I wore them myself, and they really did feel like you were "barely wearing anything."
Nogi: Then, one of our customers said, "The waist is comfortable because there's no elastic, but can't you make the leg openings elastic-free as well?" That's how we developed these "Shime Shirazu Elastic-Free Bandage Pants."

Sidoh Boxer Shorts "No Tightening, No Elastic Bandage Pants (Front Opening)" ¥4,320
Purchase here

Ohashi, there's no elastic at the waist or the top of the leg opening. What's the secret to preventing them from slipping down while wearing them?
Nogi measures the compression points at three locations: the waist, the opening, and the buttocks, and then designs the pattern to ensure even pressure distribution. As Ohashi mentioned, this results in pants that don't slip down and feel almost like you're not wearing anything at all.
Ohashi: It's easy to put into words, but I think it's quite difficult to say that something is "comfortable to wear without any pressure."
Nogi's goal was to create "stress-free pants," but he hasn't yet created the perfect pair that deserves a perfect score of 100.
What are Ohashi Nogi's ideal pants?
Of course , comfort is important, but ideally, pants should look good when laid down, and even better when you're wearing them and look in the mirror—they should look great in both situations.

NEXT> Comfortable both on and off duty: A new product that embodies customer feedback.