BVD is a
brand of men's
underwear, which are commonly referred to as "BVDs". The brand was founded in 1876 and named after the three founders of the
New York City firm: (Joseph W.) Bradley, (Luther C.) Voorhees, and (Lyman H.) Day (thus "B.V.D.").[1][2] The BVD brand, originally produced for men and women, in the United States is now produced solely for men by
Fruit of the Loom. The BVD brand is also sold in Japan.[3][4]
History
BVD first manufactured
bustles for women. They then became famous for their men's
union suits made of heavy
knittedfabric. In 1908, that bulky and tight-fitting
garment was turned into a new kind of loose-fitting underwear. They went on to introduce a two-piece and the popular union suit,[5][2] as well as a lightweight waffle-like fabric with the
advertising slogan, "Next to Myself I Like BVD Best".[1]
At the beginning of the 1930s, BVD was purchased by the Atlas Underwear company of
Piqua, Ohio. During the
Great Depression, they were successful in manufacturing
swimsuits for men, women and children. They patented their own fabric, Sea Satin, a
rayon woven
satin backed with
latex for stretch.[6][7] They also used knits of
cotton,
wool and Rayon, and
cellophane. Their swimsuits featured in major fashion magazines and high-fashion stores. Styles included form-fitting
maillots as well as full-skirted swimsuits. They offered suits for men with detachable tops. In 1929,
OlympicswimmerJohnny Weissmuller, who went on to become the most famous
Tarzan in
motion pictures, was hired as a
model and representative. He was featured at swim shows throughout the country wearing the BVD brand of swimsuits, handing out leaflets and giving
autographs.[8][9]
In 1951, the brand was purchased by Superior Mills. BVD was first to start
packaging underwear in plastic bags for the mass
market. In the 1960s and 1970s, they started introducing sportops, a pocket
T-shirt, and fashionable underwear made of
nylon.[citation needed] In 1976, BVD was purchased by
Fruit of the Loom. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1999, and was purchased by
Berkshire Hathaway in 2001.[10]
In other languages
In certain dialects[which?] of
Spanish, the term bibidí, pronounced like the English initials, is an
eponym for a man's sleeveless underwear T-shirt.[11][12]
In popular culture
The 1923 jazz song “Hula Lou” by Jack Yellen, Milton Charles and Wayne King features the lyric: “I'm Hula Lou. I'm the gal that can't be true. I do my nestin' in the evenin' breeze 'Neath the trees You oughta see me shake my BVDs.” [13]
The 1924 song "Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)" includes the lyrics:
"An evening with Hannah sitting
on your knees
Is like traveling through Alaska
in your BVDs"
1931 film CHARLIE CHAN CARRIES ON. It's suggested that Charlie Chan buy himself a pair of iron underwear, BVD's.
In the 1960s and 70s, in the area around Woonsocket, Rhode Island, (which was part of the
Blackstone Valley), BVDs were sometimes affectionately called "Blackstone Valley Duds."
In the 1963 Disney film
The Sword in the Stone, the wizard Merlin can be seen wearing a pair of pink BVD underwear beneath his robe (around 15:42 run-time).
In the 1969 novelty song
Gitarzan by artist
Ray Stevens references the "Gitarzan" character as "As he swings through trees without a trapeeze, in his BVD's ..."[14]
In the 1926 song "Coney Island Washboard" (Lyrics added at an unknown time, at least prior to 1978)[15] one of the lyrics reads "She could rag a tune right through the knees of a brand new pair of B.V.D.'s on her Coney Island washboard roundelay."[16]
"And as sure as Santa Claus wears red BVDs, I know somebody will have an alibi you can't break with a sledgehammer." - Columbo (1990) s09e04 "Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo", timestamp: 46:54 -
https://archive.org/details/9.4RestInPeaceMrsColumbo
In the 1993 novel Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg, the main character, a butch lesbian, is described to be wearing BVDs. "You laid out a pair of fresh white BVDs and a T-shirt for me and left me alone to wash off the first layer of shame."
"You think that would put my piretical BVDs in a twist..." -Blackstache, in
Peter and the Starcatcher Scene 6
In the
Bob Rivers novelty Christmas song "Didn't I Get This Last Year?," a man complains about having received "some socks, some socks and some tiny BVDs" from his Aunt Louise for Christmas, which he can't get up past his knees, and asks her to return them.