The Virtues of Boxers

It started with a simple question: where are the best boxer shorts in Britain? Not the most expensive. Not the most fashionable. The best — by which we mean the most thoughtfully designed, the most carefully made, the most comfortable to wear.

The Virtues of Boxers is part investigation, part design project. We set out to understand what makes a great pair of boxer shorts, tracing the supply chain from cotton field to cutting table, from sewing machine to sock drawer.

Along the way, we discovered the tradition of toile de Jouy — the distinctive printed fabric that originated in 18th-century France but was quickly adopted and adapted by British textile makers. The intricate pastoral scenes, rendered in a single colour on white cotton, represent a perfect marriage of craft and storytelling.

Our boxer shorts feature original toile de Jouy designs that tell stories of British craft and making — replacing the traditional pastoral scenes with depictions of workshops, tools, and artisans at work.