BVD
Encyclopedia
BVD is a brand
of men's underwear
, which are commonly referred to as "BVDs." BVD stands for Bradley, Voorhees & Day, the New York City
firm that initially manufactured
underwear of this name for both men and women. BVD is now only for men. It was founded in 1876 and named for its three founders.
s for women. They then became famous for their men's union suit
s made of heavy knitted
fabric. 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, as well as a lightweight waffle-like fabric with the advertising slogan
, "Next to Myself I Like BVD Best."
At the beginning of the 1930s BVD was purchased by the Atlas Underwear company located in Piqua, Ohio. During the Great Depression
they were successful in manufacturing swimsuit
s for men, women and children. They patented their own fabric, Sea Satin, a rayon
woven satin
backed with latex
for stretch. 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 maillot
s as well as full skirted swimsuits. They offered suits for men with detachable tops. In 1929, Olympic
swimmer Johnny 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 autograph
s.
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
. In 1976, BVD was purchased by Fruit of the Loom
, which brought the brand to a worldwide market. On April 9, 2002, Berkshire Hathaway
purchased Fruit of the Loom.
The term "BVDs" has become, over time, a genericized trademark
in reference to any brand of underwear.
ian and Peru
vian Spanish
, the term bividí, pronounced like the English initials, is an eponym
for a man's sleeveless underwear T-shirt.
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
of men's underwear
Undergarment
Undergarments or underwear are clothes worn under other clothes, often next to the skin. They keep outer garments from being soiled by bodily secretions and discharges, shape the body, and provide support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional...
, which are commonly referred to as "BVDs." BVD stands for Bradley, Voorhees & Day, the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
firm that initially manufactured
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
underwear of this name for both men and women. BVD is now only for men. It was founded in 1876 and named for its three founders.
History
BVD first manufactured bustleBustle
A bustle is a type of framework used to expand the fullness or support the drapery of the back of a woman's dress, occurring predominantly in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles were worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. Heavy fabric tended to...
s for women. They then became famous for their men's union suit
Union suit
A union suit is a type of one-piece long underwear. Created in Utica, New York, United States, it originated as women's wear during the 19th-century United States clothing reform efforts, as an alternative to constricting garments, and soon gained popularity among men as well...
s made of heavy knitted
Knitting
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
fabric. 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, as well as a lightweight waffle-like fabric with the advertising slogan
Advertising slogan
Advertising slogans are short, often memorable phrases used in advertising campaigns. They are claimed to be the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of a product. A strapline is a British term used as a secondary sentence attached to a brand name...
, "Next to Myself I Like BVD Best."
At the beginning of the 1930s BVD was purchased by the Atlas Underwear company located in Piqua, Ohio. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
they were successful in manufacturing swimsuit
Swimsuit
A swimsuit, bathing suit, or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn by men, women or children while they are engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water skiing, or during activities in the sun, such as sun bathing.A...
s for men, women and children. They patented their own fabric, Sea Satin, a rayon
Rayon
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...
woven satin
Satin
Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
backed with latex
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
for stretch. They also used knits of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and Rayon, and cellophane
Cellophane
Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria and water makes it useful for food packaging...
.Their swimsuits featured in major fashion magazines and high fashion stores. Styles included form fitting maillot
Maillot
The maillot is the fashion designer's name for a woman's one-piece swimsuit, also called a tank suit. A maillot swimsuit generally consists of a tank-style torso top with high-cut legs...
s as well as full skirted swimsuits. They offered suits for men with detachable tops. In 1929, Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
swimmer Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller
Johnny Weissmuller was an Austro-Hungarian-born American swimmer and actor best known for playing Tarzan in movies. Weissmuller was one of the world's best swimmers in the 1920s, winning five Olympic gold medals and one bronze medal. He won fifty-two US National Championships and set sixty-seven...
, who went on to become the most famous Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
in motion pictures
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, was hired as a model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and representative. He was featured at swim shows throughout the country wearing the BVD brand of swimsuits, handing out leaflets and giving autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
s.
In 1951, the brand was purchased by Superior Mills. BVD was first to start packaging
Packaging and labelling
Packaging is the science, art, and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport,...
underwear in plastic bags for the mass market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
. In the 1960s and 1970s, they started introducing sportops, a pocket T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
, and fashionable underwear made of nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
. In 1976, BVD was purchased by Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom
Fruit of the Loom is an American company which manufactures clothing, particularly underwear. The company's world headquarters is in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is currently a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.-Company profile:...
, which brought the brand to a worldwide market. On April 9, 2002, Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
purchased Fruit of the Loom.
The term "BVDs" has become, over time, a genericized trademark
Genericized trademark
A genericized trademark is a trademark or brand name that has become the colloquial or generic description for, or synonymous with, a general class of product or service, rather than as an indicator of source or affiliation as intended by the trademark's holder...
in reference to any brand of underwear.
In other languages
In EcuadorEcuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ian and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, the term bividí, pronounced like the English initials, is an eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
for a man's sleeveless underwear T-shirt.
In popular culture
- 1920: BVDs are mentioned to have been worn in F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott FitzgeraldFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's first novel This Side of ParadiseThis Side of ParadiseThis Side of Paradise is the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Published in 1920, and taking its title from a line of the Rupert Brooke poem Tiare Tahiti, the book examines the lives and morality of post-World War I youth. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is an attractive Princeton University...
. - 1922: George F. Babbitt wears B.V.D. undershirts in Sinclair Lewis's novel, Babbitt.
- 1925: In the silent film The Big ParadeThe Big ParadeThe Big Parade is a 1925 silent film. It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.The film was...
, a group of Army soldiers sing a song while doing their laundry in a stream. Among the lines of the song displayed via intertitleIntertitleIn motion pictures, an intertitle is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed.Intertitles...
s, the soldiers sing: "We drown the fleas / In our Bee Vee Dees, / We're in the army now!" - 1927: BVDs are mentioned in the Frankie JaxonFrankie JaxonFrankie "Half Pint" Jaxon was an African American vaudeville singer, female impersonator, stage designer and comedian, popular in the 1920s and 1930s.-Life and career:...
version of "Willie The Weeper." - 1929: BVD undergarments are mentioned in the film Broadway Melody during a conversation between the characters played by Bessie LoveBessie LoveBessie Love was an American motion picture actress who achieved prominence mainly in the silent films and early talkies. With a small frame and delicate features, she played innocent young girls, flappers, and wholesome leading ladies. Her role in The Broadway Melody earned her a nomination for...
and Anita PageAnita PageAnita Evelyn Pomares , better known as Anita Page, was a Salvadoran-American film actress who reached stardom in the last years of the silent film era. She became a highly popular young star, reportedly at one point receiving the most fan mail of anyone on the MGM lot...
. - 1931: BVDs are mentioned in the Mills Brothers version of the Stanley Adams song "Coney Island Washboard" (originally published in 1926, and also recorded by Hoagie Carmichael in 1950, and in 1967 by The Nitty Gritty Dirt BandRicochet (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album)Ricochet is the 1967 album from The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is notable for having many charting albums and singles.-Track listing:#"Shadow Dream Song" - 3:50...
). - 1933: BVDs are mentioned in the film adaptation of 42nd Street42nd Street (film)-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Julian Marsh, director*Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, star*George Brent as Pat Denning, Dorothy's old vaudeville partner*Ruby Keeler as Peggy Sawyer, the newcomer*Guy Kibbee as Abner Dillon, the show's backer...
in a scene where the characters Billy (Dick PowellDick PowellRichard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
) and Peggy (Ruby KeelerRuby KeelerRuby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, was an actress, singer, and dancer most famous for her on-screen coupling with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly 42nd Street . From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson...
) preparing in a dressing room for an opening night performance. - 1941: BVDs are mentioned by P.G. Wodehouse in the second of his Berlin broadcasts (July 9).
- 1953: Lead BVDs are mentioned in the second verse of Tom LehrerTom LehrerThomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, mathematician and polymath. He has lectured on mathematics and musical theater...
's song "The Wild West Is Where I Want To BeSongs By Tom Lehrer-Production and release history:Songs by Tom Lehrer was recorded in a single one hour session on January 22, 1953 at the TransRadio studio in Boston for the total studio cost of $15. The first pressing was an issue of 400 copies, produced at Lehrer's own expense in the 10" LP record format. Records...
". - 1955: BVDs are mentioned a number of times in the book [Auntie Mame]] by Patrick DennisPatrick DennisPatrick Dennis was an American author. His novel Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade was one of the bestselling American books of the 20th century. In chronological vignettes "Patrick" recalls his adventures growing up under the wing of his madcap aunt, Mame Dennis...
. - 1955: BVDs are mentioned in some versions of the pop standard song "Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)"Hard Hearted Hannah " is a popular song from Tin Pan Alley.The music was written by Milton Ager, the lyrics by Jack Yellen, Bob Bigelow, and Charles Bates...
", including the version sung by Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
in the 1955 film Pete Kelly's BluesPete Kelly's BluesPete Kelly's Blues can refer to:* Pete Kelly's Blues ** Pete Kelly's Blues , a 1955 film based on the radio series*** Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues, the soundtrack album of the 1955 film...
. - 1969: BVDs are mentioned in the lyrics to the song "Guitarzan" by Ray StevensRay StevensRay Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
. - 1969: "Two changes of BVDs" are mentioned in the song "Legend of the USS Titanic" by Jaime Brockett.
- 1975: BVDs are mentioned by Andy Warhol in "The Philosophy of Andy WarholThe Philosophy of Andy WarholThe Philosophy of Andy Warhol is a 1975 book by the American artist Andy Warhol . It was first published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich....
": "After I check myself out in the mirror, I slip into my BVDs. Nudity is a threat to my existence." - 1979: BVDs are mentioned in the book Memories of Another Day by Harold RobbinsHarold RobbinsHarold Robbins was one of the best-selling American authors of all time. During his career, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages....
. - 1985: BVDs are mentioned in the book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character is an edited collection of reminiscences by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman. The book, released in 1985, covers a variety of instances in Feynman's life...
by Richard Feynman. - 1990s: BVDs are mentioned in the classic song entitled "Old School" by the late Tupac Shakur. BVD was a sponsor of New Japan Pro Wrestling for many years in Japan in the mid-1990s, as their logo was placed on the wrestling mat in the ring.
- 1991: BVD is mentioned briefly in the 1991 song "Things That Make You Go Hmmm..." by C+C Music FactoryC+C Music FactoryC+C Music Factory is a dance-pop and hip hop group formed in 1989 by David Cole and Robert Clivillés which stopped recording 1996, following Cole's death...
. - 1991: BVDs are mentioned by Chris RockChris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
on Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, during a recurring sketch called "I'm Chillin'". - 1993: BVDs are mentioned a number of times in the book "Stone Butch BluesStone Butch BluesStone Butch Blues is a novel written by transgender activist Leslie Feinberg. The novel won the 1994 Stonewall Book Award. It tells the story of the life of a butch named Jess Goldberg and the trials and tribulations she faces growing up in the pre-Stonewall era. Published in 1993, the novel...
" by Leslie FeinbergLeslie FeinbergLeslie Feinberg is a transgender queer and communist activist, speaker, and author. Feinberg's first novel Stone Butch Blues is widely considered a groundbreaking work about gender.- Career :...
. - 2000s: BVDs are mentioned throughout Cindy Gerards' 'Bodyguard' series.
- 2002: BVDs are mentioned in Sex and the CitySex and the CitySex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
in episode "All That Glitters...": "Baseball, Buckets, and BVDs". - 2004: The Beastie BoysBeastie BoysBeastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
' song "An Open Letter to NYCTo the 5 BoroughsTo the 5 Boroughs is the sixth studio album by the Beastie Boys. The album was released on June 14, 2004 internationally, and a day later in the United States. The album debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 with 360,000 copies sold in its first week...
" includes the lyric: "Get my BVDs from VIM". - 2005: BVDs are mentioned in the book 'Dark Lover' from the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J.R. WardJ.R. WardJessica Rowley Pell Bird is an American novelist. Under her maiden name, Jessica Bird, she writes contemporary romance novels, and as J.R. Ward, she writes paranormal romance. She has received the Romance Writers of America RITA Award.-Biography:Born Jessica Rowley Pell Bird on 1969 in...
. - Many children are introducted to the word BVDs through the camp song, "Bye Bye BVDs".
- 2007: Underground Rapper BoondoxBoondoxDavid Hutto is an American rapper from Covington, Georgia. Hutto is most commonly known as Boondox, whose stage persona is that of a killer scarecrow. He is currently signed to Psychopathic Records.-Biography:...
releases the song "My Van" on Psychopathic Records' compilation Psychopathics from Outer Space part 3. The song includes the lyrics: "nothin' on but a tool belt and BVD's, a chick tied to a shelf full of DVD's."