Kid's Boxer Briefs (Underwear & Socks)

Adding a leg to a brief gives you a boxer brief. That leg runs three to six inches down the thigh depending on the size, it stays close to the body rather than hanging loose. The closeness is the whole reason the style exists.

Knit and elastane match a brief, near 95 percent cotton and 5 percent elastane, but the leg hem now becomes the part that decides whether a pair works. Three finishes are common. A folded and stitched hem costs least and rides up first. A band of elastic knitted into the hem holds better and can leave a mark if it is narrow. A bonded hem, cut and heat-sealed with no stitching at all, lies flattest under thin trousers and costs the most. Ride-up is the classic failure: the hem creeps toward the crotch through the morning, bunches there, and the child spends the afternoon pulling at it. A longer leg with a wide hem band creeps far less than a short leg with a narrow one.

Briefs delete the leg and the ride-up problem along with it. Loose boxer shorts hang away from the body and bunch inside trousers, which suits sleeping better than school. Training Pants replace the crotch panel entirely. Tights and leggings cover the same leg from the outside instead.

Sport is the clearest case, since a running child with bare inner thighs gets sore within a couple of miles. Summer camp, long car trips and hot weather all argue for a leg. Older kids often want the coverage in a changing room, and that reason counts as much as any technical one. Under thin school trousers a bonded hem hides better than a stitched one. Under a slim uniform trouser in a heat wave, a brief still moves more air.

Pull the leg hem sideways and let go, watching for a hem that returns straight rather than fluted. Check the rise, the distance from the waistband to the crotch seam, as a short rise pulls the leg upward before the child has left the house. Wash warm and inside out, dry on low, and keep bleach away from the elastane. Retire a pair once the leg hem no longer stays put, whatever the rest of it looks like.