“I make lingerie for men – it’s easier to go running in a g-string”

Metalworker Jules Parker now makes a roaring trade for men who don’t just want to wear boxer shorts – and most of his company’s customers are women who buy them for their partners

A metalworker created a men’s lingerie brand after struggling to find perfectly fitting pants.

Jules Parker offers cuddly thongs in different materials as well as basques, suspenders and stockings for men

He previously worked in car restoration – and two years ago decided to branch out and start his own business moot lingerie.

“As a metalworker, I obviously didn’t know the first thing about knickers,” Jules said.

“I’ve run my business for a number of years, but as with anyone, the challenges and things that excite you have gotten a little out of hand.

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“I’ve never been a guy who wore boxer shorts. I exercised a lot and it was a lot easier to go running in a g-string.

“I couldn’t really wear women’s stuff because I had pieces that women don’t wear … they didn’t fit.”

Dad-of-three Jules took the plunge after realizing he could only buy cheesy bachelorette party accessories or cross-dressing items – which he wasn’t.

“I didn’t want to wear a bra, miniskirt or wig,” he added. “I’m not a crossdresser, I just wear a different fabric and cut.

“There’s nothing wrong with cross-dressing, but I’m not. I walk around in boots and jeans.

“So while I was getting my underwear from them, I couldn’t identify with what they were doing in any way.

“And their quality wasn’t really what I wanted — I’m an underwear snob.”

Now most of his company’s customers are women who buy them for their partners.

The company was founded with the blessing of Jules’ wife Clare, 51, a former BA stewardess, and his teenage sons aged 19, 16 and 13.

And his friends thought it was a great idea when he revealed his plans over a beer one night.

Jules, who lives in East Grinstead, West Sussex, continued: “These are purebred alpha males, they are successful, well educated, they are intelligent men.

“I said, ‘You all know me as Jules the Metalworker, I’m married, I have three children, I love to run and swim, but I’ll be making a different range of men’s underwear.’

“Their heads were in the beer at this point.”

After that, several opened up to him and said they thought it was a great idea.

And he says if men want to wear traditionally feminine garments, they should be able to.

He said: “I never wanted to wear my wife’s underwear, it’s not sexual.

“I didn’t want to wear lingerie. I wanted to wear men’s underwear with a different design. It wasn’t about feminizing me.

“I want to hug men, I want to celebrate their masculinity, I definitely don’t want to oppress them.

“Men have never really had a chance to express themselves, they wear the standard gray suits and go to work. You could wear a fancy tie or an extravagant pair of socks.

“When my wife wears nice lingerie, that’s pretty exciting for me. This is exactly the opposite.

“My wife thinks it’s great. She is very proud of what I do.”

His underwear is French lace – woven in Calais – and sewn in Yorkshire. They range in price from £30 to £240.

He previously encountered a stumbling block after pulling ads from social media, leading him to accuse the industry of double standards when it comes to images of semi-clothed male and female bodies.

Last year he told the Observer how a number of ads on Facebook were rejected

One showing a model in a thong holding a basketball was blocked for violating community standards. “How is that remotely sexual?” he asked.

Now Jules models the goods on the site’s website.

“I’m a normal looking guy; it’s important that I not only talk but also walk,” he said.

“It’s no shame. It doesn’t make you weird or deviant, it’s just stuff. If someone wants to judge you by stuff, they have to look at themselves.”