International Male was a

mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing a ...

clothing brand and, at one point in the brand's history, carried

brick-and-mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...

stores of the same name. The company that created and owns the brand, originally Brawn of California, started in 1974–1975, has since been sold in its entirety in 1987 to

Hanover Direct Horn & Hardart was a food services company in the United States noted for operating the first food service automats in Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore. Philadelphia's Joseph Horn (1861–1941) and German-born, New Orleans-raised Frank ...

, based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. International Male was a vendor of men's casual, office-casual, and some gallant

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

items which were generally geared to the

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...

. Brawn of California, and all brands in its portfolio, is now owned by

-based group Hanover Direct, which purchased the company in 1987 when founder Gene Burkard retired. Burkard died on December 11, 2020. The catalog originally carried a wide variety of men's

underwear Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

, but this was once spun off into a separate catalog, Undergear, which focused exclusively on men's underwear,

swimwear A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, wom ...

, and some casual wear. The last mailed catalog of International Male was published in 2007. The brands are both available via their own websites, but the International Male site is now defunct and redirects to the Undergear site. As of 2009, Hanover Direct consolidated these two product platforms under the Undergear label. Undergear is now the sole catalog and web site and incorporates the non-underwear items that would earlier have been in the International Male catalog-website. The selection of non-underwear clothing is quite limited in comparison to the former years (when International Male was its own separate catalog and website containing many items of clothing besides underwear and swimwear). Over the years, many famous models and actors have posed for the catalog, such as

Shemar Moore Shemar Franklin Moore (born April 20, 1970) is an American actor. His notable roles include Malcolm Winters on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1994–2005), Derek Morgan on ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2016), and the lead role of Sergeant II Dani ...

Cameron Mathison Cameron Arthur Mathison (born August 25, 1969) is a Canadians, Canadian-Americans, American actor and television host. From 1997 to 2011, he played the role of Ryan Lavery on ''All My Children''. Early life and personal life Mathison was born on ...

Charles Dera Charles Dera (born December 21, 1978) is an American pornographic actor, stripper, and model. Early lifeDeraczunas
his real ...

Christian Boeving Christian Boeving (born June 5, 1969) is an American actor, writer, producer, fitness model, personal trainer, and former bodybuilding supplement spokesperson. He grew up in Missouri, United States and resides in Los Angeles County in Southern Ca ...

David Chokachi David Chokachi (born David Al-Chokhachy; January 16, 1968) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in the TV series ''Witchblade'', ''Baywatch'', and '' Beyond The Break''. Early life David Chokachi was born in Plymo ...

, Gregg Avedon,

Reichen Lehmkuhl Reichen Lehmkuhl, (born Richard Allen Lehmkuhl; December 26, 1973) is an American lawyer, businessman, reality show winner, former model, and former occasional actor. A former United States Air Force officer with the rank of captain, he is best kno ...

Rusty Joiner Jason Russell "Rusty" Joiner (born December 11, 1972) is an American male fashion model, fitness model and actor. Early life and education Born in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Joiner attended Georgia Southern Universi ...

, Brandon Marcel and Scott King. At one point, Brawn of California partnered with World Financial Network Bank (WFNNB) to offer their customers a credit card. The card is no longer available.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20050614234957/http://www.internationalmale.com/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20060402202453/http://internationalmale.com/ * http://articles.latimes.com/1986-08-05/business/fi-1550_1_international-male

External links

* *{{official website, http://www.undergear.com/, Undergear website
A History of International Male
Mail-order retailers Online clothing retailers of the United States Companies based in New Jersey