type subsidiary industry underwear founded 1876 headquarters united states products underwear owner berkshire hathaway website bvd.com bvd is a brand of men s underwear which are commonly referred to as bvds . the brand was founded in 1876 and named after the three founders of the new york city firm bradley voorhees & day thus b.v.d. . 1 the bvd brand originally produced for men and women is now produced solely for men by fruit of the loom . contents 1 history 2 in other languages 3 notes 4 external links history edit bvd first manufactured bustles for women . they then became famous for their men s union suits 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 2 as well as a lightweight waffle like fabric with the advertising slogan next to myself i like bvd best . 1 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 swimsuits 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 maillots 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 autographs . citation needed 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 . citation needed in 1976 bvd was purchased by fruit of the loom which brought the brand to a worldwide market . citation needed on april 9 2002 berkshire hathaway purchased fruit of the loom . 3 in other languages edit in ecuadorian and peruvian spanish the term bivid pronounced like the english initials is an eponym for a man s sleeveless underwear t shirt . citation needed notes edit a b fruit of the loom bvd . retrieved 2008 07 28 . there s an ocean of comfort in b.v.d. . the independent . jul 13 1914 . retrieved august 21 2012 . acquisition of fruit of the loom apparel business completed . archived from the original on 29 june 2008 . retrieved 28 july 2008 . external links edit look up bvds in wiktionary the free dictionary . v t e men s undergarments upper body male bra sleeveless shirt a shirt singlet tank top t shirt undershirt telnyashka lower body boxer briefs midway briefs boxer shorts briefs slip y fronts fundoshi jockstrap athletic supporter compression shorts tanga thong g string trunks willy warmer full body long underwear long johns hosiery leggings pantyhose sock stocking tabi historical breechcloth chausses codpiece doublet garter hose loincloth union suit brands 2 x ist abercrombie & fitch american eagle american apparel andrew christian aussiebum bonds bvd calvin klein c in2 diesel s.p.a. dkny dolce & gabbana emporio armani fruit of the loom hanes hugo boss jockey international joe boxer mundo unico pringle john smedley s stanfield s under armour xtg extreme game retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title bvd & oldid 737034520 categories underwear brandsberkshire hathawaycompanies established in 18761876 establishments in new yorkhidden categories all articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from july 2008 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages add links this page was last modified on 31 august 2016 at 10 32 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view