In this hands-on All Citizens review, I’ll try on the brand’s most popular products and give you my honest recommendation.
All Citizens is known for best for its comfortable men’s underwear, but the brand has quickly expanded their offerings to include casual shirts, pants and shorts.
Does their underwear live up to the hype? How do their shirts and pants fit? Does this brand offer enough value for the price?
Read on to learn everything you need to know about All Citizens.
Quick Take
Short on time? Here’s what you need to know:
Pros
- Excellent underwear
- Reasonable prices
- Quality materials
Cons
- Mediocre styling
- Pants run large (not slim)
- Shirts too long for shorter guys
TL;DR – All Citizens makes fantastic underwear, and you should buy it. At this time, I can’t recommend their shirts and pants.
Click here to check out All citizens, or read on for the full review.
About All Citizens
Founded by former tech consultant Danny Charbonnet – an apparel industry novice – All Citizens aims to make premium performance-driven apparel sold at affordable prices.
They’re especially focused on underwear, and their flagship product is the microfiber boxer brief.
Like most digital first apparel brands, All Citizens is a direct-to-consumer company (you know, the whole “cut out the middleman” thing).
Bootstrapped and organically grown, All Citizens has garnered a cult following of guys who love premium quality underwear but want to pay $30/pair at lululemon.
The brand has now expanded into other menswear categories like casual shirt, athletic shorts and performance chinos.
My Build
For reference, I’m about 5’6″ with shoes on and 125 lbs after dinner. I typically wear size 34 jackets, XS tops and 28×28 pants.
What I Tried
Here’s everything I’ve tried on from All Citizens to date:
- Boxer Brief
- Paradise Pocket Boxer Brief
- AirWeight Undershirt
- Contender Training shorts
- Limitless Performance Chinos
Let’s look at each item in more detail…
All Citizens Underwear
All Citizens is best known for their underwear, and for good reason. I’ve been wearing their original boxer briefs for a few months now, and I recently tried their new Paradise Pocket version.
Both are very comfy and worth the slight premium over mass market brands like Hanes and Jockey.
Compared to $25+ per pair brands like Mack Weldon and Tommy John, they’re a steal.
Boxer Brief
These Polyester/Spandex microfiber boxer briefs are light, stretchy and not overly synthetic like some premium underwear (they feel like underwear, not compression shorts).
They have a few details that set them apart and make them comfortable to wear all day:
- Mesh panels on lower back and crotch
- Elastic ribbing on thighs to prevent riding up
- Horizontal fly for quick access
- Thick, logo-free waistband
The thigh grips do help prevent any riding up, and the horizontal fly is far superior to a standard vertical fly or no fly at all.
The waistband is comfy, but I’m not crazy about the design. I like the unbranded look, but the black and white scheme doesn’t work well every colorway.
I’d like to see waistbands that match or compliment each individual colorway. You can never go wrong with a monochromatic waistband (same color as the underwear fabric).
That said, these are fantastic boxer briefs, and they’ve retained their color and shape through many laundry cycles (no pilling or fading).
Paradise Pocket
All Citizens Paradise Pocket Boxer Briefs are the brand’s take on pouch underwear.
They have all of the same features as the Standard Boxer Briefs, as well as an internal pouch meant to separate your goods from your thighs.
Pouch underwear is all the rage these days, and many guys swear by it. Personally, I don’t find pouch underwear to be more comfortable than regular underwear.
In fact, sometimes pouch boxer briefs can be uncomfortable. I’m happy to report that’s not the case with All Citizens Paradise Pouch underwear.
It’s just as comfy as their original boxer brief, so just get whichever format you prefer.
All Citizens Undershirts
The best undershirts have a deep v-neck that lets them remain invisible under an unbuttoned shirt.
They’re also somewhat fitted so they don’t cause any weird bunching under your shirt, especially if you prefer slim fit shirts.
All Citizens AirWeight Undershirt checks all the right boxes.
It even has these mesh side panels to help keep you cool during your cousin’s mid-July outdoor wedding.
(Side note: why do we have outdoor weddings in the middle of summer??)
My only gripe with this undershirt is its length. As a shorter guy, it’s very long on me.
This is okay since it’s always worn tucked in, but it would be more comfortable if it didn’t go past my hips.
All Citizens Training Shorts
Made from stretchy Polyester fabric and featuring an internal drawstring, these almost remind me of swim trunks.
The Contender Training Shorts have an 8″ inseam. This is going to look good on everyone, but some guys may want a shorter length for working out.
They’re somewhat tapered and definitely not too baggy for my thin legs.
They have regular side pockets and a zip “media pocket” for phones, plus a hidden internal pocket for cards and keys.
These feel like well made shorts, and they’re really comfortable to wear.
My only gripe is that the rise is a bit long for me, but that shouldn’t be a problem for average or taller guys.
I am a little confused about the pricing on these shorts. They’re priced like a premium athletic/training short, which isn’t really in line with most of All Citizens’ catalog.
Based on how expensive their underwear is, I’d expect these shorts to be $30 max.
Priced as is, I don’t think I’d choose these over a dedicated athletic wear brand like Ten Thousand.
All Citizens Performance Chinos
The Limitless Performance Chino is basically All Citizens’ take on lululemon’s Commission Pant.
It’s a stretchy, techy performance chino meant for a variety of uses, including travel, modern office wear and outddoor activities.
These pants have all the bells and whistles you’ve probably come to expect:
- Stretchy, quick dry fabric
- Reflective tape inside cuff
- Mesh lined pockets
- Hidden zip pocket for phone
- Curved back waistband
These are traditional chinos with a little stretch built in; they’re tech pants, and they look and feel like tech pants.
Personally, I don’t need this much performance build into my pants, and I think these pants miss the mark in two areas:
First, the color is like a saturated cream/yellow, not really a khaki or tan, and it would be tough to match with anything else in my wardrobe.
Second, the fit is a bit loose all around (size Small). I’d want to see a trimmed up version of these with more taper through the leg.
What I Like
I think All Citizens boxer briefs are some of the best you can buy. At their current price, I haven’t found anything as comfortable and high quality.
I especially like the Paradise Pocket Boxer Briefs.
Their undershirts are also great. I love the deep v-neck because it won’t show underneath a button up shirt, even when the first two buttons are undone.
Room for Improvement
The Training Shorts are good but not great for my build. The rise is just too long.
There are so many great training shorts out there from brands like Ten Thousand, Rhone and lululemon, so All Citizens wouldn’t be my first recommendation.
Similarly, I can’t recommend All Citizens Performance Chinos over other brands.
There are so many excellent options nowadays (Everlane, lululemon, Goodthreads, Bluffworks, Public Rec, etc.).
Given All Citizens’ roomy fit and tough-to-match colors, they can’t compete with more fashion focused brands.
My Overall Recommendation
If you want to upgrade your underwear and are willing to spend about $15 per pair, I highly recommend All Citizens.
Same goes for your undershirts. The AirWeight Undershirt is a great choice if you prefer non-tank style undershirts.
If you’re in the market for performance t-shirt, athletic shorts or performance chinos, I think you’ll find more stylish and better fitting options elsewhere.
Hello Brock, I really apreciate your work here and on your youtube channel
I know this is an old post, but by any chance can you provide the rise measurement and leg opening on the performance chino?
Thank you and great work
Thanks! I actually don’t have those pants anymore. The leg opening was probably ~8 inches, though.