Style: Score-worthy underwear

Underwear is the unsung hero of any outfit. It remains unseen in polite society, yet a good pair of underwear can turn a bland outfit into something fantastic -- even if you're the only one who knows it.

And the reality is, often you won't be the only one who sees your underwear. There is, of course, the old maxim about always wearing clean underwear in case you end up in the emergency room. Clean is good, but why not give your next emergency room health care worker the thrill of seeing something well-constructed, perhaps even colorful down under?

Dressing for doctors, paramedics and nurses aside, you're far more likely to flash your underpants in a more romantic setting. So plan accordingly. Use your underwear to express yourself. Convey passion with bright colors. Demonstrate your virility with a figure-flattering cut. Play up your classic charm with simple, white briefs or boxers, or reveal your mischievous side with an interesting print.

Here are a handful of eye-catching underwear styles, certain to please all of the dates, boyfriends and emergency workers in your life.

by Josh Tager, style editor

August 10 is National Underwear Day. Models decked out in their best undergarments will swarm some of New York's busiest locales, including Times Square and Penn Station. More than just a celebration of the evolution of underwear, from something "unmentionable" to high fashion, the day is also devoted to raising prostate health awareness. Representatives from the National Prostate Cancer Coalition will be on hand to recruit hundreds of men to pledge to get a prostate exam before the end of the year. The joint cause of raising awareness for both underwear fashion and prostate health is taking off, spreading to cities around the country -- from Sacramento to Southern Mississippi. Learn more about prostate cancer at http://www.pcacoalition.org.

Did you know that one in 6 men will get prostate cancer during his lifetime, but if it is caught early there is a 99.3% survival rate? Have you been checked for prostate cancer?