Got civic pride? Gird your loins with Ybor City underpants

These aren't your average underpants but, then again, their inspiration isn't an average place.

Jorge Alvarado has created a custom line of men's underwear inspired by Ybor City, Tampa's hub of night life and local culture. Pull on a pair and let the good times roll.

"When you put on these underwear you're going to feel great,'' he said. "You're going to feel like you're ready to spend some time on Seventh Avenue.''

The new line, called 7th Avenue Underwear, features images of vintage cigar labels from the 1930s and '40s. What Alvarado calls a "functional label'' doubles as a silk pocket for a business card, a key or, yes, a condom.

Alvarado will debut the collection Saturday during Pride on 7th, a gay pride festival in Tampa with a community expo, dance party and fashion show. Six guys will model 12 pieces in a multimedia show themed to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

The sexy underwear line comes in hip briefs and mid-thigh "hot" boxers, as well as V-neck T-shirts in long and short sleeves. The front of the drawers has a cigar label printed on eggshell white fabric; the back is solid red, blue or other color designed to create an element of surprise. Alvarado selected cigar labels that provoke conversation — and a few laughs. There's the Dick Custer, the Bank Note, the Captain Corker. You get the idea.

Fruit of the Looms these are not. Alvarado chose a rayon fabric with a touch of Spandex to give his undies a luxurious but comfortable feel. Each pair costs $29.99.

To cut and sew the garments, he turned to his beloved seamstress, Nancy Carrillo, owner of Hyde Park Alterations and Dry Cleaners on South Howard Avenue. She's been working miracles on his wardrobe for years, making his pants and shirts fit perfectly snug on his 5-foot-6 frame.

"It's something different,'' she said of the new line. "It's not something I'd buy my husband, but there's a lot of people who would.''

Alvarado, 36, designed the collection for gay and straight men and the women who buy for them. The underwear will be available before the holidays at local boutiques and websites, including MC Film Fest in Ybor City.

He hopes people will think about his undergarments the next time they're headed to Ybor.

"I want people to have an intimate experience with Ybor, and what's more intimate than underwear?"