I was a victim of lingerie fashion for a long time. Nobody wants to be a fashion faux pas, and no one wants to expose the ultimate in fashion no-no’s–VPL. (Visible panty lines.) We were all led to believe for a lot of years that the one and only way to avoid VPL (aside from going commando…ickkk) was to wear a thong.
Countless women out there have at least tried to wear a thong to avoid VPL’s and many more (myself included) wore them exclusively, buying into the notion that VPL’s were a giant fashion disaster to be avoided at all costs. Yes, there was something that literally screamed sexy about a thong. We saw them (whether we wanted to or not) peeking out of low-cut women’s jeans everywhere. That little triangle of fabric out the back of your jeans was a continual tawdry reminder of our fashion victimization. But ladies, lets face it. Thongs aren’t comfortable. There is always something riding up in places that aren’t meant to have something riding up in it. It has led to women all over America tugging on their panties in the most unladylike way imaginable. We have paid the price for no VPL.
Like most trends in fashion however, the thong and it’s glory days seem to be waning and it’s rapidly being taken over by other forms of undies. Can we all breathe a collective sigh of relief?
Gone are the days of endless, annoying wedgies. No more do I have to find a private corner to tug impolitely at my undies. Thong and g-string undies have served us well but I will not be sad to pack mine up and send them away for good.
Thongs have been rapidly taken over by delicious looking tanga panties, hip-huggers, boyshorts and <gasp> Granny panties. (Granny’s have been seen on the spring/summer runway shows of Marc Jacobs, Isaac Mizrahi, Betty Jackson and Prada.) It seems that a gentle revival of more modest, almost retro undies has occurred. Are they sexy? Remarkably so. Because of the way they hug your rear, panty lines can also be minimized or eliminated depending on your choice of fabrics and styles. The best part of these new knickers is, in a word, comfort! Hallelujah! Finally an alternative that meets all the criteria of the savvy shopper. Very pretty, very sexy and in many cases no VPL! What could be better. We think this fashion trend is one that (finally) makes some sense and we are celebrating. Maybe we just tired of the overly showy thong-age peeking out of our jeans and are ready for something a little more sweet and playfully innocent. Personally I think we are just tired of the endless wedgies. Thongs are uncomfortable. Plain and simple, women want real underwear now. xo J.
Charla: Underwear is 50% of the battle. Obviously, a shaper will suck you in, but so many traditional ones are a turn-off because they’re constricting and ugly. One of my greatest finds has been these “Skinny Britches” by Spanx. They’re amazing, super lightweight bike shorts that come in a variety of really cute colors. You can wear one pair or even layer a few for extra compression.