Following the announcement that next year the V&A museum here in London will be holding an exhibition about underwear, Simply Be recently posed the question 'Would you wear gender neutral pants?' on their blog this week. It got me thinking about pants in general. It's one of those items of clothing that most people have pretty strong feelings about. Pants are an integral part of most people's day. We've all got our preferences, and our limits.
To me, comfort is key. This is an item I am going to be wearing pretty much all day and if it's not right, my day is going to be pretty miserable. I have no time for riding up, falling down or digging in. As a plus size woman for a large portion of my life I felt like i had limited options in this area, due to my dedication to comfort and coverage (see point one below) and so a lot of the time my underwear felt a little gender neutral to be honest, because the sorts of styles and sizes that comfortably accommodated my tummy and arse where pretty much available in white, black and beige and were all bloody cotton. Now, there is nothing to wrong with these on a day to day basis, and I have my fair share of simple pants, but as more and more brands have come to the market place, making big pants in beautiful styles and fabrics with lovely embellishments my knicker draw has become a pretty exciting place to be (easy tiger). Anyway, here are my top pants tips:
1. Bugger fashion, comfort is where it's at
In the 80s it was all about high legged tangas. The 90s were jockeys with thick elastic waist bands. It seemed everyone was wearing low ride boy shorts in the naughties, and at the moment a great deal of lingerie seems to be vintage inspired (right up my alley, excuse the pun) meaning luxurious fabrics and fuller pants. There always seems to be some sort of thong in fashion - string like G strings, to the more robust versions where the bum fabric is about an inch wide, to to those terrifying things that make it look like you have diamantes sprouting out from your crack... So styles come and go, but as far as I am concerned for to day to day the /most important thing is to find something you are comfortable with. I have absolutely zero time for thongs (flossing my bum is no from me), or anything teeny tiny. I like coverage. I want my bum and tum to feel securely encased. I tend to go for midi style pants, or high waisted. Mainly I want things that just about reach my belly button. That may not be fashionable, you might not find that particularly sexy - I don't care. They're my bloody pants and being comfortable is what I am all about when it comes to knickers. I have heard ladies saying they are not comfortable in anything other than a g string, and others say that something that sits to high makes them feel uncomfortable. So it's different strokes for different folks. But trust me ladies, this is not an area you want to blindly follow fashion. Find what you like and stick to it for a pleasant pants experience.
This Flirtini set with midi knickers is the sort of coordinated bra and pants I love.
2. Coordination counts
Look, I spend a lot of my time in comfy pants in plain colours or with a little sprinkle of lace. But when I really want to feel like I've got my shit together, a matching bra and knickers set is the way to go. It used to be an impossible feat to find a matching set I actually wanted to wear - on the high street you tend to find that gorgeous bras come with low rise pants, or thongs - not my cup of tea. But there are now more and more brands (like the wonderful Sculptresse from Panache - available at Simply Be) who are doing sexy, fun, matching plus size lingerie, and guess what? They include big pants! So shop around for some that make you feel great, ask your lover or best friend to get you a set for Xmas, or what the hell why not splurge on yourself, which brings me to...
3. Treat yo'self!
We're all on different budgets, with different priorities, and we'd all love an entire chest of drawers filled with frilly fancies but that probably isn't realistic. But it is good to have a couple of pairs of pants that you save for best - for under a gorgeous dress on a special day, for the first time a new lover sees your knickers, for when you need a little confidence boost. And fancy pants are all very well and good, but make sure you regularly sort through and replace your everyday pants too. I make sure that when the elastic is getting busted, colours faded or you can see they have fought a few womanly wars I have a bit of a clear out and get some new everyday pairs. I am too old to ever be embarrassed by the state of my pants!
High waisted, and comfy, but still sexy, these Ashley Graham lace trimmed shorts are gorgeous. Available at Simply Be.
4. Take care
If you are going to splurge on some fancy lingerie, be it pants or bras, it's worth it to take care of them. In an ideal world we would all hand wash our delicates (well, actually, in an ideal world I would have someone to was them for me - and no creepy internet perves of the world, that was not an invitation) and kudos if you are one of those people who totally has their life in order, but I am far from ideal. So I would recommend finding the delicate or hand wash setting on your machine, and in investing in a mesh laundry back to protect your precious undergarments.
I love these satin and lace Anna Sholz High Waist Briefs. They're decedent and lovely, and would be best washed on a delicate setting. From Simply Be.
5. Finally, let it breathe...
I'm serious. Have some pants free time. Try sleeping in no knickers, or at the very least make sure that at night you are wearing a breathable, natural fabric like cotton. Because in a world of skinny jeans, shapewear, tights, when sometimes we are wearing several layers at a time, and synthetic fabriccs, it can seem like we're actually trying to smother our poor lady gardens. And that's just a one way ticket to a yeast infection and a very unhappy fanny. Let her breathe!
So those are some of my thoughts about pants. Above you can see my big panty wish list (all available at Simply Be). Let me know your knicker thoughts, and what you think about my tips below...
I LOOOVE the Flirtini set! Since I've got big ol' double belly, the briefs sit a LOT lower on me. I wish they were higher waisted like how they look on the model. I live for good high waisted pants haha! xx
ReplyDeleteI'd probably have the same problem. But I think they'd still work for me. I love the way they're kind of executive slut :)
DeleteFantastic post!!! Love the sets you've shown.... I now actually have. Pair of knickers named after me! Amazing Ewa Michalak strikes again :)
ReplyDeleteI know!! Go you! :)
DeleteGreat! Modern sexy underwear are not only comfortable and smooth but feels extremely glamorous.
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Thanks Hazel! xxx
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