Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Going without

i'm going public because i can't believe i'm the only one in my predicament. which is, in a word, underpants.

here i am, a fully realized adult woman about to start a new job, and i haven't got a decent pair of gaunch. i'm not asking for the moon here, just a reliable brand: cotton, comfortable, and sold by the half dozen. i don't want to think about my panties, at least not most weekday mornings; i want them to fit. and by "fit," i mean that they should cover my ass -- ideally, my entire ass -- while staying below the waistline of whatever i'm wearing on top. i want them not to ride up (or, at the risk of being indelicate, "in"). i'd like something a little more up-to-date than my jockey french cut standbys (oh, 80s, i miss your pleat-front pants) yet not quite as trendy as little boy shorts (which, unless you have the thighs of a little boy...). i don't want control top, shape-enhancing, butt-lifting technology, just label-free, soft-elastic, no-polyester everyday undies. why am i forced to choose between gaunch that sit low on my hips yet strangle my legs and something seamless that goes to the rib cage? i know it's a global recession, hanes, but did you lay off all your good ideas? and i'm sorry, but bamboo?

like i say, i can't believe i'm the only one making do with four-year-old rags. so if you have suggestions, gentle reader, bring 'em. until them, i'm going commando.

8 comments:

Anthony said...

i refuse to wear underwear and socks. i suggest you do likewise.

Unknown said...

I fully understand your problem. Horrors of all Horrors I was in Walmart and saw a package of 6 cotton, Fruit of the loom, white unmentionables. I bought a size larger than needed because being 100% cotton they would shrink on their first washing even though they go out on the clothes line (possibly another horror) and not in the dryer. No tags to bug you, just nice white cotton undies at a decent price. You might consider giving it a try.

jen alabiso said...

commando is ALWAYS better than the alternatives.

if, tho, it's really not working for you, I have it on good authority that you have a RAINBOW of american apparel EXPOSURE options just a-waitin' in your basement.

just sayin'

Karen said...

joe at superstore. very cheap. very comfy. try the hipsters. ha.

VicoLetter said...

a little late to weigh in but going commando is always a good option when faced with other choices in the uh...trenches ;)

Mari said...

Really? I am so surprised that someone so otherwise stylish has FRENCH CUT FotL!

I hate American Apparel, but they do make wonderful pants. I get these:

http://store.americanapparel.net/8360.html

Now you know.

Heather Zwicker said...

you have all been very generous, and while i have yet to make a final decision, i have taken each of these -- and the privately emailed -- suggestions to heart. i have bought trial pairs of american apparel tap panty, fruit of the loom bikini, hanes something-or-other. i will pick up joe next time i'm at superstore. i have mail ordered american eagle aerie. and yes, RDF, i am probably going to have to spend four miserable hours in the change rooms at the bay. meanwhile, the go-tos remain the 5-pack i bought in zurich after AC lost my luggage. :-)

Kim said...

As a very, very late addition to the list (because, in my defense, I have only just stumbled upon your blog) I sew my own out of old tshirts. Soft, comfortable, and no need to support nasty multi-nationals in their acquisition.