Everyone has something to say about thongs: sexy for what
they imply rather than how they look. This isn't thinking
girls' underwear. It gives me an edge knowing I've got one
on. I'd rather not wear any panties at all. Guys love 'em.
Yet thongs remain a mystery to unconverted women (it's
just a perma-wedgie, right?) and many men (aw, you wore
that for me?). Well, we at WW are here to save your
ass.
1. CALVIN KLEIN
($12 at Nordstrom, various locations)
This writer has never given much thought to panty lines,
but maybe that's because I'm not the one looking at my ass.
This is a big issue for a large portion of both male and
female twenty-to-fortysomethings--it's even got an acronym
(V, as in visible, PL)--and is the ostensible reason for
the thong's existence. However, while thongs eradicate that
concern, they present another conundrum: visible waistlines.
Most are cut high on the midriff to rest above one's hips,
thus making their presence known by anyone who likes her
pants low-slung. And last time I checked, trousers that
hit smack at the navel weren't exactly au courant.
Take Calvin Klein's nylon-Lycra G-string, for example. It's
a little slip of a thing, but it manages to grip the soft
waist area.
2. HANRO STRETCH FEELING #1741
($19 at Jane's Obsession, 728 NW 23rd Ave., 221-1490,
and Jane's Vanity,
521 SW Broadway, 241-3860)
Hanro is to undergarments what DKNY is to tights: delicious
fit, careful craftsmanship, high-quality fabric. Europeans
are underwear masterminds, so it stands to reason that this
venerable Swiss outfitter would cut a hell of a thong. Made
of cotton and Lycra, the 1741 feels divine next to the skin.
But as I found with many seemingly skimpy thongs, there's
plenty of fabric in front, a little too much for my liking.
Hanro runs big; buy a size smaller than your usual.
3. INVISIBLES BY INTIMATE EVE ($3.49 at Sears, various
locations)
This all-cotton job was a big disappointment. With a thong,
fit is everything, and this baby bunches and puckers like
a baby's diaper. There's so much material in front it doesn't
know where to go, and if I'd really adjusted the panty to
fit like a proper thong it would be halfway up my back.
4. VICTORIA'S SECRET COTTON THONG AND MESH THONG
($7.50, $12, various locations)
The godmommy of modern American lingerie often leaves me
cold. The stores choke me with vanilla and rose, the catalogs
drive me up a wall, and the goods, though beautiful, seem
to be constructed for women with perfectly proportioned
bodies. VS does have quite a selection of thongs, though:
good-girl cotton, hot red for V-Day, teeny and silky, delicate
lace. I thought it would be fair to try two styles from
here, and the results were mixed. The all-cotton is loose
in all the wrong places and has a men's style waistband
that hits very high up. This was only a notch above the
Sears panty. The mesh variety ended up being my overall
favorite. It's contoured to curve down in front and isn't
too jacked up in the back. The fabric is lightweight and
sexy. The one problem is that the thong is a little too
French-cut on the sides; women who go for the Brazilian
bikini wax would dig this one.
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Willamette Week | originally
published February 16,
2000
|
