Femme-ish Underwear Realness Two Ways

Welcome to Underwear Week, a whole week dedicated to your favorite bum-hugging clothesthings. As we said many moons ago, we feel a lady is at her best when she’s not wearing pants. And while our last adventure around this neck of the woods took us only as far as boyshorts, this time around we’re exploring the vast and many-flavored land of underwear. From edible panties to hoopskirts and history, we’ve got you covered. Just like your underwear. 

underwear banner


By Gabrielle and Hansen

How Lace Trim Changed My Life, by Gabrielle

I’m a femme-ish human who wears underwear every day. The everydayness of my relationship with underwear is worth noting because I regularly put my butt into tight thin things that hug the various shapes of my body, including the natural shapes (intentional) and the shapes created by underwear lines (unintentional). And here’s the thing: the widely prescribed solution for underwear lines, thongs, just don’t work for me. I mean I used to wear thongs as a teenager but then I got hips and a little more cushioning around my middle and all of a sudden thongs started doing the opposite of what I wanted them to. Their waist bands dug in, creating an indent on my hips that is way more noticeable and personally uncomfortable than the outline of bikini cut undies showing through my flimsy skinny pants. So what’s a femme-ish lesbo who doesn’t want to go commando and doesn’t want to wear thongs ever again to do?

Then, as though a magical fairy appeared out of the sky to solve my problem, I discovered lace trim.
tumblr_m3gvw12eat1qmpgy8o1_500_large
Underwear does not have to have intrusive elastic that digs into you, does not have to shape your pelvic basket with an underwear frame of skin indents. You can find your favorite shape femme-ish underwear with this one magic detail and all of a sudden you won’t see its outline underneath your body-con skirt or your jeggings or whatever hot little number you’re wearing. Since lace trim is wide and soft and doesn’t have that skinny strip of elastic material made by the devil, it just lays flat against your curves. And your date will be like, Is she even wearing underwear? What does it even look like? Lace trim, you guys. Life changing.

I buy mine pretty much exclusively from The Gap, but here are some other cute options for you.


Ode to the Hipster Cut, by Hansen

My love for hipster cut underwear is a lot like my love for vanilla ice cream. I can go into any specialty ice cream store, complete with 32 to 947 flavors, and I will order vanilla. Why? Because it’s tried and true. You know what you’re going to get. You will never be disappointed. I am endlessly teased for my devotion to vanilla ice cream, and although sometimes I go craaazy and get cookies and cream or mint chocolate chip, my favorite will always be the standard vanilla. It is the same with the hipster cut.

I have always been a “Ooh, that’s pretty!” kind of consumer, so sometimes I end up with undies that are less than comfortable. But the hipster cut seemed so boring, you know? That was before I was introduced to Bonds Hipster cut undies. Can I just say that this one brand and one style of underwear changed my life? I just counted, and I have sixteen different pairs of Bonds in my drawer. If that isn’t devotion, I don’t know what is. A few of my pairs has lasted me four years and the elastic has never worn out and the fit is still perfect. I mean, look at this advertisement for Bonds Hipsters versus No Shows. No Show wearing women are dancing around with uncomfortably rigid choreography and the Hipster women get fun colored hair and slow-mo jump sequences. If that doesn’t sway you, I don’t know what will.

Unfortunately, because Bonds cost an arm and a leg to ship to the US of A, I’ve resorted to trying other hipster cut brands. But you know what? They’re still great. Hipster undies are large enough to cover your ass, comfortable enough to move around in, and secure enough that you will never be reaching into your pants to pull the damn things up. You know what I mean. Hipsters can be seamless for tight pants/skirt situations, bright colored for days when you need fluro underwear (there are some days this is just necessary), and even lacy for when those undies might be shown to someone special. When hipster underwear is this versatile, comfortable, and reliable, why bother with anything else?


What’s your favorite kind of femme underwear?

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Gabrielle Korn

Gabrielle Korn is a writer living in Los Angeles with her wife and dog.

Gabrielle has written 95 articles for us.

27 Comments

  1. Ohhh my gawwddd I thought I was the only one?! Lace trim IS THE BEST!!!!!!

    But seriously, your whole thong experience beginning to end was mine and then I discovered Lasenza lace trim thongs and I was once again a joyous human being.

  2. “When hipster underwear is this versatile, comfortable, and reliable, why bother with anything else?”

    This is exactly what my underwear drawer says.

  3. thank you so much for including DKNY hipsters which i actually swear by and plan ahead to wear when i’m trying to feel ~*~amahzing~*~

  4. Oh my word.

    Lace trim underwear at all times. I literally have ten+ pairs of the same kind of silk lace trim underwear because they are so comfy, sexy and I just love them.

    Thank you for affirming this wardrobe choice :)

  5. i just counted and i own eleven pairs of bonds hipsters! all in ridiculous colours, obvs. i’m not femme in the slightest but i’m currently wearing, like, bright pink ones? they’re just so amazing? idk. bonds are great.

    • meeee toooo i am RIDICULED in my boring family for having fluoro bonds hipsters but i don’t care.

  6. I have the grey pair in the top middle of the top photoset! They’re from Aeropostale.

  7. HELLO CAN WE PLS TALK ABOUT HIGHWAISTED UNDERWEAR

    like where do you even get this because i just hit the old lady sections of sears and whatever but it’s still not enough and i don’t have $500925038 for custom lingerie, so.

  8. I LOVE lace trim. I am so particular when it comes to my underwear. I would prefer to just live in the most boring cotton panties ever, but they just aren’t cute. At all. Enter Cacique’s “Sassy lace trim boyshort panty”. They’re like wearing my boring cotton panties but not boring. They’re simple but they make me feel like a winner when I take my pants off.

  9. My ass does not do well with hipster underwear; I always see them and want to wear them because they look so fun and cute, but then they’ve slid down far too far for comfort if I even think of moving while wearing them :(

  10. I mostly just wear briefs tbh. And the occasional boyshorts (tho I hate that word -_-) that end up being briefs on me in practice anyway lol cos of my ever-annoying anatomy. In either case, lace and cute designs are nice :)

  11. As for thongs, I despise them, mostly because I despise wedgies :P I used to tuck with thing-style gaffs, but I decided it was too much discomfort and financial expense for the benefit when they don’t even make that much more difference than just using a second smaller pair of briefs anyway

Comments are closed.