The evolution of my underwear

Never did I think I would one day be writing about my underwear. Even odder, I never thought there would be as much of an interest in my underwear or the underwear of my friends. I can’t tell you how many times this conversation comes up when I am out with my friends. What I have come to realize is that the type of underwear I wear greatly reflects, my mood, who I am and the stage of life I am in. I am sure this holds true for most women…now men, that’s a different story!

First and foremost, is it just me or do the girls shopping at Victoria’s Secret get younger and younger all of the time? This is one of the reasons that I am glad I don’t have daughters. Up until I went to college, my mom would take me to Kohls or JC Penny to buy underwear. And I would always get the three pack Hanes bikini briefs in pink, blue and purple. But my motherly instinct tells me that this is not the case in the new millennium. I see young girls buying thongs…with their mothers…call me crazy, but I don’t think I would never buy my daughter a thong!

Lately, every time I walk into a Victoria’s Secret (and trust me, that is not very often) the staff and customers either stare at me like I am some dried up old spinster that does not belong in the store. Or to the other extreme, they rush right up to me with that stupid tape measure around their neck and ask if they can fit me for the perfect bra. With the urgency that they approach me it makes me think that my boobs must be hanging to my knees. But it only happens at that store. Funny, but I get the opposite reaction from the boys working retail at Spencer Gifts. Call me crazy, but sometimes I even find myself going into Spencer Gifts immediately after leaving Victoria’s Secret just to get an ego boost!

It wasn't until I got to college that I realized how much my style of underwear really mattered. When I first met Gina, my roommate, I wondered if she had ever been in high school. She just had this aura of maturity about her. Kind of like the level of maturity exhibited by Betty in Revenge of the Nerds. She was the girl in college that looked like no one else. Gina was the person who unknowingly taught me about bad body image. She was so beautiful that I never wanted to change in front of her or be in the showers the same time as her. Gina also taught me about the importance of what I wore underneath my clothes and how it made me feel. She always told me I should wear underwear for me and not for anyone else. Gina was one of the most mature, beautiful girls I knew.

So college is where my evolution of underwear actually began.

College
My underwear did a drastic one eighty in college. I went from basic cotton bikinis in blue, pink and purple to cute little matching bras and panties. You know the ones in soft colors with matching bows, 100% cotton. Nothing to sexy, but coordinated enough that they not only made me feel cute, but they also made me feel sexy and powerful.

Serious Dating
Once I realized that I felt a certain sexiness with my underwear, I drastically stepped up my style. When I met my boyfriend (future husband) during my college years, I went overboard and discovered the really sexy stuff. Not only matching, but less material, sexy, lacy, leopard printed, garters…the whole bit. Sometimes I even bought the kind of stuff that my mom would have killed me if she knew I had purchased it, but the power it gave me over my boyfriend far outweighed that guilt.

Married
Once I became a newlywed I resorted back to the cute matchy matchy comfy underwear that I wore in college. After all, I had already snagged my man! The only difference at this stage in my life was that I paired it with one of my husbands shirts or his pajama bottoms, anything to keep him close to me. There is something to be said about the sexiness of a woman wearing nothing but a pair of underwear and her husbands oversize button down shirt.

Pregnancy
The delima with the underwear during my first pregnancy was that I struggled with still being a sexy wife and carrying our unborn child. At this point in my life, a moment of “I still need to be sexy” came over me. I decided I didn't want to wear the ginormous pregnancy briefs that come all the way over the belly. I didn't feel like I would have felt sexy enough. So I decided to wear the under the belly pregnancy underwear and my husbands t-shirts. They were ok, but looking back now I wish I would have chosen comfort over feeling somewhat sexy.

Post Baby/Married Life
By the time the baby arrived and my body got back to where it was before pregnancy I realize that my sexy underwear (you know the ones that now have cobwebs on them) didn't fit quite like they used to. So I reverted back to the Hanes bikini briefs in pink, blue and purple. Those were always safe!

Separation:
This was the moment in my life where I hit rock bottom, not only in regards to my choice of underwear, but just in life in general. I wore unsexy, man-hating, “no guy is ever gonna set eyes on my underwear again” underwear. It was great because I could buy six pairs of these, in stark white for $1.99 at Walmart. You know this underwear! It's the stuff that fits so bad, comes up to your belly button, and has absolutely no rise on the thighs. The elastic around the waist and legs starts to shred and they stretch after one washing. But that didn't seem to matter because I didn't have the energy to go buy more. So I wore them until they practically fell off. But on the positive side, I eventually realized that I was starting to lose weight from the “Separation Diet” and decided it was time to make a change in the underwear department and get control of my life again!

Divorce
A new me…a new beginning means a splurge on new underwear! Underwear just for me and no one else. I had a new body and I wanted to feel good about what I was wearing. This underwear was intended for my eyes only! The “not planning on any man seeing my underwear anytime soon” kind of underwear. No garters, nothing crotchless and definitely nothing edible…just sexy with a little comfort.

New Life
This stage was a very refreshing stage for me. This may be to much information for some of you, but most of you probably know me and know that I made a drastic change in my underwear choice. I have gone out on a limb in my “new life…new me” phase. I decided one day, at the recommendation of a dear friend, to officially go commando. And I haven’t gone back since! You know what they say, “once you go commando, you never go back!” Hmm…I don’t think they really say that, but I thought it was kind of funny!

There are some downfalls to commando, the major one being no wearing jeans twice before you wash them, but the free feeling I have not wearing underwear far outweighs the laundry aspect. It gives me everything I have been looking for in my life, freedom, power, sexiness, and a little “uh huh! I still got it” groove in my walk.

On a final note, is it just me or do men not put this much thought into their underwear? My experience tells me no. It’s either boxers, briefs, or boxer briefs all the way to the end! I have found the one thing that all men’s underwear has in common is that they wear them until they are so beat up that they can’t keep them on anymore.

Sexy, isn't it?