Even though I’ve complained about finding pants to fit a small waist and comparably sizeable hips/butt, I’ve never really been interested in shapewear, even in clingy garments. I like my body the way it is and definitely have no interest in compressing my thighs or butt. However, I am not a fan of panty-lines or underwear that pinches in and makes my hips look lumpy.
To avoid lines and lumps, I usually go with lace-waist thongs, but those are often extremely low-rise, which doesn’t work so well on my long torso. Additionally, the ones I own have a seam up the center on the front and back, which is sometimes visible (especially with costumes that include a leotard). Boy-shorts are another option, but the back tends to ride up and then I have really bad bunched up visible panty-lines.
So I’ve been on the lookout for a high-waisted, seam-free, skimming thong without compression for some time. Gilt City recently (and inexplicably) had a deal to pay $30 for a $50 credit to Hanky Panky and I had a 30% off Gilt coupon, so I decided to try out Hanky Panky’s “Bare” collection’s Godiva High-Rise Thong.
I wasn’t sure what size to order, since their size chart puts my waist in size medium and my hips in size large. I contacted Hanky Panky and they said to go with my hips measurement. They only offer three sizes (small, medium, and large), which severely limits the population that these things will fit, but if you do fall into the measurements, then I heartily recommend this underwear.
First off, look how nicely the products are packaged:
They come wrapped in purple tissue paper, with a NYC sticker, a packet of lingerie soap, a free return label, and your order invoice in a wax paper envelope.
Made in USA! I wasn’t even aware of this, but it makes me happy to support the company even though I think in general it’s a little overpriced.
Here’s the front:
And the back:
The label says hand-wash, but I put it in the machine on the wool/gentle setting and it seems fine.
The underwear is not really high-waisted on me; it’s mid-rise. But beyond that, it’s exactly what I was looking for. No seams, no pinch, and it’s totally smooth without any compression. It’s also the most comfortable thong I’ve ever owned. Generally I don’t consider thongs comfortable at all. But I completely forgot I was wearing anything other than normal underwear the second I started walking around. I might even say they’re more comfortable than a lot of the cotton undies I own, whose elastic edges tends to shift and ride up annoyingly.
Here’s a safe-for-work image of my hips in the underwear:
And here’s me in a tight dress pointing to the spot where the top of the underwear hits me. Looks pretty smooth!
my current favorite are from H&M, in cotton with the lace band, but they come in packs and it always have a white one which I never wear…
I would love to hear what underwear you’ve found that works. I like a high waisted fit too, but what I find advertised as higher rise usually isn’t, on me. or else are ugly granny panties which I hate too.