Lingerie is a funny thing. I’m not just speaking of the reaction you can see on most men’s faces as they pass the lingerie area in most department stores. There are countless types of women’s lingerie. In fact, there are so many choices, that women tend to wear a funny expression in the lingerie department as well. We have the basics consisting of bras, socks, and underwear. Then we have the sub categories; under wire, sports, knee high, athletic, briefs, thongs, high waist, and low cut. I won’t even begin to discuss things like corsets, girdles, teddies, and other pieces of lingerie. With all these options that women face upon entering this sacred lingerie section of the store, it is no wonder that some may become confused when faced with a very important decision.
Men have always been surrounded with the infamous question posed to them; boxers or briefs? Men are blessed with a much smaller selection of lingerie. Women run into so many other options. In attempts to help demystify the wonderful world of women’s lingerie, as well as find some comfortable underwear for myself, I have spent many weeks trying out two well known brands of women’s underwear. It is no doubt that any woman who wears underwear and/or has watched TV has seen the name Hanes and Fruit of the Loom. These are the two brands of women’s lingerie that I tested out. I started out with a bit of research into the panties that these two brands offered. Fruit of Loom lists 18 different types of women’s underwear including a line of panties made to fit plus size women.
Hanes lists 26 types of women’s underwear separated into 6 style categories. I quickly began to realize that I was extremely overwhelmed by my lingerie choices. I decided to take the plunge and try out my first style of women’s underwear. I walked into the lingerie department and purchased two packages of underwear. From the Hanes collection I selected a package of Hanes Cotton Brief panties and from Fruit of the Loom I purchased a packaged of Classic Briefs. I decided that I would wear each brand for 5 days to determine which had the maximum comfort level. I kept a very in depth journal about my experience even with the snickering of my husband in the background. Here are my findings:
Monday: As I removed the underwear from the dryer after washing, I instantly noticed the wider waistband on the Fruit of the Loom briefs. The waistband on the Hanes briefs appeared to be much thinner and seemed as if would be a more comfortable piece of lingerie. The waist band was slightly annoying as I was used to lingerie items that required much less fabric than a pair of brief underwear.
Tuesday: Although the waistband is wide, the elastic in the rear of the briefs does not seem to hold well. While I did suffer any full blown wedgies, I noticed that the underwear was slightly uncomfortable on my butt,
Wednesday: Dodge ball Night: During the day I had noticed that the briefs were not as uncomfortable as they were the day before and figured that I just needed to get used to the larger amount of fabric used in the back of this type of lingerie. I do notice that there is a little bit of loose fabric in the back that is not flattering in my sports Capri’s and I have to choose a baggier pair of pants for tonight’s game. Dodge ball is a rather active sport and I was worried as to how comfortable the underwear would be. We had a touch match but I didn’t really notice the underwear until the 6th game in our match. The underwear had decided to wedge itself where the sun doesn’t shine giving me a full on wedgie. I also realized that due to the amount of fabric in the briefs, it was extremely difficult to pick the wedgie. I eventually just announced that I had a wedgie and picked it very obviously.
Thursday: Today I really didn’t notice the underwear. However, when wearing my jeans that are lower cut than most of my other jeans, there is a huge amount of cotton fabric that very noticeably sticks out of the back of them.
Friday: Today’s pair of Fruit of Loom Briefs had a piece of elastic thread hanging out of the waist band. I have to pull on it because I am just like that, and a long strand of elastic thread is removed. My underwear slip down most of the day and I have to yank them back up.
Overall conclusion: The fabric is comfortable although there is much more of it than I am used to. The waistband is too high and too wide for my taste, but would probably be much better for me in a lower cut style. I was not happy that the elastic had already frayed from the band after only the first washing.
Overall grade: B-. They are great for laundry days that are spent just lounging around the house, but should not be worn with lower cut jeans or for sport activities.
Hanes Week:
Monday: After the week of larger waistbands, the smaller waistband on the Hanes Cotton Briefs seemed awkward to me and I was unsure if they would stay on. As the day went on, the waistband stayed in the right place and I noticed that is was more comfortable. I noticed that the cotton in the Hanes felt thicker to me.
Tuesday: I wore the lower cut jeans today. The waistband peeked out of the back of the jeans when I bent down, but it was just the waistband. The way the fabric in the rear is positioned, I was wedgie free.
Wednesday: Dodge Ball Night: I noticed that I did have slightly noticeable panty lines in the back of my sport Capri’s, but there is not any extra fabric in the rear. I remained 100% wedgie free the entire match of 11 games and during the celebratory dinner we had afterwards.
Thursday: I really like the smaller waistband and the cotton feels softer than the Fruit of the Loom briefs.
Friday: Nothing too much different to report today. The underwear still feels comfortable and I have adjusted to the brief style.
Overall Conclusion: The cotton is thicker and softer than the Fruit of the Loom briefs. The smaller waistband is comfortable and still holds it place. The rear of the briefs fits well and does not have any baggy fabric in the rear.
Overall Grade: A The only aspect of these underwear that I did not like is the fact that they were briefs and I have always preferred thongs. They are great for sport activities as well.
At the end of my two weeks reviewing the classic lingerie item of brief underwear, I have decided that Hanes Cotton Panty Brief provide much more comfort and are a higher quality than the Fruit of the Loom Classic Brief. If you liked this review, please be sure to check back for my reviews about the other styles of women’s lingerie that I have tried.
