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AIBU

Where to buy quality underwear?

(196 Posts)

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snowberryZ Tue 15-Feb-22 09:01:06

I recently bought 2 multi packs of knickers from a well-known store, in a style and size I've worn for years.
They didn't seem to fit right. Theres not enough material in the back and way too much stretchy material in the front.
I've compared them with my older pairs (5 years old and more) and there is now definitely more material in the crotch area! (almost a pouchy effect on some of the pairs, a bit like men's underpants confused)

I went online to read some of the reviews and there are male people raving about these knickers, saying that "there's enough room for men to wear them" basically they can fit their their male bits in them.

Aibu for being shocked that even women's underwear is now under attack?
So now we have to wear saggy, pouchy underwear, just because transwomen might get upset if there isn't enough room for them to fit their junk in?
(most transwomen these days don't have bottom surgery and choose to keep their male penises and testicles). I'm not sure if many Gransnetters are aware of that)

Aibu to think there should be a separate section for transwomens underwear?
Manufacturersshould not be changing and messing around with women's underware and shoving extra material into areas that have no need of extra material.
Why do women always have to budge up to accommodate others?
I'm prepared to be told to shut up and #bekind.
Which is what usually happens.

Oh and I would have put this in Feminism if we had such a section.

snowberryZ Tue 15-Feb-22 14:22:41

What can I say. I'm fussy? grin
I don't like when they ass creep or there's a vpl, or ahem. There's a baggy front bit.

Anyway, I can see I'm on my own in this.
The search continues. --but not at ......-

Doodledog Tue 15-Feb-22 14:18:10

Yes, expensive knickers don’t tend to come in multi-packs, and why anyone would keep buying unsatisfactory ones is beyond me.

snowberryZ Tue 15-Feb-22 14:17:50

M0nica

I am at a loss Ssnowberry how can you have spent hundreds of pounds on pants and not been able to send them back? I assume you buy multiple packets and if you open one packet, try on one pair of pants, don't like the fit, why can the rest not be returned? And surely you do not re-order the pants you know do not fit again do you?

I have to say I have never had any pants that do not fit. I bung 'em on, as long they do not fall down or bunch up making sitting uncomfortable, what more is there to pants fitting?

Nobody tries pants on and sends them back.envy (not envy) Surely?

M0nica Tue 15-Feb-22 14:12:40

I am at a loss Ssnowberry how can you have spent hundreds of pounds on pants and not been able to send them back? I assume you buy multiple packets and if you open one packet, try on one pair of pants, don't like the fit, why can the rest not be returned? And surely you do not re-order the pants you know do not fit again do you?

I have to say I have never had any pants that do not fit. I bung 'em on, as long they do not fall down or bunch up making sitting uncomfortable, what more is there to pants fitting?

snowberryZ Tue 15-Feb-22 14:10:32

Lucca, that's not an exaggeration.
By the time I've bought the odd supermarket multipack every few months (usually finding out they're rubbish), not to mention ordering online.
It quickly adds up.

Searching for the holy grail of knickersshocksmile

Lucca Tue 15-Feb-22 14:06:42

Hundreds of pounds over the years ?I thought this was a recent developement

snowberryZ Tue 15-Feb-22 14:00:02

I'm 'upset' more by the fact I've spent hundreds of pounds buying pants over the years that end up not fitting.
Let's face it, it's not something you can send back and get a different size or style if the fit isn't right.

It's a bit of a coincidence that the knickers are getting a bit pouchy at the front at the exact same time loads of men are writing reviews to say how much they like them hmm
Maybe age has made me cynical.

snowberryZ Tue 15-Feb-22 13:53:45

timetogo2016

Maybe, just maybe they think alot of women are incontinent and making room for pads ?.

Of course that's the reason ?

Doodledog Tue 15-Feb-22 13:47:58

Everything in your post is correct, but exercised as I am about the many ways in which women are pushed aside in the name of 'inclusivity', I don't see this as one of them. There are plenty of styles of pants available, so all you have to do is switch to one that fits you comfortably. Manufacturers change the cut of clothes all the time just as recipes for foodstuffs change - sometimes we like the changes and sometimes we don't.

Transwomen need knickers too, and whilst I do think it's a bit daft not to label the roomy ones so that they know what to buy and women know what to avoid, I couldn't get upset by any of this - there will always be a bigger market for pants for women than for transwomen, so you will always have plenty of options available. If it has really upset you, why not write to the company or leave a comment on their website?

VioletSky Tue 15-Feb-22 13:45:10

I really think you are stretching to relate your baggy knickers to trans women.

There are plenty of outlets online that already cater to trans people anyway

snowberryZ Tue 15-Feb-22 13:24:38

Trouble with being inclusive is it is giving clothing manufacturers an excuse to be lazy. They can do a One Size Fits All approach to clothing.
Instead of recognising the cold hard truth which is:
Treatment or no treatment, women have completely different bodies and needs to transwomen.
Our hips are wider.
Our pelvises are a different shape.
Our bottoms are shaped differently.
We are less bulky down below.
Therefore we need underwear that is designed specifically for us.
Same as transwomen need underwear designed purely for them.

M0nica Tue 15-Feb-22 13:22:50

snowberryZ, I understand your concerns, but the explanation that immediately sprung to my mind is that the pants had been redesigned to cope with growing obesity in women and the need for underwear to be pulled up over rotund tummies, in the same way that pants are designed to go over buttocks.

Some 20 years I was caring for a recently widowed uncle. He was in a state bcause he was going into hospital and for the previous 10 years his wife had been buying him women's stretch briefs. Nothing kinky. He had a phobia about clothes touching him, all his clothes were sizes too big, even his shoes. His trousers were kept up by braces as he could not bear the feel of a belt and he hated the elastic hold of Yfronts and boxer shorts. So my aunt, having no knowledge of mens slips, bought him womens briefs. I bought him men's slips and he wore those for the rest of his life.

Anyway male transvestites have always worn womens clothing and underwear and wasn't there a thread this week complaining that the gusset on women's swimming costumes were getting so narrow, no decent and respectable older women could be seen swimming in one.

So snowberry I understand your concerns, but there is more than one possible explanation for the phenomena you mention and with others, I would suggest you just buy a different brand.

Blossoming Tue 15-Feb-22 12:58:20

Inclusive underwear has been around for years, but not from mainstream suppliers and not at mainstream prices. I think it would be a good idea to indicate that it’s extra roomy or whatever on the packaging. It would help prospective purchasers make the right choice.

Jaxjacky Tue 15-Feb-22 12:32:41

Go commando, problem solved!

VioletSky Tue 15-Feb-22 12:10:44

Pubic, not public, that's an area not for public display

VioletSky Tue 15-Feb-22 12:07:44

Don't get your knickers in a twist lol

OK bad joke sorry

If they were designed for trans women not saying so would be daft

Maybe younger women just have a bigger pelvis these days.

I know we have a bigger public bone than men, maybe those are growing too

timetogo2016 Tue 15-Feb-22 11:48:26

Maybe, just maybe they think alot of women are incontinent and making room for pads ?.

Elizabeth27 Tue 15-Feb-22 11:41:53

Sounds like you have them on back to front.

Gwyneth Tue 15-Feb-22 11:34:38

Maybe the answer is to clearly label the packaging. Most stores state the fit e.g. brazilian, high leg, mini etc so perhaps the packaging could say ‘suitable for transmen’. The customer would then know exactly what they’re buying.

Doodledog Tue 15-Feb-22 11:17:05

Coastpath

In the UK 50.9% of the population of the UK are female and I believe 1% of the population identify as trans.

For a shop to change its pants so that 50.9% of their customers don't want them but 1% do is either very foolish or very odd.

A bit like this thread really.

?

25Avalon Tue 15-Feb-22 11:16:22

The problem with men’s Levi cords when women first started wearing them was that to accommodate your hips you ended up with the waist too big. So doesn’t underwear for trans women also need to be tighter on the waist as well?Just asking

Doodledog Tue 15-Feb-22 11:16:17

snowberryZ

Doodlebug, you mean like when they put a V on food packaging to indicate it's suitable for vegans?
--goes through bin to check packaging for giant T--

Maybe. I guess something like that, but probably not a giant one, as that would make it more obvious that a transwoman was buying them.

Transpants, or whatever they'd be called, would be aimed at a very specific market, so there is no point in hiding them in the Ladies' Knickers aisle in M&S where women are likely to buy them and be dissatisfied with the fit. However much AGP transwomen want to think that they are indistinguishable from women, many of them have body parts that need to be accommodated, and they need to know which pants will provide this accommodation if they aren't to be uncomfortable and/or reminded that they are wearing garments designed for women.

It makes no sense not to label them.

Sparklefizz Tue 15-Feb-22 11:06:05

Riverwalk

Yep, M&S 'short length' jeans are now at least 2" too long.

I've had that problem too - 4 in. longer than my old pair.

nadateturbe Tue 15-Feb-22 11:05:12

My DD is feeling very stroppy about the bra thing. She was so pleased to find one at a reasonable price in M&S as opposed to her usual Freya ones. It's been discontinued.
I too have seen lots of men's reviews when looking for a recommended brand of pants on Amazon.
I do think it might be better if it was made clear that they have a bigger gusset so that women would know before buying.
I often think I would like my OH's lycra shorts if they were adapted for females.

Callistemon21 Tue 15-Feb-22 10:39:07

M&S Regular length used be just right but are just a bit too long now. Short are not quite long enough!

However, two pairs of everyday trousers bought in winter 2020 were just right - but do they make them any more? No, of course not.

I bought trousers from Land's End instead. Two pairs are just right, one pair is 4 inches longer than the others.