The Big British Underpants I Buy in Bulk
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I have always favored rather expansive black underwear. While I cannot pinpoint the origin of this preference, it was certainly reinforced by Lucy Harmon’sconservative black swimsuitinStealing Beautyand reached a fever pitch when I was postpartum. With a low-slung scar and a tum softer and squishier than ever before, I longed for something soft but secure as well — a cocoon of sorts. High-waistedunderpantsare also well suited to my languid form of exercise: I tuck an “exercise nightgown” (sheer and sleeveless, generally pale blue or pink, with a bit of lace) or an old Led Zeppelin T-shirt into the very high waistband of theunderpantsand, presto, they are shorts, and I’m ready for some indoor bicycling as I catch up on emails and article-reading.
Myunderweardrawer is like Gatsby’s pile of shirts but all black and almost entirely made up of one style from Marks & Spencer:the Cotton-Modal Full Briefs. When looking to build this stash, I turned to the usual places and couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for — too rigid, unnecessary bows, not high-waisted enough, and so on. And then I remembered my high-school theater-program trip to London, when I made it a mission to stop at Marks & Spencer for its legendary knickers, which I learned about inSassyor an English novel or an interview with Kate Moss. I am not sure. And it was there again, a few decades later, that I found myperfect pair.
My beloved underpants are perfectly jet black, even after one zillion washes, with a little bit of stretch — controversial, I know, as some are adamant that only full cotton will do. (I prefer the velvety feel and sag-free fit of a blend). The elastic waistband is trim and soft. They wear smoothly, hitting right above my bellybutton and right below my bum: exactly as I like it. They interact seamlessly with my summer dresses and winter sweatpants, and after years of wear, they are in near-pristine condition.
I am not alone in my love for large black undergarments. In issue No. 36 ofSelf Servicemagazine, Manuela Pavesi, best friend of Miuccia Prada and a style icon of mine and many others, listed among her essential belongings “my black and white cotton high-waisted underwear made by a company that makes underwear for nuns.” Believe you me, I tried to track these down but did not succeed. Still, my Marks & Spencer pairs are divine (ha!) in their own right. I have neglected to ask my husband for his thoughts on the matter of enormous black underpants; he does seem to be all right. As Pavesi said about her other essential belonging, ugly shoes, “I hate conventionally sexy shoes. I like them to be sexy, in my own way.” The Marks & Spencer underpants are just that.
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