Are yours threadbare or saggy? Did you buy them five months ago, or five years?
We’re talking, of course, about knickers. The British briefs supplier Stripe & Stare says the average woman owns 20 pairs, yet 15 per cent of them go unworn and three in five of us admit to wearing stretched or discoloured underwear. It’s time to do better!
Whether you’re dedicated to big pants, a thong fiend, or wondering whether you should work out in Brazilian briefs – here’s how to give your underwear drawer some love (and fresh elastic) in the year ahead.
A boom in bloomers
This year, comfort is king: just as sales of trainers have surpassed heels, XL knickers are reportedly surpassing thongs. Stripe & Stare’s Great Knicker Census, which quizzed 2,000 British women aged 18 to 99, found that big briefs were the favourite style, with almost half choosing them over skimpier, stringier pairs.
It also revealed nearly two-thirds say they’d wear ‘granny pants’ for life over thongs. The brand’s high-rise ‘cloud-soft’ Tencel knickers come in 32 colourways and have achieved hero status – their fibres break down and compost at the end of their life cycle. If you side with Bridget Jones on large-scale knicks, these are your top offerings – plus pretty pairs by Understatement, M&S and Intimissimi.
Are thongs really gone?
Well, no, apparently. London-born lingerie brand Boux Avenue sells approximately 2.26 thongs for every pair of briefs. Its coveted high-legged Fran style, which comes in 18 shades, sells every three minutes and has more than 700 five-star reviews on its website.
Surprisingly, the thong also lives on at one of the nation’s big-briefs stockists. M&S lingerie director Charlotte Davies says, ‘Cheekier shapes, underpinned by innovative comfortable fabrics and fits, are trending with our shoppers.’
Indeed, sales of the store’s high-waisted thong were up 75 per cent by the end of 2025. Those who refuse to be caught with a VPL (visible panty line) are keeping this sexy, skimpy cut alive. And I can attest that the right cotton pair won’t even feel as if it’s there. Other great little-knickers brands to know are Dora Larsen, Lemonade Dolls and Bluebella.
Problem-solving pants
Ask Gen Z and they will tell you it’s all about period-proof underwear nowadays. The pioneer of these clever absorbent knicks, Modibodi, supplies its wearers with leak-proof, reusable pants in three strengths: Light (the equivalent of four tampons), Moderate (six tampons) and Super (up to ten tampons), which replace the need for disposable sanitary products.
For youngsters comfort is important, but the environmental impact is just as vital. Fluxies, another popular menstrual underwear specialist, says one pair of its period pants replaces up to 200 disposables and since its launch in 2017, sales have prevented 40 million disposable sanitary products from going into landfill.
But do they really work? M&S’s come with five-star reviews and boast a triple-layer design: one next to the skin that draws away moisture, so wearers feel dry; a middle layer to absorb blood; and a final outer layer with an anti-leak membrane. Who knew so much engineering could fit in one gusset?
The new sporty knicks
Sweating in polyester pants isn’t healthy for one’s nether regions. Cue the savvy brands that produce knickers specially for sport. Underdays’ The Workout Thong is made from quick-dry fabric and has a cotton gusset, functional seams that stay put and Lycra that stretches four ways to move with you, rather than against you. No chafing, no riding up and minimal VPL, so they’re perfect under leggings. I have run two marathons in mine and can vouch for their brilliance.
Lululemon’s Invisiwear knickers are designed for yoga and Pilates, with a sweat-wicking and breathable cotton gusset. Uniqlo’s seamless Airism briefs are just as comfortable under jeans as under gym shorts – and they’re less than a tenner.
Shapewear gets stylish
Sculpting undies have moved on since Sara Blakely launched Spanx in 2000. Now Skims reigns supreme: co-founded by Kim Kardashian in 2019, it was valued at £2.9 billion last November. No wonder: the brand’s bestselling Core Sculpt cost £80 a pop. But they don’t cut you up or cause a ‘muffin top’ and every red-carpet stylist I know has a pair in their kit.
You can find affordable styles that look good on the high street, too: John Lewis’s Rae firm control briefs have a glamorous pin-up finish, with modern sheer-strap detailing at the leg line and non-slip edges to prevent riding up – perfect for dancing in.