Thong turn: what happened to the G-string?
March 24, 2016 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Thongs and G-strings. If the 1990s is back in fashion, and back it is, then the decade’s reach stops at underwear, if figures are to be believed. This spring, Marks Spencer has announced a sharp decrease in the number of G-strings being sold: “Less than 1 in 10 of the knickers we sell is a thong,” says Soozie Jenkinson, head of lingerie design. “This shape is decreasing in popularity as women are [choosing] shapes like the Brazilian as a NO VPL alternative.”
The logic was basic if paranoid. In shape, G-strings date back to loincloths, but their popularity is arguably more focused on hiding a VPL (or visible panty line), which was “the most embarrassing thing that could happen to a teenage girl – according to Shout and Bliss, anyway,” explains one former wearer. Another blames “misguided peer pressure from friends … that they were the pinnacle of sexiness”. Then there was the feel: “The comfort they offered could only be described as minimal; the equivalent of calling a small studio flat “spacious”’ explains another veteran.
Personally, I only wore them (note the past tense) because everyone else did. In the 1990s, we wore baggy trousers, so VPLs weren’t really an issue. To wear large pants felt masculine, which is again a skewed mindset, given I was 12 or 13 and the only one who saw them. If I wear one now, it’s probably only because of a VPL. But back then, the idea of peer pressure rang true. The Pirelli calendar was awash with thongs, while Baywatch certainly leaned towards a more exposed look.
The New York Times purports “the same kind of contrarianism that helped elevate Birkenstocks and fanny packs, young women are embracing “granny panties” for the decline of the G-string. But if VPL was the enemy, then technology was the answer. Teresa Calice at lingerie company Bodas thinks it’s all about comfort: “We have a Sheer Tactel fabric [which sells well] that is super-strong but is so light it feels like a second skin.” If you can combine the two, well then.
At Selfridges, however, sales in thongs are up on last year. Around 30% of the knickers sold are G-strings compared to briefs, which account for about 40%. “We’ve seen something of a revival in certain fashion circles,” says Olivia McEwan, lingerie buyer at Selfridges. She cites designers including Caitlin Price and Nasir Mazhar “whose thong detailing on RTW pieces, combined with sportswear shapes, felt like both a fresh and nostalgic 90s reference”, which also explains why Calvin Klein is the store’s most popular G-string brand, “driven this season by the trend for logo waistbands”.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more women buying thongs again, especially in the run up to the summer,” she adds.
