Granny Panties: Been About You and I'm Still About You

“Granny panties,” otherwise known as the high-waisted, apple-bottomed undies that take up at least 80 percent of my underwear drawer for as long as I can recall, are once again being deemed the next big underwear sensation. Yet, as we know, they are in no way a new fad.

Similarly to a lot of products positioned towards women in recent years, this new “trend” is coming off a growing narrative that granny panties are “feminist.” In 2015, the Times reported that thong sales had decreased by 7 percent while, contrarily, brief and boy shorts sales increased by 17 percent. Granny panties garnered attention once more in 2016 when celebrities wore them as accessories under their sheer dresses, or allowed them to casually peep out of their high slits.

Here’s the thing: wearing these form-hugging undies doesn’t need to be more than what it is—an option that’s long been available to women who want to be comfortable. Ever since the early 1500s, when former queen of France Catherine de Medici invented ankle-length panties to comfortably ride her horses and avoid people peepin’ up her skirt, women have created styles of pants and underwear that best suits their needs. If it happens to also serve as a way to make men uncomfortable (for reasons unbeknowst to me), then that’s just a bonus. Plus, if your partner has an issue with them, and finds them unchic or unsexy, as most past articles suggest, then I humbly suggest throwing it out (your partner, not the undies), and doing what it is most fitting for you—which sometimes looks like treating yourself to a fresh three-pack set of granny panties at Duane Reade before hopping over to 7-eleven for a slurpee.