Trends in underwear, are there any?

Yes, I would say so! A lot of outerwear fashion trends are able to make underwear a part of your outerwear. I do have my own image in mind of the different trends we went through in the latest, let’s say 13 years, since I started to bother what I was wearing under my clothes.. And actually, relatively speaking, not a lot went on in those years. As there are new trends popping up every season in the world of fashion, the fast paced changes seems to be way behind in the underwear industry.

It seems underwear is only sensitive for trends when it is part of the outerwear? So when outerwear fashion has room for underwear, the underwear can jump on the wagon.

And so I started to do some online research on trends and underwear.

Surprisingly, a lot of men’s underwear trends pop up. I did not see that coming because in my thoughts guys just buy shorts, tight or wide, colored or plain with the occasional briefs (In Dutch often called ‘balls squeezer’). Because how many options do they really have?

The ‘underwear expert’ advises me about all kinds of trends that have passed the last months, I clearly haven’t paid any attention! Or was I even able to know about them? 

There is the wine colored underwear, not that surprising: this color, which I truly love! Is the color of this season, smart to anticipate on that! Then the ‘Long Johns’, real winter underwear.. I must confess; the hipster kind off print Long Johns are pretty darn cute! But other are just horrifying!

A third trend I come across is a bit disturbing me, Football season started in September and some of the big (but for me totally unknown) men’s underwear brands in the USA like Timoteo, Cell Block 13, Jack Adams, Pistol Pete and Andrew Christian, designed some ‘Football Jock’ briefs. See the picture.. Please don’t wear these! 

Then to finish of the men’s trends department I’ll show you what reached the London Fashion week in the spring 2013 collection (showed by Shaun Samson): No comments!

Finding out what the ‘official trends’ in woman lingerie are, is not easy! There is no clear answer given to me. Therefore I decided to write down my own findings.

The ‘whale tail’, I don’t know if I am aloud to call this a trend. It happens on and off. But I am pretty sure that somewhere in the early 21^st century this happened a bit more then the on-purposely occasional thong exposure. 

Then at a certain point Marlies Dekkers popped up, Dutch, but seen worldwide. Stars like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga where spotted in her underwear and her designs where copied by others. The bra’s where designed to be flaunted and women felt secure enough to do so. It was a real hate it or love it trend in my opinion. 

Then my favorite trend, we are now in a period where girls are allowed to dress a bit rocky and tough. We may wear shirts that are oversized and show your bra, there where sleeves normally have to be tight fit, there now is room for some sexy bra showing. Preferably a lace bra with a bandeau model. Girls have to stay girls, and therefore this rocky look has to stay sexy. Bra’s may be showed! The fashionable crop top is in some cases more a bra with a tiny bit more fabric.

Fashion designer Jason Wu even collaborated with La Perla. I would say the best statement to show that underwear may be outerwear again. And I would say in a more classy and sexy way then the wail tail or the Marlies Dekkers. Big down side of this trend: It’s only for those who are in great shape..  

A quite recent (but no new phenomenon) and probably lasting trend is shape-wear. I must say, a great invention, woman look so much better when no unwilling curves are shown! But I know, probably kind of a turn off when you bring someone home and there first has to be a struggle to get that super tight fitting shape-wear off. 

Then one of the newest trends in underwear, stay ups! From over knee socks to pantyhose with lace bands, based on the (sexy) schoolgirl look I would say, it’s all allowed again. A category of underwear we haven’t mentioned before, but  I could not let pass. 

 I will finish this post with a Japanese ‘trend’ I could not withhold from you: ‘Deoest’ woman’s odor eliminating underwear. “especially designed to kill 95% of gas, sweat and other unwanted odors.. 80% of bad odors are eliminated in the first 30 seconds”  

It makes me wonder.. Is underwear a category in fashion or is it just some side product that can be used whenever its convenient combined with fashion. There are labels walking the runways though. It seems like underwear is too underground for the big outer-world to become a true statement like clothing can. Could Victoria’s Secret survive without hot famous models and angel wings? Would Christy Turlington be shown on billboards in her CK underwear if CK wasn’t on it? I suddenly get more respect for Sloggie.. how did they get so big without the sexiest underwear on the most hottest bodies..

Amanda van den Hoven