The French Underwear Trend That Makes Your Legs Look Way Longer
"The newest trend in underwear is definitely the high-cut French brief.” Boom. You heard it here first, courtesy of former Journelle Head of Product Development Sandra Rose aka the woman in charge of knowing what’s new and next in the underwear space. There are a couple of reasons to get on board with the trend, but my primary motive? The underwear style makes your legs look way longer.
"With the band sitting at your natural waist, it gives you legs for days!” says Rose. Fleur du Mal founder Jennifer Zuccarini agrees: "High-cut styles elongate the line of your leg and emphasize your waistline because they sit higher, on a smaller part of your waist than, say, a hip-hugger style.” Another practical plus of the high-cut-underwear trend? "With a higher rise, they are less likely to bunch when you’re wearing high-waisted pants and skirts,” says Rose.
As for where the reemergence of the high-cut French brief trend came from, Zuccarini attributes it to Instagram It models like Kendall Jenner, Bella and Gigi Hadid, and Emily Ratajkowski as well as ’90s supermodels like Naomi Campbell. Just like with any trend, "it takes time and the right people wearing it again and again for people to adopt a new look like this,” says Zuccarini.
Since the look has been gaining steam for a moment, the time is now to hop on the high-cut-underwear trend. To help you with that aim, we rounded up the best options along with some visual inspiration to get started.
The thick waistband means they won't slide down during the day.
Not only are these undies functional, but they're also a fashion statement.
I'm sure this pair lives in Rihanna's chic underwear drawer.
We can't get enough of this set.
BRB, I'm imagining myself lounging around in this pair in the South of France.
The tiger lace detailing on this pair is definitely cool girl approved.
I don't think I've ever seen a pair of basic underwear chicer than this.
These are both core-controling and super comfortable under any pair of jeans.
The mesh paneling on the back of this pair makes them feel extra French.
These are my tried-and-true pair of high-cut briefs.
This post was originally published at an earlier date and has been updated.
Kat Collings has over 15 years of experience in the editorial fashion space, largely in digital publishing. She currently leads the vision for editorial content at WhoWhatWear.com as the site's editor in chief, having risen through the editorial ranks after joining the company in 2012. Collings is a Digiday Future Leader Awards nominee, was named Buzzfeed's best fashion Instagram accounts of the year, and is a member of the CFDA Awards Fashion Guild. Prior to Who What Wear, Collings worked on styling projects for brands such as Vogue, Teen Vogue, Lucky, and Oliver Peoples. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in communications and calls Los Angeles home.