Hey, don't roll your eyes just yet—underwear goes through trend cycles just like the rest of the ready-to-wear world, and we have a lingerie expert here to prove it. I don't know about you, but lingerie fascinates me, as it's an article of clothing basically everyone wears but never really talks about. It's not necessarily taboo, but since it's rarely seen, it goes undiscussed. If you're someone who takes great pride and joy in your negligee drawer, this is quite disappointing.
Clearly, we're about to talk in great detail about summer lingerie trends—summer underwear trends to be specific. We reached out to an expert on the matter to give us the 411 on which underwear styles are on the rise, and more importantly, which are quickly dying. Read on as Sandra Rose, VP of merchandising and brand at Journelle (one of the best lingerie destinations, if you ask me), spills some insider information on the underwear trends that will win summer 2022 and why.
Don't worry, as in typical Who What Wear fashion, we shopped out each trend she touches on so you can leave with refreshed trend knowledge and a full shopping cart.
Out: Boy Short Underwear
In: High-Rise Thongs and Briefs
“There's one trend in particular that we have seen shift over recent months—boy short versus high rise. For a while, the boy short performed very well, keeping pace with thongs and regular briefs, which are the bread and butter of the 'bottoms business.' However, in recent months, we have seen a surge in 'retro' fits, such as high-waisted thongs (like our retro thong from Hanky Panky, which customers can't get enough of), as well as high-rise briefs like those from French brand Base Range."
Shop retro thongs
Shop briefs
In: High-Cut French Briefs
"Emerging from this new trend is another exciting silhouette that was very pronounced in recent collections—high-cut French briefs (we currently have great ones from The Great Eros, Marika Vera, and Only Hearts). The French brief is evocative of 1980s supermodels like Cindy Crawford and Jane Fonda aerobics classes. It ties back with the athleisure trend that has been popular but gives it a sexy edge, which we love in the lingerie world!
"I think the changes we're seeing has so much to do with the evolution of trends in RTW; we see high-rise pants/jeans/shorts dominating right now, and having a panty with a higher rise just makes more sense with this silhouette."
Shop high-cut briefs
Shop more versions of this popular underwear trend:
Next up: We Found All the Best Bras With Back Support on the Internet
This post was previously published and has since been updated.
