I wore my first Hanky Panky thong way back in graduate school. It was $3 at Macy’s, hanging on the clearance rack. I doubt I will ever find one at that price again, but I am no longer subsisting on a grad student’s means. I was new to thongs and although it was billed ‘the world’s most comfortable thong’ I was deeply skeptical. It wasn’t an ‘aha!’ moment to own one, but it was definitely more comfortable than I’d anticipated.
Over the past year I’ve become more interested in clothing manufacturing locales and conditions and have found two NYC brands for my basics: Hanky Panky and Only Hearts. Hanky Panky thongs start at $20 with their panties being more expensive depending on the cut, color, and embellishments.
I have gotten more comfortable with thongs over the years, but HP also makes panties in several cuts. The major difference is in the sizing: thongs come in petite (under US size 2), standard (US size 2-12), and plus (US size 14-24). The panty styles are S/M/L/XL/1X/2X/3X. There are fewer offerings in the petite and plus ranges, but the lace is so stretchy that if you’re on the border between standard and plus, I’d wear a standard. For sized panties, I wear a medium or large depending on how high rise they are- large if they encounter my belly, medium otherwise.You may well find yourself sizing down.
Additionally, the regular rise sometimes folds under the weight of my belly, so I’m torn as to whether I prefer that to the low rise version. The modal thong has the best rise for me, in the middle, but a more limited color selection.
The palette of colors you can get is dizzying. Neons, brights, patterns, combinations, pastels, basics…
(their neutral colors are chai, suntan, taupe, vanilla, chestnut) are available for the signature lace thongs, with a more limited selection for the v-kinis, bikinis, briefs, non-lace items, etc.
I’ve been looking into loungewear the past year, and HP has a line of stretch lace camisoles. They’re billed as bra-friendly because of the wide lace straps, and I was curious as to whether they’d fit a busty lady (as opposed to the bralettes, which fit only up to a 36Cish). To my delight, a medium fits me. A large also fits, but a bit more loosely. I’d say they run large as well. The patterns offer less show-through than the solid colors. I usually wear them around the house or to sleep, I haven’t tried layering them yet. Below’s the limoncello-colored cami and boyshort, both in large.
Hanky Panky debuted their BARE line a few years ago, boasting no lines under clothes and a smooth feel. I’ve yet to try this line and look forward to doing so.
You can buy Hanky Panky from their website, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and many online retailers. If you have limited means, discontinued colors tend to be on sale, and eBay might be helpful. Many auction items are remainders or resales of sale items from the website, which are not returnable and may not have fit the buyer. These in turn won’t be returnable either, but if you have an idea of your size you can start there.
I’ve had mixed experiences with the lace materials: some colors have felt like butter out of the package, and others are still a bit rough after several washes. Perhaps it’s different dyes? Or fabric treatment? What are your experiences?
Faustian Foundations 