The Lingerie Brand Making A Compelling Case For Granny Panties

While cotton underwear and thongs are in regular rotation, one intimate, in particular, is finally getting the long-overdue attention it deserves: granny panties.

No longer sequestered to the back corners of our drawers, the ultra-comfy, full-coverage undie in the granny variety continues to see a spike in demand. And it looks like when it comes to underwear, the bigger-the-better motto applies — which is excellent news for the mother-daughter duo behind the brand Bloomers.

"I thought to myself, ‘I can’t be the only woman in the world looking for comfortable, sexy granny panties,” Bloomers' co-founder Dr. Shaula Alexander Yemini explains to Refinery29. “Being an entrepreneur, when I see a void in the marketplace, I have to do something about it. And that’s how Bloomers was born.” All of the brand’s high-waisted undies are constructed with four-way stretch lace and offered in sizes XS to XXL, in six jewel-inspired colors and three new sweets-inspired colors. The comfortable full-coverage bottoms veer into the “sexy” category, thanks to the clingy, transparent fabrication and a scalloped hem that lends a boudoir-ish elegance to the sleepy silhouette. Each pair of Bloomers underwear is $38 and comes with a reusable mesh laundry bag for easy machine washing.

“During the pandemic, shoppers started prioritizing comfort over style, and granny panties fit the new WFH lifestyle," says Bloomers' co-founder Noa Arias — so a year into a global quarantine, Arias launched the brand alongside her mother, a former tech entrepreneur. She believes the designs by Bloomers — high-waist, fullback lace undies that are guaranteed to be wedgie-free — are poised for popularity, even if couch-bound comfort-wear is now more of a weekend thing. "Now that we’re heading back to normal, we don’t want to give up being comfortable, [but] we’re eager to be fashionable once again,” Arias explains. “Bloomers’ briefs are the best of both worlds: They have all the comfort and coverage of a granny panty, but they’re made from a soft, stylish lace with a scalloped edge.”

According to the retail intelligence platform Edited, lingerie is expected to hit $325.36 billion by 2025, and "granny panties" à la Bridget Jones (who would more likely use the British term "big knickers") are in. In the same way that comfort came first for all other garments during lockdown, bottoms with both high waists and full coverage are outselling hipster styles. Bloomers adopts this comfort-centric approach for briefs and boyshorts in a way that's still sexy — evidenced by a flood of online reviews from customers who prize the brand’s signature mix of comfort and curb appeal. “These are worth every penny, I want them in every color,” wrote a reviewer named Charlotte. “Actually, maybe I’ll get every color. Happy divorce present to me!” Ashima G. wrote that “[t]hese undies are sexy with the benefit of full coverage,” and Jen commented that they made them feel “instantly cute and comfy. So flattering (with and without clothes) and great quality.”

These may not be your grandma's granny panties, but according to reviewers, they certainly feel like it. So if you have any qualms, know that there’s underwear out there that offers a cute, comfortable compromise.