I used to be one of those girls who wore matching underwear. Every day. I was lingerie store's dream customer. Yes thank you very much I WILL have the matching briefs and G. I am ashamed of what I have become, as those days are long gone.
A quick glance through my underwear drawer would be enough to make any man baulk and run a mile. I only stopped to consider the actual vintage of my underwear when, at my sister's hen's night, the following question was posed to her: How old is your fiance's oldest pair of underwear? I watched as her eyes bug out in shock and horror, and she replied, "Oh god. Old. I mean, 3 years maybe?"
If that was enough to cause my sister a certain level of revulsion, then what on earth would she think of the state of mine? I glanced around nervously to see if anyone else in the room would be in the same threadbare boat, but the only other person who appeared to be older than 22 was my mother. I figure as she's pushing 60, she should be in a boat of her own.
My daily staples are size 12 Bonds undies. Undies they are, rather than the more refined 'knickers', as they are plain coloured cotton-lycra mix. Not the sexiest underwear by any means, but undeniably comfortable. I'm not a size 12, I'm more of an 8 really, but with size 12s, you can just relax. These same undies have been stretched to a size 14 and back through 2 pregnancies, so there's not a great deal of elasticity remaining. If you hold them up to the light, you can see through them no trouble at all.
I team the Bonds undies with some once-lovely maternity bras from Bendon. They were originally cream and lacy, but are now that unwell shade of grey that comes of too much washing. I have a couple of the same bras in black, which have lasted the distance better than the cream (pilling notwithstanding).
It's high time I had some new underwear. That is a given. But there are at least 2 factors preventing me from doing so: the sorry state of my bank balance, and the fact that I am still breastfeeding my son.
Thanks to breastfeeding, I have an extremely ample rack at the moment. Sadly, I know from experience that this is not going to last. I will be back to super-dooper-extra-wonderbras as soon as my son is weaned onto a bottle. Is it worth investing in something that is only going to be used for a few months?
I'm sure that if pressed, my husband would happily go and get some replacements for my lingerie drawer, but I know what would likely happen. He would return with something see-through, with strips of fabric held together with bits of string.
Not entirely unlike the state of my existing underwear...
