Girlie Pants

Hot Boy Shorts

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:47:00 +0000

GirliePants is a fun company that creates cute and ironic designs for underwear and tank tops. The pair of underwear that I was sent were a royal blue color with a wickedly cute drawing of a flame on the butt that simply said “Hot” underneath. The design of the image is wonderfully playful, and I think I would wear the underwear all the time if they were actually comfortable. Maybe mine were a size too big, but I experienced the underwear riding up my ass all day long. The cut on the boy shorts is simply awkward. The short part is too short to be considered shorts, but they’re longer than plain-cut underwear.

In spite of the cut, the actual feel of the underwear was great. GirliePantss uses American Apparel for all of their designs so you know the cloth is going to have that soft feeling that is totally addictive. I wear American Apparel’s boy brief underwear as though it’s my uniform. If GirliePants decided to put their designs on a more comfortable cut of underwear, I would buy all of my underwear through them. The boy shorts from GirliePants are $14, compared to the $10 that American Apparel charges you for the same pair sans-cute design. I think an extra four bucks for some spunk is well worth it.

A final note: I’m curious about companies that use American Apparel for their clothing items. While American Apparel does create incredibly comfortable clothing in a socially responsible way, their advertisements are horribly sexist at best. Regardless of their labor practice ethics, why would a feminist (or at least female-friendly) company use products of a corporation that is known for its blatant objectifying advertising and an owner who has multiple sexual harassment charges filed against him? And yet, we still use their clothing for our feminist designs and I’m addicted to their underwear, socks, and thermal shirts.

While I love GirliePants’s funky designs and their desire to do something different, I challenge them to use a more comfortable cut for their underwear and to find a company for their clothing items that does not objectify women. And maybe my challenge for GirliePants is one that I need to make for myself as well.

Written by: Chelsey Clammer, April 5th 2009

Super Beaver Panties

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:41:00 +0000

By Girlie Pants

I'm the kind of person who cannot tolerate uncomfortable clothing. That's not to say I'm perpetually sweatsuit clad, but I'm certainly not the type to hobble around in six-inch heels just because they're hot. I love fashion, but at the end of the day, I'm not willing to maim myself in order to look good.

Of course, my stringent standards of comfort apply 100% to my undergarments. A lady walks a fine line in this arena. A girl like me needs her undies to walk the walk (be practical) and talk the talk (be fun). The Super Beaver bikini panty from Girlie Pants does just that.

They're cute, that's for sure. The bikini is lemon yellow, one of my favorite colors. Wearing a sunny pair of panties makes your day better, doesn't it? A screen printed beaver sits right up front, wearing a cape, mask, and sweater labeled “SB” for Super Beaver. I tend to bristle at colloquialisms that liken my vagina to a rodent that lives in a marsh, but this design made me smile. It's not so much about the beaver. This time it's about the super, and I can get down with that.

The undies themselves were comfortable and well-cut, so they've earned themselves a permanent spot in my underwear rotation. The size (medium) fit me well, and I can wear them all day without ever thinking twice about them. Girlie Pants knows enough about what women want to make their products out of cotton (you gotta let it breathe, girls!), but with enough stretch so that they're neither baggy nor constricting. I wore this pair four times to test them out, and not once did they ride up or twist themselves into anyplace they weren't invited.

Girlie Pants makes undies that are cute, fun, irreverent, and comfortable, with a side dish of girl power. What's not to like?

Written by: Jess Brock, March 30th 2009

My Pussy Rocks Panties

admin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:38:00 +0000

By Girlie Pants

These vibrant cherry red briefs are 100% cotton and made in the U.S. by independently-owned Girlie Pants, who prints their designs on American Apparel underwear. The thing that makes these panties unique is the front stencil, which stands out because the caricature on the front is of a hand with two fingers up in the classic and universal rock fork symbol. Above the hand in little black writing are the words "My Pussy Rocks." The fingernails on the hands are painted black, and there is a black band around the wrist. The coloring really makes the graphic pop.

When I recognized the design on the front of these little briefs, I did think it was a little crude—I mean, who puts these kinds of brash hand gestures on their apparel?—but I just had to have them! When I wore them, I changed my mind about the design. It made me feel kind of empowered as a woman. I felt a little bit naughty, and that was my little secret. I think they are cute too!

At first, I didn't think many people would wear this underwear. The sentiment (“My Pussy Rocks”) is definitely a bold statement. It’s certainly different than my typical underwear, and I have never seen underwear quite like this anywhere else.

After wearing them for the day, I found the panties very comfortable. They are cut bikini fashion and sit easily on your hips. The cotton fabric is comfortable, which means they can be hand washed or machine washed, and the undies are made for long-term wear. The fabric is thick enough that you know they are there, but light enough to be worn in the summertime. I am happy to add these unique panties to my collection.

Written by: Amber Whitman-Currier, March 18th 2009

What the Nips?: Tune in Tokyo Tank top

admin — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:20:00 +0000

By Girlie Pants

Okay, the last thing that I want to be called is a humorless feminist, so I'll tell a joke: “How many men does it take to wall paper a bathroom?” “One, if you slice him thinly enough.” No, that's not funny. And it also illuminates the fact that female mutilation and battery are much more common in 'humor' than the reverse, or maybe women put a lid on their bitterness as a survival strategy.

I once pointed out to a professor that our language had the term 'misogynist' but lacked the inverse, and suggested 'mishomonist.' Bless Ernst Bernhard-Kabisch, he wrinkled his brow and replied, “That mixes Greek and Latin. That offends me. How about 'misandric' instead?” Perhaps tastelessness is equal opportunity, but I have to admit that the Tune in Tokyo tank top gave me pause, and not only because I couldn't fit into it. (This fall, an employer re-announced the 'no tank top' policy after I committed a violation, distributing conventional tees with the institution's logo at the morning 'pep' meeting. No-one complained about the twenty year-old B-cups wearing them beneath our baggy work jackets. Apparently double the volume and vintage is not acceptable. I suspect a double standard.)

I only recognized the phrase, upon receipt, by recalling a pal's complaint about her boyfriend's standard approach when soliciting a less-preferred practice. “...like he's trying to tune in Tokyo...” Ella Lou had drawled, rolling her eyes. When I'm feeling inspired, I'll try to concoct more metaphors for male ineptitude, God knows I've experienced enough of it. A painter friend described a bad kiss like having a “cat's penis” stuck in her mouth. But I digress...

Victoria Wilkins' line of comic underthings originally appeared as visual art at a gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. The site offers cute visual pun tanks (e.g., two little owls over the ta-tas for 'Hooters'—I liked it when the group Sister Serpents defaced a 'Hooters' billboard by the expressway by gluing a big sausage on the front of the lounging waitress's orange hotpants, and spray painting the ad so that it read 'SHooters'; traffic slowed to a crawl), boy shorts, bikinis, and a thong. Silly me, I originally thought that the boy shorts were for boys, and that the ones with the strategically located cupcakes were rather cute.

There are the ever-popular 'Capitalist Tool' boxers out on the market, but not at this site. Prices range from ten to twenty-five bucks, and the white “itty-bitty titty committee” tank with pink band-aids is sold out. Maybe my discomfort is standard second-versus-third-wave feminism, although I'm somewhere between punk and riot girl in cultural chronology. Sometimes I just can't buy the 'lipstick is empowering' argument, as its logical extension seems to advocate liposuction as a means of social change. Does claiming your commodification put you in control? Or are you perpetuating reification that harms us all? Or should I lighten up because it's just a shirt?

It's an American Apparel t-shirt, and all the ambivalence I could vent there would fill a separate review. I tried to give the tank top away at a recent reading as a prize for anyone who could recite “Crazy Jane Talks to the Bishop,” but no one knew the Yeats. Note: to any graphic designer reading this who would like to collaborate, please contact me, I have a tasteless tee idea, but favor a spare, international-logo design style...

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, March 7th 2009