How Should Women’s Underwear Fit? 7 Signs You’ve Found a Really Good Pair

There’s a fairly simple test for good underwear: how often do you think about it while you’re wearing it?

If you’re pulling it up, pulling it down, shifting seams, noticing damp fabric or counting the hours until you can take it off, something isn’t quite right.

The best underwear will firstly give you a boost of confidence and then promptly disappear from your thoughts. It moves with you, feels good against your skin and quietly gets on with its job.

And as our bodies change, what passes that test can change too.

1. You’re not constantly adjusting it

This sounds obvious, but think about how often you absent-mindedly adjust your underwear during the day.

A good fit should stay reasonably comfortably in place as you sit, walk, bend and move. If you’re repeatedly tugging at the legs, waistband or back, the size may be wrong, but equally the shape of the underwear may simply not be right for your body.

That distinction matters. Going up or down a size isn’t the answer to every fit problem.

2. Nothing is digging in

Underwear needs enough tension to stay in place, but it shouldn’t feel restrictive.

Waistbands and leg openings that leave deep marks, pinch or become increasingly uncomfortable throughout the day are worth paying attention to.

Bodies also change shape over time. The rise, leg opening and cut that worked beautifully for you ten years ago may not fit so well today.

3. The fabric feels good after hours of wear

Trying underwear on for thirty seconds tells you surprisingly little.

The real test comes several hours later, particularly on a warm day or when you’ve been moving around.

Fabric sitting directly against the vulva needs to manage heat and moisture well. Breathable fibres and moisture-wicking fabrics can make an enormous difference to how fresh and comfortable underwear feels as the day goes on.

At Wicks, every pair is lined with beautifully soft GOTS-certified organic cotton, with moisture-wicking and anti-odour functionality built into the garment.

4. You have enough coverage for your body

More coverage doesn’t have to mean frumpy.

One of the persistent problems with lingerie is the assumption that making something beautiful means removing more and more fabric. But strategic coverage can actually make underwear look and feel considerably better.

The important question is whether the garment is covering your body where you want it to, rather than whether it conforms to somebody else’s idea of what sexy underwear should look like. 

At Wicks, we believe that feeling comfortable in yourself and what you're wearing is far sexier than conforming to someone else's expectations. 

5. The rise works with you, rather than against you

Low, mid and high-rise underwear can all be comfortable. The trick is finding where you actually like a waistband to sit.

For many women, that changes over time. For many women, a higher rise can feel more secure and comfortable as the body changes, while others continue to prefer something lower.

There is no universally flattering rise. There’s simply the one you feel best wearing.

6. It does the job you actually need it to do

Good underwear isn't only about fit. It should also work for the life and body you have now.

Perhaps you run warmer than you used to. Perhaps you want to feel fresher throughout the day. Perhaps light bladder leaks have entered the equation. These are all perfectly reasonable things to expect your underwear to help with.

This is why we line our pieces in organic cotton: so the fabric sitting against your skin is soft, breathable, moisture-wicking and anti-odour. Some days you might need those features more than others. They’re there when you do, and discreet enough that you won’t notice them when you don’t.

Our All Day Fresh styles add a discreet absorbent layer for everyday freshness, while our higher-absorbency styles include a waterproof barrier for those who experience life's little leaks more regularly.

The clever part is largely hidden. On the outside, they still look and feel like beautiful lingerie.

Your underwear drawer doesn't need to remain frozen at the age of 30. As your body and life change, your underwear can evolve with them.

7. You keep reaching for it

Possibly the best test of all.

Most of us have underwear sitting in our drawers that technically fits but somehow never gets worn. And then there are the pairs we search for in the clean washing.

Those favourites tell you something.

Pay attention to the rise, fabric, coverage and shape of the underwear you instinctively reach for. Your body is often rather good at telling you what it likes.

Good underwear should make life easier

At Wicks, we design underwear for bodies that have lived a little. That means thinking about softness, moisture, coverage, changing bodies and discreet functionality without forgetting that women still want to feel good in their lingerie.

Because perhaps the sign of really good underwear isn't that you notice how comfortable it is all day... It’s that you barely notice it at all.