Underneath your fab WIWs: Team Sets or Team Separates? - YouLookFab Forum

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Underneath your fab WIWs: Team Sets or Team Separates?

minimalist

Veteran

Deb's bra thread reminded me of a related area where opinions are divided. Do you like your underwear (if you wear them) to match your bra (if you wear one)?

I'm firmly on Team Sets, at the risk of being dowdy and matchy-matchy. I like it for myself, but haven't had complaints. Main "set" right now is two different bras, and two each of three styles of underwear, all from the same line, in a charcoal/blue tiny houndstooth.

There are excellent arguments for separate, non-matching bras & underwear, too. I'd love to hear yours, if you're on Team Separates.

General

49 replies

Latest reply was from KeepTheKey

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

Team Separates. 90% of the time, it's black undies and nude bra that doesn't show under light-colored tops. The other 10% might see a black bra but from a different brand so no match still. I wear nude underwear when I'm wearing white bottoms (very rare). I haven't had other colors in my lingerie drawer in many years.

deb

Veteran

Team separates. Whatever I grab from the pantie drawer goes on, unless I am wearing white. My bras are purchased for fit and comfort so they do not match.

AnnieMouse

Veteran

Team Never Ever Match And The One Time I Did, I Scared My Partner here

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

LOL, Annie. Separates here too. I've never owned matching sets of underwear - I might be able to scrounge up some that are the same color, but definitely not the same fabric or look.

Besides, not to be too TMI, but I change my underwear when I shower, which is not always every day, and is often at night, not in the morning. My bras are chosen each morning or whenever I get properly dressed (I work at home, sometimes it's closer to noon) and picked based on what color will not show and what features of the bra are needed (padded under thin tops, racerback, etc.). I've never understood how you'd manage to wear matching lingerie all the time without having to do laundry every day.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

Same team as Annie

Anonymous

Separates all the way!

Thistle

Veteran

Seperates all the way!! Bras are very expensive for me, and seldom do they come with matching 100% cotton bottoms. Girls issues require 100% cotton

Von

Veteran

Back when I fit into *store sizes* where I could shop anywhere off the rack, I never bought anything I couldn't coordinate with my clothes. I matched from the inside out. These days, I'm excited if I find my bra in *mocha* and not nude (Big time excitement over here...). And since I discovered the sticky, no show Soma panties, I get all underwear from there, but can't fit the matching bras. But I don't even care anymore. The best thing about neutral bras is that they do technically *go* with most bottoms.

carter

Veteran

Always wear them. Never match.

Hestonian

Separates...black panties with whatever bra works best with my top.

E

Veteran

Separates! Especially since I wear underwear every day but don't wear a bra every day!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sets. And the prettier the better. My knickers must match my lace bra. I love pretty underwear and feel unstylish when wearing mismatched underwear.

I am the only one on my team so I'm captain. I can be a loner.

peacechick

Veteran

Team Separates. And put me on Team Sensible Underwear too! My bras are mostly nude, black or white. My undies follow one rule only: comfort. They have to cover my butt. Friends have given me lacy thongs but they just go in the bin. And this might be TMI but DH doesn't care about lingerie at all so there's no appeal for me

AnnieMouse

Veteran

peacechick, I'd take those thongs off your hands, because I can't wear anything else -- I hate crawlers

rachylou

Veteran

I used to be matchy matchy, but I have moved over to separates.

milehighstyle (Linda)

Veteran

Separates most of the time. I do have several matching sets; however it's become less important to me in recent years to actually wear them together.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Team separates. I'm demanding when it comes to bra selection. They have to fit perfectly, make my bust have the right shape, feel comfortable and have zero lace that can show through a tight top. So I currently own two styles of bra and have multiples. Undies, on the other hand, can be cute and lacy, and I like a variety of styles. Some work better than others for not showing VPL. I've got many, many pairs of underpants in all styles. I even have thongs which I never wear because I think they're ugly, uncomfortable and my doctor said they invite infections. But the lace on them is pretty and my husband likes them, so I can't bring myself to throw them out, lol.

RunswithDolphins

Wait you mean everyone doesn't go commando? LOL Just kidding.
My heart says matchy match but my lingerie drawer says choose what's clean.

dustt

Veteran

team separates - not because I don't want to match- I DO!! - It's just that my girly bits on both ends are particular!! - Only one style and make of bra - in black white nude and mocha - panties are also - black white nude and mocha - but rarely match unless I'm dressing monochromatically(is that a word??!!) - and are a different brand and fabric to get the best fit!! - I want to match I just rarely do - well except today - it's a nude-nude day!! - not very exciting but at least they're the same color!!

minimalist

Veteran

??!

Is Angie really the only person besides me who feels uncomfortable in mismatched undies, um, I mean separates? Hands down, I'm the worst-dressed person on YLF, so I thought if anything, you'd all be full of references for quality sets.

So, Team Separates, what do you associate with Sets? Besides what I'm reading in some posts: impractical, uncomfortable, unnecessary?

My bras are, like many posts mentioned, also purchased for fit and comfort, AND for quality/longevity. Fair labor is important to me; no fabrics dyed by 8-year-olds. I tried on Wacoal's higher-end line, forget what it's called, and was horrified at the construction as well as the materials. Panache fits well, but wears out fast. Freya, last time I tried it, didn't fit right, but I'm going to try their sports set. Marlies Dekkers' quality is pretty good, but doesn't offer the support I like under clothing, and shows through in ways not part of my style preferences, so those sets have been relegated to loungewear. And I'm not sure any more about her manufacturer's sourcing.

Who was it who posted in the sewing thread about making her own bras? Amiable? That would open up all kinds of room for pretty sets, I'd think. *If* one wanted to wear them, and it sounds like most here don't.

Laura / rhubarbgirl, this might be asking for TMI, but it sounds like you wear underwear all the time, as in even when sleeping? Isn't that what bf's cotton boxer briefs are for? You wrote, "I've never understood how you'd manage to wear matching lingerie all the time without having to do laundry every day." 1. lots more panties than bras, to a set, preferably in a range of styles so you have choices about comfort and VPL; 2. panty liners, changed often; 3. bras generally don't need washing every day. Back when I was wearing light tops and dark bottoms & jackets a lot, I found a shade of red that didn't show through white blouses.

Aleta

Angie can I join you on team sets? Mostly nude in colour but always matching in style.

Faith

I'm with you, Amy and Angie. Sets! Always. I have two weeks' worth in rotation at any given time, usually about 50% black, 35% nude and/or blush, and 15% color.

My mother, in whose example I follow, keeps only about 5 days in rotation, and she does do near-daily laundry. I prefer to have more sets on hand and to do less frequent laundry, but if I find myself priced-out of my preferred system I'll suck it up and do the frequent wash. I know it's perfectly acceptable, if not preferable, to wear bras more than once before washing, but I just can't do it, so for me it's one bra, one pair of panties, they usually wear out at nearly the same time.

In Italy, undergarment shopping was an annual or twice-annual event that took place in the basement of Rinascente (upscale department store) on the morning of the first day of the summer and/or winter sales. My 2012 haul is still going strong, but I'm not sure yet what I'll be doing next year.

minimalist

Veteran

(Faith, I'm willing to be schooled on frequency of bra washing.)

Faith

One further thought -- do you all know the novel Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro? I love the underwear shopping passages, it's possibly my favorite thing in "style" literature.

[Off the topic, I've never been able to figure out whether the vintage advice book by Mme. Dariaux around which the novel is based was invented by Tessaro, it seems only to have been published--or reprinted?--after the novel, or whether it's a genuine period piece. A tiny bit of library research could probably resolve this question for me!]

Kristin L

Veteran

I'm Team Separates because I have different brands I favor for my bra and underwear.

And I like nude bras, but colorful and print-tastic underwear. But, I always make sure the underwear can't be seen through my clothes.

Echo

Veteran

I used to always wear matching sets because, well, I could. But after having a c-section and abdominal surgery, I simply look better in panties with a higher rise. And manufacturers seem to have decided that any woman who would choose to wear hi-cut briefs MUST be dowdy and unstylish, so they rarely make them in anything pretty, let alone having a bra to match. If you aren't wearing teeny-tiny bikinis or hip huggers, you must want granny-panties. *insert eyeroll here* And even among hi-cut briefs, it is difficult to find ones that flatter without, say, creating a harsh line across the middle or being saggy, or not coming up quite high enough and then slipping down, etc.

So, I still at least match colour as closely as I can. Black panties with a black bra, nude panties with a nude bra, red panties with a red bra, and other colours as available. I am the weirdo who walks around the lingerie department holding up a bra to various panties, desperately trying to find a match.

Diana

Veteran

Separates all the way. I like pretty, lacy French bras, but I always wear cotton underwear (although it's often in cute prints so not too boring, but still, not sexy like my bras). So, yeah, I never match.

ETA: I do have a couple of pairs of underwear that match the lacy bras but I gotta say they are hella uncomfortable. =P

Aida

Veteran

Hm Team Separates by necessity at the moment, but I think I'd rather be on Team Sets or at least Team Matching. Something to keep in mind when updating!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Amy K, YOU are captain of Team Sets. I'm a strong united front on your Team with Faith. High five, Faith.

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