Why do we buy new underwear?

Our underwear follows us at every stage of our lives. And although we all have a favorite piece of lingerie, there is always time to buy new ones. Wear and tear are the results of wearing lingerie, but purchasing lingerie is also a deeply personal decision.

At a time when fashion lovers are questioning their mode of consumption, there is constant talk of buying fewer clothes in order to preserve the planet.

For their part, eco-responsible fashion insiders prefer second-hand items. . But in this flood of eco-conscious marketing, underwear is mentioned very little.

So we wonder how often we should buy new underwear? Is the purchase of lingerie exclusively a case of perforated underwear?

Questions that give us the opportunity to analyze our relationship to lingerie.

Lingerie, an imperishable but fragile piece of fashion

Technically, underwear doesn’t have an expiration date. Forget the so-called advice from gynecologists who recommend buying new underwear every semester on the pretext that it would be more hygienic.

It is simply wrong. In reality, the only hygiene instruction is to wash your underwear regularly. They can therefore be kept as long as desired as long as they are maintained.

We acknowledge, however, that depending on the materials, lingerie can be delicate and will therefore inevitably deteriorate.

Lisa Chavy, founder of the Livy house, clarifies: “Stretch lace is solid. On the contrary, if you take beautiful French lace, delicate, made on a leavers loom, very fine, it’s more fragile.” There are then signals that alert us and push us to absolutely buy new coins.

It is the underwire that pierces the fabric that marks the end of a bra’s life. Because if you persist in keeping it, you will have to inflict daily injections on yourself. The other alternative would be to remove the metal frame, but as a result the bra would lose all its support.

As for the bottoms? You have to buy a new brief when your panties change color. Most of the time our vaginal secretions discolor the bottom of the panties and in this case it is completely normal. On the other hand, if the bottom of the panties takes on a color other than faded or if the entire underwear loses its original color, this is a sign that it is too worn and should be replaced.

Similarly, if you notice a stain that does not disappear despite washing – a blood stain due to the rules for example -, a hole, or a recalcitrant odor, it is time to buy new briefs.

Keep in mind that it is better to buy briefs that contain a natural fiber bottom. This is what the creator of the Livy brand recommends, which offers panties with silk or cotton pasta. “It’s much more hygienic to have a natural material between the legs, especially since there are some countries in which it is even compulsory.” In France, this regulation is however optional.

Last thing: if your underwear has become too tight, you should immediately throw them away at the risk of contracting infections.

Apart from these irreversible defects, there are many other reasons that lead us to buy lingerie.

Buying underwear is a personal matter

“It’s funny, every time I break up [in love], I raid and buy several sets of lingerie,” Laure tells us. While Bridget Jones gulps down a tub of ice cream and curls up in her duvet to soothe her heartache, is hurrying up to her favorite lingerie manufacturer our new form of therapy?

“I believe that mentally it is necessary to “me” reclaim my body, what I look like, to feel beautiful,” she adds. With these words, Laure clearly confirms that there is a psychological dimension behind the purchase of new underwear.

By buying a nice bra or garter belts after a heartbreak, we come to draw a line in the sand to signify that we are entering a new era. This gesture is the distant cousin of the post-breakup hair makeover, which also aims to say to oneself “I am a new woman”.

At the same time, Laure specifies that she separates from each linen that reminds her of vivid memories, “good or bad, I no longer wear them. Bad memories? I throw it away straight away.”

It is also quite simply for our own pleasure that we offer ourselves new underwear. Out of coquetry, one might say. Or for other reasons like Inas, 23, who buys “2 to 3 times a year except on occasions” and who recently had to buy lingerie following a weight loss.

Quite the opposite for Molly, 24, who is used to shopping for trendy pieces not only “to motivate herself to lose weight” but for other reasons: “to please my boyfriend when I had one (laughs)! And when I want to have confidence in myself again.”

In short, everyone has their own way of consuming. Especially since it’s no secret: lingerie is a budget. -Prices can even soar depending on the morphology of each, large cup bras and plus size lingerie being more expensive than other models. – This is why when you come from a popular social class or average, we will tend to buy underwear only after having worn the previous ones until exhaustion .

Buying lingerie to please a partner

Contrary to what advertising campaigns lead us to believe, we don’t jump on the latest lingerie collections only when Valentine’s Day approaches or before a date. This misogynistic marketing discourse, ubiquitous among brands, reduces the female body to an object exclusively useful for the pleasure of men.