Who Are You Wearing It For?
Nobody sees your underwear. You wear it for fourteen hours a day. So why do we choose it as though someone were watching?
By Laura Vanessa Medina · 7 min read
Underwear holds a strange position in fashion. It’s the first thing we put on and among the last we take off. It stays against the skin all day. And it is almost entirely invisible.
It never appears in a photograph. Nobody compliments it. It accompanies you through work, transport, meetings, dinner — and no one will ever know what you chose.
Which makes it worth asking why we so often choose it as though someone were about to.
In a shop, attention goes straight to colour, lace, cut, the sensuality of the design. All of that can matter. But there’s a simpler question underneath it, and it’s the one that actually affects your day: how will this feel in six hours?
What cotton actually does
Cotton is a plant fibre that has been made into cloth for centuries. In clothing it’s valued for three practical things: it feels soft against skin, it absorbs moisture, and its structure lets air move through it.
That combination is why it keeps appearing in garments meant to be worn all day, every day, next to the body.
But “cotton” on its own doesn’t describe a garment. How the fibre is woven or knitted, the weight of the fabric, the cut, the construction — all of it changes the result. A fine cotton feels light and delicate; a heavier one gives structure. Smooth, ribbed and textured finishes can change how a piece looks without costing you any comfort.
Read the label, not the packaging
The word cotton on the front of a package, or in the name of a collection, doesn’t tell you much. The useful information is on the fibre-content label — the materials and their percentages.
In the United States, labelling rules require most textile products to disclose fibre content. A garment can be described as 100% cotton only when its composition supports that, aside from permitted exceptions for minor finishing elements. Where different sections have different compositions, the label may list them separately.
This is where underwear gets slippery. Some pieces are cotton throughout the body. Others are cotton only in the inner gusset — a small panel — while the rest is synthetic. Both can put the word cotton on the front.
Look for the words body, lining and gusset on the label. They tell you which percentage belongs to which part. It takes ten seconds and it’s the difference between what you thought you bought and what you actually did.
Some pieces are cotton throughout. Others are cotton in one small panel. Both can say “cotton” on the front.
Fibre can’t fix a bad fit
The best composition in the world won’t rescue the wrong cut.
Underwear should move with you and then leave you alone. If the elastic rolls, if a seam presses into your skin, if you find yourself adjusting it through the day — the fabric could be silk and it wouldn’t matter.
Waist height, the width at the sides, where the seams sit: all of it changes the experience. And there’s no universally superior cut, because bodies, movements and preferences aren’t universal. The piece that’s perfect on one woman is unwearable on another, and neither of them is doing it wrong.
Comfort was never the opposite of feminine
For a long time, comfortable underwear was sold to us as the unattractive option. Basic. Boring. The choice of a woman who has stopped caring.
That idea did real damage, because it split beauty and wellbeing into two categories and asked us to pick one.
Cotton underwear can come in soft colours, with small embroidered details, carefully finished edges, elegant lines. A garment does not have to be uncomfortable to be beautiful. Femininity does not require enduring something for fourteen hours, or choosing with someone else’s eyes in mind.
Contemporary design gives these pieces the same attention as anything else in a wardrobe. A well-made waistband, a considered colour, a ribbed texture — a simple piece becomes a good one without losing its simplicity.
Even a completely plain set can feel like something when it’s made well. The beauty of underwear isn’t measured by how much it reveals. It’s in the quality of the details, and in how naturally it disappears into your day.
Start with the body
Fashion tends to look at what’s visible: the dress, the shoes, the bag. But our relationship with clothing starts earlier than that — with whatever touches the skin first.
Buying more thoughtfully doesn’t mean replacing an entire drawer this weekend. Start by looking at what’s already in there. Notice which cuts you actually reach for and which ones you never wear. Then choose the next piece with a little more attention.
A simple thing you wear constantly is worth more than a beautiful one that never leaves the drawer.
Choosing cotton is a small, conscious decision: read the composition, look at the construction, think about how it will feel outside the fitting room. And accept that comfort deserves a place in your personal style even when nobody else will ever see it.
Underwear may be the least public thing you own. It’s also one of the most present in your life.
Choosing it well isn’t giving up on fashion or on femininity. It’s a reminder that dressing well can begin with feeling good — starting with the part only you know about.
Laura Vanessa Medina is a Colombian writer covering fashion, food and the women history forgot.
Sources: United States Federal Trade Commission, rules on textile labelling and fibre content; Cotton Incorporated, on the qualities and care of cotton.
