My thighs rub together.
I don't know many people's who don't! And in the summer especially, that can be a problem. Aside from my workout gear and a single pair of cullottes, I don't own any trousers. I have a big bum and legs and a small waist and they're a pain in the neck, quite frankly. But so is wearing skirts and dresses in the heat, not to mention the added layers a petticoat can bring! Standard bicyle shorts and long control underwear are all well and good, but they're not exactly sexy, are they...?
I first met Carolyn from Bloomin' Sexy at an event for wedding suppliers - many of her clients are brides who want pretty, comfortable underwear for their big day - and as soon as I saw her knickers I knew I wanted to get in them (snarf!). Carolyn's journey to glorious pants is an interesting one - trained as a nurse and psychosexual therapist, she worked within the NHS for many years and began to understand the myriad different issues people face with body image, confidence and sensuality.
After taking early retirement, she grew tired of trying undergarments that didn't make her feel good. The "crunch occasion", as Carolyn calls it, was a London premiere at which she wore tights to feel comfortable physically, but she also felt the tights detracted from the outfit she had on:
"After the event, I looked online and ordered some anti chafe
knickers. These arrived, and whilst they were functional, I didn’t feel that they were
an item of lingerie that I felt feminine and sexy wearing so the concept of making
some that were both comfortable but still looked pretty, was born. As I had been
searching for bloomer like garments, and the idea was that women could feel sexy
wearing them, I coined the name Bloomin’ Sexy right at the outset, partly in jest, but
somehow it felt appropriate and it stuck."
Together with her business partner, Jill Mudge, she created a range of comfortable and beautiful bloomer-type underwear: they don't cinch you in but conform to the shape of your body, and added bonus: no VPL!
I went to the Bloomin' Sexy HQ in Newton Abbot to try some on for size. It's worth noting that I'm a size 12 bottom and the size 10 knickers fitted perfectly, so the sizing is quite generous (they recommend sizing down if you're not sure or between sizes). My first thought was that they weren't lying about the comfort: the satin and tulle mixes in the "Vintage" bloomers I went for are divine. It's not weird to want to stroke your legs constantly, right?!? The satin panels on the inner thigh area are especially comfy.
The thing I noticed about wearing these for hours on end is.... nothing. I'm from the era of g-strings and lacy everything, so I'm used to having to manouver my underwear every so often (if you've never suffered a front wedgie, you're very lucky!). I'm quite an active performer and dance around a lot when I'm singing upbeat music and didn't have to adjust them at all; same when I took them for a long walk along the beach - the people around Abbey Sands got a good look at them too; it was windier than I'd anticipated and my circle skirt betrayed me!
This photo is from the website, but it's basically what happened...
Other than flashing the good folks of the English Riviera, I didn't think about them once. They don't ride up or down; the lace doesn't itch; despite having more fabric on my body, I ended up cooler than had my thighs been battling it out underneath my skirt. I've washed them both by hand and on a delicate cycle and they wash up lovely either way.
The Bloomin' Sexy team have done what they set out to do - create underwear that is the perfect combination of beautiful, fancy and comfortable.
Available in a range of styles and colours in sizes 8-30 from https://bloominsexy.com/
Please note: I was gifted these in exchange for this post.
