It’s An A-list Pant-demic! But Will The Trend Catch On In Real Life?

Big pants are back and apparently it’s not just for the A-list. Big pant/sheer dresses were all over the spring catwalks
at Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana and it’s a trend that’s tipped to still be going strong into autumn, with high-street stores such
as ASOS and Urban Outfitters getting in
on the act. Marks & Spencer – which sells
60 million pairs of knickers every year – reports that currently less than one in 10 of the knickers purchased in its stores is a thong.

Of course, once you’ve shown the world your knickers on Instagram, what’s to stop you wearing them out and about on the party circuit, beneath all those barely-there lace couture gowns? But before you file this one under ‘silly things celebrities wear’, could this look work in real life? I decided to take one for the Grazia team and give the trend a try.

Step one: before you do anything else, book yourself in for the waxing of a lifetime and a spray tan. It’s basically beach-holiday prep; you’re going to be wearing little more than a bikini.

Step two: choose your knickers.This took me some time, and here’s what I learned:

1 DO go approximately 500 per cent bigger than your everyday pants.Think Dolce & Gabbana big.

2 DON’T go for sheer, dummy.

3 DO choose full-coverage, high-waisted shorts – let’s at least knock ‘tummy’ out of this anxiety-fest.

4 DON’T choose silky camisole-style knickers – a wedgie would be a major issue. Shapewear-style stretch technology is the way to go. Try Triumph and Wolford.

5 DO double pants if that gives you streamlining confidence.

6 DON’T mismatch pants and bra.

7 DO choose a bra that’s equally low-key and full-coverage to maintain the retro screen-siren look.

8 DON’T be shy to experiment with coloured underwear under a patterned dress – just ensure it complements.

Surprise: I really like the bigger bottom look the knickers give me. Since I’m no longer 20-something like all those models, I’ll be channelling 50-year-old Italian bombshell/soon-to-be-Bond-Girl/Dolce model Monica Bellucci (rather than, say, Madonna on an Instagram bender).

Now for the dress. In transparent white mesh with only a token high neckline and a scattering of white dots to not-in-any-way cover one’s modesty/underwear, the dress is literally a dream come true.Yep, I am reliving all those weird nightmares where I turn up to work/ school/the supermarket in my underwear
(my subconscious was right all along).

I’m so freaked that the biggest issue is not underwear-flashing, but a bright red anxiety rash across my collarbones with nowhere to hide. I add some very Kim Kardashian heels, and with a deep breath, hit the streets for a walkabout. Everyone
is staring (no wonder).This is definitely
not a sophisticated look, it’s more ’90s hen party with a Gina G soundtrack. Or possibly a bit drag queen (very important: go easy on the make-up and big hair).

I’m pretty body-confident, but all I could think of was ‘thighs, thighs, thighs, thighs, thighs, thighs’.The situation isn’t helped by the fact people are backing away as if I’m on fire. I hear one rasping whisper of ‘saucy’ and flee. My big pants are certainly not feeling like a feminist statement.

Perhaps because of the sheer (hah!) awfulness of my first experience, the second dress seems like a walk in the park. Perhaps Hyde Park on the night of the Serpentine Summer Party.The dress – a catwalkesque floor-length number from French Connection – is so gorgeous, I actually start to feel chic. Obviously there’s still the visible underwear, but underneath a darker, patterned dress it’s more subtle... maybe even a little dramatic.

On the street, I feel like Sophia Loren bringing Rome to a standstill in the 1950s.There’s definitely an element – perhaps subliminally – of people recognising this as a starry, red-carpet look, and somehow treating you accordingly.

Maybe this is a look that could work for a festival, on holiday, or for some kind of summer ball (probably not a wedding).Yes, it’s cheeky, but compared to no-underwear-at-all dresses
– see: Rihanna virtually nude but for a few sparkles at the CFDA Awards last summer – a little big-knicker-flashing seems almost quaint.

Take a look at the celebrities working the trend on the red carpet in the gallery below...