I have a friend (go ahead, prove that I don’t!) who found herself in this get up recently, as she was dressing for the day.

“Well, not granny panties per se,” she explained, ” just the same old high-cut cotton hipsters I’ve been buying since I was young and broke and high-waisted pants were in style. It’s not that I don’t wear anything else, but they serve a purpose: they are comfortable (especially in the summer) and I can throw them in the washer and dryer. I thought they  imparted a certain tomboy chic when I first started buying them. Of course, now that I technically could be a granny, it may be time to rethink.”

“Care to comment on the leopard bra?”

“Sure. Sometime after I turned 45, I realized that one day, if I was lucky enough, I would be an actual little old lady, and that I should grab a chance at a little va-va-voom while I could still do it with a straight face. I’m glad I did, too. Life is too short for boring underwear.”

Wait a minute, what about those granny pants?

The bra and the briefs both speak to complicated female reality:  the need to be practical and the desire to feel attractive.  The tension plays out in our heads and sometimes, under our clothes.