"Going from revealing to less revealing can be novel and exciting, and that will probably happen with the thong," she said. "Less revealing, more withholding, could now be seen as more erotic."
Certainly, American clothing designers are now embracing a more modest look, their focus shifting from low-slung jeans and exposed midriffs to high-waisted trousers and cardigans.
Dressing is looser and easier, less evocative of Super Bowl wardrobe malfunctions than it is of the Dust Bowl era. And the shift on the outside clearly influences what one wears on the inside, said Colette L. Wong, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology who teaches a class in the history of undergarments.
"Everything used to be skintight, contoured to the body, made of spandex, and now it is moving away from the body," Wong said. "If you're wearing a soft drapey pant that is loose and flowing, you may not want a thong. A boy short would be perfect, or something even softer."
At fashion shows in New York last week, a few designers showed underpants as part of streetwear collections. At Angelrox, models wore boy shorts with ruffles in the shape of angel wings. The panties, worn underneath flowing skirts or dresses, formed subtle shadows in the shapes of angels' wings on the models' behinds.
Steve Colbert, dreadlocked and wearing a crocheted cap, was covering the show for Floss magazine and sipping from a cup filled with Champagne.
"Love those panties," Colbert said enthusiastically during the program. "I like something that covers a bit more than a thong does. I'm just so over the thong. And everybody wears it. And not everybody should wear it, do you know what I'm saying?"
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