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One puzzled internet user asked online: “Why do so many panties have this little bow on the front?”
The responses, as expected, provided a mix of practical history and fun ideas.
“Because they don’t have a fly? I read that the knot is meant to make it easier to tell the front from the back by touch,” shares one user.
A second writes: “Because it’s cute, it’s feminine, it evokes innocence, and it makes it easy to see the front when you’re dressing in a hurry in the dark.”
Next, the same user offers some hints about the design’s history. “What are the roots of this tradition? It goes back to the pre-elastic days, when underwear was held in place by a ribbon threaded through the eyelets in the top lace. The little bow is where you would attach this ribbon, and it’s of course placed in the front, as that’s the easiest place to do this sort of thing.”
Another cyberfan explains that underwear used to be “two separate legs held together by a string around the waist.” “You would pull the string and the legs together (hence the drawers) and tie them with a knot, so it’s a nod to that era, a symbolic gesture,” this person thinks.
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