Granny panties are making a comeback. They’ve graced countless recent runways and magazine covers; they made an appearance on Rihanna’s world tour—and were even Miley Cyrus’s bottoms of choice on a recent trip to Good Morning America. According to a recent report by Fashionista, sales of high-rise undies have doubled in the past few years—rising from $79 million in 2010 to $197 million in 2012. From Catherine de Medici to the Marc Jacobs runway, a look back at the evolution of granny panties.
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Kate Middleton isn’t the only royal to have revolutionized the global fashion scene. In the 1500s former queen of France and avid horse rider Catherine de Medici wanted a way to comfortably ride her horses without anyone sneaking a peek up her skirt. She popularized the idea of ankle-length panties, which served as a perfect under-layer for skirts and dresses.
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Actor and model Ann South left everything to the imagination with long, lacey pantaloons in 1947.
Granny panties even made their way to the small screen. Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth matched their undies in Sex and the City, Laura Prepon dropped her drawers on That ‘70s Show, and Ellen DeGeneres gave Diane Keaton punny underwear that had phrases like “Thongs Are Wrong” and “These Ain’t Your Granny’s Panties” printed on the back.
Granny panties turned high fashion as Abbey Lee Kershaw modeled mesh-paneled high-rise undies for the spring 2010 Alexander Wang fashion show.
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Apparently high-waisted underwear can double as bottoms. Rihanna ditched real pants in favor of a pair while on tour in Spain in 2010.
Miranda Kerr wore a pair on the July 2013 cover of Vogue Korea.
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Granny panties made an appearance during the Marc Jacobs 2013 spring fashion show.
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