Women's Cheeky (Panties)

Coverage drops to about half of each seat cheek on a cheeky panty, leaving the lower curve bare while the top and sides stay covered. It sits between a bikini and a thong on the coverage scale, closer to a thong in how little fabric crosses the back.

A bikini covers the seat fully and cuts away only at the sides, so the change from a bikini to a cheeky happens entirely at the back panel. A thong removes that back panel almost completely, down to a narrow strip, while a cheeky still leaves real fabric there. Boyshorts sit at the opposite end, adding a leg down the thigh instead of removing coverage at all. Set against those three, a cheeky is built specifically to show less line under close-fitting clothes without going as far as a thong.

Under leggings, fitted skirts and low-back trousers, a cheeky prints a much shorter line than a full-seat brief, which is the reason most people buy one. The honest weakness is motion. Because the back panel is cut small and often angled, it can ride up over the course of a day, especially walking, sitting for long stretches or exercising, on bodies where there is less seat for the fabric to hold onto. A wider back panel rides less than a narrow one, so a pair that has crept before will keep creeping in the same cut.

Fit runs on hip measurement, not on the dress size printed on other clothes, and this shape is less forgiving of a guess than a full-coverage brief is, since there is less fabric to begin with to absorb the error. Measure the fullest part of your hips against the maker's own chart, and size up rather than down if you land between two, because a cheeky already sits at the edge of what a back panel can hold in place.

Turn a pair inside out and look for a cotton gusset, the separate panel sewn into the crotch, running the full width regardless of the shell fabric. Cotton takes up moisture where a smooth synthetic holds it against skin, and damp fabric against skin for hours raises the chance of irritation, which is the real reason a cotton gusset shows up on nearly every pair sold. Elastic finished inside a covered casing sits better against the curve of the seat than elastic stitched on top of the fabric. Wash cold and keep these out of a hot dryer, since a back panel that has gone soft rides up from the first wear onward.