Are you color coordinated?

[heavybuhbuh]

Do you always make sure you underwear matches your outfit? If so, why? If not, why?

[BigT]

No. Almost all of my underwear is one color. The rest are mostly uncomfortable. Nobody ever sees my underwear, so why should I care? But, even if they did, it's color that matches everything.

[JohnnyMac]

No...if someone sees my underwear, chances are I'm not wearing the rest of my clothing any more. So how can it clash?

[twickster]

Welcome to the Boards, heavybuhbuh. I'm moving this thread to IMHO, where I think it's a better fit.

twickster, MPSIMS moderator

[norinew]

Well, speaking as a woman, there are a lot of considerations that go into choosing underwear that are more important than whether they "match" your outfit. You have to make sure the panties aren't going to show through or above your pants, for instance. If I'm wearing white cotton shorts, it might seem like I should wear white panties, but "nude" or flesh-tone are a much better selection. For my bra, I have to consider: how low-cut is my top? If I wear my most comfortable bra, and the top is low-cut, I'm going to be hiking up the top of my top all day to keep my bra from showing. Not good. If the top shows a lot of shoulder, then I have to have a bra that allows me to move the straps down lower on my shoulders without falling down all the time. Etc.

All these things are much more important than the underwear color-coordinating with my outfit!

[panache45]

The only people who see my underwear are my partner, the cats, and occasionally a doctor. None of them seem to care about its color.

[Napier]

It's whatever comes up in the rotation. "Why not?" I'm scratching around for an explanation but coming up empty handed.

[Small Hen]

Never have. Norinew is right, whether or not it shows through your clothes is far more important. The people in my life who see my underwear do not give a toss what color it is. If someone I don't know is seeing my underwear, there's a good chance both of us are drunk and also don't care.

[sinusoidal]

Daily, it is not something I worry about. I pretty much stick with cotton boyshorts in bright colors and a sensible bra in flesh tone if I'm wearing a light shirt. If I have to wear dress pants for work or something, I go with one of those seamless thongs that don't show.

But for special occasions, like a wedding or a romantic dinner, I tend to go for traditional (retro?) lingerie that goes with my outfit, unless like norinew said, it has a plunging neckline or something. There's a special bra for that. I mean, you don't go out for cocktails and steak with a handsome date at a black tie restaurant, only to have him take you back to his place and discover you are wearing cotton undies with cartoon characters on it. It's kind of a buzzkill.

[LSLGuy]

As a guy, I can't imagine thinking about what color my underwear is. The rule for dealing with that complex fashion decison is: "Whichever's on top in the drawer".

I also don't care which colors or patterns I buy. If it fits, I'm happy.

I fully understand and accept that things are more complex for the ladies who dress all female-like. Your collective efforts to brighten the world are greatly appreciated.

ETA: Cotton undies with cartoon characters might be great; depends on whether it was Power Rangers or Hello Kitty http://xkcd.com/400/

[Freudian Slit]

I've sometimes done it...accidentally.

Like, at one point in college I was hanging out with a friend and I'd sometimes be careless about keeping my legs together in a skirt or I'd just take off my pants to relax and she'd squeal, "You match!" And it was a total accident. Sometimes I still notice it happening but it's never conscious. It's more, "Hm, too nice, I'm on my period" or whatever.

[Lamia]

I have a friend who once mentioned that she does care about having her underwear match her outfit, but AFAIK she's the only person I've ever met who does care about this. We were out shopping together once and they were having a sale on panties at Victoria's Secret, and she said "Oh, I should get these, they'd match a lot of things I have." I said "What difference does that make?" and she explained that she wants everything she's wearing to coordinate. She's a little obsessive about things like having matched sets of glasses or whatever, so this is consistent with her personality.

For me and I suspect most other women, it's more what norinew said. I wouldn't wear dark colored underwear with tan slacks not because it wouldn't match but because I wouldn't want it to show through. A white bra under a white shirt may seem the logical choice, but something closer to your skin tone is better because otherwise the bra is lighter than your skin and can show through the shirt in a kind of "ghost bra" effect. Like Freudian Slit I also try to reserve my nicer underwear for the part of the month where it's not going to get blood on it, and wear older underwear during my period. But often it's just whatever's clean. I put less thought into underwear selection than any other part of my outfit, even sock color is more important.

I thought this thread was going to be about the portion of one's outfit that's visible to others. I have noticed at my current job that most of the men and some of the women wear socks and shoes that don't go with the rest of their outfit. I'm not sure if this is common the general population or if it's just because I work in a profession that is notoriously unfashionable. I'm pretty unfashionable myself, but I do make sure that things match. If anything I probably go too far in that direction (i.e. maroon sweater, black slacks, maroon socks, black shoes), while a more fashionable person might be trying out more daring color combinations.

[elfkin477]

I make an effort to keep my socks from clashing with the rest of my clothes since everyone can actually see them, but panties and bras? Not unless that day's panties happen to be a white pair that coincidentally match my almost always white bras.

[Annie]

I only coordinate to the extent that my underwear is not visible (no panty top peeking out from the waist of my pants, no 'ghost bra', etc)

[Vihaga]

I like to, but I don't try that hard, and it doesn't overly bother me if I don't. I definitely prefer to have my bra match or coordinate with my underwear, at least, but since I buy my bras and panties at different stores, this isn't always easy.


If everything's clean, I use sets that both go together and match my clothes first, but I have no problem wearing non-matching ones if no matching ones are available.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

Yes I certainly am color coordinated.

Blue jeans go with everything.

[jabiru]

Do you always make sure you underwear matches your outfit? If so, why? If not, why?

Nothing about me is colour co-ordinated. I always wear flesh coloured underwear and am still trying to figure out what colour top goes witch which skirt/trousers.

[salinqmind]

No, my underwear is for comfort only, in boring worn out beige and sorta-white. I don't buy into the Victoria's Secret overpriced matching lingerie thing any more than I buy into manicures at the nail palace, that is N.O. I do have quite the sock collection, though....

[Khadaji]

No. Men aren't really expected to and it seems like a lot of bother for something a woman wouldn't care about

[mnemosyne]

I kind of deliberately choose underwear that doesn't match, because it's more fun that way! I buy underwear with colours and patterns, in different styles, and wear whatever I feel like wearing as long as they don't show through my clothes. I also buy coloured, patterned socks. There are rules for appropriate clothing in so many places, but I figure underwear and socks are one place where you should be allowed to express yourself!

[Green Bean]

Like the others, for everyday, I pay more attention to how the underwear will work with the clothes.

For lingerie, I don't try to make it "match" per se, but I do make sure that it doesn't clash and, more importantly, that it is more or less stylistically consistent. In other words, some sets just seem really dressy and others seem to be more casual. So I'd wear the former with a dressy dress and the latter with jeans.

I have noticed at my current job that most of the men and some of the women wear socks and shoes that don't go with the rest of their outfit. I'm not sure if this is common the general population or if it's just because I work in a profession that is notoriously unfashionable. I'm pretty unfashionable myself, but I do make sure that things match. If anything I probably go too far in that direction (i.e. maroon sweater, black slacks, maroon socks, black shoes), while a more fashionable person might be trying out more daring color combinations.I hate to break it to you, but you may be more unfashionable than you think. That "match the socks and the sweater" thing went out of style in about 1988. As a general rule, your socks should match either your pants or your shoes. (Referring to work-wear only, of course.)
Welcome to the Boards, heavybuhbuh. I'm moving this thread to IMHO, where I think it's a better fit.Dude! You totally missed your opportunity to make a mildly humorous pun! Like "it's a better match" or something.

Seriously, ever since you became a mod, you have NOT been meeting your lame joke quota. If I don't see noticeable improvement in the next six weeks, I'm taking my money elsewhere!

[Nava]

Given that Playtex seems to make Cruzado Mágico only in white, light brown and dark brown and that it's among the very few underwire-less brands of bras that don't lead to uniboob, color coordinating that much would leave me very few options.

I rarely coordinate the outerwear, even. I make sure it doesn't clash, but monochromatic people (unless it's a very basic shade) generally look completely unstilish to me, it's like they're afraid to match the violet skirt and violet blouse with anything other than a violet cardigan, violet pantyhose and violet pumps...

[Lamia]

I hate to break it to you, but you may be more unfashionable than you think. That "match the socks and the sweater" thing went out of style in about 1988. As a general rule, your socks should match either your pants or your shoes. (Referring to work-wear only, of course.)Well, I would more often be wearing black socks with the outfit described. I must own at least ten pairs of black socks, several maroon tops, and only the one pair of maroon socks. But if I am wearing the maroon socks it would be with a maroon top as opposed to say a green top.

[don't ask]

No. Most of my underwear and socks are black but I don't care what I grab in the morning.

[Epimetheus]

Just barely, but only because I am married. She has this idea that if I wear a black shirt, I can't wear brown shoes. Ok dear...

Underwear though? No. She doesn't care about that, and I don't. I only get naked for her so that her opinion is all that matters to me.