# Women, explain this "going commando" thing to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941 "2012-12-13T18:06:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/1 "2012-12-13T18:06:30Z")
Another celebrity has been photographed flashing her lady parts. (Anne Hathaway if you’re keeping score.) She was at a film premiere, wearing a fancy dress with no underwear, and when she got out of the limo, the cameras caught a picture that will be appearing in issues of Celebrity Skin for the next ten years. So how does this kind of thing keep happening? Some reports are saying “wardrobe malfunction” but this wasn’t a strap breaking or a seam splitting. Her panties didn’t malfunction - they would presumably have worked just fine if she hadn’t left them back home. Stars must know that when they go to a major publicity event, there are going to be photographers there waiting for them to get out of their ride. And any shots that are taken will be published. Now I’ll admit we men have our faults but at least we almost always wear underwear when we’re out in public. So could one of you women explain to a clueless guy how this keeps happening? I have three theories: 1. It’s a fashion thing. Women in fancy dress don’t wear underwear because it affects the way the outer clothing looks. So women just skip their underwear and hope for the best. 2. It’s a psychological thing. Women enjoy going around in public without their underwear. But they don’t intend to go public with this choice. 3. It’s a publicity thing. There’s no such thing as accidental exposure. These women know they’re going to end up flashing the cameras and they do it deliberately because they know it’ll get them media attention. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/2 "2012-12-13T18:11:57Z")
No we men don’t always wear underwear out in public. I never do. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/3 "2012-12-13T18:15:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Another celebrity has been photographed flashing her lady parts. (Anne Hathaway if you’re keeping score.) She was at a film premiere, wearing a fancy dress with no underwear, and when she got out of the limo, the cameras caught a picture that will be appearing in issues of Celebrity Skin for the next ten years. Hathaway was wearing panties in the photo. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/4 "2012-12-13T18:15:50Z")
The first thing I thought of was the avoidance of panty lines. If a dress is tight or made out of thin material, underwear can cause a visible line on the outer garment. Even a thong or a G-string can show through. Easiest way to avoid it? No underwear at all. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/5 "2012-12-13T18:16:28Z")
From what several women have told me, it’s A. It seems that there are some dresses/skirts that no matter how skimpy, or “line free” the panties/thong/whatever claim to be, an underwear line will still show and THAT. IS. BAD. But really, any worse than flashing your hoo-ha?\* \*I saw the photos, and sadly, there’s no actual hoo-ha to be found, just a bit of bush. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/6 "2012-12-13T18:18:21Z")
my wife never wears underwear. However, she’s careful not to expose herself in public. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/7 "2012-12-13T18:18:23Z")
The first. Some dresses are completely unforgiving, and any underwear will produce the dreaded Visible Panty Lines (VPLs). Hathaway is a pretty right-on woman, and in her interview with Matt Lauer she handles the incident well, with none of the “tee-hee ain’t I naughty” that you’d expect from certain other celebs: [http://todayentertainment.today.com/\_news/2012/12/12/15862942-anne-hathaway-les-miserables-premiere-wardrobe-malfunction-an-unfortunate-incident?lite](http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/12/12/15862942-anne-hathaway-les-miserables-premiere-wardrobe-malfunction-an-unfortunate-incident?lite) ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/8 "2012-12-13T18:48:53Z")
I think flashing your bare private parts is worse than a Visible Panty Line. Can’t understand why anyone in the public eye would take that chance. ---
**Author:** ![Vita\_Beata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@Vita\_Beata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vita_Beata)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/9 "2012-12-13T18:53:48Z")
Living in a cold climate, I have no idea what it’s about. I’ll just read for further enlightenment. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/10 "2012-12-13T19:20:30Z")
Perhaps the lady commando could perform the derriere-swivel move to exit the limo, keeping both knees together and landing with both feet on the ground. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/11 "2012-12-13T19:31:12Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > I think flashing your bare private parts is worse than a Visible Panty Line. Can’t understand why anyone in the public eye would take that chance. The chances of flashing are pretty low. However, in some outfits, the chance of VPL is 100%. Actresses and other celebs are very careful to dress in the most extreme fashions…some of which are pretty unforgiving. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/12 "2012-12-13T19:33:11Z")
Hey guess what guys don’t really care about? Panty lines. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/13 "2012-12-13T19:35:57Z")
Guess what some women care about? Panty lines. Women don’t dress exclusively for men or for sex appeal. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/14 "2012-12-13T19:43:56Z")
it’s healthy to get outside every once in a while and get a little air. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/15 "2012-12-13T19:55:03Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > Guess what some women care about? Panty lines. Women don’t dress exclusively for men or for sex appeal. Yes, but see, among your own tribe you have elevated VPL to a mortal sin, rather than an “oh, bother” annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/16 "2012-12-13T19:57:14Z")
VPLs were a punch line in a Woody Allen movie nearly 30 years ago. I didn’t think anyone still cared. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/17 "2012-12-13T20:03:20Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Yes, but see, among your own tribe you have elevated VPL to a mortal sin, rather than an “oh, bother” annoyance. I’m not a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/18 "2012-12-13T20:05:40Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > it’s healthy to get outside every once in a while and get a little air. I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/19 "2012-12-13T20:11:50Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > VPLs were a punch line in a Woody Allen movie nearly 30 years ago. I didn’t think anyone still cared. They’re why thong underwear exists. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941/20 "2012-12-13T20:18:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Hathaway was wearing panties in the photo. Er… she was? Doesn’t look like it to me. Was hearing the radio jocks talk about it this morning; first reason that popped in my mind was to avoid panty lines that show up with those sheer types of dresses. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-explain-this-going-commando-thing-to-me/643941.md?page=2)