By Bootie Bay
I bought my first piece of lingerie during the beginning of the pandemic. Back in the days of Tumblr I would occasionally see male bodied people wearing lace and other items usually associated with femininity and lingerie. I always thought it looked so good on them and was curious about how I would feel in it. My first piece was a green lace Brazilian panty from Body Aware actually. I still have it. It was my first time wearing something with lace and I quickly fell in love with it and wanted to explore more including bras and stockings etc.
How My Style Has Evolved
Lingerie has become much more prevalent in my life since trying it out for the first time. Back then I had a few pairs of lace or otherwise feminine underwear but it wasn't until later that I would completely switch out my collection of “boy” undies for panties. I have a combination of ones made with room in a pouch as well as those made with a flat front. Now I wear panties or something lace and “feminine” every day and occasionally will wear a matching bra through the day too.
What I Love Wearing (and Why)
Without question lace is my favorite material to wear. It feels so soft and comfortable and incredibly sexy. I like lace in pretty much any silhouette but do usually lean towards a cheeky bikini fit or a thong style. Anything that isn't too full coverage on the backside. I also love it when I can have a set that matches panty and bra. When I wear this type of underwear it never has anything to do with masculinity or femininity for me. It just feels like the right kind of style and material that I am comfortable and feel good in. I strongly believe that fabric and clothing have no gender and anyone should be able to wear whatever they want to.
I wear panties daily with bras sometimes for daily wear. I will wear a full lingerie look including stockings or a garter belt etc. on special occasions, however just a bra and panty can be worn any day because it just feels like good daily underwear for myself. My underwear collection is pretty large and I could easily make it several months without having to do laundry, but the vast majority of it, about 95%, is something that could fall under the lingerie category.
Who Knows and How Open I Am
I am pretty open about it in my life. Pretty much everyone except for my family knows about it. I have even added it to any dating profile I have, including a picture of myself in it because it is a part of me that I won't be giving up if someone doesn't have any interest in it. All my friends know and are very supportive of it. I have even gotten some of my friends to try some things out for themselves. I've also made several friends through Instagram by sharing my love for it online.
Connecting With My Feminine Side
Like I said earlier, I don't typically equate lingerie with femininity or masculinity. However, I do like the option to feel a little more feminine when I want that to be the experience. In my daily wear it doesn't have a strong effect on this personally, but I can use it in a way to feel however I want to in a given situation.
Why I Stepped Away From Traditional Men’s Underwear
Honestly, most traditional “men's” underwear is just boring to me. Before getting into lingerie and panties, I wore almost exclusively thongs. I still love thongs, but would much rather them be made with lace, or satin, or something more fun and sexy and cute than a typical thong. Similarly with fits like briefs or trunks, I would much rather them be made of a cuter material and usually in cuts that aren't usually too common in “men's” underwear like a cheeky bikini. Now there are more options of styles made, but I still prefer the lingerie styles and materials.
Advice for the Curious
I always feel like a let down with this because my “advice” is always just buy something and try it. That's what I did when I was initially interested. There is something to be said about buying lingerie that is designed to fit male bodied people versus female bodied people. My first piece was made to fit my anatomy, which helped the initial exploration of the materials and different styles. However, I do have several pieces that are not designed for my anatomy, which is then a little more difficult when deciding. It is all an exploratory journey and should be fun.
Confidence, Expression, and Owning It
It has done wonders for my confidence. It came about around the time that I was getting comfortable with my body in settings like nude beaches. That is what I usually claim as my origin story of my confidence and self expression. Finding lingerie as an extension of feeling good about myself has continued and still continues to change as I continue to change. At the end of the day it still feels fun and sexy and right to me so I will continue until that changes, if it ever does.
What XDress Means to Me
XDress allowed me to explore without the question of comfort and fit. This was the first company I had ever found making the types of underwear I wanted to wear designed to fit me comfortably. I have quite an extensive collection because I always knew I would like the fits and materials that were used. I have continued to find other designers and companies that provide similar experiences, as well as the standards that make it for female bodied people. I wouldn't have nearly as extensive of a collection without XDress.
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