British women using the word "panties"

[JohnSmithJones]

As I've said ages ago on the forum before, I have a kink for women's underwear (not wearing it myself, but seeing it / talking about it) and this is why this subject interests me. It will not be of interest to everyone on the forum, so I apologise for that.

I'm 37 and live in England - in my life's experience, virtually all British women call their underwear "knickers" - and I find the word quite sexy. I've heard some use the words "pants" (which I don't like as it reminds me of men's underwear) or "underwear" (which I just think is a bit nondescript and uninteresting). But, the word "knickers" seems to be by far the most common.

In contrast it seems that "panties" is by far the most common term in the USA - I had an American girlfriend at one point who used the word "panties". But I get the impression that a lot of British women really don't like it, even though some British men seem to think it's sexier and so some British women in porn or erotica use it.

However, I once has a girlfriend who seemed to just use the word "panties" for her underwear. We dated when we were both graduate students, I was about 26-27 and she was a couple of years older. She was short and really quite curvy - large breasts that made men stop and look twice, and I thought a gorgeous body. She had quite a big sex drive.

The first time I heard her say it was because a pair of her knickers went missing from the university laundrette which we were forced to use (this was not something entirely unheard of). She remarked to me "They were my favourite silk panties!"

I knew the ones she meant - they were silky/satiny French knickers, dark purple with black lace trim. I really liked how they looked on her, and how it felt touching her pussy through the satin. Just the thought of her in them still turns me on.

I've never confessed in any detail about my underwear kink to a woman, so she didn't know about it - and sadly I didn't pursue the subject. I didn't really know if she called all her underwear "panties", or her word for what I would call French knickers was panties.

But I did hear her use the word at other times - regularly she would go without underwear under jeans, and a couple of times mentioned "I'm not wearing any panties." I once asked her why and she said "You don't realise how annoying it can be having a panty wedgie!"

I never knew if she used the word panties in front of me because she thought it was sexy to men - but I got the impression to her, her underwear was "her panties". I found this pretty sexy, simply because it is so unusual among British women.

I'd be interested if anyone else has met British women who non-ironically call their underwear their "panties".

[graeno]

In Australia the term is 'undies'.

[JohnSmithJones]

Yes, very rare indeed. I actually find the word "knickers" a bit sexy in general.

But I'll still have good memories of that big bouncy girl talking about her panties.

[sparrow]

Many years ago I went out for a couple of years (off and on) with a typically English girl who grew up in Devon and who only ever called them panties. Unlike you I am more into women who go without knickers, something she would never do, and I only remember her wearing standard M&S plain cotton ones.
A bit before that I was with another West country lass who spoke with a proper West country burr, and the memory of her telling me "When I wear suspenders I don't wear knickers" still causes a mild knob throb to this day, particularly as she rarely wore jeans or trousers, rarely had bare legs under her skirt and I only remember one occasion when she wore tights.
To return to the original point, in my experience the vast majority of British women call them knickers, which works for me.

[camoj]

Originally Posted by graeno

In Australia the term is 'undies'.

For boys it is, but in my experience knickers or panties are far more common for women here.

[JohnSmithJones]

Originally Posted by sparrow

Many years ago I went out for a couple of years (off and on) with a typically English girl who grew up in Devon and who only ever called them panties. Unlike you I am more into women who go without knickers, something she would never do, and I only remember her wearing standard M&S plain cotton ones.

I always love the variety of the different types of knickers different women wear. Some women are into colourful, or sexy stuff, or thongs... some just seem to stick with those standard M&S cotton ones, like the ones I think of as white cotton "frilly" knickers (frilly isn't really the right word, but kind of girly and plain).

It's also interesting how different women like or don't like to go without underwear. I've had two girlfriends who would even wear knickers under nightwear - one wore pyjamas, and one wore nighties, but they always wore knickers under them. One of those girlfriends even said to me once "I forgot to put any knickers on, and it felt weird!". It amused me how she said it, because how did she "forget" to put knickers on under her nightie?

And in contrast I had that girlfriend who would have much rather gone without knickers most of the time, if it was possible. The differences in women are sexy.

[graeno]

I've never heard any Aussie women my age (30s) refer to them as knickers or panties.

[JohnSmithJones]

Originally Posted by graeno

I've never heard any Aussie women my age (30s) refer to them as knickers or panties.

That's quite interesting - I believed that Australian women generally said "knickers", but then again I've never dated an Aussie girl, and I don't really know what is normal there.

[JohnSmithJones]

Originally Posted by tinworm

I have only ever heard my wife refer to knickers as knickers and must admit I never get bored of hearing her say it

Absolutely. I do fine "panties" a bit sexy from a British woman as I've said, because it's unusual.

But I will never get tired of hearing a woman talk about her "knickers". I used to have a girlfriend (one of the ones mentioned above) who would playfully say "What have you DONE with my knickers??" sometimes after sex, if I had passionately taken them off and she couldn't immediately find them. It's a sexy memory.

[PalmsMan]

I have lived in both the UK and US. The word knickers is more of a turn on than panties. Panties is a diminutive of pants, i.e. trousers in the US, and men's underwear in the UK. Knickers are distinctly feminine and sexy. The word makes my groin tingle a little.