The £3.20 'invisible' knickers that are flying off the shelves and make the perfect partner to a slinky party frock

By Beth Hale for the Daily Mail

Updated:



Debenhams £3.20 Invisible Knickers that hide VPL

Party must-have: The £3.20 Invisible Knickers from Debenhams have become the store's fastest selling item in the run-up to Christmas, with sales up 1800 per cent on this time last year

It used to be said that good girls wore white underwear, and bad girls wore black.

But now it seems our knickers can be any colour at all  -  as long as they're invisible.

Debenhams has reported a huge surge in sales of the garments, which are designed to eliminate visible panty line, or VPL.

The 'Invisible Knickers'  -  which come in pale pink, nude, black, white and brown  -  are so popular that they are currently outselling every other style of lingerie in the chain's 150 stores by three to one.

Sales are up by 1,800 per cent on this time last year, and have more than doubled in the last two weeks alone.

However, Debenhams is coyly refusing to say exactly how many pairs it has sold.

It did reveal that on Saturday, the only items doing brisker business were crackers and Christmas cards.

And while the knickers might not make the most diplomatic present  -  after all, who wants to be told that their underwear is on show?  -  they are definitely the perfect partner to a slinky party frock.

The knickers, which have been reduced from £4 to £3.20 a pair, are intended to fit like a second skin, allowing the dress to flow across the body without any interruptions.

Traditional cotton underwear is kept in place by double hemming around the waist and leg, with the fabric folded over a band of elastic.

But Debenhams' Invisible Knickers are made from a specially-constructed stretchy polyester, and the fabric is cut with a laser to ensure that the edges are sealed.

This means that women get a seam-free look without risking the potential for squirming discomfort inherent in wearing a thong.

Once regarded as the poor relation of the underwear world, invisible knickers and other types of 'shapewear' have had something of a renaissance recently.

Most high street retailers now offer a range which promises to banish VPL.

Debenham's head of lingerie Annette Warburton said: 'Women all over Britain seem to have decided that this year will finally mark the end of the Visible Panty Line.

'Men may have regarded a VPL as attractive, but for women it has been a tiresome plague.

Spending a lot of money on a beautiful designer dress, only to have everyone paying more attention to the outline of your knickers, is always a bitter disappointment.

'Invisible Knickers may not stop men asking themselves, "Is she or isn't she?" but from now on, none of them will have the slightest idea of what the answer really is.'

At the moment, Debenhams' new laser-cutting technology is being used solely for womenswear - but men could eventually benefit too.

Mrs Warburton said: 'The increasing fashion for tight trousers  -  especially the slinky suits used by the contestants in BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing  -  is making men more conscious of their own VPLs.

'Few men who want to cut a dash on the dance floor will feel comfortable displaying the prominent outline of a pair of baggy underpants beneath their tight, carefully tailored suits.'


'Comfortable, respectable... and cheap'

Reporter Laura Stott, 29, put Debenhams' Invisible Knickers to the test for the Mail. She said: 'The pants are very light and comfortable to wear.

'But the best thing about them is their simplicity. They don't look like the most attractive pair of pants in the drawer but they do what they say on the packaging. I don't have to worry about dreaded VPL.'

She added: 'Costing less than a fiver, these pants deliver exactly what women want at this time of year - underwear that's comfortable to wear to the office in the day but that won't leave you with those telltale knicker lines if you change into a tight dress for post-work Christmas drinks.

'They easily out-perform designer brands that can cost ten times as much.

'As an added bonus, the simple design also means they are respectable enough to wear in a communal changing room without dying of shame.'

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The £3.20 'invisible' knickers that are flying off the shelves and make the perfect partner to a slinky party frock

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