Panties

Buying panties on their own means you pick the size and you pick the pair. Almost nobody is the same size top and bottom, so a matched set makes you choose which half gets to fit. A set also only comes with whatever bottom the brand decided to put with that bra, which is not always the one you wanted.

Crotchless and open styles are worth understanding before you buy your first pair. The opening is finished rather than cut: the lace or satin is bound and edged so it holds its shape instead of fraying or rolling, and on pearl styles a strand of beads runs through the gap where fabric would be. Nothing has to come off, which is the entire point.

Stretch lace, mesh and satin do the fitting for you, so buy the size you normally wear and skip the measuring. If you are between sizes, take the larger of the two and you get room to move instead of a pair you stop reaching for.

Grouped by cut, with the rest of each one next door.

• Crotchless and open styles: cut open and finished at the opening, in lace, satin and mesh. Ask for these by name and you get a hundred different openings, so the photos matter more than the title does.
• Pearl styles: a strand of beads running through the opening instead of fabric. Reactions to these are split, and that is worth knowing before you order rather than after.
• Thongs and G-strings: the least coverage and the least visible under anything. G-strings take it further, down to a string at the hip rather than a panel.
• Briefs, bikinis and tangas: real coverage at the back, with the tanga sitting between a bikini and a thong. What people actually wear when nobody is being impressed.
• Boyshorts: full coverage cut straight across the leg. The most comfortable shape of the lot and the one that stays on longest.
• Slogan and print styles: text and graphics printed or appliqued on mesh. Bought as a joke and worn more than the buyer expects.
• Pasties: the top half of the same idea. Pasties and a pair of panties is the whole outfit, and nobody forgets it.
• Bra and panty sets: the matched version, where the top and the bottom are decided together. Easier to buy as a gift and easier to photograph.
• Garter belts: what goes over the top of a pair, and what holds the stockings up.
• Stockings and fishnets: the rest of the lower half, and what most of these are shot with.
• Teddies: one piece, fastened between the legs, if separates are not the answer.
• Rave and festival bottoms: the sequin and holographic end, built to be seen rather than to sit underneath.
• Plus size lingerie: extended sizing, on its own page so the fits are easier to find.
• All lingerie: the full range, top half included.