What did petticoats do to young women?

Research shows that biker shorts have replaced the traditional petticoat, once an emblem of femininity and all things fashionable.

Also known as half-slips, they are undergarments meant to not only enhance a fabric’s smartness on one’s body, but also provide modesty in case the fabric is transparent.

Half-slips have, however, largely fallen out of fashion. It is safe to say that only older women wear them today, as the rest of us opt for bikers or body shapers such as Skims, to the chagrin of our older sisters and mothers.

Ideally, biker shorts were meant for riding bicycles, gym workouts and general sport. Today, they are essential in almost every modern woman’s wardrobe; so popular are bikers among urban women that they are even worn on their own, styled with baggy T-shirts, crop tops or jackets.

Internet research indicates that bikers first became a thing in the late 1980s in a bid for women to protect themselves against rape, by making the undressing process harder for an intending rapist. But now, beyond protection, bikers are preferred for their comfort and convenience, not to mention their ability to do some of the work a half-slip would do.

“I have never used half-slips, but most people say they get uncomfortable especially for plus-size people. I hear, their thighs rub and burn due to friction; bikers reduce that,” one young woman who swears by bikers as underwear, told The Observer.

Plus-size women who have difficulty finding fitting underwear, but also want to protect their inner thighs from rubbing against each other and darkening, have found bikers ideal for keeping their legs even-coloured and smooth.

Women that The Observer talked to said they prefer bikers because unlike half-slips, they can even be worn under trousers to enhance one’s shape and contouring.

“I feel like there is really no point of wearing a half-slip under a dress, because bikers protect more since half-slips are basically just like the dress. Also, in case of a gust of wind or one sitting on a boda boda, bikers are better. Bikers are also sexy, since there are those that are also body shapers,” another young woman shared.

Some believe that half-slips and bikers serve different purposes and one should not be a direct replacement for the other. Tino Gloria, an attendant at Woolworths, said that much as she is a young person herself and prefers bikers to half-slips, she does still wear half-slips when she is wearing long, see-through dresses.

Because, for a petit woman with thin legs, bikers will not improve the appearance of a see-through dress. Well, see-through dresses worn without half-slips or bikers seem to be the in-thing in high fashion now, but that is a story for another day!

From the men’s perspectives, some don’t mind women wearing half-slips or bikers, but others said they find half-slips unsexy and would prefer to date women that do not wear them.

“If we were about to do ‘the act’ and I found the girl wearing a half-slip, I would not proceed; it is a turn-off and it also shows that she is not civilized,” a university student said.

Contrary to this view, though, some men said they would describe women that wear half-slips as decent. A visit to Woolworths at Acacia mall revealed that the store, which a couple of years ago had beautiful half-slips in stock, now sells only biker shorts and body shapers.

“If we stock them, who will buy them? We only stock what we know will be bought,” said Tino Gloria. She said they stopped stocking half-slips because they were not being bought.

Asked what age groups bought the biker shorts, Tino said she had noticed young women ages 17 to 35 bought most of them. Biker shorts also went up in popularity with the whole fuss about nyash (big backsides).

One can buy bikers padded to enhance one’s buttocks once worn, which cannot be done with a half slip. However, data shows that bikers can have a health risk; since they are tight, wearing them for long periods can cause yeast infections and related problems, considering that many young women wear them without panties.