Hanky Panky's 4811 Thong, $16

A front page article by Gwendolyn Bounds in The Wall Street Journal today reports that Hanky Panky's 4811 thong, which sets a new standard for comfort, can be found on the backsides of celebrities such as Cindy Crawford and Julianne Moore.

Excerpts from Gwendolyn Bounds' article:

For the last decade and a half, a little-known company called Hanky Panky has thrived making a $16 lace thong known simply by its style number, 4811. In the cutthroat world of lingerie sales, that is no small thing.

What gives? Well, the undergarment itself does. "It's really, really soft and super-stretchy, so it doesn't dig into you like all the other brands," [Christy Horton of Trousseau in Chicago] says.

...

"It's like lace butter," says Joni Wheat, a 33-year-old personal shopper in Chicago.

...

Based in a Manhattan loft, Hanky Panky is led by its two 57-year-old founders, Gale Epstein and Lida Orzeck. Friends from their college days in the 1960s, the two teamed up as business partners in the late '70s after Ms. Epstein gave Ms. Orzeck a panty and bra set she designed using handkerchiefs as a 30th-birthday present.

[P]ersnickety fashion publications also have opined on the curious comfort of various Hanky Panky thongs: "My favorite!" said one test-driver of 4811 for In Style's February 2002 issue. "The Hanky Panky thong revolutionized the thong market," says Hope Greenberg, fashion director for Lucky magazine, which commends the 4811 in its current (June) issue. "They did an amazing thing by creating a thong that looks really pretty and is amazingly comfortable."

Ms. Epstein not long ago returned to the drawing board to whip up a new low-rise thong to wear with the hip-hugging pants now in vogue. "It wasn't a matter of just lowering the garment," she explains patiently. "You had to make it wider in the hips, and it had to not shift to the front or back."

The 4911 Low Rise Thong, $16

After trying on endless samples in the office with her low-rise jeans, readjusting the depth of the band's V, and slimming down the front and back triangles until the garment shed one-eighth of an ounce, she finally got the new thong to fit. Its style number is 4911.

I have not tried the Hanky Panky thong before. However, I have ordered a number of pair today on Amazon. Be prepared for a bit of a wait, as most colors are backordered and won't ship until June 26th.

Amazon offers the 4811 and the 4911 (What emergency is this for?) in the following colors: Black, White, Beige, Cornflower, Honey, Peach, Peony, RedRouge and Taupe. Both the 4811 and 4911, which are both offered for $16, come in one size.

One Amazon customer writes about the 4811: "I rate it five stars, but really it should be 500. These are AMAZING. I'd always hated thongs, but these are so soft, stretchy, sexy and so very well cut I changed my mind. (They machine wash too.) You'll love them - buy several!"

Until today, my favorite thong -- which sounds quite similar -- has been made by Prima Donna. I bought it last summer on my way to a wedding in Sweden.

Thank you Gale Epstein and Lida Orzeck. I look forward to receiving my order of 4811s.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful (and sexy -- with no panty lines) living!

Inspire & Be Inspired.

~Jennifer King