That’s the title of a sub-chapter in one of my precious Home Economic textbooks, Fashions and Fabrics, ca. 1962. It was a brave Home Ec. teacher who went over these study questions with her class:
DO YOU KNOW HOW TO BUY UNDERPANTS?
1. What are the good and bad features of cotton, rayon, and nylon for underpants?
2. In what two different ways are underpants generally marked for size?
3. How can you tell if the elastic at the waistline is stretchy enough to allow a pair of underpants to go on and off easily?
4. What are the construction features to check when you buy underpants?
5. What are the disadvantages of trimmed underpants?
I can hear a roomful of fourteen year old girls howling with laughter, whenever I open the book to that page!
Is Home Economics taught in schools anymore? I took it in 1975, and remember it as a pleasant break from the cutthroat Junior High School world of competitive bathroom smoking. We made blueberry muffins, and put on a fashion show of our classroom-stitched pajamas. (Mine had orange Bambis all over them.)
These days I doubt the Board of Education feels that it’s important or even possible to teach girls how to dress appropriately for all occasions, set a table correctly, or bake a blueberry muffin with just the right amount of leavening.
How wrong!
A lingerie department may carry a wide selection of under-wear — from the frilly delicate kind to the strictly practical. Which is best for you?
Page Eight, Issue Three
“How To Buy Underpants”
