When I began my journey with Nordstrom, my coworkers raved about the Chantelle seamless one-size underwear collection. The feedback from customers and staff alike bordered on evangelism, but with a higher price point and a one-size fits most metric, were they deserving of the praise?

In the past, I was deeply suspicious of one-size styles until I tried a now discontinued pair of b.tempt’d bikinis which were my go-to favorites. Over the following months, I peevishly resisted temptation. During the legendary Anniversary Sale, the colors flew from the fixtures with people stocking up for the entire year. Ultimately, I caved and bought hipsters, full briefs, and, to my shock, the retro thong!

Before delving into the details, I want to discuss why I choose these styles. The Chantelle seamless collection also features a French brief, a bikini, and a low rise thong. After the car accident and weight gain, my tummy never flattened below the navel even with weight loss. I also have what I affectionately call my “pooch” above the pubic line. There’s a layer of all the carbs I eat above a crease which spans from hip to hip like a broad smile. I celebrate it for what it is: a reminder I survived a nasty car accident and took ownership of my health.

The power of positive thinking aside, the pooch does cause issues with underwear rise. Low rise underwear flips into the pooch, twisting itself into an unflattering Swiss roll across my hips. And let me tell you, dear readers, that is not fun. Discreetly unrolling your underwear, especially under tights or leggings which surely should have kept them stationary, is a covert black op of embarrassing proportions. Consequently, I focused on styles with a mid to high rise. While this decision should include the French cut, I find the higher leg opening exposes part of the pooch in an unflattering way.

Are they really one size?

No, of course not! In the lingerie world, one size generally signifies the underwear covers a range of sizes because of an increased elastic content. The Chantelle seamless collection comfortably spans pant sizes 4 to 16. I wear a size 8/10, and they fit beautifully without compressing softer tissue or becoming too loose.

Do the edges show panty lines?

No! None of the styles I purchased show a line under even thinner weight fabrics. Chantelle utilizes fabric glue as opposed to traditional stitching to prevent the fabric edges from even lightly indenting skin. As a result, you can wear basic styles like the hipster or bikini without needing thongs or full coverage underwear.

The Chantelle Seamless Fabric

The fabric on these underwear is, in a word: dreamy. It’s exceptionally lightweight and smooth and feels like air against the skin. They are honestly one of the most comfortable underwear I have ever tried, and y’all know I have tried a lot in my quest to find you ALL THE GOOD THINGS. I love how the material never traps heat or chafes. The gusset features a cotton lining too, which many prefer for hygienic, absorption, and sensitivity reasons. (I am one of them but will occasionally concede for matching sets.)

The Hipsters

The hipster is a classic shape with a mid-rise and fuller back coverage. It’s the kind of crowd-pleasing style which works for almost everyone. The rise from gusset to hip is 9”, easily clearing the toothless tummy grin to rest slightly below my navel. If you have a shorter torso or are more petite, unlike moi, then this will hit higher. Try the bikini if you prefer the lower rise.

The High Waist Brief

Since my thyroid began wreaking problems many years ago, I transitioned largely to hipsters or high waist briefs, so it was unsurprising these were my favorites. With an 11” rise, the full brief completely covers the navel to offer concealment of my piercing there and rests at my natural waist. They also never move even with a lot of bending. Occasionally, if I’m wearing a loose fitting skirt or dress and perspire, the hipsters slide a little, but the briefs? Never. The rear offers the same coverage as the hipster, meaning it mostly comes down to how high you want the style to hit on your midsection.

The Retro Thong

Full disclosure: Thongs were BIG when I was in high school. This was the age of Britney and Xtina, ultra-low rise jeans, and “whale tales” where little string thongs were hitched above your pants. First, my parents would have never let me wear anything like that at 15, but even if they had, I wouldn’t. I remember buying a normal thong around that age. The first day I wore it, I spent second after agonizing second resisting the urge to fish it out of the crack of my ass. Never again, I thought as I tossed it in the trash.

However, I heard thongs, especially expensive ones unlike my cheap purchase, became more comfortable over the years as technology evolved. When I saw the Retro Thong with its 10” rise, I figured: What the hell? Worst case scenario, I can reaffirm my bias and review it here.

Imagine my surprise when the damn thing was surprisingly comfortable! I’m not going to lie. When I first put it on, I definitely feel the thong part more than I’d like, but within five minutes, it’s as comfortable as all my other underwear. Since all the Chantelle seamless styles are, well, seamless, you don’t need the thong for them to be invisible, but I like how it balances the advantages of the high waist brief with the sexiness of the thong.

If you haven’t tried the Chantelle seamless underwear collection yet, definitely do so! If the three for $48 pricing schema gives you pause, consider purchasing a sale color first. I bought my first full brief pair for $8 on the clearance rack, but even if I paid the full-price, the cost-per-wear would already be pennies.