Tucking It In and Up

Fashion-minded chocaholics take heart. An occasional trip to the candy store need not rule out the tube skirt. An old friend--with a new look--is back.

Known as a lightweight “briefer,” the latest trend in underwear is a far cry from the long-legged panty girdle that once allowed ample women to pour themselves into knit suits.

“Women today are so weight conscious, so much firmer because of aerobics and all the exercise,” said Shirley Carter, manager of the Monique lingerie shop in Encino. “But even exercisers might show a bit of tummy in the new tight skirts.”

For $12 to $15.50, briefers like Vassarette’s “Second Glance” and Warner’s “The End” offer women “a little help,” said Monique owner Maryke Degraff. “They flatten the tummy and lift the derriere,” she said, and the lace trim and sexy French-cut legs are in no way reminiscent of the armor-plated girdles of the 1950s.

There are other differences between the pre-liberation styles and today’s briefer: “In the ‘60s and ‘70s, the natural look (was a reaction) to the old pointy bras and the hard, slack look of girdles,” Carter said. Today’s fashions demand the control of a girdle-like garment without the look of one.

Which doesn’t eliminate the panty girdle entirely. The $22 Vassarette model Monique carries continues to sell to two groups--older women who have always worn them, said Degraff, and women recovering from liposuction, or the surgical removal of fat.

For other, fashion-conscious women, the briefer is de rigueur --along with regular trips to the gym.