Could a character's undergarment define their personality?

I know it's a rather odd question, but I have thought about it for a minute and felt it could be used for fanservice in a Slice of Life. For example, a woman in lingerie could say she's confident, comfortable in her own skin and isn't afraid to reveal some. The same could be said about a man in a speedo. A man in boxers (or "tightey-whities") could be represented as a sign of immaturity.

The main character is a 20-something Caucasian pizza delivery boy (briefs) living on his own in a studio apartment. He has an average male body type. A change of employment results in him meeting a curvy, no-nonsense administrative assistant BBW, and a sassy, camp Asian (low-rise briefs). His neighbor is a male porn star who mistook him for one of his co-stars during a delivery (commando/none).

What do you think?

• A man in his boxers in his own home could just be comfortable. It was a shock at first when I visited my male army friends, but if you wear a suit/uniform for work, the first thing you'll do is take it off. So there they are, boxers, muscle shirt. Or just shorts.

• A woman in lingere could be comfortable with her body or she doesn't want to ruin her expensive clothes.

• Many people don't feel a need to wear lots of clothes in their own home. I had an ex who was Innocent Fan Service Girl when she got off work. She was paying most of the rent, the shades were drawn and she just wanted to relax.

edited 13th Jul '13 7:40:25 PM by TairaMai

I think the price might say more than the garments themselves. Someone wearing something fairly cheap is probably more interested in comfort than fashion. Someone wearing something pricey is more interested in fashion than comfort. Someone wearing something mid-range pays attention to both comfort and fashion.

I agree with the principle. However, you're assuming comfort is inversely proportional to price and fashion, which isn't necessarily true.

@Double G: As for lingerie, it could mean a woman is confident with her body. Or it could mean she's unconfident about her body and using it as a (mental?) boost. As such, I don't think you can draw much conclusion about a character's personality or state of mind from his/her underwear.

Moreover, there may be other factors. A character just likes the feel of a certain type of underwear. Or that's just what happened to not be in the laundry at the time.

What I think you could do is incorporate the undergarment the character is wearing to help paint an overall picture. For instance, a person who is sitting at home in tattered boxers is a bit of a slob. A woman who goes on a first date wearing lingerie when she normally doesn't could be nervous/self-conscious about her appearance. And a woman who doesn't wear any underwear could be either a little promiscuous or vain and worried about visible panty lines.

P.S.: Never thought I'd see the day where I would have this conversation. Lol

edited 14th Jul '13 3:13:52 AM by peasant

Now, I assume you mean in a way that isn't at all similar to Arcade Gamer Fubuki. (If you don't get what I mean, that second paragraph on the page says it all.)

Of course a character's undergarment can say something about their personality. Black Bra and Panties is sexy, especially if it's a thong and push-up. The least sexy are the high-waisted "granny panties." In the middle there's bikini (cool), boyshort (flirty), and briefs (regular). On men boxers are always seen as more mature than briefs. White is especially immature because it's unsexy.

Now if a story is telling me what underwear everyone was wearing I would expect it to be done as a build up to everyone having sex.

Yes it is, as it would be over a person's tastes in clothes. I like choosing clothes that cover my entire arms and legs, exposing them makes me uncomfortable—like showing all of my weaknesses to the entire public.

Attention gets me extremely uncomfortable. In accord to that, I normally wear boxers since briefs...show too much.

Undergarments can say different things about people depending on their circumstances. For example Goofy Print Underwear.

• It was on sale when Bob needed underwear, and it's not like anyone was going to see it.
• Bob doesn't like doing laundry, and this is his last clean pair.
• Bob is a small child or a huge nerd and the underwear is related to his favorite show.
• It was a gift from Alice, and he plans to see her tonight.
• Bob lost a bet.
• Bob's mother dresses him funny.

If a woman's wearing fancy frilly lingerie, it's either 1) she's wearing it because it's "fun," like some kind of secret or 2) she's planning on getting some that day. It is not normal underwear for women and doesn't have much to do with "confidence." Another reason to wear a thong or especially skimpy underwear is because she was wearing clothes that would show a panty line/bra line otherwise.

It's funny that nobody mentioned any kind of shapewear or anything for women, though. People do wear that, you know.

edited 17th Jul '13 7:28:43 AM by ohsointocats

Thank you everyone for your input. How should I start writing this?