I had an idea for a short piece of AU fiction and since I haven't been doing captions recently I had a go at it.
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Now you may think that men have always worn pink, frilly panties but that's not always been the case. Sure, it's not an unusual sight in the modern day to see a man walking down the high street with a smart shirt on, maybe a t-shirt in the warmer weather and a pair of pink, frilly panties atop his smooth, bare legs and some smart shoes or trainers. It's so average you may wonder why I'm describing it to you. In fact, men used to favour hairy legs until film star Rex Hall shaved his while on holiday in 1965 and set a trend for the Hollywood elite and indeed the rest of the world. Nowadays men shaving and waxing their legs is par for the course but what if it wasn't always so? What about a time when a man would never be caught dead in a pair of panties?
I'm getting ahead of myself though, this trend started in 1789 when King George III decided to wear a pair of pink, frilly panties suggested to him by one of the serving girls. He was so taken with this new fashion idea that he decided to wear them everywhere. He insisted the young princes do the same and encouraged others in his entourage to do so. It caused quite a scandal in London but slowly more men adopted the look in deference to the King and to honour him. In fact he was always quite the trendsetter so many would follow his advice on what was the latest thing. That summer proved particularly hot and many were glad of the option to ditch their itchy breeches. However when winter rolled around many were willing to step back into their breeches except they found it tougher than expected. For some reason they now felt uncomfortable with their legs encased in such a way. It was stifling and itchy feeling that material brush up against your legs. Why would anyone want to do that when you could feel the breeze on your legs if you continued wearing your panties? It seems like such an obvious idea to us now.
Over two hundred years later and trousers are barely considered as an option for men in the modern day. As times moved on many expeditions and explorations to the wildest areas of our planet and beyond were taken up by women instead of men as trousers were needed and men simply refused to go anywhere that they were unable to wear their panties to. If there was a risk of injury then trousers were the reasonable choice and if they were then men were simply not interested in doing it as it meant a certain level of pain although some were determined to manage it. Despite these pioneers, it was decided that all female teams were better suited to the task while men should stay behind in more admin and logistical roles where they could wear panties in reasonable comfort. In the modern day some men still try wearing trousers as a protest or because they prefer to crossdress. Some cosplaying males dressing as their favourite female characters reported feeling little discomfort in skirts, tights or some more feminine trousers. Some say that leaning into more feminine things lessens the discomfort for them but there is little scientific evidence at the present time to back up this theory. For a short time dresses and skirts where sold to men as an alternative but attitudes were still so rigid that many felt embarrassed in such obviously feminine garments that they soon reverted back to pink panties.
There was some advancement though as men used many embellishments to their panties to make them stand out such as as patterns, slogans or adding extra ruffles, buttons or bows to them. Members of the military often preferred adding an extra ruffle whenever they were promoted and the practice soon became expected. The highest ranking officers always have the frilliest panties. There have also been trends for different coloured panties but pink has always been the default for men. Indeed a harsh green or blue set have often been linked to anti social behaviour such as gang wars. The first thing many back to work schemes will advise unemployed men to do is make sure that they have a decent pair of pink panties to attend their latest job interview in.
Despite being such a ubiquitous garment some conspiracy theories have shot up about it. One of the wildest ones is about a witch, Willa Mean, living in the 1960s, 70s or 80s. Many details change depending on who is telling the story but some remain the same. Sometimes Willa lives in a New York apartment, sometimes a house in London, a hut in the desert or various other locations. One of the main threads of the legend though is that one day Willa woke up after a one night stand wearing a pair of pink panties and the man she was with made fun of them (the reason why is lost to time as they were just a pair of normal panties) and loved to smack her on the bottom. They say that this ridicule fuelled her vengeance so much that her magic, so full of vengeance, changed reality itself and made pink panties required wearing for men the world over. This also has been linked to why a common courtship ritual is for a woman to smack a man on the bottom to indicate her interest although this practice largely died out in the early 21st century due to protests from men's rights groups. Some men however have dismissed the idea that this is somehow sexist and simply a way for people to express their interest in each other with many citing that it's how their parents or grandparents first met. In fact I consider myself a progressive person but there is no doubt that when I was slapped on my bum in the pub just last week it made me feel wanted rather than objectified.
There is also the growing social media trend many think has been inspired by this theory that has led to young women posting pictures of their latest male conquest's panties all over their feeds. Many times they've taken them while the man is still asleep or in the bathroom and used them in a variety of poses including twirling them round their heads, hanging them on door knobs or bed posts or even wearing them. In 2023 one notorious con man was even caught when his distinctive pink panties with a purple swirl on were recognised by his previous victims when he had a one night stand with his latest girl.
There have been subscribers to this theory in the past that have tried to track down Willa. The descriptions come in a variety of shapes and sizes from a frail lady in her 80s to a voluptuous lady in her 30s yet they all note the raven hair and piercing blue eyes. I couldn't resist following up on these reports when I noticed that the house Willa was alleged to live in was quite close to me. Only a short train ride away. I approached the block with some trepidation and waited for my chance to enter. I slipped upstairs and found Flat 89. I was sweating when I knocked on the door. It was answered by a dark haired teenage girl with the same blue eyes which had been reported. I was quite taken aback as I hadn't expected anyone like the person I had read about. She was friendly enough and invited me in to 'check for witches'. Cynthia, as she called herself, said she leased the flat while she was studying at university but wasn't sure who from as she had never met the owner in person and communicated only by email. The owner was Miss Mean so perhaps that was where the confusion arose. Cynthia complimented me on my panties and I was pleased she noticed as I had only bought them a few weeks ago due to the cute ruffles on the legs. She also noticed my bracelet; a line of pink hearts with 'CUTE' written on both sides. At that moment I was unable to recall where I bought it but Cynthia knew it was an old symbol of masculinity. Queen Victoria gifted them to the bravest soldiers in the Crimean War in 1855 but it later became a symbol of honour which many men were proud to display. I wasn't quite sure how I had forgotten that. Nerves I suppose. I said goodbye to Cynthia having been satisfied that at least this part of the Willa Mean legend was just hokum.
Sometimes we shouldn't try to explain away these historical customs and just accept they are there for our own good.
