Plus size underwear that stays put: bamboo boxers to UK 30

Plus size knickers that stay put: bamboo boxers to UK 30

Plus size underwear and knickers in UK 16 to 30, cut as boxers with a 6 inch leg that reaches past where thighs touch. The leg opening is graded separately from the waist, so a 28 gets a leg that fits a 28 rather than a stretched 18, and every size is £20. One in three pairs we sell is a UK 20 or above.

Call them plus size knickers, underwear for larger ladies or bigger ladies, plus size panties or plus size ladies boxer shorts. It is the same pair, and the inseam is what matters.

Plus size underwear cut for the size, not scaled up

Most underwear is drafted on one sample size and graded outwards from it, which is where a waistband that digs and a leg that rolls into a rope usually come from: the larger the size, the further the pattern is from the body it was drawn on. We grade the leg opening separately from the waist, so the band that holds the leg in place is sized for the thigh it sits on rather than stretched to reach it. That is the single difference that decides whether the leg stays where you put it at a 26 or a 30.

The waistband is wide and mid-rise, with a flat front seam and no seams at the back or sides. The fabric is 95% Tanboocel bamboo viscose with 5% elastane, a fine open knit that lets air through and carries moisture away rather than holding it against you. That matters more, not less, the more skin is in contact.

Every size from UK 8 to 30 is £20 a pair. Packs bring the price down, to £12.50 a pair in a 10 pack, and the pack price is the same whatever size you are. If you searched for plus size knickers multipacks, the pack builder lets you mix colours and lengths in a single order. Dyes are tested to OEKO-TEX Standard 100, the packaging is plastic-free and compostable, and there are two of us, in Derbyshire, reading every review.

Plus size women's boxers, not knickers with more fabric

A brief, however well it is cut, stops between 2 and 4 inches down the thigh. On most bodies above a UK 16, thighs touch below that line, and by mid-afternoon the skin there is raw. The fix is not a softer brief; it is a leg that reaches past the point of contact. Ours is 6 inches, mid-thigh, with a flat front seam and no seams at the back or sides, so there is nothing to catch under a dress or press into the skin while you walk.

The 6 inch is the everyday choice and comes in every colour and every size to a 30. It is discreet under shorter skirts and dresses and it is the one we would start with. The 9 inch sits just above the knee and is stocked in black and pine green, also to a 30. Among our size 28 to 30 customers last year, just over half chose it, so it is there if you want the extra coverage; the 6 inch is the safer first pair.

If you arrived here looking for anti chafing shorts in plus sizes, the chub rub shorts page covers the mechanics of why the leg length is the specification that matters. The pair is the same one.

Where the waistband sits, and what it does not do

The band is wide, soft and mid-rise, which means it sits below the navel rather than over the tummy. There is nothing cutting in and nothing to roll down, and customers who carry their weight at the front tell us that is exactly why they chose it.

If what you want is a band that comes up over the tummy and holds it, that is a high-waisted brief or shapewear, and Yours Clothing and Big Bloomers both do that well. We do not make one, and we would rather say so here than after you have ordered.

Fit note for sizes 20 and above: buy your normal UK dress size, and if you are between sizes, size up. These work through full skin contact, so a tighter fit undermines the point. The first size swap is free, and 93% of our reviews are four or five stars, most of them written after the second wash.