A Brief (and NSFW!) History of the Thong

Though sales of thong underwear may be down among millennials, the skimpy style is still one of the most popular pantie choices for women of all ages. A visit to any Gap Body or Victoria’s Secret—where the display tables of G-strings almost always look like a disheveled disaster zone—is probably all the proof you need of their undying appeal.

But unmentionables made from barely-there elastic strips weren’t always so ubiquitous. Read on to find out how everyday undies went from big and billowy to itty-bitty, below.

__75,000 years ago:__Loincloths were the first clothing to be worn by humans, and are the precursor to modern day underwear. However, since nobody wore them under anything else, they can’t really be called underwear.

__16th Century:__Though they look rather uncomfortable, chastity belts apparently came with a padded lining meant to prevent chafing. (Still…if you’re making the teeth-gritting emoji face looking at this picture, you’re not alone.)

1920s: Everyday undies were called “bloomers.”�They were long, straight-cut, and decorated with ruffled lace at the hem.

1939: Ahead of the World’s Fair in New York in 1939, the city’s mayor mandated that showgirls must perform covered up. To get around the ruling, they adopted G-strings.

1960s: Undergarments for men and women became sporty, comfortable, and a lot smaller.

__MORE: The History of Men’s Underwear Proves to Be Pretty Fascinating

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1970s: Sexy imagery featuring scantily clad women dominates advertising.

mid-1970s: Fashion designer Rudi Gernreich invents the first thong bikini in 1974; The next year, Helmut Lang iconically photographs models Lisa Taylor and Jerry Hall wearing the designer’s one-piece black thongs.

1992: Publicity-seeking celebs like Cher didn’t shy away from showing their bare buttocks onstage. Here, the singer exposes her tattooed cheeks at a performance in London.

1997: The beach babes of Baywatch make waves in their skimpy-backed red one-pieces.

1999: Sisqo releases the “Thong Song”, which peaks at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Some of the lyrics: “She had dumps like a truck, truck, truck/Thighs like what, what, what/All night long/Let me see that thong” (Sorry, now you’ll definitely have that song in your head for the rest of the day if you didn’t already.) Thongs quickly become the fastest-growing underwear style in the category.

__2001:__Thong mania sweeps the Western world; It Girls like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton wear super low-cut jeans that expose their thongs, even on the red carpet.

2010: Model Magdalena Frackowiak walks the runway wearing a ruffled style (and some kind of tutu hoop-skirt thing) during the 2010 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.

MORE: The World’s Most Comfortable Thongs, According to* Glamour Editors*

2013: Lady Gaga makes a scene (and channels Cher’s 1992 stage look, above) when she arrives at the Chateau Marmont in a sheer black catsuit and a G-string.

2014: Rihanna wears a shimmery nude dress and almost-invisible thong to the Met Gala in New York City, cementing the garment’s new position as acceptable formal wear.

MORE: Rihanna’s 2015 Met Gala Dress Designer Didn’t Actually Want Her to Wear It

2015: According to a recent New York Times article, U.S. thong sales are down 7 percent, but granny panties are up 17 percent. Has the thong begun its fall from grace? Only time will tell.

Toronto and LA friends! We are now stocked at @shopsoopsoop and @otherwild ????

A photo posted by @its_meandyou on Nov 16, 2015 at 11:06am PST