Help me buy this underwear from Turkey (or something similar in the US)

January 5, 2016 11:55 AM

Once upon a time, I went to a Turkish bath in Istanbul where they gave out free women's underwear. I *love* this underwear and got 10 more pairs like it for 1 euro each at the bath before I left. It's the only underwear I've ever had that fully covered my butt, stayed there all day, and didn't dig into my sides. It's made by the Turkish brand Belinay. Can you help me get more like it?

The underwear I have is plain black with elastic around the waist and, crucially, both leg holes. Label says "LÜKS Belinay," size M, "made in Turkey, %90 Viscon %10 Lycra."

Belinay's website has lots of underwear I like, including model numbers 0206 and 0261, both of which look like the ones I have. But I don't see any way to order it.

1) Can anyone figure out how to order this underwear from Belinay, either from their website or elsewhere?

2) Is there underwear like this available in the US? for less than $5/pair, ideally more like $2/pair? maybe even with fun prints and colors?

Key aspects are:
- elastics around the leg holes
- full butt coverage (examples of coverage that is too high, still too high, too low, and the elusive just right)
- sides about 2-3 inches high so that the elastic sits about 2 inches below my belly button (examples of sides that are too small, too big, and just right).

On this chart, it's closest to the "hipster" style but with the wider butt of the "bikini" (or alternatively, the "bikini" but with the higher waist of the "hipster"). Most of the hipster underwear I've seen in the US still has either no leg elastics or the sides aren't high enough. Something like this by Jockey or especially this by Australian brand Berlei would work, but I'm not willing to pay $8+/pair. The Belinay from the spa was 1 euro/pair, and right now I just have 20 pairs of those, with half being ready to give up the ghost.

posted by danceswithlight to Shopping (14 answers total)

OK these Jockeys are a smidge more expensive than what you are after, but these look very similar and are a brand I've had very good luck with. I get the full brief style though. The plain white ones are cheaper than the patterns,

The full brief has a black version that looks very much like what you showed but are of course come up much higher.

While they cost more the quality is very good and they outlast my cheapo Fruit of the Looms etc by months.
posted by wwax at 12:35 PM on January 5, 2016

Some of the Gap hipster cut underwear might be worth checking out. If you find a Jockey cut that you like, they sell them cheaper on eBay (through their official store there) than they do on their website or through stores.

Also, the Belinay website has a contact e-mail address - drop them a line and see if they can refer you to a mail order company that will help you out.
posted by Candleman at 1:00 PM on January 5, 2016

I'm a fan of the Soma Traveler's brief, though they are pricey and are only sold online.
posted by megancita at 1:26 PM on January 5, 2016

I don't know if you have Bonds in the US, but it's pretty much the most popular underwear brand here in Australia, and what you're looking for looks to me like the Hipster Bikini. I will literally order 15 pairs of these at a time when they're on special, they're my holy grail underpants :P I get black, but it comes in lots of colours and seasonal patterns.
posted by snap, crackle and pop at 1:27 PM on January 5, 2016

I am a big fan of Hanes low-rise briefs. The ones where the elastic parts are covered with fabric. They're called "low rise" but that's just to distinguish them from the ones that go over your belly button - on me they come up just below, like you said. For me the other styles are way too low. They cover my butt perfectly and I never know they're there.
posted by bleep at 1:46 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]

To be blunt, I find it kind of baffling that you've had trouble finding anything with a similar cut and elastic configuration. That sounds exactly like most of the Hanes low/mid-rise (same cut, but different lines call it a different height) briefs I always get. (On preview, bleep knows what I'm talking about.) You can order them from Hanes or get them in most big box stores.
posted by dust.wind.dude at 1:50 PM on January 5, 2016 [3 favorites]

To be fair, I had to do a lot of trial and error before I found these, and they only seem to have them at Target. Smaller city Targets don't even carry them all the time. The other cheapo packaged briefs are all wrong in different ways.
posted by bleep at 1:55 PM on January 5, 2016

Response by poster: The last time I tried Hanes, which was many years ago, the only options I saw were very high-waisted. Maybe they've added things to their lineup since then?

Also, do Hanes briefs have leg elastics?
posted by danceswithlight at 1:56 PM on January 5, 2016

I opened the picture of your "just right"s and thought, "those look just like the Hanes I get from Target in 10 packs.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 2:01 PM on January 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

These are the ones I mean (couldn't link before)
posted by bleep at 2:06 PM on January 5, 2016

Thunderpants.
posted by jrobin276 at 2:50 PM on January 5, 2016

What if you found a Turkish speaker willing to help you out? you could call them up and ask if you can order by mail, or if they have any stockists you could order from. (Phone calls get better responsiveness than emails in Turkey, at least that's what I've found.)
posted by tel3path at 4:47 PM on January 5, 2016

When I went to a Turkish bath and was inexplicably given free underpants (which I also liked quite a bit!), they seemed most like big-box or supermarket "granny panty" style underwear I'd had in the US previously.

I had some Hanes once I picked up at Walgreens in an underpants emergency. They sound not only exactly as you describe, but also a lot like the Turkish bath underwear. These were probably bikinis, I think, not high-waisted briefs.
posted by Sara C. at 9:13 PM on January 5, 2016

I'm going to Istanbul at the end of February -- if none of these options work, feel free to MeMail me -- if you tell me exactly what you want (and where to get it) I'm happy to help in this quest!
posted by aaanastasia at 12:48 PM on January 6, 2016 [1 favorite]