Originally Posted by
tiffanyjo89
I think, like Shananigans was posting, that using the term "panties" in general conversation is slightly weird for people above the age of, let's say, 35. Using it in a case of if someone asks what type of underwear you wear (like the boxers vs briefs thing, they are both underwear, but they function completely differently) calling them under the umbrella version of "panties" is okay, as long as you don't go crazy and say panties every five seconds. Heck, VS uses the term as an umbrella term for the cloth worn underneath pants, even though bras kinda count as underwear.
Also, like she mentioned, using a more specific term for things like thongs is appropriate in the right case.