I love both the word and the article of clothing! The word panty is so inherently feminine. I researched the word's history and here is what I found:
According to Webster, panties is the diminutive of the word pants, used to describe the underwear worn by women and girls. The word is an Americanism and has its roots as far back as 1835–45.
It has only been a relatively short duration in history that people began wearing underwear. In fact modern panties’ ancestor, the bloomer, was born when our ancestors sewed up the leg of the chemise—a distant relation of the slip. The history of panties starts with the story of bloomers. The bloomer's chaste appearance can be deceiving though, they were crotch-less. The original purpose was modesty – covering up as much of the female form as possible. As hens are to the eggs so to bloomers are to panties. Typically bloomers are a divided garment to cover the lower part of women. The first ones were the brainchild of Elizabeth Miller but Amelia Bloomer made it popular during the 1850’s. These were long baggy pants ending at the ankles. It was largely influenced by the East and often came to be called the ‘Syrian’ style. In the late 18th century the bloomers got two other nametags – knickers and knickerbockers. Women wore them during sports events during those days of Victorian modesty. From the 1920’s bloomers began to get short as the hemline of skirts began to rise and importance came to be given from what peeped out from under them. Bloomers transitioned to a sleeker, shorter style similar to boy shorts. These original panties were made from silk or artificial silk called rayon. After that nylon came to be use.
It wasn't until the 1950s that shorter dress fashions necessitated the arrival of the next version of panties. This post-war period saw an outburst of female modesty dominated by the bra-panty culture. Somehow freedom for women and women’s rights became mixed up with exposure of the exquisite female form. Hence the urgency to establish and advertise this new iteration of the garment aggressively! Another explanation is that the post-WWII period saw a boom in business, advertising and women's fashion. Vanity Fair was a leader in this movement and the catalyst for panty sales and widespread acceptance began. That styling was what is now referred to as the "granny panty", it was high on top, low on the sides and made of breathable cotton. Materials again transitioned to silk, rayon and nylon well into mid-century. It wasn't until the 80s that newcomer Victoria's Secret began capitalizing on the Brazilian style thong. It marked the end of the panty as a bastion of womanhood.