Ah, the VPL (Visible Panty Line), it’s every girl’s nightmare, isn’t it? Imagine shimmying into your favourite bodycon dress for a night out, only to realise (too late) that your knickers are clearly visible through your second-skin dress. It isn’t especially attractive and you can guarantee that every hawk-eyed fashionista in the room will have noticed it as soon as you step through the door.

The most obvious answer for ridding yourself of a VPL is to switch to wearing a thong when the need calls. Many thong-virgins do their best to steer clear of this type of underwear, but they aren’t nearly as uncomfortable as most people imagine. Of course, you will need to watch out for the ‘thong visible above jeans’ disaster, which is equally as embarrassing as a VPL through a skirt, dress or any other kind of clothing.

French knickers are thinner and so aren’t very noticeable, while boy shorts will move the panty-line to the top of the thighs instead of in the middle of your bum, so they’re a lot less noticeable. You can get some kinds of Spandex panties that are designed to be skin-tight and are incredibly comfortable, or you could try forgoing the underwear altogether – although this definitely isn’t advisable!

If you’re very much against the idea of thongs or the other aforementioned underwear, there is another answer for you out there. If you have a quick look online you should be able to find a few different kinds of NVP (No Visible Panty-line) or seam-free underwear. Companies make these knickers by forgoing bulky materials in the development stage, such as elastic, which is often the main culprit of a VPL. Instead, they create ultra-thin underwear with ‘laser edges’ that will give you the minimum panty line physically possible.

Another option would be to get yourself a pair of control knickers and kill two birds with one stone. This kind of underwear is designed to give you a smoother silhouette and sucks in all the bits you aren’t confident about (you can even get ones that work on your tummy, hips, thighs AND bum), but they often have seam-free hems that lie flat against your skin instead of creating a VPL beacon.

If you aren’t keen on this idea, try wearing a bodysuit. They’ve often got flat panty-lines that won’t give you any grief and you can wear them with shorts, skirts or jeans for a great look.

Do you have any answers for avoiding the VPL faux pas?

Amy Hitchens is a freelance writer who specialises in women’s and is a huge fan of girly dresses, from maxi dresses to bodycon dresses and everything in between, you’ll rarely catch her in a pair of jeans.