 By the 1960s , the bikini swimsuit influenced panty styles and coincided with the cut of the new lower rise jeans and pants . In the seventies , with the emergence of skintight jeans , thong versions of the panty became mainstream , since the open , stringed back eliminated any tell @-@ tale panty lines across the rear and hips . By the 1980s the design of the French @-@ cut panty pushed the waistband back up to the natural waistline and the rise of the leg openings was nearly as high ( French Cut panties come up to the waist , has a high cut leg , and usually are full in the rear ) . As with the bra and other type of lingerie , manufacturers of the last quarter of the century marketed panty styles that were designed primarily for their sexual allure . From this decade sexualization and eroticization of the male body was on the rise . The male body was celebrated through advertising campaigns for brands such as Calvin Klein , particularly by photographers Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts . Male bodies and men 's undergarments were commodified and packaged for mass consumption , and swimwear and sportswear were influenced by sports photography and fitness . Over time , swimwear evolved from weighty wool to high @-@ tech skin @-@ tight garments , eventually cross @-@ breeding with sportswear , underwear and exercise wear , resulting in the interchangeable fashions of the 1990s . 
