Love Thigh Self (Win!)

On a mission to normalize thigh chafing and promote body confidence, Thigh Society, an inclusive slip short brand made for all women’s bodies, has launched three new spring colours to its Cooling collection. Made for under dresses and skirts or paired with an oversize tee, the sweat-wicking Cooling Shorts are the brand’s best-selling “not shapewear” shorts because they’re perfect for the summer heat. Ultra lightweight, silky smooth and whisper soft, they provide a nearly naked feel with sheer coverage, prevent chaffing and can even lower body temperatures for those who run hot! We chatted with CEO Marnie Rabinovitch Consky to learn more! —Noa Nichol

Hi Marnie! Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.

Hi, I’m Marnie Rabinovitch Consky, the Founder, CEO and Chief Anti-Chafing Champion of Thigh Society. As with many entrepreneurs, the idea for my business came from a personal need. I didn’t want to wear shapewear in the summer and needed something more comfortable and breathable under my skirts & dresses. I couldn’t find any women’s long leg underwear to prevent thigh chafe. I had become used to wearing the only things that were available at the time: shapewear, poorly designed bike shorts, men’s boxer briefs, or I’d coat the inside of my legs with messy powders, creams, and gels that needed to be reapplied every hour. I saw the opportunity to innovate an underserved market, and even though I had no formal apparel, marketing or ecommerce experience, I created Thigh Society in 2009 – in turn creating a new product category of women’s underwear. Our mission since Day One has been to offer a practical solution to the real pain point of thigh chafe, and to break the stigma that thigh chafing is something that only happens to people in bigger bodies.

When and why did you launch Thigh Society (we love the name!)? What niche were/are you aiming to fill?

Thanks, I love the name, too! I launched the company in 2009 while still working a demanding full-time job and did that for another seven years before fully committing my focus to the business in 2016 at 40 years old.  Funny story about the name—it was actually my friend’s husband who came up with it! I had originally wanted to call it Thigh Candy but let’s just say that a quick Google search told me that wasn’t the best idea. Our friends were over for brunch and we started brainstorming puns and cute plays on words – and he came up with it. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was the one. Not many people realize that Thigh Society was the first brand to make a size inclusive line of anti-chafe slip shorts. When I launched in 2009, there were only a few plus size brands making anti-chafe shorts and I felt this reinforced the myth that chafe has to do with weight. In reality, it has more to do with skin sensitivity to heat, friction and moisture. Also, those brands were making all-cotton shorts which were breathable, but cotton traps moisture and can actually encourage chafe. I knew that women deserved a high-performance solution. Over the years, the response from our customers has made it clear that our multipurpose shorts are even more useful than I had ever imagined. Women around the world wear Thigh Society for modesty coverage, fitness, maternity and postpartum, medical conditions, sleeping and general comfort.

What products do you currently offer, who and what are they for, and what makes them unique?

We’ve been making slip shorts and only slip shorts for the last 13 years so I’m confident in saying that we know what we’re doing. We offer four fabrics that come in a variety of colours and leg lengths to suit every body type across a range of seven sizes from XS to 6XL. The Cooling is our sheerest coverage and keeps you extra cool, The Staple is buttery soft with a bit more coverage, The Cotton is cozy and The Original has the thickest coverage and can be worn for almost anything (think yoga, underneath a baggy sweater, gymwear). What makes all the shorts unique is that they’re objectively very, very comfortable! That aside, all the shorts are anti-chafing, moisture wicking, light and breathable, and what they do very well is provide women with confidence to wear what they want and be free in their movement. I’m committed to ensuring that Thigh Society shorts make everyone feel comfortable in their body.

Why are Thigh Society garments NOT shapewear?

Shapewear has restricted women for years, both physically and mentally. Historically, its intention has been to shrink women’s bodies, putting the focus on how your body looks relative to conventional beauty standards and furthering the cycle of self-objectification that keeps women distracted with their appearance. To be blunt, Thigh Society is my way of giving the finger to shapewear. I was done with feeling discomfort and pain, done with being made to feel like something’s wrong with me for experiencing thigh chafe, done with having my vulnerabilities as a woman preyed upon by diet culture, done with shoehorning myself into body armour that cinched me in like sausage and being expected to grin and bear it. I was honestly done with wasting time and emotional energy feeling bad about myself for what I knew to be a very normal skin condition that could affect people of any size. I wanted to give women a second skin solution to chafe that felt as natural as being naked without any of the baggage and discomfort that often comes with wearing shapewear.

You’re on a mission to normalize thigh chafing and promote body confidence, to teach women how to recognize and reject diet culture; in fact, you’re the Chief Anti-Chafing Champion of Thigh Society! Why are these goals important today?

These goals are as important today as they were back in 2009 when we were one of the first to use #bodypositive and be inclusive in our marketing. Over the last decade, it’s been incredible to lead and listen to conversations on social media around body confidence. There are so many creators of all shapes and sizes who are helping to normalize bodies that diet culture shames. It’s not like the $80B diet industry is going to pack up and go home: changing the narrative has to be a grassroots movement online and IRL, and Thigh Society is proud to be part of the change.

What’s your favourite Thigh Society piece at the moment, and how will you be styling your Thigh Societys this summer?

I do a lot of walking in the summer and basically live in my Original Thigh Society shorts. I have them in all three colours: black, graphite grey and navy, and I pair them with a tank top, sports bra and runners. Even though we describe them as the thickest of all of our fabrics, they’re still super lightweight. I love how breathable they are for long walks and they stay put like all of our shorts.

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Win! 2 Pairs Of Thigh Society Cooling Shorts!

Congrats Lucia A. of Port Elgin, ON, who will receive 2 pairs of Thigh Society shorts in their size! Please note: if you are the winner, you will receive a DM (direct message) in Instagram directly from @vitadaily.ca. Please be wary of fake accounts, which often use similar handles with an extra or missing letter, number or symbol. We will never ask for a payment or for your credit card number, and we will never ask you to click through a link. If you are unsure whether you have been contacted, via Instagram, by us or a fake account, email us before responding.