When I first spotted the lime-green, tie-dyed thong, I thought it was having a major identity crisis. "Hippie Skivvies," huh? I never thought hippies wore thongs. I thought back to high school, when I had a lot of friends whose parents were hippies. Their moms, if they wore underwear at all, wore unbleached cotton briefs. And do thong-wearers want their undies tie-dyed? Hmm. "Sexy and tie-dye don't mix," I thought.

But then two tall, gorgeous, and lanky blondes marched into my brain. Miss Phoebe Buffay and Mrs. Dharma Freedom Finklestein Montgomery strutted and funky-chickened around my head until I was forced to admit that sexy and tie-dye do indeed mix, and that I was in deep and serious denial of my sexy tie-dyed self if I didn't pick that thong up right this instant and put it on.

Thus a Hippie Skivvies lime-green tie-dyed thong became the first-ever tie-dyed article of clothing to join my wardrobe. Maybe I was never free-spirited enough, or maybe I was just born an itsy bit too late, but tie-dye has just never spoken to me before. Now Phoebe and Dharma have turned me to the bright side of hippie chic. I've started to yearn for a bit of that kooky, "munch a kamut cracker, pull up a mug of yerba maté, and let me feel your pain" charm to make its way into my crusty urban soul. I will not, however, sacrifice my aesthetics in order to do so-Birkenstocks still don't go with my look, and neither do the long, flowing, "ethnic print" dresses. Undies, I figured, would be the perfect way for me to bring a little hippie soul into my outfits without going all the way-you know, like the way you can put lacy things on under a "don't mess with me" getup and somehow feel sexy underneath.

And I was right. I walked around all day feeling a little more in tune with my karmic journey, and had cravings for health food. Well, okay, there are limits, and I didn't completely change my lifestyle, but the tie-dye influenced my day in subtle ways. I read my horoscope more carefully than usual. I checked out yoga classes. That sort of thing.

The best part? The undies are darned comfortable. This is, bar none, the stretchiest and most accommodating thong I've ever worn (and I wear thongs most of the time). I think it could be the thong to convert the thong skeptics who still remain among us. There was no bum-riding. There was no hip-digging. And the waistband sat just in the right place (a little below the waist, so it doesn't show) and didn't try to alter the size or shape of my belly. In fact, they were so pleasant to wear that they nearly felt like wearing nothing at all.

Which would be, perhaps, the real hippie thing to do. But then, I'm no hippie-just a fence-sitter who's enjoying having a little tie-dye in her life, and under her pants.

Rating: UUUUU (of 5)

Lauren is the co-editor of Soapbox Girls.