Underwear Thesis: EBY Underwear Review

Everything you've ever wanted to know about underwear from EBY
UNDERWEAR THESIS: EBY underwear review. My unbiased and unfiltered review of EBY underwear including the bikini, brief, and high waist underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

Ahhh welcome back to Underwear Thesis! I’m so excited to dig into even MORE highly scientific underwear reviews in my perpetual quest to find the most comfortable pair of everyday undies. Today’s review features a brand that quite a few of my Instagram followers recommended, EBY (which stands for Empowered By You). This post breaks down their soft seamless fabric, whether the No-Slip Nylon Grip actually does it’s job, and my overall grade for panties from EBY. I hope you find it helpful!

P.S. Last September, I mentioned wanting to share underwear thesis twice a year with 5 reviews in one week. Because of how much effort I put into each review, that idea isn’t sustainable and I’ve had to make changes yet again. Going forward, Underwear Thesis reviews will be sprinkled in amongst the rest of my blog content. I hope you’ll understand and continue to enjoy the series!

If you’re new to my Underwear Thesis, I encourage you to read these posts before proceeding:

The Search for The Most Comfortable Underwear Brands Under $60! Join me as I shop for new underwear and talk about all of the features + how to buy underwear. As a former textile designer, I am sharing information about seams, stitching, chafing, underwear construction, the best fabric for underwear and more! Get all of this shopping advice + underwear brand reviews on jojotastic.com #underwear #panties #undies

My Search for The Most Comfortable Underwear

This post is an excellent starting point and lists out ALL of the criteria of this project, including:

  • Judging criteria
  • Commonly used terms
  • My size + body type details
  • and a lottt more

Read more

What to Look for When Shopping for Underwear, tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Information about the pros and cons of different types of fabric, trim, what is a gusset, and more!

What to Look for When Shopping for Underwear

Including:

  • Fabric and trim
  • Seams and stitching
  • Gusset
  • Size and fit
  • Washability

Read more

How to Care for Your Underwear So It Lasts Longer! recommended washing machine settings, retractible clothes line, delicates bag and detergent

How to Wash Underwear So It Lasts Longer

Including:

  • Delicates bag
  • Cold water + gentle cycle
  • Detergent
  • Fabric softener
  • And more!

Read more

UNDERWEAR THESIS: EBY underwear review. My unbiased and unfiltered review of EBY underwear including the bikini, brief, and high waist underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

My Totally Unfiltered Review of EBY Underwear

Please keep in mind that these are my personal opinions of the product. If you love EBY underwear, that’s great! I applaud you! But if you’re on the fence about whether to buy them or not, this is what I think you need to know in order to be an informed consumer.

Styles Tried and Price

UNDERWEAR THESIS: EBY underwear review. My unbiased and unfiltered review of EBY underwear including the bikini, brief, and high waist underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

Fabric Quality + Details

Grade: A for seamless, C- for cotton blend

The seamless fabric that EBY uses is soooooo nice. I immediately loved it as soon as I unboxed them. The fabrics are a synthetic mix, containing nylon and spandex, but with a cotton lining. The fabric is incredibly soft and smooth, probably the nicest seamless fabric I’ve ever experienced. It’s SO good.

But the most unique aspect of EBY’s underwear is that they have No-Slip Nylon Grip on the edges of each pair. They even guarantee that their seamless panties won’t give you VPL (visible panty lines).

When I first tried on my EBY underwear (I started with the highwaisted style), I was a bit skeptical. I’ve never been a fan of seamless fabric because historically that meant rolled edges, lots of movement of the panty itself, and wedgies galore. While I won’t say that EBY’s grippy edge is 100% unmovable, it is way better than I was expecting! I love that it isn’t actual grippy silicone like other brands often do. Instead, it feels more like a soft velveteen. And I don’t notice it while wearing the underwear.

As you’ll remember, I am most interested in underwear with a high percentage of cotton, so again I was hesitant to try these. But I’m really glad that I did, especially given that the gusset is cotton thankfully. I did try another pair that has 47% cotton and they aren’t quite as smooth as the synthetic ones. The cotton blend panties provide more breathability and are more likely to bounce back to their original shape instead of getting baggy and saggy over time.

That being said, the cotton styles were my least favorite of the bunch. I didn’t like the bonded seams and wish that this style also had the No-Slip Nylon Grip. Being blunt, the cotton blend panty was a one way ticket to Wedgie Town, USA.

Manufacturing Quality

Grade: B

Given the price point, I feel like all 4 styles that I tried from EBY are extremely well-made. The binding that they use for the No-Slip Nylon Grip is neatly applied, as is the cotton liner on the gusset. They also have very sleek and low profile seams on the sides that are well-made, too. I would put the seams on the same level as some of my high end outdoor apparel; it’s that well done.

I do have a few questions about the fabrication of the cotton panties. The biggest question I have is about the edges of the leg openings. There is no stitching there which is great for minimizing VPL. But I wonder about the knit fraying over time, especially because this style does not have the grippy edge.

I gave EBY a B in this section because I don’t like that the cotton gusset is adhered to the underwear crotch. I prefer the gusset to be open at least on one side for breathability and to ensure it’s fully cleaned during washing. I also wonder if there is the potential for irritants if a glue is used to adhere the cotton gusset.

Ethical Practices and Sustainability

Grade: C

10% of proceeds from each panty sold is used to “empower a woman into business and out of poverty” according to their website. I love how seriously EBY takes women’s empowerment thanks to programs that offer English classes, leadership development, maternal health clinics and awareness on the prevention of violence against women. There’s a lot of documentation about that on their site, including specific examples of helping women start businesses.

That being said.. I wish there was more of a focus on using sustainable fabrics. I couldn’t find ANY mention of if their materials are organic which is sort of a big deal to me. At the very least, using recycled materials would be great given that synthetics are essentially plastics.

Also prioritizes ethical manufacturing and “routine and rigorous on-site quality control.” But when I dug through the website for more info about what that actually means, I couldn’t find much. I’d love more documentation as to what this really means.

UNDERWEAR THESIS: EBY underwear review. My unbiased and unfiltered review of EBY underwear including the bikini, brief, and high waist underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

Inclusivity

Grade: B

The sizing goes from XS up to 4X which is one of the broader size ranges I’ve seen while doing thesis underwear reviews. EBY also uses models from a broader range of skintones, which I appreciate. I gave them a B because the main product images predominantly feature skinny, white-ish women. It would be so much better if there were more product photos on a variety of bodies — especially for a company that says it’s “made for every body” and has a “100% fit guarantee.”

When there are different body types shown, it’s toward the bottom of the page and the views aren’t always helpful. How can they guarantee I’m buying the right size if I don’t see my body type represented??

Washability

Grade: B

EBY underwear is definitely the kind you must air dry. The heat from your dryer will eat away at the synthetics which can lead to the panties falling apart and becoming misshapen. After washing mine consistently for about a month, I’m pleased with how they look for the most part. They are rather wrinkly, but once they are on, that isn’t really an issue to me. But yeah, they do get wrinkly, ask you can see from the photos.

Fit & Comfort

Grade:

If you’re an Underwear Thesis devotee, you might know that this is the part of the review where things get real… which is why I gave each style a different grade! The highwaisted cut felt like it was holding me in, but not too tightly and it hit in all the right spots. I found the leg opening to be cut higher than my ARQ underwear, but didn’t mind. My biggest complaint is that I wish the butt had more coverage. I would not consider them to be full coverage, despite what the sales copy says.

The brief cut is my favorite of the 4 styles I tried. It provided the coverage I wanted in the fabric I love and simply stayed in place the best.

The other 2 styles simply didn’t offer enough coverage. The fit of the seamless bikini style was uncomfortable and were most prone to giving me wedgies unfortunately. I’ll be keeping them in my drawer for laundry days because I love the fabric so much, but they aren’t my go-to.

And lastly, there are was something different about the fit of the cotton bikini that I couldn’t quite put my finger on… it was my least favorite of all the fits and I will probably never wear them again. They felt skimpy and very uncomfortable.

Overall thoughts

Grade: B

I wanted to love EBY soooo much, especially because the seamless fabric is so lovely. I’m not sure that I’ll be buying any additional styles from them, though, because the fit just isn’t good enough for me — especially given the other styles I’ve tried and loved. That being said, I am definitely keen to try their bralettes which are made of the same seamless material.

Ready for even more Underwear Thesis reviews?? Catch up on my previous reviews:

My unbiased and unfiltered review of ARQ underwear including the high-rise undies and wide-strap bralette! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

ARQ Underwear Review

When I first started this project, I posted to Instagram asking for recommendations of underwear you love… and if there was one overwhelming response, it was ARQ! So many people said that ARQ is their holy grail, most favorite underwear of all time… and WELL worth the higher price tag. So, naturally I needed to order a few pairs and work on an ARQ review! After a few months of washing, wearing, and generally being the picky nerd that I am, I’m finally ready to share my review. Let’s dig in!

Read more

My unbiased and unfiltered review of Patagonia underwear including the athletic underwear and bikini underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

Patagonia Underwear Review

For this series, I am pretty much exclusively focused on cotton and natural fiber underwear. But I received so many requests to review Patagonia underwear that I knew I had to include it in my Underwear Thesis! As a rock climber and avid hiker, having good athletic underwear is important to me. Plus, I’ve always been a fan of their sustainability efforts. So because of that (and a few more reasons I’ll get into), I made an exception. Let’s dig into the latest installment of Underwear Thesis: my Patagonia underwear review!

Read more

My unbiased and unfiltered review of ThirdLove underwear including bikini and hipster cut! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

ThirdLove Underwear Review

Today let’s focus on ThirdLove! This underwear brand was the first package in my shopping spree to arrive and I actually really liked them right off the bat. I laid out the judging criteria in this post, so let’s dig in. If you’re new to the blog, definitely check out that one, as well as my post about what to look for when shopping for underwear. They’re both great for getting you started!

Read more

My unbiased and unfiltered review of Auden underwear from Target including the bikini underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

Auden From Target Underwear Review

So to kick things off this time, I’m sharing my thoughts on truly one of the most requested brands of this entire project: Auden from Target! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been asked to review Auden. So I’m really glad to finally have this review published — you’ll have to let me know what you think!

Read more

My unbiased and unfiltered review of Parade underwear including the bikini and high-rise hipster underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

Parade Underwear Review

Ooooh boy. I have put off publishing this underwear review as long as I could, but it’s time. I need to put on my big girl panties (pun very much intended) and share my unfiltered review of Parade underwear. You might be wondering why I’ve put off this review for so long… and it’s because I was majorly disappointed. I probably should wait until the end of the post to say that, but I just needed to address the elephant in the room! Let’s dig into all of the details about why I did not like Parade’s underwear, shall we?

Read more

UNDERWEAR THESIS: EBY underwear review. My unbiased and unfiltered review of EBY underwear including the bikini, brief, and high waist underwear! tips and tricks from a textile designer and fabric expert to help you be a more informed consumer and better shopper. Full review including washability, inclusivity, fit, sustainability and ethical practices.

What do you think of this EBY underwear review?? Leave a comment and let me know! And stay tuned for even more Underwear Thesis reviews here on the blog. I hope you’ve found this EBY review helpful!

Photography by Jojotastic.

Behind The Blog

Joanna Hawley-McBride is a Pacific Northwest-based social media strategist, content creator, and former textile designer. Joanna is the founder and editor-in-chief of Jojotastic, a lifestyle blog focused on Joanna’s work-in-progress cabin, finding the best pair of underwear through #UnderwearThesis, and empowering women to explore nature — all in her signature unfiltered style. Her work has been featured in Domino, CNBC, and Eating Well.

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Please note that I use affiliate links at times here, as well as on my social media accounts. This means that if you click on a link to a product and purchase that product, I may receive a commission based on your purchase. I only feature products that truly inspire me. Any products that have been gifted to Jojotastic for review are noted at the bottom of the post. Sponsored posts are noted as such. All opinions are my own and always will be! Thanks for supporting content that keeps Jojotastic going.

Leave a Comment

2 Comments

  1. 4.20.22
    Lauraloop p said:

    I can tell you firsthand, EBY is NOT a quality product. Bras are PAINFUL after two hours. In addition– be forewarned– the company expects you to wear the garments with the TAGS ON until you figure this out and want to return them. Wth?!

    • 4.20.22
      Joanna said:

      Ugh that’s so lame! Sorry to hear you’ve had such a rough experience with their product.