I Tried This Skims Underwear Alternative: Here’s My Verdict

I used to be a ride-or-die Victoria’s Secret shopper. Their 5 for $25 and 3 for $33 deals used to have me in a chokehold. I had never even considered buying underwear or lingerie from anywhere else. One day I looked in my lingerie drawer and I was underwhelmed. I had a drawer full of underwear that I now deem subpar. I had spent a lot of money on underwear that wears out, gets dingy, or starts pilling within three months of owning them. I had plenty of options so it wasn’t like I was wearing the same ones week after week so that made them even more underwhelming. I wanted higher quality underwear just like I wanted higher quality clothes so I started looking at other lingerie brands hoping I’d find a new holy grail.

I know high-quality pieces will usually cost more but I was shocked at how much more I was expected to pay for underwear! I checked brands like CUUP, Cosabella, Lively, and ThirdLove, and tried a few things from some of them but I wasn’t moved to buy more. I’m okay with spending more money on something that I really like, but not on something that I’m ambivalent about and I was ambivalent about them.

I ended up giving Skims a try and really liked them. I bought a few boy shorts from their cotton line and their Fits Everybody line and had resigned to just pay a lot of money for underwear from them. Time marched on and I hadn’t bought any more underwear from them. I just couldn’t stomach paying $20+ for one pair of underwear. It’s not like it was fancy or anything. They were basic.

I don’t know what prompted me to take a look, but I finally remembered to check one of my favorite places to get inexpensive expensive things and I saw they had their version of Skims Fits Everybody so I didn’t hesitate to give Quince Second Skin underwear a try.

Review: Quince Second Skin vs. Skims Fits Everybody

Quince is known for their transparent pricing on every product on their site. You can look at how much things like materials, shipping and handling, and credit card fees cost them versus how much they are selling them for so you don’t feel taken advantage of.

The first thing I bought from Quince almost three years ago was a washable silk top that looks just as good as the day I bought it so I was hoping their Second Skin underwear would delight me just as much. I bought a pack of six Second Skin Briefs, a six pack of Second Skin thongs, and a pack of two Second Skin Scoop Neck Bralettes hoping I’d like them as much as I liked the Skims Fits Everybody Boyshorts. I hadn’t bought any other washable silk tops to compare Quince’s to so I’m happy that I get to make a true comparison this time.

Price

As Quince is my favorite place to get high-quality items at prices that don’t make my eyes burn, I’ll call this one early in Quince’s favor. Skims offers a 3 for $36 deal on their briefs, boyshorts, and thongs so it costs $72 to buy 6 of them. Quince sells a pack of 6 briefs, boyshorts, or thongs for $29.90.

Verdict: No-brainer. Quince.

Quality

Quince’s Second Skin underwear collection is made of 76% nylon and 24% spandex with a 100% cotton gusset. Skim’s version is 76% polyamide and 24% elastane with a 100% cotton gusset. If you are thinking that sounds like it’s the same thing right now you aren’t crazy. It is the same thing. Nylon is a polyamide. It’s like saying all squares are rectangles or all apples are fruits. A square is a kind of rectangle and an apple is a type of fruit. There is no difference in how the Quince briefs feel and how my Skims boyshorts feel. It’s the same material.

Verdict: Quince. The material quality is the same so Quince wins because they cost less.

Color Range

The Skims Fits Everybody collection comes in a range of 10 mostly flesh-toned neutrals and are offering 4 limited edition shades at the time of writing. If you want a shade that is close to your skin tone I’m sure you can find a good option from Skims. Quince’s Second Skin collection currently comes in just 5 colors neutral colors. While that wasn’t a deal breaker for me since they have the two colors I buy my underwear basics in, I can understand how not having a wider range of choices can be a bummer.

Verdict: At the time of publishing Skims wins this one. They have 10 standard color options as opposed to Quince’s 5. Plus Skims allows you to mix and match the colors you want to use in their 3 for $36 deal versus buying a pack of six in a single color from Quince.

Availability

Sized xs, small, and medium are out of stock on both sites fairly often. They’re popular sizes so I can understand why that’s the case. Both sites will allow you to be notified when your size and color are back in stock so you don’t have to keep checking until you see your size is available.

Skims can be found in-store at select Nordstrom and Saks locations so if in person shopping is your thing you would have to go with Skims. Quince doesn’t have any physical stores. That’s partly how they’re able to offer lower prices.

Verdict: Tie

Final Verdict

While Skims has more color choices and you can find them in-store, Quince wins this comparison on quality and price. Why pay more money to get the same thing? These briefs and scoop neck bralettes have given me even more reasons to love Quince. Their quality is always amazing and the prices are even better.