(Filed Under wholesale Lingerie News). On a last-minute trip and forgot your toothpaste? That'll be $5. Forgot your cute underwear? That'll be quite a bit more.

Kathryn Thigpen, a former travel-happy corporate American based in Charlotte, N.C., has been there. So to stop the spending - and the forgetting that causes it - she's created Flingz by Flingwear, inexpensive yet quality thongs packaged in a tiny pouch that can be thrown in the purse and forgotten about - until needed.

"I just wanted to have nice, neat underwear available to me if I started traveling, or if I got delayed, or had to stay at some place that I didn't plan on," Thigpen said. "If I don't have a change of clothes, I can at least wash my face and change my underwear, just do the basics."

Since her launch late last year, Thigpen has found that Flingz are needed quite often, and not just while on the road. Thigpen, a swimmer, has found that the recyclable pouch, which is like a tiny Ziploc bag, keeps her Flingz dry and clean in her pool bag.

"We've found that younger girls like to keep it because they don't plan very well for their monthly issues, and for women who are older and mid-life like me, it's a convenient thing to throw in purses and in gym bags," she said.

The multitude of uses means a variety of retailers. Already signed on to carry Flingwear are specialty lingerie boutiques, resort and spa shops and trendy clothing stores.

But more than being convenient and inexpensive, Flingz are quality undergarments, Thigpen said. They're made of 95 percent cotton and 5 percent elastane, so they're comfortable, washer-friendly and eco-friendly. The waistband is made of fabric, not a string, so it doesn't cut into the skin. With their simple decor, Flingz don't show through clothing, like some more decorative underwear. And the mid-rise thong appeals to more women than high-rise or low-rise, Thigpen said.

Basic Flingz thongs come in black and nude. A single package retails for $7.50 and a three pack, called The Weekender, retails for $18 (each thong in its own plastic pouch). Thigpen has found that The Weekender also makes a great gift.

"What one woman liked about the three-pack was that she could buy it as a gift for friends without feeling like she'd hand-picked really personal panties," Thigpen said. "It's a practical gift but it's also very attractive and feminine."

Coming in November, just in time for the holidays, is a cotton-candy pink Flingz thong. For spring, expect a travel-friendly bralette.

For more information, call (704) 904-1264 or visit www.flingwear.com.

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Published 10-21-2008 by Raquel Christie