Perhaps this scenario has happened to you:
Wandering through mall or downtown area with shops and your shoes start causing you grief. You end up wandering into the nearest shoe store and promptly replace the pain-causing shoes with a new pair. All is right with the world again.

Yes? No? Maybe it's just me...

I find that I do this with other things too. Wearing jeans that are uncomfortable? Go jeans shopping. Wearing a sweater that doesn't fit right? Find myself in the clothing section of Target after work. Never mind the fact that I have a drawer full of sweaters or perfectly wearable jeans at home. I think it's a subconscious reaction. Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it.

However, when I found myself in the underwear section at Target a couple of night ago, I was pretty aware of why I was there. I had been dealing with malfunctioning underpants all day and SOMETHING was going to be done about it.

I tend to be tried and true to a particular style of undergarment for years at a time. The Victoria's Secret hi-cut brief was my go to style for underpants for my entire college career, and maybe even then some. At some point, I ordered underwear from the Gap. I was probably ordering something else, needed to get my total up to $50 in order to use a coupon, and added some on-sale underwear at the last minute. They became my new favorites and I gradually replaced every last pair of Victoria's Secret. A few years ago I switched to the Gap hipster. I liked that they were slightly lower cut and still felt like they were covering everything I wanted covered. I have a dresser drawer full of them.

A couple of weeks ago, I placed a Gap order, and threw in a couple pairs of "girl shorts" because they were on sale for $2.99. Turns out they're pretty awesome. They almost entirely cover my bum, and they're still low-cut. I was THRILLED with the complete lack of creeping where they shouldn't.

But a few days ago, I had worn an older pair of non-girl short underpants, and they malfunctioned all day. There never seemed to be an appropriate time for me to correct the, uh, malfunction. So I'm wandering around Target, my underpants wedging themselves further and further into a place they simply shouldn't be, and as far as I'm concerned, I had NO CHOICE. I couldn't NOT buy more underwear. Specifically, 3-packs of Hanes Girl Shorts.

The only down side, unlike a new shoe purchase, is that you can't wear them home.