Not long ago, a strange thing appeared on the racks at Urban Outfitters: "Under Girl" underpants ($10 each), women's panties in bright red and yellow, designed to look like the bottom of Wonder Woman's costume. They're like Underoos for grown-ups.

But maybe it wasn't so strange. The hip clothing company has just caught on to a secret: for women, kiddie-style cotton briefs can be comfy, inexpensive, and -- most important -- just plain fun.

The hard part is finding kids' undies in sizes big enough to fit an adult. Until Fruit of the Loom hops on the retro bandwagon and starts manufacturing Underoos in adult sizes, you've got only one option: search through the boys' section of the underwear department. A big pair of boys' underwear -- size XL or XXL -- will fit a slim-hipped woman with a waist of about 28 to 32.

Gap Kids, Old Navy Kids, and the Children's Place offer great designs on their boys' briefs. At the Gap, you can find a trio of brightly colored briefs with white waistbands (3 for $12.50). Old Navy offers dancing monkeys (2 for $6.50), and briefs from the Children's Place sport baseball images (3 for $8.50).

Think of them as the female equivalent of wacky boxer shorts -- no one knows you've got 'em on, but they're sure to put a smile on your, um, face.