12 Questions With Alyson Hannigan About Underwear

Alyson Hannigan on the red carpet (Getty Images)
Alyson Hannigan on the red carpet (Getty Images)

Alyson Hannigan wants to talk about underwear.

Yeah, we were surprised too. It's not like the How I Met Your Mother alum is one of those celebs who's always showing hers (see: Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga), or making headlines for forgoing it (cc: Beyoncé, Kim K., and J.Lo). That's the point. The 41-year-old mom of two, who's married to her Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Alexis Denisof, is now appearing in a series of online videos called The Solutionary for Jockey's Skimmies (#SavedBySkimmies), which are slipshorts, in hopes of saving women from various summer underwear snafus.

But Hannigan has had her own undies fails over the years and she's more than happy to talk about them. One took place on the set of a 1998 Kim Basinger movie — and she's still not over it. From her thoughts on thongs (no, just no) to her favorite celebrity underwear model (sorry, Bieber!), we get her to bare all on the topic of underpants…

1. Have you ever had a Marilyn Monroe moment —your skirt went up in public — but you weren't prepared for it? Yes — my first one was when I was 13 years old and I'm still traumatized by it... I was doing a movie called My Stepmother Is an Alien. I was walking with Juliette Lewis, who was also in the movie, on the Fox lot when a gust of wind came. You know, I was 13, I was trying to be cool, but I think I was still wearing little kid underwear when I probably shouldn't have been. She laughed at my underwear and I was mortified. So that. Yes.

Hannigan with Juliette Lewis in 1998's 'My Stepmother Is an Alien' (Weintraub Entertainment Group)
Hannigan with Juliette Lewis in 1998's 'My Stepmother Is an Alien' (Weintraub Entertainment Group)

2. What do you think of the granny underwear trend? The New York Times recently reported that women are now buying regular underwear instead of thongs. The thong can go away. I'm sorry. For me personally, I'm over it. I'm in love with my Skimmies and that's where I'm going. I get why my husband is so happy with what he wears. I've always been envious of his stuff. Now I finally get comfortable underwear. I'm just happy. Much, much happier.

3. Speaking of men's underwear, what kind do you like for men: boxers, briefs, boxer-briefs? Boxer-briefs!

4. Is colored underwear for men a do or a don't? Hey, whatever makes you happy. I really like colored socks. Why not? Bright socks are really fun.

5. If you had to watch a movie scene on a loop, would you pick Tom Cruise dancing in Risky Business or Channing Tatum stripping in Magic Mike? Ohhh. I actually haven't seen Magic Mike, but I'll go Magic Mike. Mainly because I just heard on the radio this morning that Channing arranged for his wife, [Jenna Dewan], to have a massage at home and somehow, during the massage, he traded places with the masseur. I thought that was really romantic, so he wins.

6. Who is your favorite celebrity underwear poster boy: Mark Wahlberg, David Beckham, or Justin Bieber? David Beckham. Oh, David Beckham all the way.

David Beckham for the win. (Calvin Klein/Facebook)
David Beckham for the win. (Calvin Klein/Facebook)

7. This year we've seen two awards show hosts strip down into their undies during their hosting duties. Who did it better: Michael Strahan at the Critics' Choice Awards or Neil Patrick Harris at the Academy Awards? We can guess what you'll say... Of course, I have to pick Neil. Come on. Loyalty! I'll always pick Neil.

Her 'How I Met Your Mother' co-star Neil Patrick Harris bests Michael Strahan (Getty Images)
Her 'How I Met Your Mother' co-star Neil Patrick Harris bests Michael Strahan (Getty Images)

8. Did you own Underoos growing up? No, but I wish I could have. Oh, man, I was envious of Underoos. I wanted them so bad. I think I had days of the week underwear. I think that's what I was wearing.

9. What do you call underwear at your house: undies, uns, drawers, skivvies, butt huggers? Undies are just undies.

10. What is your favorite book about underwear to read to your daughters? It's really a potty training book — I think it's just called Potty — but on the last page, when the kid gets potty trained, it's all about undies!

Hannigan with her husband, Alexis Denisof, and daughters, Satyana and Keeva (Getty Images)
Hannigan with her husband, Alexis Denisof, and daughters, Satyana and Keeva (Getty Images)

11. Do you fold your underwear? If we looked into your drawer right now, what would be see?

It's all folded. I actually just finished a book this morning about organizing called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. It's all about talking to your clothes when you fold them and thanking them for doing their job. [The thinking is] that you'll take better care of them and they'll take better care of you and last longer. It's also a matter of only surrounding yourself with things that you love. So you're supposed to take all of your clothes, spread them out on the floor, and pick them up one by one and decide what to keep only by picking up things you love. I haven't started yet — [the author] said don't start until you complete the book — but it's going to change my life.

12. Finally, do you now worry that people are going to constantly come up to you on the street and overshare about their underwear dilemmas? No, because I'll have the solutions! Perhaps I'll even have some Skimmies in my bag and I can help them. They can be saved by Skimmies too.

Hannigan in one of her Skimmies videos. (AP Photo)
Hannigan in one of her Skimmies videos. (AP Photo)