Let’s Talk Shapewear
Before I start, I have to say you can do whatever you want. Wear whatever you want. If you want every line in your pants and every roll in your back to be seen in your clothes, that is your prerogative. This post is strictly for the girls who are open-minded, who really may not know about shapewear or those who are curious about adding shapewear to your looks.
I feel like shapewear has this weird stigma around it. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of misconceptions about shapewear, like the fact that people think you have to be fat to wear shapewear. Which is absolutely untrue, in my opinion everyone needs a good pair of spanx, big or small. A lot of people don’t even know what shapewear is and think it’s the same as a waist trainer which it's not.
Shapewear is defined as underwear that fits tightly and is designed to make the body look thinner by smoothing out and holding in areas that are out of shape. However, shapewear has many different purposes depending on the individual. You can wear shapewear under see-through clothes to cover yourself, you can wear shapewear to smooth out your panty-line (or any lines that you don’t want visible) in your clothes, you can wear shapewear to help your clothes fit better, you can wear it to help your butt sit up, you can wear shapewear to control your “jiggle” and you can of course wear it to smooth out rolls, cellulite etc.
Shapewear is not one-size fits all. You can buy one that just comes to your belly button, another that is in the shape of panties, another that comes from the end of your bra to mid-thigh or even one with cut-outs if you want to show skin. Shapewear comes in different materials as well, you can try one that has more breathable material and is less constricting for covering lines and making your clothes no longer see-through. Or the alternative you can buy shapewear made of more constricting material to suck you in and reduce the appearance of cellulite and rolls.
I think all bodies are beautiful and should be celebrated, but if you are someone who may have insecurities about fat that you have, this is a way to be confident, comfortable and experimental in the things you wear. Also all that jiggling in your clothes can take away from your outfit. You may want somebody to see how cute your dress is, but all they notice is that every part of you jiggles as you walk in that dress. It doesn’t mean the dress isn’t cute or that you aren’t gorgeous, it just may be magnifying things you may not necessarily want to draw attention to. Also, seeing your underwear lines through your clothes is kind of tacky, especially in dresses. I shouldn’t be able to point out that you have on blue cookie monster panties because you bought biker shorts for $1 off of TEMU. Or maybe you don’t want your stomach talking back to you in that dress you really want to wear out. Sometimes, shapewear makes the difference in your clothes fitting right, it may allow the dress to hug your body just right and accentuate your curves.
I used to wear my shapewear to feel more confident in more form-fitting stuff and less like I have to suck in (sometimes I still do), but now I wear it more-so to keep me warm in the colder months kind of like a tank top or just so you don’t see the lines in my clothes and to keep everything in place, sometimes clothes shift as the day goes on and this is a way to minimize that.
My favorite places to shop for shapewear include Dillards, Spanx, Skims, and Target. You can get them from anywhere and the prices vary, but you can find good shapewear for any wear from $20-$60 or more.
Now that we know what shapewear is and its many purposes, now it’s time to talk about what NOT to do. Of course, this is just my opinion based on my real-life experiences and hearing many, many conversations, but do not wear shapewear as outerwear. I know it’s tempting to show off that shape in that shapewear bodysuit you got from skims, but that’s not its purpose. It can come off really cheap and tacky. Instead find clothes with shapewear built-in if that’s the look you desire. Do not buy the wrong size. If it’s too tight it can have the opposite of the desired effect and be uncomfortable and emphasize bulges or leave marks. Do not put it on over your head. Instead step into it and be patient as it may take you a little time to pull it up, similar to pantyhose. Don’t wear it to bed. I feel like this is obvious, but shapewear is not sleepwear and wearing shapewear to bed can have negative health effects over time. Lastly, do not expect a transformation. Shapewear can only work with what you got, so please don’t expect an entirely new shape and build off of one pair of spanx. It may take two (lol).
But seriously, please understand that you are beautiful and worthy of love regardless of whether you wear shapewear or not, because it is easy to get addicted to seeing a version of yourself that may not be fully “real” and in turn you get comfortable with masking insecurities, instead of doing the work to either love them or change them. Love who you are naturally and understand that shapewear is just to enhance the beauty that’s already present. Also you shouldn’t be embarrassed to wear shapewear, if more people wore it we would be better off. Nobody is going to automatically think you're insecure if you wear it or that you're “hiding” something, or that you are ‘cat-fishing’ (people who think like that don’t even really know what shapewear is) and if they do WHO CARES. You have to make decisions for yourself, decisions that will allow you to show up in the world as the most productive, confident version of you. People lose millions of dollars every year behind insecurities you know nothing about. Everyone is insecure about something, don’t allow your insecurities to hinder you if there are solutions. And shapewear is not just for insecure people!
TH
Thanks for reading! Have you noticed any stigma around shapewear? What are your thoughts on wearing shapewear? Let me know your thoughts in the comments or submit something anonymously under “Full Disclosure”!
