Have you ever worn body shapewear? The undergarments that are meant to give your body a smoother contour, suck in all the jelly rolls and keeps them firmly tucked away.
No matter how big or skinny you are, women are always looking for that tight, no jiggly look, especially when wearing body-hugging outfits.
Shapewear promises to give you a smaller waistline, the desired hourglass shape, a flat tummy and perfect apple-bottom bums.
Whenever Kim Kardashian West’s shapewear, Skims, pops up on my timeline, I reach for my credit card and dream of buying the whole collection. I mean, have you seen how magical they are? If they can shape Kim’s body like that, then I’m sold! The collection has a solution for every problem.
Skims body shapewear. Picture: Instagram
There are many shapewear brands on the market which promise to do the same things.
That’s all good and well until you find yourself in the changing room, with a handful of carefully selected shapewear in hand, ready to try on these miracle garments and watch your body transform.
Firstly, you might have noticed that even though you’ve taken the size that you would usually wear when it comes to any other underwear, it looks tiny. Holding it up to your waist you’re probably already wondering, “How am I going to get into this?”
Well, let me tell you this, it’s going to be with great difficulty.
I’m going to take you back to my first time. I remember it so clearly and my heart races just thinking about it.
Stripped down to my underwear I start with what looks like a “cycling pants” which is meant to smooth out my thighs, suck in my tummy and give me a smaller waist.
So all I have to do is step into it and pull it up. Easy. NOPE! Not so easy.
All the pulling and jumping I had to simply get them over my thighs already had me working up a mild sweat. Once I managed to get them over my thighs and to my crotch, all I needed to do was pull it over my tummy. That part wasn’t too bad.
After all acrobatics, I was so tired that I had sat down for a second to catch my breath. As I sat down, the top of the pants started rolling down over my belly. When I stood up my belly was hanging over the top of the pants. My heart sank as I wiggled my way out of the suffocating torture garment. Feeling free once again.
This lady over here understands my pain:
Needless to say, I didn’t buy them. I’d rather have a flabby belly than a wardrobe malfunction that will leave me suffocated all night.
But, that’s just me. Thousands of women love them and never leave home without.
If you’re keen to try them out, watch these tips on how to wear shapewear.