unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : shapewear

I think every girl wants to look her best whether it's on her wedding day or just going out for the day. All of us have some part of our body that we're not happy with but sometimes it's nice to get a little help if we can. Shapewear has come a long way over the years and could potentially make you look way thinner than you actually are. I say, if you can trick the eye into making yourself look thinner, why not?!  I happened to catch a re-run episode of Dr. Oz when he had Janie Byant who is the costumer designer for Madmen and some of her recommendations for shapewear that she uses on the show.

If you're more of a pear shape (more weight in hips and thighs) she recommended two products from Rago.  First is the Upper Body Extra Firm Shaping Long Line Bra ($44) and the Leg Shaper Firm Shaping ($37). Bryant simplified the names of the products on the show but I think these are the ones she showed. Both of these are the two images below. If you'd like to see some of Rago's products in action there are some YouTube videos of women before and after wearing different shapewear by Rago, here.

If you're more of an apple shape (more weight in the belly area) Bryant recommended Flexees Easy-Up Strapless Unitard from Maidenform ($38.99-$44). Ok, so if you're like me the first thing you'll think when you see the picture below is, "Why are there straps when the product is supposed to be strapless." Well, the straps are removable so I guess it's both. 

If you're in need of some help all around, Bryant recommended Bodysuit with Legs ($92, comes with or without an underwire) by Lipo in a Box (image below). This is supposed to suck and shape everything from the bust all the way down to the thighs.

Lastly, (or firstly?) the image at the very top of this post is shapewear recommendation from a different episode of Dr. Oz from Emme the plus-size model. She recommended the Flexees Ultimate Slimmer Wear Your Own Bra (WYOB) Torsette Body Briefer ($36) from Maidenform. She liked that you could wear your own bra while still getting be benefits from shapewear. You can check out the video from the episode, here.

Also, I'd like to include a short clip also from the Dr. Oz (I swear, I rarely watch this show!!) show that rather convincingly explains why you should always wash worn shapewear after every use. It's kind of gross but it's informational, here.