To Spanx or Not to Spanx
- Author: curvy angela
- Filed under: Body Image, Fashion, Media, News
Apr 21,2008
First: Forgive the vanity of this exercise.
Second: Apologies to the guy I met last week who hates it when people turn nouns into verbs. If he thinks “Google” shouldn’t be used as a verb–as in, “I Googled it”–then he’ll pass out if Spanx becomes a verb.
Am I a sell-out if I wear Spanx? I rarely wear them–I figure, I’m curvy and cinching in my gut and my hips an inch or so isn’t going to make a difference. However, I do have the occasional outfit that I believe looks more refined with the addition of some shapewear underneath.
At the Clinton Kelly event, he really pushed the idea of shapewear, so I decided to conduct an experiment. I wore the same dress (3 part construction–defined bust, defined waist, and a skirt that flows away from the body–à la What Not to Wear) two days in a row, one day with Spanx, one day without. The Spanx clearly takes away some of the width of my hips, but does it really matter? What do you think: Spanx, No Spanx?
Spanx/No Spanx
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5 Responses for "To Spanx or Not to Spanx"
How comfortable are ’spanx’? That would be the tie-breaker for me. You look about the same in all the photos, with the spanx ones being a teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy-bit different.
Thanks for the feedback. I agree that the visual difference is minimal, particularly in this dress. Spanx are fairly comfortable (as shapewear goes) sort of like super-control top panty hose; however, they are a bear to get on–I always feel like I’m tried to squeeze myself into a sausage tube.
I have one or two special occasion dresses that I think are improved by shapewear; otherwise, it’s just not worth it to me. There’s just so much emphasis in the fashion world on shapewear, so I am curious to see if maybe I’m missing something.
I can answer: Spanx are incredibly uncomfortable. But then, I hate anything tight and constricting. I hunt for non-control-top panty hose and buy a dozen pairs at a time. I tried Spanx when they first came out- don’t even ask me why- and I think I wore them once. I also tried their bra and my boobs fell out of it and I’m only a 34C.
Hanky Panky and OnGossamer underwear are comfortable and invisible.
Definitely no Spanx!! Your body is lovely just the way it is
I thank you, and my curves thank you, as well.
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