However you plan on spending Valentine’s Day this year, be it going on a hot date, rekindling your marriage after having a baby or celebrating your single life with your gal-pals, you deserve to feel good about what you are wearing.
Yet, what happens if you don’t feel body confident? What if your favorite dress suddenly makes you feel like you’re hiding dinner rolls underneath it? Or that top that you’d like even more if you didn’t have back fat? What about those pieces that you think you can never wear because you don’t have the body for them?
It’s easy to feel limited by what you think you can wear because you’re convinced that you don’t have the right figure. Yet, before you trash the idea of slipping your body into something that makes you feel sensual, let’s talk about some great Valentine’s looks and the proper shapewear and lingerie pieces that will support you and make you feel and look even better. You may just be surprised by what you can wear. All shapewear pieces have been brought to you from BareNecessities.com, my favorite and the largest online specialty retailer of women’s & men’s branded and designer intimate apparel and underwear.
In addition to offering shapewear and lingerie shopping advice, I am also going to give you dressing and styling tips to show you how you can create the body and style you want with the body you have. You can view shopping information by clicking the images below.
Shapewear and Lingerie Recommendation #1: Ready to Bust
Having a large chest, support being the main objective, I often feel relegated to the bras that are sensible and far from sexual. Yet, this doesn’t have to be the case.
The Fantasie: Elodie Side Support Underwire Bra is a bra that offers stylish, feminine support all the way up to a size 40FF! Plus, they come with matching panties to complete the look. Don’t sacrifice style for support. You can have it both ways!
When you have a curvier figure with a larger chest, working with your own natural curves is important. The waist is your best friend and a part of the body that should not be ignored. The added benefit to a supportive bra is that is boosts the boobs to their proper place which lengthens and narrows the torso. The longer your torso, the leaner and more balanced you will look.
A dress like this is a great silhouette if you have a curvier and bustier figure because the waist is accentuated, the tapered hem of the skirt balances curves. Additionally, a shift dress creates a longer, slimmer look and the waist seaming found on this dress shapes and accentuates the waist even more.
Shapewear and Lingerie Recommendation #2: Taking the Plunge
So, you were inspired by all the plunging necklines at the Golden Globes and you want to partake. If your chest is small enough, this may be something to consider this Valentine’s Day. Yet, the idea of letting your chest roam free in a backless dress with a plunging neckline doesn’t exactly make you feel all that confident. Plus, you still want some support in other areas of concern. What do you do?
I think Va Bien: Ultra-Lift Low Plunge Body Briefer is a brilliant solution. You can bare it all while still feeling supported. It has a firm control, low back body shaper, patented Ultra-Lift boned cups for shape and support, double-lined front panel for extra tummy control and converts to criss-cross or halter.
This type of shapewear piece won’t leave you hanging when you wear a dress like this. If you think that, up until now, you couldn’t wear a dress such as this, consider that it may not be your body that is wrong for the dress but the undergarments you’ve been choosing that is.
Smaller and average sized busts normally look better in a plunging neckline. If you want to build up your bust area, however, it can be done with the drape of a cowl neck. A dress like this with fitted waist gathers is also wonderful solution if you have narrower hips or a boyish figure, but want to create the illusion of more curves.
Shapewear and Lingerie Recommendation #3: Slimming Your Tummy is a Cinch
Perhaps, for you, it’s not about looking sexy underneath what you are wearing this Valentine’s Day, but in how good you look in what you are wearing. Or, maybe, this is your first real celebratory night out since having a baby and, dammit, you want to look as good as you possibly can. You don’t care what you have to look like underneath your clothing.
If function trumps fashion for you, and your tummy has been giving you tremendous ache, I love SPANX: Super Control Higher Power ® Brief High-Waisted Panty. It is a super control, high-waist brief that smooths you from bra to hips. The waistband is designed to stay in place and, if you’re worried about VPL, the non-binding leg bands minimize panty lines.
For added tummy coverage, consider a dress that has ruching or gathering over the tummy area or diagonals in a dress like this. Lastly, coral is known as a universal color. So, if you’re looking to incorporate more color into your wardrobe, coral is one of those shades that flatters every skin-tone.
Shapewear and Lingerie Recommendation #4: Something Slinky
You want to wear something slinky this Valentine’s Day, but your body is telling you otherwise. Well, turn the volume down on that critical inner-voice and start shopping for shapewear. I don’t care what your size is, it’s unlikely you’ll look good without much support.
The Sassybax: Pretty Slip with Underwire Bra proves that a full body slip does not have to be ugly. The moderate control shaping slip smooths from bust to hips, has underwire and it sold in cup sizes. While the slip doesn’t have panties underneath, reviewers have claimed that it doesn’t ride up.
It’s easy to feel unsupported in a dress like this which is why a shaping slip is so crucial. Additionally, a slip can be great with a short skirt because it isn’t likely you’ll see it pop out from the bottom of the hem of the skirt.
Shapewear and Lingerie Recommendation #5: Girl’s Night Out
You have a night out planned with your girlfriends, but the night is young and you don’t know where it will end up. You want to wear shapewear because you know those skinny jeans may not be as skinny as they once were, and accessorizing with a muffin top is out of the question. So, what do you do? Do you go for the sexy underwear that makes you feel hot and spicy, but maybe not as supported as you’d like to be, or do you go for the supportive stuff that makes you look good on the outside but a bit like you’re wearing scuba gear on the inside?
What I love about Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl shapwear line is that you get it both ways. It doesn’t matter if there will be a gentleman caller at the end of the evening or if you just want to feel good about yourself, there is a way to wear shapewear and still feel smokin’. I love the Skinnygirl: Alluring Lace Shaping Bodysuit because, if you really wanted to, you could wear it on its own with a cardigan or jacket over it, but as a layering piece it gets the job done with style.
Even if our shirts are more forgiving, it doesn’t mean that it will keep the muffin top away. Fabrication can be a huge factor in whether or not your rolls will show. If your top is more flimsy (like most “night out” tops), a shaping body suit will eliminate the rolls and also eliminate over exposure from bending or reaching…for another cocktail, of course.
For more shapewear and lingerie for Valentine’s Day, check out BareNecessities.com’s Valentine’s Day selection.
Alisha pez