Your Jeans May Be Too Tight If...

your 30 inch waist is now 47 inches

We’ve all been there after putting on a pound or two, trying to squeeze into that favorite pair of jeans, jumping up and down as we try to zip it up. (I’m not sure why we think that works). Only to find that once we get them zipped, our waist is falling outside of the jeans giving us a not so pretty muffin top.

So, it’s time to get serious here ladies. I’m talking to the women who enjoy a modest appearance, who want to look professional and those who want to be taken seriously. For those who think that’s all nonsense, there’s plenty of internet help out there to take you where you want to go.

As in all areas of life, in order to fix something, first you must see the problem. I’ve been doing a lot of research and from what I have found and actually experienced myself, is that tight clothing can work if it is balanced with straight and or curved lines around a troubled area. What I see in so many photos are women taking this ‘tight’ clothing five steps too far and in the wrong direction.

Let’s look at a typical problem area... the belly. The best look is to wear large and flowing, on top and slim on the bottom. I hate to say it, but when trying to maintain a modest appearance that will take you from the office to the church pew, hiding the bumps and rolls is your best bet. It allows others to focus in on you and not all the distractions.

You can accomplish this with loose fitting tops/bottoms or with the help of some of the fabulous shaping lingerie available today. The look you see here would benefit from either of those options. She’s such a pretty girl, with a great umpire waistline but you can’t focus in on anything because of all the distractions in her mid section. A medium compression, body suit would be perfect along with sizing up one or possibly two sizes.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve never been able to successfully wear shapeware. I gained and lost weight so many times when I was really young, my skin’s elasticity failed me. I searched high and low for a pant leg, for example that went straight down to the ankle. If the leg stopped mid thigh, it would create a brand new roll on an area that wasn’t an issue! Today, the shapeware industry has come a long way. So whether you have loose skin or not, there’s something that can work just for you.

First let me say that going without shapeware at all is the best. You are the most comfortable and natural when you don’t have restrictive undergarments on at all. So this information is really geared for when you need a bit of extra help for certain occasions where you would like more control over the curves.

I found some really great advise on shapeware and the varied levels of compression you want for different outfits or occasions. If your shapeware compression is high or what they call firm control, you might be a bit uncomfortable and let’s face it, it can be downright miserable. Bending over might become an issue and you can just forget sitting down. However, this type of shapeware might be perfect for your wedding dress since you’ll be able to shed the pain after the ceremony and get comfy for the reception following. So the use of firm control should be used for short time periods.

Medium control is more flexible and can smooth out some areas that you want to smooth. You’ll be able to at least bend over and even sit down with only a bit of discomfort, if at all.

Then there’s light control which is basically smoothing out a bit of cellulite and waist roll and allows for an all day great fit for most, firming up the jiggle you might say.

Here's something that happens to a lot of us... a bit too tight waistline that produces a mini muffin top, but with a light compression, high waist garment, problem solved.

I can hear critics now... why wear shapeware at all? Why not love you as you are? I agree wholeheartedly with the exception, as I've already pointed out, that there might be occasions where shapeware can help and if you disagree, you've probably never worn a shaping undergarment. You might just be surprised.

It's been a wild ride locating shops that are geared to help plus-size women so we are thankful to have found ShapeLLX who not only caters to generous sizes, they also use plus size models. This is absolutely so helpful when trying to determine what type of clothing/undergarments would work for a particular body type. With ShapeLLX You'll find shapeware from the 'comfy' to 'I'm going to fit into this dress if it kills me' compression levels. Check them out and let us know what you think! Don't forget to check out their SALE pages!

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