Manufacturers make a variety of form fitting undergarment products using a range of fabrics, including cotton and lace. They typically make true shapewear pieces with nylon and elastane to create a tight-yet-comfortable fit around the body. People traditionally use shapewear to make themselves look and feel slimmer and so they can fit into fashions that might not normally fit. Some of them use shapewear as an alternative to a bra or top. A shapewear piece can also give them the ability to wear an undergarment without visible marks appearing on their outerwear. Although you can find many different types of shapewear items in brick-and-mortar shops, online stores and postal mail catalogs, you can perform almost any type of figure shaping that you desire by using one or more of only six pieces.
When you want to shape the majority of your body, a bodysuit offers the perfect solution. They have been described as "skin tight" for good reason. They typically help a person shape the hips, buttocks, stomach, waist, breasts and shoulders. That said, a longer bodysuit can smooth and reshape the hips, legs and arms as well. With the products that only cover the torso, you can find designs that feature a thong instead of panties and an open bra area. To make bathroom visits easier, many designs feature an adjustable groin section that you can open and close with hook and fastener tape or snap buttons.
If you only need to alter your appearance above your hips, then a camisole or cami top works best. Camisoles reshape the abdomen, waistline and breasts. As with bodysuits, you can find them with and without sleeves. Sleeveless options come in wide and skinny spaghetti-style straps. Since cami tops stretch and smooth over the body so tightly, many people with small-to-medium-sized breasts can receive bra-like support from camis, which means that they don't have to wear a bra under a camisole. People who want to at least partially cover their hips with a cami can also buy long versions that stretch like a tight dress down over their hips.
When many women are asked to think of a slip, they likely have a traditional image in mind of a flowing, loose silk or satin, full- or half-length lingerie piece worn under a dress or skirt, respectively. Historically, women used slips so they could wear more sheer fabrics without their bodies showing through the material and to prevent static clinging so that a dress or skirt wouldn't bunch or twist against their legs. Modern shapewear slips provide the same benefits. The added bonus is that they reshape your form so that you can wear a dress or skirt that might not normally look great or fit without shapewear.
Girdles represent a shapewear item design that exists between bodysuits, camisoles and slips. They reshape the abdomen, waist and hips without covering the breasts or fitting tightly around the groin. That said, you can find designs that have groin or bra coverage as well. Some versions feature straps that you attach to stockings or a bra to prevent each piece from rolling or bunching. It's important to keep in mind that some girdle manufacturers use tight-yet-comfortable stretchable material, but other ones use a mix of materials that are stiffer and less flexible. The latter variety is often designed with double padding and tight stitching around the front of the torso.
Some people only want to reshape their lower abdomen, hips and thighs. You wear shaping shorts the same way as you might wear briefs, panties or thongs under any other clothing, including dresses, skirts, pants, jeans and outerwear shorts. The difference is that they more tightly compress associated areas to fit your needs. Some shorts extend above the waistline as well. With these options, you can smooth the front of the torso up to the bust. To prevent the material from rolling down, the manufacturer might offer you an option to affix the top of the shorts to the underside of a bra.
When a lot of women hear the word "underwear," they think of lingerie that covers the groin and lower abdomen even though all of the items in this list are technically underwear. A piece of shapewear that only covers these areas instead of the hips and thighs is known as a shaping or high-waist brief, panty or thong. You can wear it standalone as a replacement for your regular underwear or over top of a non-shaping pair. As with shaping shorts, you can find designs that extend up and across the abdomen and attach to a bra. People who wear shaping underwear typically want something less confining than a bodysuit or girdle. They also don't want to feel anything compressing their thighs.
