My Shapermint Shapewear Must-Haves

I’ve been working out harder than I ever have before over the past couple months, and I can definitely see parts of my body start toning up. With that said, I still do have a little bit of a tummy that pudges out. While I usually know what styles of clothing fit me and accentuate the curves I want to show off, there’s always the chance that fabric will just cling the wrong way to places I don’t.

It’s not to really change my body shape or fit into something that’s too tight. I reach for shapewear when I come across an outfit that fits, but doesn’t necessarily look smooth, ya dig?

Case in point: this dress. Here’s how it looks without shapewear underneath. It fits— if it was any bigger, it wouldn’t accentuate my waist as well. But the bodycon style and length both really accentuate my lower belly line which is probably the part of my body I’m most conscious of. I just don’t like how the fabric bunches up around it, making it look bigger than it is. I feel like my front side looks bigger than my backside when I wear this dress without shapewear, in fact.

All of my shapewear is from Shapermint, which may sound familiar if you are on any social media platform! It’s an online shapewear store that makes finding styles you’ll love both easy and affordable. You can shop by style or body type, and even filter by what body part you want to control the most. What I love about shopping through their site is that they do free exchanges. So if something doesn’t fit you perfectly and create the silhouette you want, they’ll make it right for you without a hassle. I’ve found the quality to be sturdy yet lightweight and comfortable. I love the details that help the shapewear from rolling down or bunching up– makes such a difference! Plus, you can get 10% off at Shapermint using the code SLASHEDBEAUTY10.

I usually wear three different styles of shapewear: shaping panties, shaping & butt lifting shorts, or a shaping bodysuit. The bodysuit is for any outfit that sits close to the body, and that would show creases easily. Sometimes shapewear can create creases or bulges under your clothes that make it obvious what you’re wearing underneath, but the bodysuit style looks smooth throughout the torso, and you can still wear your own bra which makes sizing a bit easier. Bodysuits are also perfect for sheer clothing. Shaping panties and shorts are for outfits that are a little more forgiving around the waist, and specifically target the lower belly smoothing and filling out the rear end. The shorts are also great for wearing underneath really short dresses or skirts to avoid a flashing faux-pas. My pair of shaping shorts are also butt-lifters, so they give a really nice contour to the rear end to fill out body-con dresses.

While it may not be the sexiest color ever, I always order my shapewear in nude. The reason being that it shows up the least under sheerer styles since there’s not a huge contrast between the color and my skin tone. Sometimes when you wear black under a lighter color, you can faintly see it through the fabric… I’m not about that. So, I choose nude so that they’ll work under any garment regardless of the quality and fabric thickness.

Here’s what the same dress above looks like with and without shapewear. You can see how much better the fit of the dress is when I have the Butt Lifter Boyshort style underneath. I feel like it adds the right amount of curves without being ridiculous in back, but also smooths rolls and the outward curve of my lower stomach.

Now I just wanna take a moment to say, for the sake of womankind, it’s totally cool to rock your body however you want. Whether you want it to be all natural and embrace every single curve, or you want to smooth out a few, or even all of them— whatever you want for your body is okay! (Sorry, just the Women’s Studies Minor in me coming out.)

For me, shapewear isn’t something I wear every day but I know the outfits in my closet where I’ll need to wear some underneath due to clinginess, sheerness or even length. I like having these different styles that are super interchangeable and match every outfit, and the fact that they’re so affordable on Shapermint… because have you seen the prices of shapewear at department stores?? So ridiculous! Don’t forget to use the code SLASHEDBEAUTY10 for 10% off!

So, while I’m happy with my dress size (I’ve been a size 8 for a few years now), I’m going to continue to exercise and hopefully tone up my body… but shapewear will help me fake it til I make it with certain outfits.

Do you wear shapewear? What style is your go-to, and what do you seek to control the most when you wear it?