Your big day is fast approaching and hopefully the stress of wedding planning has calmed down a bit. You’ve either already picked out your dress and you’re getting ready for the fitting, or maybe you’re taking a look at different styles soon and just want to prepare.
Wedding Day undergarments are almost as important as the outerwear. We all think about the wedding night lingerie but frankly, all that lace and skimpy attire doesn’t help the look of the dress.
That’s why we want to bring a spotlight to wedding day shapewear with our 10 best tips and tricks on how to incorporate it under your dress.
- Find Your Size
- Shape Your Body Type
- Remember Your Style
- Pay Attention to Fabric
- Think Nude
- Seamlessness Is Key
- Clean It Up
- Gussy Up
- Add Some Padding
- Prepare For The Fitting
Find Your Size
You may not have decided what type of shapewear you want yet so how are you supposed to know your size? That’s why we put this as the number one tip. We want you to keep in mind the most important rule when it comes to shapewear – buy your actual size.
Shapewear comes in many sizes for a reason. Women are often told by media and diet culture that “smaller is better,” but that is simply not true. When you are ready to shop for shapewear the idea is to smooth out areas that may look bumpy, lumpy, or unflattering.
The size of the shapewear only matters when it fits your body. Think of it as a second skin – a compression sock for your waist, butt, and legs. If the undergarment is too small it will be uncomfortable and you might not be able to enjoy yourself. You might end up with bulging at the ends of the shapewear (a busted can of biscuits is one of the common imagries). If the garment is too loose you will experience bunching and it will do nothing to smooth out your figure.
Shape Your Body Type
When we look in the mirror and envision ourselves in the beautiful white dress, what stands out the most? We all have insecurities and those problems should be the furthest things from your mind. That’s why you need to find a shapewear garment that will give you the lift and gentle compression to accentuate your assets.
- Rounder in the middle and hips – High-waist panties or waist-training corset styles help support your back and tummy while creating a curvy, hourglass figure.
- Narrow shoulders, broader hips – Highlight your best asset with a high-waisted panty, bike short, or bodysuit/bikeshort combo. You’ll round out the lumps and show off a vivacious booty.
- Broader shoulders, narrow hips – Want to even out the top and the bottom a bit? We suggest avoiding anything with a push-up feature on the bust. You want the girls to shine, but if you want to create the illusion of top/bottom symmetry, you will want to pad and lift the booty and cinch the waist. We recommend a bike short or high-waisted undie or a waist trainer/bike short combo.
- Hips and shoulders are about the same size, narrow waist – Some wedding gowns can be made from bulky and rigid fabrics that take away from your shape. Wear a waist trainer or waist trainer/bodysuit combo, under your dress and have it fitted to your measurements to ensure you have a flawless fit.
- Shoulders, waist, hips are all similar measurements – You may decide that you want a little extra curve in your physique for the big day and a waist trainer or high-waisted panty might just give you that little extra bit of definition to your waistline.
Remember Your Style
You picked that dress for a reason. That is your dress. Everything needs to be designed around that style – including your underwear. Whether you choose to wear your own bra or you opt for another undergarment with support, it needs to be practically invisible.
For strapless numbers and low necklines, you’ll want to avoid a bodysuit shaper with straps and opt for the high waisted panty brief. This style comes up above your belly button to suck in your belly and hips.
Brides may also consider the modern-day corset with a built in strapless bra. These types of shapewear have boning in the fabric that gives the garment its shape.
Pay Attention to Fabric
Thinner fabrics, like silk, can be very clingy on your figure so it’s important to find shapewear that doesn’t snag or show through. Any kind of shapewear that has boning built into the garment will show through and create unflattering lines on a delicate dress.
Additionally, too many layers of underwear and shapewear will create a bulky look if the gown isn’t a heavily structured material. The idea of shapewear is to make you look as natural as possible while smoothing out your figure.
Think Nude
We know, we know. You want to wear something sexy and racy under your dress for the big night but in reality, the after party is hours away. Save that lacey lingerie for later and focus on how you want to look and feel at the ceremony and reception.
The most common misconception is that when you wear white outerwear, you should wear white underwear. Unfortunately a lot of women have made this mistake, but to our benefit we can learn their lessons.
The trick is to pick a nude shade of shapewear that most closely matches your skin tone. This little tidbit helps make it seem like you’re wearing nothing under the dress at all.
Seamlessness Is Key
When we talked about dress fabric earlier, there’s one thing we left out because we think it’s important enough to be talked about in detail. Seams.
It seems that seams pop up when we least want them – and your wedding dress is not the time or place for panty or foundational garment lines. Your underwear should basically be a smooth second skin under your dress. Seamless underwear and shapewear are essential to creating this fairytale attire so don’t overlook the details and structure of your shapewear.
Clean It Up
After you’ve tried on your shapewear and made sure it’s the right fit and is indistinguishable under your gown, you need to wash it.
From manufacturing, to display or stockroom, to packing and shipping, upwards of 10-20 people are touching and manipulating the clothes you are about to put on your body. Now we’d all like to think each of these people is clean and washes their hands regularly – but do we really know that?
Wash those drawers according to the directions so they don’t snag, tear, or unravel in your washing machine before you get a chance to wear them. Quality shapewear will have instructions for the best care and will last you a long time as long as you follow the directions.
Gussy Up
Here’s something we all forget about from time-to-time. The gusset. That little extra lining in the crotch of your panties. If your shapewear comes with a built in gusset you can forgo the panties to reduce the bulky feeling and smooth out your look.
Some shapewear even come with an open-gusset so if nature calls after you’re already dressed, you don’t have to hassle with the many layers to relieve yourself.
Add Some Padding
Let’s say you want to round out certain areas to lift and accentuate those features. Butt-padding is a great way to get a BBL-booty without surgery or working out. And, of course we can’t forget the padded bra to give you an accent to your dress’s neckline.
Padding takes up extra room in your dress in case some areas are looking a little flat. Shapewear, in combination with the padding, helps draw the curves of your natural body without using invasive procedures or extreme dieting or exercise.
You don’t want to go overboard with the padding – your natural body is beautiful the way it is. You don’t want to contort yourself until you’re unrecognizable, you simply want to enhance yourself so that you feel confident in your gorgeous self.
Prepare For The Fitting
Now that you’ve got the size, color, dress, and all the extras ready to go, take them to your fitting. The seamstress will fit the gown to your body so if you don’t have the extras with you, the dress may not lay right or fit properly once you put it all on for your wedding day.
From your first to the final fitting, you don’t want to do anything drastically different to change your body. Finding out your dress doesn’t fit because there is no room for the butt-padding could completely change the look you desired. This is a very stressful situation for many brides and it is easily avoidable by preparing ahead of time.
So take a deep breath, relax, get your mani/pedi on, and feel better prepared now that you have the tips, tricks, and knowhow to pick out your shapewear for the big day.
Bonus Tip
When your wedding day finally comes, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to get ready. Shapewear, padding, make up, hair, and getting the dress on will take a lot of time. The process is not something that can be completed in 5-10 minutes. Talk to your stylists, bridesmaids, and anyone else helping you get ready, and do a trial run to see how long it takes to get everything up to your standards.
Don’t worry, they’re not going to start the ceremony without you! But everyone – including your partner – is waiting for you at the end of the aisle. Congratulations, beautiful!