My Official Spanx Haute Couture Review

As previously posted, I purchased a pair of Spanx to go under my wedding dress. They recently introduced their new Spanx Haute Couture line, and I figured it was the perfect shaper to go under my dress for a fancy event such as a wedding. here is what Spanx has to say about the product:

Luscious Lace Mid-Thigh Shaper

$128

• Exclusively developed scalloped shaping-power-lace with additional layer of mesh support smoothes hips and flattens stomach
• Lace waistband lays flat under clothing
• Silky shaping microfiber smoothes hips, thighs and bottom
• Laser precision cut hem offers invisibility under clothing
• Cotton gusset provides comfort and breathability

I ordered them, tried them on, and here is what I thought:

Pros: The lace was really pretty, and a nice change from the basic and boring (yet fully functional) design of most shapers. But this no-show lace proves that seamless doesn't have to mean ugly. I liked the variety of colors offered on the Spanx website, which were not all available to me on NeimanMarcus.com when I purchased mine. As for the fit, they were just as comfortable as my other Spanx products, and the lace didn't itch. The mid-thigh length is great as a replacement for tights/nylons because you can still wear shorter dresses and wear sandals because it's footless.

Cons: Maybe it's just my body type (curvy in all the right places), but I found the mid-rise of this shaper, which means it hits around the middle of your stomach, to cut into me at a weird place. Every time I sat down, it started to roll down my mid-section. The high rise "Power Panties" have worked much better for me over the years. Unfortunately for me, I have a low back wedding gown and can't wear high-waisted anything. Just to note, one of the contributing factors to the "rolling down" effect is because it was a bit too small. In the regular Spanx line, I wear a size large (I want shaping, but not to feel like I'm in a sausage casing). Even after eating a steak I can still feel comfortable in that size. Apparently the sizing runs smaller on the Haute Couture line (I double checked the size guide online), a large being a size 8-10 instead of 12-14.

Final Thoughts: I would have kept the product had they offered a larger size or the sizing stayed true to their original line. No one wants to have to wear a shaper. But if we're going to, it should at least be pretty. I give them a B+ for creating a beautiful product but not offering larger sizes.

Item description and picture courtesy of Spanx.com