Mission Control- Luxury Shapewear Review

I have a love/hate relationship with shapewear.  And I'm sure my husband feels similarly.  Not because he wears it himself, but because shapewear isn't the sexiest thing I've ever worn.  I've joked that, while on a date, shapewear is false advertising just like a push-up bra.  Obviously my husband knows what I'm packing these days (see "plus-sized woman").  I'll be honest, I can't wear half the clothes in my closet without some type of shapewear on- It smooths out all of my lumps and bumps.  But let's face it, there is no sexy way to put on or peel yourself out of something that looks and feels like a sausage casing cleverly disguised as the 1940-esque girdle your grandmother wore.  My poor husband.

Needless to say I've been on the hunt for sexy shapewear for obvious reasons.  So when I stumbled across this beautiful lace bodysuit in June's InStyle Magazine, only to find out it was also shapewear, I had to look into it.  Others have tried to "dress up" shapewear, but none have mastered the balance of form and function quite like Mission Control.  Their products are less shapewear and more performance lingerie.  It's as beautiful as it is functional. And above all, affordable!

I put their products to the test on some of my friends and clients.  And their overall reaction?  W-O-W!  Some of my skinniest clients (aka- furthest from actually needing shapewear) said they would even be willing to wear shapewear if it looked as cute as this.  Now that's saying something.  My beautiful and very brave friend Amanda has graciously agreed to let me post photos of her wearing the product (because we want to see the stuff on real people, not just a model).  Pictured below are one piece from each of the Mission Control collections:

A-LIAS Sculpting Hi-Waist Brief. $38.
Notice how this "panty" easily pulls up towards her bra strap.  These babies don't roll down like others I have tried.  Only down side, and it's not necessarily a bad thing, is the they aren't exactly seamless.  To get the pretty stripes of color, they had to include seams.  However, when worn under this same black knit dress, you couldn't see them at all.

Exoskin Compression Tunic, $68
While this one is the prettiest of the three, it is really invaluable for those body con dresses.  What's great about this one is it allows you to wear your own bra.

















Body Boudoir Contour Cami, $52.
Isn't this lace beautiful?  Who wouldn't want to undress with the lights on in this hot number?  This cami comes from the same collection as the bodysuit I fell in love with in InStyle (see beginning of post).  It's so cute I don't want to hide it under my other clothes!  No one would guess that something this feminine and sexy is actually shapewear.  That's because it's not... it's performance lingerie. A+

Big thanks to Mission Control for letting me review their product, and to Amanda for being my amazing model :)

Images courtesy of InStyle Magazine, Mission Control and Jennifer Axcell

Memoirs of my morning at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale

waiting with at least 50 other women for the elevators to open

My amazing friend Lindsey gets me up at 5:45 every year to get coffee and gear up for the doors to open at Nordstrom Westfield Centre.  7am hits and we are first into the elevators.  With quiet anticipation, the very full elevator explodes onto the sales floor and spills forth into the shoes...

The damage done in the shoe department (my CC is starting to smoke already)

With the game plan in play and shopping lists in hand, we head from shoes up to the clothes.  Using the circled and dog-eared preview catalog as my compass, I glide through the clothing racks (dodging the other shoppers) searching for the perfect tops on sale to wear with my jeggings.

My morning hair and yoga clothes (hey, it was 7am at THE MALL!)

After bogarting the fitting room for over 30 minutes (exiting to glares from the ladies in line), I end this early morning madness with a final stop in the lingerie department.  I'm bummed to find out that, along with my waistline, my boobs are growing as well.  So I take this opportunity to try on larger bras (on sale for under $40!) to wear with the shapewear now practically required with every outfit.

Surprisingly, once I get home and walked through the door with my many bags, the first thing I can't wait to try on again are the over the knee socks I picked up last-minute.  After giving it all the once-over in my own mirror (why do clothes sometimes look different on you once you're home?) I am satisfied that I only need to return one item; the flats that made it into my bag in the wrong color.

If you listen really carefully, you can still hear my credit cards crying out for help!

How Your Boobs Change

Ladies, did you know that your breasts will change shape, size and distribution, on average, 6 times during your life?  I found this interesting article on {Intimacy} about the subject:


Here are some of the lifestyle events that cause breast changes:

• Weight loss or gain can mean reduced breast size, less tissue elasticity, loss of firmness or increased needs for support.
  
• Birth control, hormone replacement therapy, cortisone and other medications can cause water retention and effect hormone levels in a woman's body. This can mean an increase in breast size of up to one cup.
  
• An increase in exercise for younger women may tighten pectoral muscles, which can improve uplift to the entire breast area. A decrease in exercise can cause a decline of body fat, thus reducing a woman's bra size or firmness. (Breast tissue is not muscle. The pectoral muscles lie behind breast tissue.)
  
• Pregnancy and/or nursing puts demand on tissue and skin resiliency. Most women lose firmness due to increases of at least 1-2 cup sizes. If nursing, the constant fill up and flow during lactation stresses the breast. While nursing, a woman should not use underwire bras, as they do not allow enough growth during the numerous lactation cycles.
  
• Breast augmentations require the same support as normal breasts. Skin elasticity and resilience is influenced more by an individual’s genetics than by operational procedures, enlargement size or where the enlargement is placed (under or over breast tissue.)
  
• A change in diet may affect the percentage of body fat, fluids or protein your body needs to metabolize and nourish the breast tissue. Radical changes can result in hormone imbalance, loss of hair, and is not generally recommended

*Source:  In research we conducted with over 500 women, 55% of respondents reported one or more lifestyle changes during the past year. 

I found this interesting little tidbit while reading a blog post about the booming business of large figure bras.  Being a large breasted woman myself, I am looking forward to having a larger selection of pretty bras made available to me.

 
Image courtesy of Bare Necessities

Spanx goes Haute Couture

As I am sure it is with most brides, it's ll about the dress. I easily found the one I knew, just knew, I had to spent my last day on this earth as Miss Jennifer Held in. It wasn't until I tried to find underwear to go with it that was the problem (low back in a 36DD is a lot harder than you would think). So of course I had to go online. But I think I have solved the problem with a low back bustier from Entiise Lingerie.

While I was looking around, I stumbled across this exciting bit of news, Spanx has just released their new Spanx Haute Couture line! Currently available at Neiman Marcus, it is a varied mix of invisible-under-clothing-lace accented shapewear. With the security of Spanx, and the super feminine design, you can't miss taking a look. I used to hate Spanx. Honestly, I did. I don't like that feeling of being "sucked in". One look at a picture of me in a certain form fitted red dress (no I will not be posting it) without some shapewear underneath has cured me. No fashion fear is worse than going out in public looking bad and not knowing it. At least with my Spanx I don't have to worry about my lumps and bumps getting more attention than I do, especially in red.