SPANX you can layer?!

That's right! We all love SPANX. They smooth, the flatter, they diminish, and they shape. But nobody wants to wear them in the heat and sometimes they're just a little too bulky under our more delicate of garments. What's the solution? A quick slip into the new Skinny Britches by SPANX. They're sheer, lightweight, and you can layer them to control the kind of slimming and shaping you want. BRILLIANT! A blend of nylon and lyrca compose what SPANX describes as a "light weight compression mesh".

Nude Short, $42-$45

They come in three styles: shorts, high-waisted shorts (tummy trimmers), and hipster briefs. You can put on up to three layers, the third being the most slim and trim, lean and mean you can get. Personally, I think this idea is great. If you have a lightweight dress you love but don't enjoy its clingy nature around your thighs, you can put on one of two layers these Skinny Britches and feel smoother but not heavier in seconds! 

Black Tummy Tucker, $46-$50

They also come in a fun assortment of colors which are nice to add a little variety to your 'unmentionables' drawer. I suggest getting a few in the basic colors as they'll stretch your dollar and go with more items in your closet. Nude and black should suffice for most of the clothing in just about everyone's closet. The lightest color they offer is called 'pure' and looks good as the hipster brief, which is said to give you a cute and shapely behind.

Pure Hipster Brief, $32-$35

Oh and sorry gents, you're not free from the clutches of shapewear either. There are indeed SPANX for men. They also come in the new compression mesh and are meant to suck you in and give you better definition around your torso. If you ever need to fit into a small suit in a hurry (hey, it could happen!) then pick up one the SPANX shirts and you're good.

Cotton Compression V-neck, $58

Cotton Compression Tank, $55

Cotton Compression Crew, $58

~Amanda

Image(s) courtesy of SPANX

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!

Spanx for Men: Yes or No?

My female clients know of my love/hate relationship with Spanx.  I don't always like having that extra layer (especially on hot summer days),  but I hate lumps and bumps more than a little extra sweating.  For many women like myself, shapewear is a necessary evil.  And now men can have the same experience [inset evil laugh here].  Introducing Spanx for men!

While I'm not sure anything other a diet or being stuffed into a sausage casing is going to make you look 10 pounds thinner, I do believe that shapewear can smooth out your lumps and bumps.  And this shouldn't be a luxury just for women (Lord knows the other options for guys aren't so great).  I know I couldn't wear half of my closet if I didn't wear Spanx.  So in the name of fashion, I am going to force my husband to test out these little beauties for you guys. 

Stay tuned for pics from my very unconvinced husband....

Image(s) courtesy of barenecessities.com

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

Skinny Jeans Bad For Yor Health?

According to 944 Magazine, they are!

"Suffering for the sake of fashion is not an uncommon practice. Many people wear some painful threads and accessories simply for style. But the newest fashion risk is the skinny jean. Experts are finding that women (and men) who wear jeans that are too tight may risk suffering from a nerve problem called meralgia paresthetica. Tight jeans put pressure on the femoral cutaneous, a nerve that runs through the thigh, which can cause tingling and burning through the leg. Couple the skinny pant with high heels and you increase the risk. It has also been said that skinny jeans can cause infertility in men. No one is recommending that all ultra-tight pants should be thrown out and never worn again, it's just that maybe they should be worn in moderation."

Keep in mind, that only a small percentage of the population can actually pull-off this style of pant. It makes me wonder about the compression of shapewear like Spanx.....

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.