The holidays are almost here, and everyone seems to be shopping for dresses to wear out at night to celebrations. While you may love the dress, you may not love how you look in it. This is no reason not to purchase what you like! “Shape” magazine’s executive style director, Jacqui Stafford, has all the need-to-know tips for what to wear underneath your evening wear. They're the slimming secrets every woman should know this holiday season!
Racerback sheath
A sheath is a sexy slim dress with little fabric detail that hugs curves and outlines the silhouette of the body. The fashion is perfect for sleeveless styles and tends to show off a well-toned body. When added to a sheath, a racerback is particularly flattering for women with larger busts. The bra you need for a style like this is a strapless with convertible straps. We found that Lillyette’s Specialty Strapless works wonders, and is a great choice for women with larger busts. The sizes go all the way up to 42DD. Because this dress has a built-in slip, we paired it with a simple yet sexy lace thong by Hanky Panky. This thong is great if you are full-figured. There are even size options for plus-size women.One-shoulder minidress
The one-shoulder dress is a style that we will all see a lot of this holiday season. However, if it’s not paired with the right undergarment, the look could be all wrong. The body-skimming dress needs a slenderizing body piece for underneath. This look is best for those with a tall, thin frame. We chose the Bra Slip with Underwire from Body Wrap Lites. This is the perfect slip — it supports and enhances the bust and flattens and slenderizes the stomach! Tunic minidress
Tunics are all over the runway, and now we are seeing the style for evening. To give a super-smooth look under the dress, we suggest a minimizing bra like the Lillyette Tailored Minimizer Bra. Not only does the bra make any bust look smaller, but it is also seamless for no-show lines. A tunic dress can be worn with a strapless, halter or crisscross bra, depending on what looks best.
The halter-neck dress
A halter looks good on just about anyone — if you have the right stuff underneath, that is. A strapless bra is a must-have for everyone; it is guaranteed to come in handy for underneath evening wear at some point. We used the Dream Bra Strapless Push-Up by Maidenform, which has a plunging neckline and push pads to add cleavage. The dress is body-skimming, creating a sleek look, but we still need good tummy control. Control It! Boy Short from Maidenform does the trick. The boy short lies completely flat, with no visible panty lines, which is important under silky material.Ultrasheer jersey dress
For a really sheer jersey tank dress, the undergarments are crucial to the entire look. Since the material is so sheer, what you wear underneath must be completely seamless. First we chose the One Fabulous Fit Racerback Bra from Maidenform. Over the bra we used a nude-color camisole from Hanky Panky since the top of the dress is particularly transparent. A Control It! Thigh Slimmer Short does the rest of the work.