Hey gulls,
What are your thoughts on using shape wear to help get the figure you want or need for cosplay/jfashion? Any particular products you'd recommend? Any horror stories?
>>9072441
If you have a big bust then a binder is pretty much necessary for most lolita dresses. Underworks has a really great one for ~$30 I think. I don't care if you use shapewear or not, I personally prefer it because it smooths everything out for both cosplay and lolita.
>>9072447
Ppl need to stop with the binder for lolita thing. It looks like shit, and gives you worse boob loaf in my opinion. Speaking from experience with 32g tits.
>>9072465
Just because it looks like shit on you doesn't mean it looks like shit on everyone.
>>9072465
28G here (sister size to 34DD) and I find it's much better to wear a minimizer bra so I actually have some shape under my lolita. I really dislike the loafy look that sports bras/binders give. Plus a decently fitting bra is 10x more comfortable.
I have an underbust corset that I use for lolita if I'm wearing anything shirred. I find that even if not laced up completely, a corset helps smooth out the shape of your torso and gives the bodice a more structured appearance. Also it forces you to have better posture which is always nice.
What could possibly be bad about shapewear? Not everyone has a perfectly flat stomach or firm legs, including some thin people. It doesn't necessarily mean you're a fatty, and it can improve the look of your outfit if it's form-fitted around the stomach or hips.
However, I wish actual fatty-chans would realize that wearing corsets doesn't fool anybody.
I love shape wear.
Shape wear isnt about changing how your size is but giving you a more flattering figure. It's nice not worrying to have to suck in for photos, and it gives me a small confidence boost.
I tend to use more 50s and 40's style shape wear from a shop I used to live near called What Katie Did. Expensive but worth it considering how often I wear them.
>>9073187
Last time we had a thread about shapewear a bunch of people started shitting it up saying only fatties wear shapewear, if you wear anything like Spanx you're fat, etc. Gulls like to think only fat people want a smooth figure.
>>9073187
I'm thin and flat chested with 76/61/87 measurements but I still wear a underworks binder to fit better into MM and some VM. I'm 175cm tall and everything sits on my lower ribcage, the binder gives me that extra 4cm to make it work.
>>9072441
I'm not the skinniest but still very comfortably fitting into the 'healthy weight for my height' category.
I refuse to wear cosplay that shows bare leg without dance tights. Not only do they hold everything in a little but it hides any blemishes and if it's cold you don't get blotchy pink legs or goosebumps being visible. I'm also able to pull them up high enough to cover my stomach which smoothes that out in photos too (helps when togs want to take photos of you sitting down because everyone gets rolls).
My friend who is categorised as underweight also does this. It's not just for fatties. It's basically instant photoshop for your legs.
I wear a corset because I have an odd body type and I like the feeling.
>>9073491
>only fatties wear shapewear, if you wear anything like Spanx you're fat, etc.
Sounds like some anas are spilling in from lolcow.
You can be 20 pounds underweight and still have a bit of tummy fat. It's cute in person but isn't very forgiving in photos, which is why shapewear is a must for a lot of people who cosplay.
I'm very slender, and I corset most days - I can get down to 55cm waist pretty comfortably. It looks smoother than going without, and personally, I think it's a lot more comfortable to have steady compression than it is to have a waist band cutting into me. I can fit my old unshirred brand either way, but corsets mean that the 61cm skirt doesn't leave marks on my skin or dig in, and helps compress my boobs without uniboob, since I have two separate cups.
I really think everyone should give corseting a try at least once! Not only does it shave 10cm off of my waist, and about 7cm from my boobs, it smooths your whole silhouette out, and means you have perfect posture. You wouldn't exercise much in lolita anyway, so the restricted breathing/extra layer is only an issue when it's really warm. Only bad consequence I've found was needing to loosen it in a bathroom one warm day, and that took four minutes.
Shapewear with tight clothes is a must, no matter what size. Well, unless you're REALLY skinny.
I got a bit of chub, and I LOVE wearing spanx. It gives me a huge confidence boost when I can have a flat tummy and can wear more tighter shirts. Investing in a pair of spanx is reallt great, and you can wear it not during cosplay too. I'd wear it if I had a presentation in one of my classes. It's just an all-around confidence booster, and honestly it helps with my posture too.
I'm 5'7" around 125-130 lbs since I'm trying to lose the weight I gained over the winter and have been fluctuating between numbers. I tend to get most of my weight on my hips and it distributes oddly, giving me violin hips. Even when I was below 120lbs I had them, but I find wearing shape wear helps smooth it out.
I recently bought a full body shaper for the first time. Not the prettiest thing to look at, but I hope it'll do the job and be relatively unnoticeable.
UNIQLOs shapewear, specifically the short spanx-like pants with lace on top, are wonderful! Wearing them holds me in all the right ways and the little lacy touch makes me feel even more feminine and cute under my skirt. I'm no lolita, but I think it's free for anyone to wear some tight spanx under your clothing to avoid accidental pantyshots (in skirts) and to up your overall figure. I am cursed with violin hips, but when I wear tight shapewear I can convince myself that it's less noticable.
Then I have a certain fascination for the fabric. It feels nice leg to leg, and hand to leg and so on. The tightness is comforting.
>>9073491
People are idiots. I'm 5'8", 112 pounds and I wear shapewear when I cosplay. A little flab is normal and by no means unhealthy.
I hope no one takes the opinions of the mentally ill members of this site seriously.
I'm bang in the middle of the healthy weight range for my height, although I used to be much thinner. I applied to model at a lolita event 2 years ago, and I was worried that the measurements I gave on my application were a little bit off (accepted as a model last minute because someone else couldn't get a visa, so had no time to diet/exercise), so I brought spanx for the event. They smoothed out my bit of tummy and I felt so much better. Funnily enough it didn't matter for the runway as I got chosen for an outfit with a corset vest anyway, but looked much better with my own coord. Now I wear spanx with lolita a lot because it looks smooth and makes the petticoat waistbands less uncomfortable.
Anything people would recommend for under a full body suit, hip dips are also an issue for me?
>>9073505
This. I wear dance tights for many reasons, but I don't see why people wouldn't want them for their ability to make your legs look smooth and perfect. They can cover up small scars (my bug bites always scar for a little while) and even some thin hair. I like wearing the tights that have straps so they are kind of like tights + cami.
I am definitely interesting in buying more shapewear though, especially for when I wear bodycon dresses. I was measured to be at 16-17% bodyfat using several caliper methods, but I do get some rolls sometimes from stockings/tights or if I eat a lot.
>>9073554
Can you tell me how you got started? I'm an absolute beginner and want to try.
>>9073731
If you're an absolute beginner go watch Lucy Corsetry's YouTube videos.
>>9073731
OP of that comment seconding, they're an awesome resource! Google lots, and try to buy when things are on sale - CorsetStory are my usual supplier, £35 for three corsets sales are pretty regular, and they replaced the only corset which didn't hold up perfectly for free.
Steel-boned is the only way to go, plastic does nothing, and break it in around the house before wearing it out! Start off slow, and if it hurts or you feel dizzy, loosen it up and try again. Also, door knobs are excellent for tightening really long laces.
Whenever I wear shapewear, even when it's definitely not way too tight, I get WICKED stomach aches. Does anyone else struggle with this problem? Any suggestions on how to fix/reduce it...?
>>9073718
Dance tights are a godsend, they're 100 times for forgiving than regular tights. I've got a couple scars on my knees and some discoloration and dance tights cover them up so well. Not to mention they keep your legs warmer of you're wearing something short to a winter con.
>>9075046
Eat something small and dry before you put it on
>>9073896
Please don't recommend corset story. They are absolutely terrible. People have gotten really hurt from wearing their corset.
If you're on a budget, go with orchard corset.
Where is the best place to be fitted for a bra? I'm 18 and have no idea what size am because I've worn sports bras my whole life. I know Victoria's Secret is a notoriously bad place to get fitted
>>9075544
Measure yourself or get someone to help you. The rest is just trying on different styles and adjusting up or down one for fit. VS is only bad because they use an old method + on top of a bra, but this isn't hard.
>>9075538
Mystic city corsets also sell great corsets with more shape than orchard corset if you have a wider hip to waist ratio.
Any suggestions or adivce on what type of shapewear I should invest in if I'm wearing a bodysuit for a cosplay?
>>9072501
i got an underbust corset for this but I dont like how bulky it makes me look. Idk its probably something only I would notice, like its not actually a huge difference in reality.
On a side note though the corset really helps me with back pain. Sometimes at night I have terrible back aches in bed, its hard to get comfy. I pop that corset on and it feels so SO much better. I think it helps with back support, I dont even know but I find its actually really comfy to wear to sleep. 10/10 would recommend for those with back aches
>>9075544
Victoria's Secret told me I was a DD. I proceeded to buy one of their DD bras and it was the size of my head. I could fit two boobs in one of those gigantic cups. Never again.
On a more related note, check around and see if you have any bra specialty stores where you live. I have one nearby and it's pretty much their job to fit people correctly. I didn't even know it was there until I googled around a bit.
Last con I wore a compression thong and dance tights and it worked so well for me. I am very tall and thin with not a lot of curves so I am looking into getting padded shorts to fill me out a bit. Hopefully it won't look TOO weird.
>>9072447
>>9072465
>>9072498
>not knowing how to properly bind
If your chest is not 100% flat in a regular shirt, the binder style/size isn't working for you unless you are huge like a J cup, binding down flat/nearly flat is possible.
Binders aren't supposed to be super comfortable or painfuL. Gc2b is a lot better if you are slightly on the smaller end.
>>9073491
Shape wear mostly exists to allow fabrics to glide across the shape and deal correctly which is 90% of the flattering effects of shape wear
>>9075046
Pepcid AC 2 hours before wear
>>9075544
Go to /r/ABraThatFits, anon. Trust me. It seems a bit confusing but just read their method slowly, take all your measurements, and pop it into the calculator. It gave me a spot-on bra size, but some people have to fiddle with it a bit when they end up trying on bras in-store. They'll also give advice, bra recs, and help with sizing based on how your breasts are shaped and all that.
>>9075544
Piggybacking off of this, but are there any stores that sell like...custom padded bras? It's very embarassing but my breasts are not the same size, like one is a whole cup size smaller. My bras fit the larger breast and I use a silicone insert to even them out, but after a while it gets very irritating to the surrounding skin. I'd kill for a bra with the right amount of padding in the one side.
>>9075544
I got fitted at the Soma in my mall. It's more geared towards older women but their employees knew what they were talking about when they measured me.
>>9079488
You could get a bra that has removable inserts?
>>9079610
Is that a thing? Like, a bra where you can pick what size inserts you want for each cup?
>>9080288
You dont pick what size of insert, you just can take it out if you dont want it.
>>9079488
If you fit Japanese bras, most are made with multiple pockets for padding....
>>9079488
Maybe look for mastectomy bras? The kind made for women who've had one breast removed
I usually wear pretty loose or bulky cosplays so I'm a total noob when it comes to shapewear but do budgets brand (H&M etc.) work OK when compared to name brands? Because 40 USD for a pair of spanx seems kind of excessive...
>>9080496
You get what you pay for. Assuming you treat it nicely, Spanx will last for a long time and can be used for multiple cosplays/outfits.
>>9075758
Are you stupid? Did you not try it on first or look at the band size? VS is shitty at measuring but you are in idiot for buying a bra with out trying it on.
Just so you know, not all DD are the same size: the size of the cup is in direct proportion to the band size so a 32DD cup is much smaller than a 40DD cup.
>>9072447
I have a 30 FF bust, don't bind, and still wear brand. I tried a binder once and had epic boobloaf.
>>9080496
I've never actually bought Spanx since I am only interested in their "sculpt" level of support and that always seems to be sold out or unavailable in an XS. I have some Vedette shapewear which is awesome and pulls everything right in, although the zipper closure on the ones that I have can show through stuff. Budget shapewear like Uniqlo's support knickers is fine to smooth things out but if you really want something that'll hold things flat you need heavy duty shapewear.
Polite sage but if you need shapewear to fit in j-fash, you should just save up that money for a gym membership or reduction surgery. Shapewear doesn't fool anyone, those rolls will pop out somewhere
>>9080292
Oh, ok. I'll look into it, but I need a very specific amount of padding on the one side to even things out. Maybe I'll luck out.
>>9075046
It could be that you have a slow digestive system or high acidity. I suggest that you pay attention to when, what and how much you eat compared to the pain. Also try having a protein shake, about a fourth of a glass but with a full scoop of protein. It'll coat your stomach and help.
>>9089391
I take a mild diuretic for 3 days before and a few tums before I get dressed in the morning. Prevents stomach pains and any swelling too.
>>9072465
Binders are for medium breasts, no bigger than C or so to actually be effective, also to compress underbust a bit smoother so there's no visible bra line. No one ever really said they work on big boobs, I think.
>>9084719
I don't wear it to reduce rolls unless my breasts are rolls, lol! In other j-fashion, it smooths panty and bra lines and nips in the waist too. But there is lolita brands to fit the people with rolls too so you are quite incorrect.
>>9084719
you say that but most Lolita brands have tons of dresses up to 105cm+ in the bust. It's becoming a lot more "western friendly"
