• Shape up with squishy squashy underwear


    03 March 2008

    Whether it be worldwide obesity, seniors craving to be juniors, or the return of form-fitting frocks, nip-and-tuck lingerie is on the up and up, fixing insides to look good outside.

    From stick-on silicone bras that lift, or add cleavage or size, to bottom-boosting foam pads, or bulge-removing undies, new-age body parts and corsets are carving out a sizeable share on the lingerie front long after granny discarded her boned corsets.

    Shapewear, also known as slimming or control-wear, dates back about a decade when hi-tech circular knitting machines began producing seam-free garments from stretch yarns that can squeeze flat the flab and flesh building in unwanted places.

    Increasingly popular with couture-clad red-carpet celebs, one brand of undies, claiming to be "as recommended by Gwyneth Paltrow", put it this way on the Internet.

    "These," it said of its high-waisted shapewear underpants, "are the closest you are going to get to a washboard stomach and toned bottom without spending hours at the gum."

    Some lingerie experts say growing shapewear sales result from fashion trends. "The return of skin-hugging dresses and use of knits that stick to the skin make slimming lingerie a must," said Virginie Gondoui of Paris' yearly Salon de la Lingerie, the world's biggest underwear get-together.

    But technological know-how has been just as vital in developing DIY glam.

    One pioneer, US firm The Body Wrap, launched into the lingerie a little by chance nine years ago while trying to produce a tight-fitting girdle to put inside swimsuits for a Betty Boop or Jennifer Lopez look on the beach.

    "It never worked inside a swimsuit," said managing director Scott Smith, "but when I began showing the seamless garment to people, everybody loved it, I signed up dozens of new accounts. We designed a bra and pants, bought more circular knitting machines, and it worked."

    The firm says it sells a million bits of fitting underwear in spandex and nylon to more than 50 countries a year, he said, including XXXXXXXL sizes to obese-ridden America. Slimmer Europe only sells up to five -- not seven -- Xs, he added.

    "It's washable and will last four to five years," he said. "Shapewear doesn't slim you, but it does make you feel as if you're toned."

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