Many women struggle with finding the right size of shapewear and honestly, it’s not something to make fun of. Shapewear is a great way to smooth out your figure and slim down, but it becomes annoying when it starts to roll down. It’s uncomfortable and makes you feel like you need to continuously fix it, which takes away from the confidence boost that slimwear should give you.
In this guide, we reveal everything you need to know about how to keep shapewear from rolling down while still looking stylish underneath clothes.
Here is the Table of Contents
How to Stop Shapewear from Rolling Down
1. Look at the compression
Firmer shapewear will offer your midriff more support and stay in place no matter your up and down movements. If you have a lower belly pooch, tummy control bodysuit is the compression shapewear that will change your silhouette to hourglass.
2. Wear the correct size of shapewear for your body type
While wearing shapewear, ensure that you get the right size that fits your body type. If you’re tall and/or plus sized, then you should look for shapewear that corresponds to your size. If you plan to wear a wedding dress with an open back or plunging neckline, then you should match it with shapewear that features an open back or plunging neckline. If you’re pregnant, then you should measure your shapewear size around your lower back and below the belly.
If it’s rolling down and not staying put- then this might be because of an improper fit in general or if there was too much tension when pulling up on certain seams which causes them to pucker outwards creating gaps between fabric layers and causing wrinkles at their base where they meet skin.
Besides searching for the perfect fit, choose shapewear that has silicone strips or grip strips on the inside. These will stick like a second skin, helping your slimwear to stick in place all day.
3. High-waist shapewear doesn’t roll down
If you want to wear a bodycon or any other tight dress, then you should wear a high-waist shapewear under the dress.
It’s no secret that high-waist shapewear can make you look shapely and lean in all the right places. And as long as the undergarment is correctly sized for your body type, it won’t shift when you bend over.
4. Layer your undergarments well
If you need to wear pantyhose and shapewear, what should come first? According to Tomima Edmark, a fashion guru, president and founder of HerRoom.com, many shapewear manufacturers stress that you should put on the pantyhose first.
The major reason is that most shapewear have a silky outer fabric and pantyhose would just keep on slipping. On the other hand, textured pantyhose or fishnet with control top will not stay in place when it comes first, but it will also ensure that the shapewear on top of it doesn’t slip about.
5. Tips for wearing your shapewear well
Even after finding shapewear that matches your size and shape, the best way to stop your body shaper from rolling down is by wearing it correctly.
First off, ensure that your wet skin has properly dried before putting on the foundation garment. If you wear slimwear on damp skin, it will absorb the moisture and start slipping when your skin dries.
Secondly, just because shapewear is an instant solution to your silhouette doesn’t mean that you should slip into it in a jiffy. Be in a seated position and roll the shaper up your body slowly, ensuring that it fits you flawlessly.
Thirdly, make some dance moves as you move your limbs about to settle the body shaper perfectly into your curves.
Next, if it’s a high-waisted foundation undergarment, tuck it into the band of your bra.
6. Fashion tape for reinforcement
If tucking into bralette is not enough, you can apply fashion or dressing tape to the top inside seam of the shaper and then fold the tapes so that they stick to your skin.
7. Shapewear with bra hooks
If you don’t want shapewear that rolls down thereby worsening your back fat and muffin top, hooked-up shapewear is a perfect solution. This underthingy has unique fasteners that let you hook it to your bra straps. The sweetest thing about this innovation is that no gap is left between the shapewear and the bra, thus hiding all the back fat. And the thing will stick into place all day, literally forming a one-piece undergarment with your bra.
8. Shapewear hook-me-ups
Shapewear suspenders or shapewear hold ups are a brilliant idea when your foundation garment doesn’t have any means of stopping it from sliding down your torso. You just need to clip these hooks to the top seam of your shapewear and then loop the straps around the sides of your bra.
9. Strapped shapewear
No matter your body type, size, and shape, even if you’re a petite woman, shapewear with straps would solve the pesky problem of it rolling down your midsection. For some strapped body shapers, however, you would need to avoid certain types of garments such as strapped bras and make do with strapless bras. The straps can also be adjustable and detachable such as in this awesome tummy control shapewear.
10. Don’t wear the wrong type of bra
Did you know that your bra could be to blame? If your bra band doesn’t fit properly and sits at an awkward position on your back, then it can cause problems with other garments like shapewear. To solve this issue try purchasing bras without underwire or wearing one of those soft bralettes if possible.
What Causes Shapewear to Roll Down?
1. Shapewear too small- Should you size down in shapewear?
You might think that wearing a smaller size is flattering but it’s actually not. Wearing shapewear that is too tight will not only expose an underwear line on your thighs or back but will also suck the breath out of you. You will find yourself trying to push it down in bits so that you can relax.
2. Shapewear too big- Should you size up in shapewear?
Whether it’s high-waisted or low-waisted, a larger size of a body shaper will not hold on well to your curves and rib cage, and thus it will always roll down.
3. Disproportionate silhouette
This is not body shaming but the fact is that just like the shoulders, your rib cage might be larger or smaller for your body size. If the rib cage is larger, your size of shapewear won’t feel comfortable whereas if the rib cage is smaller, your size of shapewear will tend to slide down.
4. Frequent machine washing and tumble drying- Can I machine wash shapewear?
If you have to machine wash your shapewear, ensure that it is gentle and infrequent. Otherwise, the rule of thumb is that you should hand wash your body shaper whenever you can.
The more you wash your shapewear, the more the stretchy spandex of lycra loses its elasticity. Don’t even think of tumble drying on high because you can expect your clothing to undergo shrinkage and/or irreversible fabric damage.
5. Age
This is a no-brainer. Spanx shapewear that is a generation old will no longer be strong and stretchy.
Wrapping Up
Whether you’re wearing shapewear for comfort or to slim your waist, rolling down is an issue that often arises. But don’t worry about how to keep shapewear from rolling down! There are plenty of hacks to stop this from happening. Check our list out and see if any of these tips will work for you. What other tricks do you use? Let us know in the comments below so that others can learn from them too. Happy shaping ladies!
“Shapewear has become a staple in wardrobe for few years as they help in layering and for the perfect shape of the body, Like bodysuits but a little different concept.
The article has given tips and hacks on how to use shapewear in the best way.
Thank you for the article.”
That’s true. Shapewear helps a lot but we all struggle to find our perfect fit.