I think part of feeling “put together” is feeling confident in your clothes. For me, that comes partially from the style of the pieces I’m wearing and partially from how I’m wearing them.
That moment when your smart looking button up top folds in such a way that your bra peeks through can diminish your sense of command in a workplace, no matter how pulled together your outfit is otherwise. And don’t VPLs know just how to kill an outfit?
I personally feel most confident when I don’t have to worry about about lumps and bumps or exposing things that I didn’t mean to. I’ve had quite a few questions about which slip I wear or how to avoid VPLs without wearing thongs. While I don’t know much on the wide world of undergarments, here are a few things I do to help me feel as confident as I can in my clothes.
1. Wear a camisole, if you can tolerate it. I wear one under everything because I feel more secure that when I bend over or if I’m wearing a button up shirt like mentioned above, I’m not exposing anything.
I don’t like tightly fitted camisoles because I feel suffocated. I look for slightly looser ones without a built-in bra and in thinner fabric. I don’t have a great rec at the moment since the ones I wear were $6 from Old Navy and I haven’t seen the exact ones sold in the last couple of years.
2. Find underwear that eliminates VPLs. VPLS can show not just through thin jersey skirts and dresses, but with slacks and even with jeans. I know that thongs, boy shorts, seamless underwear, or bikini cuts that claim to not show VPLs work for many people, but I wasn’t satisfied with any of them. After MUCH trial, I finally found the perfect pair for me (HERE) from JCPenney!
Typically my problems with bikini cuts are a) the trim around the rear is thick which shows through clothes, or b) the elastic is strong which cuts across your rear and creates unwanted lumps. The JCPenney pair has a lace trim which takes care of both of those problems. The seam for the trim is thin and flat, and the elastic isn’t too tight. The whole thing stays in place without cutting into you in unflattering ways. I have stuck with these for years and haven’t looked back!
Bonus: It comes in grey and nude (good for white jeans/skirts) and 20 other cute patterns and colors! I’m normally 6/8 on bottom and wear these in Medium.
3. Wear a slip under dresses and skirts. This is especially good for jersey and/or lighter colored dresses and skirts. It adds a nice layer to smooth out bumps or help protect you from see-through light colored fabrics.
One problem I’ve had with slips is if they have an elastic waistband it shows through some solid jersey dresses, similar to a VPL but around my waist. Instead of one with an elastic waistband, I wear THIS ONE from Target with a lace waistband. It lays smoothly against my stomach. I’ve worn this for years and love it!
Note: I wear it higher up than the model in the pic, around my belly button. Size Medium. I’m 5’6″ and it hits mid-thigh and therefore doesn’t peek out beneath my knee-length skirts.
I’m surprised it has such low reviews online. Another other Target slip HERE has better reviews, but that was the other slip I tried and I didn’t like the elastic gathering at my waist that I mentioned earlier. There’s a third Target slip HERE that is more form fitting, like a pencil skirt shape. I’ve never tried it and only saw it while looking for the link to my slip. I’m intrigued though!
4. Wear undergarments that are close to your skin tone, rather than white, under light clothes. This applies to both bras and underwear. I wore white undergarments for a long time, but my skin tone is darker and closer to nude. Wearing nude vs. white made a world of a difference. Years ago before I wore camisoles under everything, bras closer to my skin tone allowed me to wear thinner t-shirts without my bra showing through. Also, nude colored underwear (plus a nude slip) is how I’ve worn thin white skirts for years without anything awkwardly showing through.
5. Make sure your bra fits correctly. All over the internet you can search how to measure your bra correctly. In addition, I found THIS POST yesterday and had a lot of other interesting info about bra fit, like differences between styles and the idea of sister sizes.
*EDIT: When I originally posted that link, I foolishly did not look at the actual bra sizing. I was more intrigued by the idea of sister sizes and descriptions of bra styles. My apologies!
6. Use a bra liner to absorb and conceal sweat marks at the bust. I hadn’t heard of one of these until Belly Bandit contacted me to try THIS ONE. I told them I didn’t want to be obligated to write about it and that they could send it, but I would only post if I actually liked it. Well, from this paragraph you know what the verdict is!
This bra liner is made of bamboo material and goes under your bra to soak up sweat, which makes hot days WAY more bearable. Plus, it means no more sweat line underneath your bust. I’ve found that it sometimes doesn’t stay in place, but that is perhaps because I have a small chest. However, sometimes it stays in place all day. I can’t really figure out why. Other than that, I’ve been using it for the last month+ and have been very grateful for it!
7. Use shape wear to enhance your figure. I don’t know anything about this area except that it exists, but I figured I’d throw it out there. And that my friend says she uses a pair of shorts like the ones above (found HERE) to prevent thigh-rubbing when she’s wearing skirts. If you have tips or recs for products please share in the comments for anyone interested!
That’s all I can think of! If you have secrets or recs to share, please do!
