WEARING shapewear underneath their clothes is something women have come to terms with.

Gone are the days when women would cringe when it comes to wearing a corset or girdle to enhance their silhouettes and to hold in unsightly bulges.

And gone are the days when control wear is linked to women who have just given birth or are above 45.

Not surprisingly, thanks to the attractive new designs in foundation garments now, it has become somewhat trendy for women to wear shapewear for a svelte silhouette.

This trend has taken off with the younger women, especially those in the twenties, who acknowledge that shapewear works wonders to sculpt their body.

Be it a push-up bra, a corset, a girdle, a butt bra or bodysuit, they all have their basic integral function — to keep unsightly bulges and love handles neatly tucked in and out of sight.

Shapewear became popular in 2000 when talk show host Oprah Winfrey announced boldly that she wouldn’t leave home without it and sang praises for a brand called Spanx.

Soon after, underwear and foundation garment makers began to acknowledge that this was the way to go and were looking at developing and designing new products to meet the growing demand.

“Women today want a smooth, sophisticated look and to feel her best. They want to enhance their silhouettes and look perfectly toned with curvy waists and hips,” said Tangs public relations assistant manager Sue Ann Tan.

“The shapewear you see today is more cutting-edge in terms of fabric and performance, and technology has definitely made it much safer and easier to wear. Most of them are made of materials like spandex and micro-fibre cotton which have strong hold.”

Sue Ann said most of Tang’s shapewear customers are in their late twenties to 40s.

“We have a variety of body shapers which target certain areas of your body but our bestsellers are the silicon bra and butt enhancer by Flaunt, an Australian label.”

She said shapewear makes up 10 per cent within their Dressing Room concept (lingerie selection) and they hope to bring in more variety to cater to the needs of today’s women.

“Nowadays, men have accepted their women wearing shapewear as it doesn’t look as dowdy as before,” she added.

Lingerie label La Senza’s brand manager Rachel Lim said their shapewear range is mostly targeted at younger women in their late twenties.

“There is no age barrier or mindset like before and women have become so conscious of their bodies now that they turn to shapewear for a solution. Even Victoria Beckham wears shapewear. Look at her when she wears a dress. She has a nipped waist, perky breasts and an uplifted bottom. It would be impossible for anyone to look that perfect without shapewear.”

She said most shapewear have spandex or elastic in them although every brand uses different technologies and fabric.

“La Senza launched their Shapewear Collection last year and from what we observe, it is popular with young working adults as well as mature women.

There are different styles for different functions such as girdles, bodysuits, corsets and bustier tops.

There are even different colours available under this collection. Our collection has lighter control and is not as stiff and uncomfortable to wear like those our mothers and grandmas used to wear.

It doesn’t restrict movement and one can choose from the three types of shapewear — mild, middle and strong control.

“A bride, for example, would want the best control so she would go for the higher control, but the office wearer would opt for moderate control. It depends on the person itself and is difficult to specify until we assess them,” she said.

La Senza’s best-selling shapewear item is the bike shorts, which trim the tummy and is seamless.

“When you wear tight-fitting clothes, you need your shapewear to be seamless. Malaysian women’s main concerns are the tummy and thighs. The bike shorts work well for tummy control and for trimming the thighs.”

Wacoal senior manager, marketing and sales, Lo Yean Feein said there is a change in shapewear trends now in terms of the age factor.

“It appeals to younger, as well as career women. In the old days, foundation garments were synonymous with our mothers and older women. She said from a recent survey, Wacoal found that women start wearing foundation garments or shapewear from the age of 25.

“The study, which was done a few years ago in Asia, showed that out of 2,000 women, more than 50 per cent in their twenties realised that they needed to wear foundation garments because their number one enemy is their tummy. These garments help reshape the body and show off a slimmer silhouette. Those days, only women in their forties and above wore them but times have changed.”

She said now, foundation garments are considered a hip-hop trend in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

“We started marketing foundation garments in Malaysia just two years back.

It is a niche market and we don’t rely on our merchandise sales alone but more on the services we offer. We do a lot of consultation for our customers.

There are many brands but ours is the first to have the technology that will help you shape up if you wear the foundation garment daily.

It will keep the bits in and help your body look more proportionate.

Lo said Malaysian women’s main concerns are more focused on reshaping the tummy, hips, thighs and the breasts, in that order.

“We always encourage customers to wear three pieces to make their bodies more proportionate — the shape bra, vest and girdle.”

“If you wear the vest alone, you only reshape your upper part but your hips will look big. Some of our products can even be worn as outerwear, like a bustier. It is popular as it looks good.”

“The demand for foundation garments increases by about 15 per cent every year, and with the introduction of new products such as our Magic X (a basic foundation garment), we expect an increase in sales this year.”

She said Wacoal’s bestseller here is the Magic X and the Crosswalker (girdle with technology to burn fat).

“We do not have buttock-enhancers because as long as it’s a Wacoal girdle, it works on uplifting the buttocks. The Japanese are so innovative, they add on various functions. But one thing to note is that not everyone should wear foundation garments. It depends on the person’s health as well. It is not a slimming tool.

“We don’t recommend it to people with high blood pressure as it reduces blood circulation and we advise our customers not to wear it for more than eight hours a day. For beginners, four hours is enough. Our priority is to educate our customers,” she added.