MaidenformMaidenform Women's High Waist Shaping Brief, Firm Control Shapewear Panty, Cool Comfort ShapewearOEKO-TEX STANDARD 100

I have bought several different brands of shapewear over the years, none of which I've worn more than once. I've never found a shapewear that could tuck my tummy in and not be tremendously uncomfortable.I just couldn't justify forking over big dollars for some of the other name brand pieces which might not work. So, after reading some of the reviews and scouring the internet for the best budget friendly shapeware, I decided I'd try the Maidenform Flexees.I'm quite certain if my husband had been watching me attempt to get into these briefs he would've ran crying - in laughter! I ordered a large because that's the size I normally wear (or a 12/14). I went to put them on and realized the name, Flexees, doesn't really do justice. Maybe brief/panty of steel would be better.I fought, wriggled, and wiggled until I finally had the garment pulled up and my post11-yr-old baby belly was finally the smoothest I'd seen in ages. I decided to try on my favorite jeans, which I had found to be fitting a little snug since the holiday, was actually loose. I'd say the Maidenform brief shrunk my gut by almost a dress size. That was pretty impressive in my opinion.The band of the briefs did no roll down as I found with other styles/brands. The legs were not too tight or uncomfortable. What I did not like was the sensation around my upper abdomen though. I don't like the feeling of anything pressing too tightly just below my rib cage. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to tolerate wearing the briefs for long because they felt so uncomfortable. The event came along, and I knew I'd be in these briefs for at least 6 hours, if not longer. I actually took an extra pair of panties along in my purse just in case I couldn't tolerate the shapewear. To my surprise, the longer I wore them, the better they felt; I ended up in them for about 8 hours.Taking them off was about as funny as putting them on - it took some effort - but donning them is definitely the hardest, however, it was worth the effort.I've worn these briefs several times now - I wash them in warm water and hang them to dry.If you've been searching for a budget-friendly shapewear which will not roll down, bind your legs, and keeps your belly tucked in, look no further! These are amazing - and I never thought I'd say that about an undergarment that looks like something I would've found in my grandmother's unmentionable drawer.

I have another Maidenform shapewear I picked up at clearance at Kohl's. I thought this one would be just like it, and it is, except this one from Amazon has that rubberized band at the top to keep it from slipping down or rolling down (“new & improved” I suppose!). And it does the trick. I’ve worn it several times, all day long, and I’ve yet to pull it up during the day (as the other one required quite often). I wear a size 16, am tall, and the top comes a hands width from my bra band. My guess is my torso is 1.5” longer than the average size. (Wish these came in Tall.) The clearance one I bought before was the only one left and was an 2XL. If I had had a choice then I would’ve chosen XL, but it fit very comfortably, slipped on and off easily and smoothed things out. This one from Amazon I got in the same size. It fits a bit more snug, but still as comfortable. The only way to have shapewear make you smaller is via photoshop! What it does, imo, is firm the area to the touch and (most important to me) hides evidence of my belly button pudge under T-shirt’s! Lol. I see ridiculous ads on Facebook showing someone that looks like a size 16 slip on the shapewear they are selling, and magically become a size six. That’s not going to happen! Where's all that flab going to go, do you think?! Lol. I have a Spanx that the sales lady measured me for and I have to squirm to slip it on. Once on it’s okay, but heaven help you if you need to get it off quickly. That is why I prefer it less tight and to go on and off more easily (realizing a size smaller won’t miraculously skinny-me-up). (BTW, maybe TMI, but I wear this over my underwear and I can then get several wears before washing on gentle cycle, hanging to dry)

It is considered a girdle. So, I've noticed reviews where some people have this expectation that these will hide stuff the way a corset does but anyone with these expectations will be disappointed. These are nothing more than underwear connected to a nylon tube (think extra thick tights/pantyhose) that wraps around your abdomen. While it doesn't really hide anything and it doesn't make you slimmer, it will smooth out the lumps. I would not recommend wearing it under anything remotely tight or revealing. Now, if this describes what you're looking for and it fits your body type, you're in luck. Everyone else should look elsewhere.There is one notable side effect to wearing this, if you eat too much, you will seriously regret it. Simply put, your stomach is being physically limited to how far it is allowed to stretch to accommodate food. This is good if you have the misfortune of having had your stomach stretch to accommodate a larger than normal appetite. This is really bad if you are incapable of receiving the signal that tells you that your stomach is full. My advice is that, if you are incapable of feeling full even when you know you are, see a doctor about that. Everyone else, just make sure you eat at a slow enough pace that you don't eat too much. I'm not going to spell out the disaster that awaits anyone that overeats while wearing this.I bought these for a reason that is probably a little unusual. You see, I'm not at all interested in shape wear. My sole reason for buying these was to hold up my tights and prevent the waist band from rolling down.I wear tights for medical reasons. Unfortunately, if I lean too far forward, the waist band immediately rolls down and this allows the rest of it to immediately begin to work its way down to my knees. Having to constantly tug at and pull up my tights makes wearing them intolerable and it can't be good for my legs either. However, if I wear these over-top of my tights, it completely prevents all of that. I can comfortably go all day without having to pull them up even once. Without these, I would have completely given up on wearing tights and that would be bad news for my legs.My only complaint is the "waist" band on these things can be a bit uncomfortable the first week. Eventually, they do soften up and become more comfortable and I realize it's like that to keep them up but, in my case, it seems they would stay up just fine without it.