Yummie Tummie Proves Fashion Doesn't Have to Hurt

My first experience with shapewear was as a young girl, watching my mother get dressed for the day.

She'd wrestle her body into a thick, rubberized, heavy-duty girdle, complete with a rigid front panel and side zipper. Because it was such a nightmare to get on and off, it had a discreet opening to allow for bathroom trips.

It didn't matter if she was going to work or the grocery store -- my mother ALWAYS put on her Playtex girdle. She claimed it gave her great posture and kept her body looking good. Old black and white photos back up her story. Decked out in her pencil skirts and sweaters, I would swear my mother had a 22-inch waist.

Decades later, when I became a little, um, meaty in the middle, I tried one of those girdles. When I finally extricated myself, I had red welts and lacy lines dug deep into my tummy.

"You have to get used to it," my mother said. "Beauty can hurt."

My, my how things have changed in the shapewear department -- and for the better, thank goodness.

Nowadays, you can find shapewear that evens out the lumps and bumps without compromising your comfort, sex appeal or sanity.

One of the most popular lines (and a personal favorite) is Yummie Tummie, created by Heather Thomson. Even Oprah Winfrey is a fan (she raved about it on one of her "favorite things" shows).

As a stylist to stars such as Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez, Thomson knows a thing or two about making bodies look smooth and sexy. She's sewed up torso-tighteners for the red-carpet habitues to wear under their clothes.

"When you're on the red carpet, you always want something underneath your dress that's going to smooth and shape you," Thomson said during a recent interview at Paradise Island Boutique in South Tampa, where her Yummie line is sold. "When my own body went through a major transformation [after pregnancy], I became a consumer shopping the shapewear market."