The Truth About Waist Trainers
Today, I'm going to delve into the murky world of waist trainers, belly binders, and my latest haul from Wish.
Do waist trainers work? And what can you expect from wearing one?
If you're new to retro style hosiery, or hosiery of any kind, then the terminology can be confusing - but help is at hand!
Check out our guide to hosiery and all will be revealed.
Waist Trainer/Belly Binder vs Waist Cincher
When I talk about a waist trainer or a belly binder, and I'm using both terms together because they’re the same garments, and it’s mis-selling because a waist trainer doesn’t define your waist and the shaping has no lasting effect. Waist trainers are cut very straight up and down, so while it supports your torso, it doesn't compress your waist anymore than it does your ribs or your hips.
If you have just given birth and you wear a waist cincher or belly binder to compress your torso, because it's changed so much while you're pregnant, then yes, it will help push everything back into place. Unlike if I was to wear one, it wouldn't do anything at all.
It's difficult when brands can say whatever they want and although there are a lot of lawsuits going on with waist trainers and belly binders in the US at the moment, there are just so still so many adverts, so I just want to tell you the truth and make you realize that there is no quick fix or whatever the fix you might want.
If you see an advert with a waist trainer or belly binder saying, "If you wear this garment for a month, it'll take four inches off your waist,"
then that's total hogwash. While you're wearing it, it might take a couple of inches off, but as soon as you take the garment off, then you'll go back to normal.
Waist trainers and belly binders do not have a lasting effect on your waist shape.
If you are wanting more definition and shape around your waist, I would consider a waist cincher.
Our Glamour Waist Cincher is designed to specifically shape the waist. If the waist cincher was a waist trainer, that you see all the mass market brands do, it would look quite similar. But what makes a waist cincher different is that it has an internal elastic waist tape and thick powermesh layers throughout the garment. The section around the waist stretches less than the upper and lower sections which help give you an accentuated waist: as well as the cut of the garment of course.
Most waist trainers and belly binders don't have this reinforced section, so the garment is giving you the same compression down and it's not going to give you any definition to your waist at all.
Want More Cinch?
The decision to wear a waist cincher or not, comes down to how you feel about yourself and your inner confidence. No one else will notice that your waist might be an inch or two smaller than it usually is. But, if you look and feel good and you feel happier and more confident while wearing one, that is all that really matters. Of course, when you take your waspie or waist cincher off, your waist will return to normal.
If you are wanting more extreme shaping results, you might want to look into a steel-boned non-stretch corset. But be careful as these results are also temporary. And as I have been wearing a corset daily for many years now, I still return to my normal shape after taking my corsets and waist cinchers off. My ribcage retains definition and there isn’t a huge difference to my waist and certainly none to my abdomen. While wearing it, it works, but steel-boned corsets are not a quick fix. I’m talking a minimum of months before you see any difference, so it’s something you need to incorporate into your lifestyle on a long-term basis. As opposed to, "If I wear a waist trainer every day for a month, I'll lose four inches off my waist," because this statement is definitely not true and certainly not going to happen.
Wish Waist Trainer Review
I'm sure if you're like me and you are on Facebook, you will have found many adverts for Wish coming up. You just can't help but swipe across them sometimes because they sell the strangest items. You might have already seen my corset review, which I did a couple of weeks ago and now, I have my waist trainer review.
In the image, it looked pretty good. I wasn't going to fall for the hype, so I knew it wouldn't give me that hourglass shape that it promises, simply because of the way it's constructed. But in the picture, it looked like a pretty decent belly binder. However, when I received it, it turned out just to be a wide tube of elastic: not the waist trainer pictured on Wish. One of the big issues is that there is no boning in it, which means it will roll down and fold over during wear. In addition, it is straight up and down so you can't tell where the top and bottom are. Even if it did have boning to keep the waist trainer in place, it wouldn't define your shape because there's the same amount of pressure all the way down.
I have spoken a lot about steel-boning before in that it doesn't add shape to the garments, it just keeps the garments in place and this is a perfect example. If boning had been added to this waist trainer it wouldn't fold down or wrinkle when worn: although it wouldn’t add any shape either! I would like to point out that this is a super cheap binder and if you purchase from Wish, AliExpress or possibly eBay or Amazon this is what you might end up with. If you go to a reputable website, there are waist trainers and belly binders that are up for the job of compressing or torso after having given birth, but I would recommend getting advice from your doctor first.
If you do have a special dress to a special outfit where you want to define your waist, then a waist cincher or a waspie is an immediate solution and a comfortable solution. It won't give you a hugely dramatic difference, but it will skim a couple of inches off your waist and it's stretchy so it's comfortable to wear.
Corsets Post Pregnancy
In this video I tackle the controversial subject of wearing corsets after birth. Are there any advantages of wearing a corset after pregnancy? What are the pros and cons?
If you're new to retro style hosiery, or hosiery of any kind, then the terminology can be confusing - but help is at hand!
Check out our guide to hosiery and all will be revealed.
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