Thursday, May 14, 2009

Panties?

Now that we have you covered on top, let’s get to the bottom of things.


Panties. Personally, I hate the term “Panties”. I am not a five-year old child. Grown women wear underpants. They wear lingerie. Just as I have a stomach and not a “tummy”, I have lingerie and not “panties”, thank you very much.


High-cut briefs, thongs, hipsters, bikinis – what to wear?


Easy. Try them on with your outfit, and look in the mirror. If you see lines, something’s wrong.


The new microfiber “no show” pants are great at disappearing under clothing. Just make sure you can’t see the color through your clothes. Nude is the color you should choose for wearing with white trousers and skirts, as white lingerie actually shows through. If you are a woman of color, then match your skin tone with a darker skin-tone, either a tan or mocha. Even black if you are very dark-skinned. You don’t want the underwear to show, either in line or in color.


Thongs are usually great at not showing but I see an awful lot of women missing the boat on this one. The thong needs to fit you properly. And please, do not wear your outerwear so darned tight that we can all clearly see the thong through the skirt. The point of the thong is to be invisible under clothing. Do not wear your pants so low (this look has been out for about 5 years anyway) that we see the thong from the back. Again: thong= undetectable.


If you are a fan of hipsters or bikinis, make sure they fit you properly and are not too tight. These are really best left to be worn under jeans. It is almost impossible to achieve the “no visible line” look otherwise. Unless your jeans are too tight, these items will not show through. (I will be addressing wearing the proper size in another article.)


I can’t emphasize fit enough. Too tight looks cheap. It also makes you look heavy and lumpy. Take the time to take your measurements and find the proper size for those measurements. The payoff is not just in the way you look but in the comfort level. Better to wear a “large” and look great than squeeze yourself into a “medium” and display major muffin top.

While we are discussing comfort, there are a whole slew of “shapers” out there that are infinitely wearable. They roll up much like pantyhose do and stay in place like nobody’s business. They do not cut or bind. If you have a dress or outfit that is a tad too tight or maybe is “unforgiving” and shows bumps and bulges, these are your “go-to” staple. (I had a customer who needed to wear a to-die for Japanese dress to an art museum opening. You know the kind of dress I mean. The high collar. The slit at the side of the leg. We could not get this thing to zip for love or money. I put her in one of the high-waisted shapers and we zipped the dress with some room to spare.) Get a couple of these in nude and in black. The ones that roll up to the bottom band of your bra are the best as there is no question of you looking smooth and sleek.

Regarding stockings. Buy the best you can afford. Match black stockings to black shoes. Anything else, wear as sheer a nude as you can find. Cheap pantyhose look like cheap pantyhose. End of story. Never wear pantyhose with sandals. You wouldn’t wear socks with sandals (at least I hope you wouldn’t) so don’t do this with pantyhose. And unless you’re a nurse, do not wear white pantyhose with anything for any reason.


Where possible and if you are comfortable doing this go without. This is key in the summertime. Use one of those gradual tanning lotions. Don’t overdo this. You want to go for a nice glow and a light color. It will cover flaws nicely and detract from any spider veins or ripples. Your legs will appear slimmer.

Elizabeth Sutor is a Makeup Artist and Wardrobe Consultant. She can be reached at elizabethsutor@hotmail.com or 302.312.9241. Her website is lookinggreatdaily.com.

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