Spanx Make You Thin, But Not Really

For a long time the word “Spanx” came with a stigma. Spanx were for women too large to wear anything and thus had to use nylon leggings to push all of the weight in, much like a sausage casing. Yet, now all of the stigma surrounding Spanx is a thing of the past. Perhaps it comes from the re-branding of the product. No longer do we get the embarrassing snap of a word sounding uncomfortably close to “spank”.

Many modern women wear “body-shapers” and these body-shapers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are shaped like panties, others like leggings, and then some Spanx are styled to look like pantyhose.

But why the sudden rise in popularity? As we all know Americans are not famous for having the most healthy of lifestyles nor the most svelte of figures. The United States is home to many of the most overweight cities in the world. Women suffer a lot from this, beauty being valued at a premium within western society. What can be done about this, save diet and exercise? Spanx, of course!

Just as women who viewed themselves as under endowed  embraced the Wonder Bra and short women took on high-heels, so do overweight ladies take to their Spanx. It shapes the body into the classic and feminine hour-glass shape, sans all of the lumps of panty-hose and the rib-crushing, breathing adverse imprisonment of corsets. The best part of Spanx is that they hide seamlessly beneath any piece of clothing. As far as anyone knows that is just the woman’s natural appearance. She doesn’t need to worry about embarrassing herself thanks to varying styles. Underwear style and pantyhose style can be worn with a skirt or dress while the leggings can be worn beneath your pants.

Sara Blakely, inventor of Spanx and founder of the company, won Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002 thanks to her innovative and unique way to slim down women. The success has been great, especially in recent years. Since the company was first founded in the year 2000 over 5.4 million pairs of Spanx have been sold. The Spanx fad really began to take off in 2008 when retail sales for Spanx went above $750 million.

Another boon to the popularity of body-shapers is that the fashionistas and designers of the world have embraced them. In the July 2010 issue of Marie Claire Tim Gunn, a popular fashion consultant and commentator on the hit television show Project Runway, declared that Spanx were the way to go in terms of ways to conceal unflattering parts of the body in the abdomen. When you get Tim Gunn’s recommendation then you are sure to do well within the fashion world. Even before Tim Gunn began singing the praises of Spanx, fashion consultant and British television personality Gok Wan was teaching the ways of Spanx on his show How to Look Good Naked. Whenever a woman showed displeasure with her mid-section Wan would put her in a pair of body-shapers and the difference was not only shocking to her but also the viewers. With Tim Gunn supporting in the USA and Gok Wan in the UK there’s little to stop the spread of body-shapers’ popularity across the world.

Thanks to television, the internet, and magazines women every where are discovering the advantages of body-shapers. Within the last two years Spanx has become a household name rather than an embarrassing little secret of a few ladies. Soon the American woman’s underwear drawer will not only contain panties, bras, and hosiery but at least one pair of Spanx. This is one fashion trend that will likely not die out any time soon.