Aren't Crotchless Pants Meant To Be Sexy?! (Spanx Higher Power High Waisted Power Brief)

Member Name: louiseypees

Product:	Spanx Higher Power High Waisted Power Brief
Date:	29/10/08 (1183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: They work and they're hugely comfortable

Disadvantages: The price!

My best friend is getting married later this year. All together now - aaaah! Yeah, this is really great news - who doesn't love weddings? As bridesmaid, I've been busy rigorously testing out waterproof mascaras, planning a hen do and being ever-thankful that I've been allowed to pick my own dress (I knew there was a reason we were friends!). It was all going swimmingly until I tried my dress on. It's beautiful, and looks amazing - all apart from over my pot belly! I decided it was time to take action.

Naturally, being lazy, I took action by buying the biggest pair of "hold-you-in" knickers money could buy - not by doing something sensible like going on a diet. As I told myself - it's the weekend after the hen party, am I really not going to drink all the weight back on then anyway? So I set about trying to find some miracle pants - ones Bridget Jones would discard as being "too big". My search took me to figleaves.com, where I found these beauties on sale. The Spanx Higher Power High Waisted Power Brief is truly the king of control pants.

Spanx is a concept which was dreamed up by Sara Blakely in 1998. Fed up of visible panty lines and even more fed up of uncomfortable thongs, she one day cut the feet off of some tights to wear instead, and had a bit of a revelation. She quickly went on to get some patents in and started production of her footless bodyshaping pantyhose in 2000. Since then, Spanx has gone from strength to strength, with celebrity fans of the range including Oprah Winfrey and Kylie (although why Kylie needs control pants is beyond me!).

Based on control tights, Spanx are basically garments made from control tights material. This strong yet breatheable and flexible material effectively smooths all your lumps and bumps and makes you look slimmer and sleeker all over. The Higher Power brief seemed to fit the bill for me - I needed to suck in the tummy more than anything else - but Spanx also do full tights, control slips (which kind of just look like nude dresses!) and a range of less enormous pants.

The lengthily-named Higher Power High Waisted Power Brief comes down to mid-thigh and goes all the way up to be tucked into your bra. They are crotchless for, well, fairly obvious reasons (they're tough to get off in a hurry when nature calls...). Considering that these are designed to be pretty snug, they're not as difficult to get into as you'd think - roll the legs up the whole way and then roll down, as this seems to make it easier. Once you're in, put your clothes on quickly and don't look in the mirror until you have - it isn't a particularly attractive sight and you may remind yourself of an uncooked sausage.

But oh, when they're on and you're clothed, they're just fantastic! Lumps and bumps are gone - smoothed away into oblivion - and they are literally one of the most comfortable things I've ever worn! I was worried that they might roll down in the body or up in the leg (ever tried cutting the legs off tights? They roll like nobody's business), but they don't budge. I've worn control pants before and they can really hurt, but these are incredible. Everything is pulled in and smooth, and I feel like a different person.

So, apart from the complete and utter lack of sex appeal (well, only if anyone sees the pants, that is - if they just see the effects when you're clothed, the sex appeal is massive!), what's the drawback? Well, I'm really ashamed to say, I spent £26 on this delightful pair of pants. I don't regret a penny, and I've worn them loads already (I'm contemplating another pair), but this is a horrendous price for a pair of knickers. Even more horrendous if you look at it for what it is - half a pair of tights.

If you can get over the price though, or if you just really need smoothing out underneath a special outfit (like a gold satin bridesmaid dress!), then I don't think you can get much better than a huge pair of Spanx.

Summary: The best control pants in the world.