Stay Warm with Shapewear

By Adam Welsch
Naomi & Nicole®

If various media outlets are to be believed, the worst winter storm in the history of humankind just swept across the United States.  Coincidentally, sixty-four years ago today the record-low temperature for North America – 81 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-63 degrees Celsius) was recorded in Snag, a village located in Canada’s Yukon Territory.  Despite Punxatawney Phil’s prediction yesterday of an early-arriving spring, all of us in the Northern Hemisphere find ourselves in February’s usual cold embrace.  So what’s a woman to do to stay warm?  A quick, easy, and relative inexpensive strategy is to wear some shapewear.

Though most of us hate to admit it, our moms were right about at least one thing.  If you want to stay warm, wearing layers is the way to do it.  One heavy jacket, or one bulky sweater, never does the insulating job quite as well as multiple layers of thinner apparel.  Why?  The key is air.  Air is a poor conductor of heat, and when you wear layers of clothing, air gets trapped in between each one and acts as an effective barrier to the escape of heat from your body.  Shapewear, as tight-fitting underwear, is designed to be worn in conjunction with other layers of clothes.  So, it’s a perfect apparel insulator.

Of course, different pieces of shapewear will provide differing degrees of warming power to your ensemble.  For example, those furnishing greater control often provide greater warmth.  Why?  Because garments delivering greater control often employ additional plies of fabric in their construction.  So not only can a miraculous, hi-waist thigh slimmer provides extra firm control to help you look like you’ve dropped a dress size or two in a few seconds, it can also keep you warmer than, say, a single-ply panty alternative that only provides light control.  Different shapewear silhouettes also generate different amounts of warmth.  The more skin each one covers, the warmer it’ll be.  A great deal of toastiness can be obtained from wearing a body glove, a visually descriptive name for a long leg bodybriefer.  This baby provides coverage from the top of the bust to the middle of the thighs.  It’s certainly warmer than a waist cincher or a pair of conventional control briefs.

Sure that body glove will cover your skin between your bust and your thighs, but what about your arms and the rest of your legs?  For maximum heat containment, wearing multiple pieces of shapewear may be the answer for which you’re looking.  Arm shapers and pantliners are the perfect shapewear silhouettes to deliver warmth to your extremities.  These can be worn by themselves or in conjunction with styles targeting the torso to create a spandex suit of armor against the infiltration of a harsh winter’s chill.

There’s one more thing you should keep in mind when thinking about the warmth that shapewear provides.  Many women work in offices or other locations that can become chilly during the summer months when employers default to an overly zealous use of air-conditioning.  It’s not uncommon for women to have to wear sweaters at work in June, July, or August.  But wearing the right piece of shapewear will not only maximize your appearance in your professional attire, it’ll keep you warm enough to let you drop the sweater and concentrate on your work.

So before you trek outside to dig your car out from that city-plow-created snow bank; before you walk again through that notorious wind tunnel created by the gaps between office buildings lining your daily walking route; or, before you buy that extra sweater to keep at your desk at work, think about adding some shapewear to your wardrobe.  You’ll be more comfortable, and feel more confident, in your chosen fashions.  You’ll also be prepared should your travel plans ever take you to the gates of Snag, Yukon Territory.

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