It pains to look good!

For women who wear them, body shapers are redefining beauty standards. They are not just timeless fashion pieces; these structural body wears are also one of the most excruciating apparels ever known to man.

Generally, body shapers push the breasts outward and clinch the waist, making it to look really trimmer. The long-term result of wearing shape wears is shrinking of the waist stomach of the wearer. Wearing shape wears is usually painful but the more painful they are, the more fitting they would be on the wearers.

Shape wears are as old as the 1700s when monarchs like Queen Marie Antoinette of France popularised them. Throughout history, it has always been a staple of femininity for royals and women of the high-class.

How did a fashion item considered as archaic in the 1700s make a comeback in 2021?
Speaking with The Guardian, a regular user of this apparel, Muriel Odunayo, said: “I have the body shape that would generally be considered as either curvy or plus size. Don’t get me wrong, I love my body, I’m all about body positivity. But every time I am surfing the web, it could be Instagram or Facebook, I would see these women on the Internet in these corsets and waist trainers during their workouts and they would look so beautiful to me.

“Overtime, I wanted my body to look like theirs. I did my research and found that the cause of their hourglass shapes were these body shapers they wore for a period of time. It eliminated the extra belly fat that would have ruined the fitting of the dresses or skirts. Since I started using body shapers, waist trainers specifically, I have become more confident in how my figure looks when I wear skirts and dresses.”

Another body shaper user, Lydia Esther, commented: “I wear waist trainers. I have always worn them. It has always been a part of my gym gear. I used to be thinner than I am now. I started going to the gym to increase my body mass and figure. I wanted to look at myself in the mirror and love my shape.

“Now that I have increased my body mass like I have always wanted. I used my waist trainer to cinch up my figure, even though I am in a figure that I love; I still continue to train. But, I don’t wear it outside the house.”

A user of body shapers, who preferred to be addressed as Seki, said: “ I had to wear waist trainers after I had my liposuction surgery to maintain the results and healing process. People would usually ask if I wear it for the male gaze, and my answer would always remain the same. It’s not always about what I want from the male gender, it’s about what I want for myself.”