Tips on How to Choose the Right Padded Girdle, Bra or Body Foundation

Bras and girdles—and other delectable items to wear

I’m sure if we did a survey of all of you girls and asked what article(s) of female clothing they first wore, the vast majority would own up to slipping on a nice, sensuous bra and a pair of slinky panties—after all, these are two of the staples of female underwear—so we shouldn’t be unduly surprised, should we?

Very possibly for us, err…, more mature girls, about the same time as our first bra and panties, we probably also tried on a “roll-on” (does anyone else remember them?) or a girdle (with or without suspender tabs). Later generations became more used to elasticated panty girdles—although broadly similar to girdles, yet lighter, easier to wear… and not quite as sexy. However, body shaping has come a long way and there are many different types of shapers on the market today.  

But first, let’s take a short trip down memory lane and have a closer look at some of this delectable underwear, most of which is still around in some form or another:

Bras

The memories of the first, magical time of hooking together the clasps of a bra and then jiggling it around so that the fastener was against your back, pulling the two straps up and over your shoulder and realizing that you now had your very own breasts, stay with many a girl for life. Even if the bra didn’t fit well, or the style was outdated, it was enough just to be wearing it; and then what about the “fillings” for the cups? Rolled up socks or tights, or rice encapsulated in the cut-off toes of an old pair of tights if you were brave enough to have made you own “breasts”?

Whatever the filling was, coupled with the tightness of the bra just under your nipples and the way it subtly moved every time you did (quite unlike any piece of male attire), wearing a bra for the very first time was enough to make you a devotee for life.

Of course, you didn’t know this at the time; but nor did you understand the differences between soft, natural bras which simply encase and caress breasts, and those with a pre-formed shape; or bras with under wired cups or push-up support; full cup support, half cup support; three fasteners at the back or two; adjustable straps; front fasteners; and, mmmm…, padded bras. You also didn’t appreciate the texture, the fabrics: was the bra silk or satin, maybe cotton? Or was it one of those outdated styles popular with older women, with heavy duty elasticated sides and unflattering cups, the overall design of which seemed to be aimed in killing any passion an admirer might have for the lady in question?

From memory, most bras used to be white or that fleshy, beige sort of colour; and black bras were sometimes looked upon as only being for a “certain” type of woman! But…, my goodness, nowadays name a color and someone has made a bra out of it; not to mention the patterns, styles and materials, plus adornments such a lace or ribbons… even fake fur!

Still, progress I guess, and I’m sure many of us own more bras than most GG’s. But no matter how many bras you have, there’s still that indescribable pleasure of fastening the clasps, twirling the bra around your body and suddenly becoming the proud owner of two shapely breasts; ask any girl!

As a footnote, always make sure that your bras are well fitted, especially if you plan to wear them all day and, also, be sure to check out the correct way to measure for a bra on En Femme’s website (and in another article in this series).

Roll-ons

For those who don’t know, these were extremely tight fitting, elasticated panties, to be worn once you had your regular panties on, maybe all over a pair of tights. As with girdles, they were intended to keep your bottom in shape and make your stomach smooth—the only problem was that they were so tight fitting, you literally had to “roll them on”. Yet, my oh my, what a feeling once you had successfully managed to get into one; they seemed to force your bottom out and were so rigid that the wearer always felt that, involuntarily, it was necessary to adjust one’s torso so that you leaned forward slightly, thereby forcing your breasts to protrude slight further forward than normal (not a bad thing, I hear you say!).

Girdles

Of course, girdles were around at the same time, but these were a more complicated structure, with some reinforcements in their sides to give and hold shape, and usually higher cut (that is, they often finished above the navel as some were also designed to pinch the waist). With or without suspender tabs, the early girdles were every girl's dream: tight fitting, enhancing one’s shape—and keeping up your stockings, if you wore them.

Like many of the more mature girls, the dream of many a novice crossdresser at the time would be to discreetly look through the underwear pages of one of the popular home mail catalogues of the day and see all the models in their girdles—especially Playtex girdles, as they seemed to be the market leader at the time. As compared to roll-ons, girdles usually had clasps and hooks to allow for varying degrees of tightness around the bottom and stomach… aaah, great memories!

Panty girdles

Still, things evolve and modern day roll-ons and girdles essentially morphed into lightweight, soft elasticated panties—in a huge variety of colours and cuts. Effective and pleasant to wear, panty girdles are a great help in not only giving one a nice shape in the “right areas”, but keeping up a pair of tights if you are out and about all day. With the fabrics of women’s clothes, usually, being of lighter weight than male clothing, and the tendency of manufacturers to make such clothes thinner and less opaque, an elasticated panty girdles helps smooth down, say, the line of your top where it is tucked into your skirt, hide your (visible) panty line and, of course, that, …erm, almost unavoidable slight bulge apparent originating from where your “member” resides (unless you are wearing a gaff from En Femme, of course).

En Femme Body Shaping

Shop All Body Shaping Products

Bras and roll-ons, traditional girdles or modern panty girdles: what a choice! So, take your time and choose which body shaper type is best for you. The most sensuous of women’s clothing will nestle against your skin all day—but always remember, there’s absolutely no comparison between the dreary, drab selections of men’s underwear and whichever of these items you are about to put on!

Enjoy…