So begs the question: when you're going on a date, should you utilise these sorts of garments and accentuate your body, and is there any dishonesty in that?
I'm all for taking what your mamma gave you, and pushing it to the max. Using any kind of enhancing clothing for the purpose of feeling confident on a date is something nobody should be ashamed of.
Why? Dates are difficult enough already. There's the pressure to look your absolute best, but also to look casual and cool – two things that just don't marry up. You need to be on your game with conversation: smart but not smarmy, funny but not too funny, interested but not too keen. You might even have spent hours wracked with anxiety figuring out an "exit plan" should you dislike the person.
Doing everything you can to not worry so much about your physical appearance is a good thing. Is it superficial to put so much effort in? Well, I hate to break it to you, but physical appearance is impactful on dates (especially first dates). When you're getting to know somebody with polite chit-chat, you have little else to go on except your gauge of how attractive they are to you in the moment.
As for the dishonesty part, let's be frank: nobody puts forth the real, unfiltered version of themselves on dates. It takes months and lots of trust to reveal who you are. If wearing any kind of enhancing garment is deceitful then so are all of the following: concealer or any other make-up, hair product, designer clothes, tight t-shirts, jeans that make your butt look great, particular kinds of shoes (e.g. heels), cologne or perfume, even jewellery to draw the eye to certain parts of the body. It all sounds a bit ridiculous when put like that, doesn't it?
Enhancing garments don't have to be limited to the dating scene either. The point of looking and feeling good isn't always to entice romantic attraction. Sometimes you want to meet your friends for drinks and feel like you look hot. Sometimes you want to wear something under your clothes that makes you feel sexy, even if nobody else knows. Sometimes you just want to experiment in front of the mirror at home and improve your self-confidence.
As for public outings, I'm in favour of what I call the "boobs, butt, OR back" rule. It's generally applied to dresses: the classiest way to emphasise your body's curves is to show off your boobs, or your butt, or your back, but never more than one of them at once.
With that in mind, I think it's best to just choose one part of your body to enhance. Nobody is going to be comfortable in slimming shapewear, with butt pads, and something chesty on top. It's all too much. You'll just end up concerned something will fall out of place.
Choose one part of your body that you already love, and make it look exceptional. Work with what you have, and just stop yourself before you get anywhere near beauty pageant territory.
