Hi Ladies,

I received this email from “Laura” recently, thought I’d share it with you!  (Just FYI, when a name is in “quotes”, it means that the person requested anonymity.)

Dear Marianne,

I recently purchased a new little black dress for an upcoming charity benefit.  It’s this cute versace number, found it on www.saks.com:

 

Now I just need to find the right foundation to wear under it, and was hoping that you could help me out.  I definitely want to have a nice smooth silhouette when wearing the dress, just like the model in the picture!  I think a slip would be best.  I’m not full figured, but I can use a touch of help in the right places so I can’t wear just a bra… spkg of which I’m a full 34D… that’s another problem - most of the slips that I’ve found don’t support me enough.

Thanks in adv for your help.

First off, how about her new dress?  Fabulous.

Now for her foundation.  She mentioned a slip and is on the right track.  I’m glad that she came to me because it’s not always easy to find the right one.  Just like bras, bustiers, shapers, etc, slips are often challenging to choose from.  They come in a variety of lengths, sizing structures, necklines, degrees of control, and more.

Let’s start with lengths.  Most slips that you’ll find on the market are measured from either the center bust (lowest part of the neckline) or the top of the side seam (next to the underarm), down to the bottom of the slip.  Half-slips are of course an exception, since they start at the waist.

I found Laura’s dress on on saks.com to check the specs - they say that the dress measures about 23″ from the waist down.  Looking at the dress, that means it probably measures anywhere from 30-36″ from the center bust down.  So, what length slip should Laura wear?  Obviously, it should be shorter than 30″ down from the center bust or side seam - but how much shorter?  I would say that 6″ shorter is a safe distance, so a 24 or even a 25″ slip should work.  If the slip is too short, it will ride up quite a bit, so she should avoid “mini slips”, which measure around 18″.

Now onto the neckline.  This part is much more simple.  Her dress features a scoop neckline, and so should her foundation.  Some slips come with v-necks, that’s clearly not what she needs here.

Regarding bust support and sizing structure, most slips out there are sized either by dress size or Small/Med/Lge/etc.  However, some are sized by cup size, like bras - this is the sizing structure that Laura should look for.  A slip that is fitted to her bust, with bra cups and underwires, will keep her perfectly lifted comfortably throughout her charity benefit.  At Va Bien, we built our patented ultra-Lift bra cups into our slip, with women like Laura in mind.

As for control, Laura should look specifically for a “control slip”.  Many, if not most slips out there are intended to hang loose on the body.  A control slip however is made of stretchy, figure-hugging fabric designed to slim and smooth the body to varying degrees, depending on fabric content and the cut.  Usually levels of control are indicated in product titles, such as “moderate control slip”, “firm control slip”, etc.  From what Laura said, it sounds like she needs a moderate control slip, as she needs just a “touch of help in the right places”.

Best of luck to you Laura, enjoy your event!

Marianne