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"In a past life&amp;amp;#8212;okay, ten years ago&amp;amp;#8212;I was signed to Wilhelmina Models&amp;#x27; plus-size division where I learned, among other things, that despite being a &amp;quot;plus-size model&amp;quot; (which meant, at the time, size 10 to 20 across the board), the main goal in photoshoots was to look as tall and as sleek as possible. Not thin&amp;amp;#8212;we didn&amp;#x27;t want to look thin-thin, they&amp;#x27;d hire a &amp;quot;straight size&amp;quot; model for that&amp;amp;#8212;but we definitely needed to fit the proportions of the clothes on set and look as lump- and bump-free as humanly possible.Later on, I authored a weekly column (called &amp;quot;How Not to Look Fat&amp;quot;) in a newspaper here in New York. The column eventually became a book. In between my modeling days and my book-research, I think I&amp;#x27;ve tried on more than 100 pairs and styles of control-top, slimming undergarments&amp;amp;#8212;full bodies, bust-to-knee sausage casing, waist-cinchers, corsets, thigh-shapers, tummy-flatteners, upper-arm reducers, chest minimizers, back-fat hiders&amp;amp;#8212;you name it, I&amp;#x27;ve put it on. Some were fantastic&amp;amp;#8212;they did exactly what they claimed they&amp;#x27;d do. Some pieces worked too well&amp;amp;#8212;and an hour into wearing &amp;#x27;em, I&amp;#x27;d feel dizzy from lack of circulation. Other didn&amp;#x27;t work at all, rolled down all the over the place, hurt, left red marks, gave me blisters (!!), and/or made me look worse (like a sack of potatoes). Here are some of my all-time favorites: 1. For a special occasion - Rago Shapewear: Rago Shapewear&amp;#x27;s classic foundation garments have been a gold standard in the United States for more than 65 years&amp;amp;#8212;and no wonder, since they work like a charm! The stretch lace provides a firm hold and the targeted boning and stitching help control extra-jiggly parts. Do you watch shows set in the 1960s&amp;amp;#8212;like Pan Am and Mad Men? Rago undergarments are often features on screen. My favorite piece is the extra firm girdle&amp;amp;#8212;great under pencil skirts and eveningwear. The only drawback? Rago is serious shapewear&amp;amp;#8212;so unless you&amp;#x27;re accustomed to it, I&amp;#x27;d advise against wearing it for more than a couple of hours at a time. 2. For everyday work and semi-serious situations - Spanx: It&amp;#x27;s no secret that Spanx is one of the premier go-to names in control underwear&amp;amp;#8212;even Oprah declared (on air!) that she wears Spanx every single day. I&amp;#x27;ve tried dozens upon dozens of different Spanx styles and what I&amp;#x27;ve found is that some things work better than others&amp;amp;#8212;my favorite piece, which I&amp;#x27;ve invested in year after year&amp;amp;#8212;are the classic Power Panties (which&amp;#x27;ll cost you about $30 a pop). On me, they don&amp;#x27;t roll down, hold in my lower abdomen, and smooth my rear view&amp;amp;#8212;all without making obvious pantylines. One of the most important things to consider when buying control-top underwear is whether it&amp;#x27;ll roll down when you sit down&amp;amp;#8212;if you&amp;#x27;ve ever experienced this, you&amp;#x27;ll know how super-awkward and uncomfortable it is. Everything&amp;#x27;s going well and smooth until you sit down and you feel the waistband go roll-roll-roll-roll-ploof! and land right under your tummy. Very un-fun. Don&amp;#x27;t be afraid to try your control-top undies on before you buy &amp;#x27;em. Take them into the fitting room and do what you need to do&amp;amp;#8212;sit down, walk around, bend over, reach up&amp;amp;#8212;to make sure they don&amp;#x27;t go where they&amp;#x27;re not supposed to. 3. Affordable options for everyday - Flexees: One of the pleasant surprises of trying on so many different types of shapewear across so many pricepoints was finding Flexees&amp;amp;#8212;a range of underwear that I first found at JCPenney back in the day. I love Flexees&amp;#x27; bottoms: especially their boy shorts for those days I just don&amp;#x27;t want something all over my thighs. And I love that Flexees makes so many under-$30 styles. Do you wear control-top underwear? To be honest, I reserve my shapewear for special occasions&amp;amp;#8212;or important work events. What are some of your favorite brands? What other lingerie-related questions would you like to see us address on Glamour.com? Tell us in the comments. PLUS... &amp;amp;#183; 5 brand-new Josie Natori for Target looks for Valentine&amp;#x27;s Day &amp;amp;#183; Resultwear&amp;#x27;s &amp;quot;Marilyn&amp;quot; slip: shapewear you&amp;#x27;ll want to show off &amp;amp;#183; Would you wear tees and tops from Spanx?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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