By Staff
There probably won’t be any men interested in my ratings this week. I’m addressing the problem with girdles. So unless you’re a man who needs to hide a bulge or two, pass the paper to your wife.
Just last week I was in the market for a girdle. It’s not an item you look forward to shopping for and it’s a difficult item to purchase.
First of all, figuring out what size to buy is quite a problem for me. I can never decide if I should buy the size that I am or if I should by the size I want to be. After all, isn’t the purpose of a girdle to make you appear smaller than you really are?
I guess when I stop to give it some thought, it would be impossible for a woman my size to believe that any girdle could get her down to a size 4. They are wonderful garments, but by no stretch of the imagination could I see that happening in my case.
As I scoured the small section of “slimming” undergarments at a local retailer, I began to see a pattern.
For some reason there were no girdles in a size above an extra large. What’s up with that? There were four size small, three size mediums, one size large and two size extra-large hanging there in the space. There were a couple of different styles and colors to choose from but not one came in a size for someone who really needed a girdle.
Think about this: A size small in most places is for someone that’s around a size 4 or 6. Why would anyone that size need a girdle? What could someone who could wear a pair of leotards without any fear need with a girdle? Made me mad just to think about it.
Here’s my take on the girdle. Girdles are made of (hopefully) a very strong fabric that will somewhat conform to the shape of a woman to squeeze in just enough to smooth out severe ripples and conceal those little dimples that have somehow made her backside look like a carton of cottage cheese. This garment will also have some serious panels sewn in where plastic or metal bones used to be on the older versions of the garment. The garment may, or may not, have a zipper on the side to aid in easy in and out work. We won’t even talk about the other “easy” part of the girdle.
When you think about it the girdle was made to smooth out bulges, bumps and ridges on overweight women. I can’t see that a person who wears a size 10 or less could ever be a good candidate for a girdle.
I’ve told you all this as a way of explaining how perplexing it is that manufacturers continue to make clothing for people that don’t wear the type of clothes they make.
For all of the manufacturers out there who may happen upon this opinion piece keep these things in mind: Big girls are the ones who need girdles — please make these garments in sizes 2X, 3X and even a 4X. If you do, I’d almost guarantee an increase in sales for your company.
I know that I’ve probably rambled on and on about something that is of any interest to very many people. But I’m willing to bet there are a couple of women out there that have been thinking the same things over the years.
By the way, if anyone finds a place that sells girdles for women who wear plus sizes take a note and give me a call as quickly as you can.
Lisa Tindell is news editor for The Brewton Standard. She can be reached by email
at lisa.tindell@brewton