Wed, Mar 12, 2008 - Page 13 News List

Nip-and-tuck lingerie gets a boost

Form-fitting fashions, obesity and obsession with youth have made 'shapewear,' or underwear that slims and tones, popular long after corsets went out of style

By Claire Rosemberg  /  AFP , PARIS

On the squishy front too, fashion's new first aids are hardly seductive.

Adepts of backless strapless dresses and plunging necklines might find self-adhesive silicone bras said to have hours of staying-power ideal, along with bits of transparent tape made to hold necklines or straps tightly in place.

But nowadays rather than tailor the dress to the body, the body can be tailored to the dress.

Makers of these lingerie accessories offer soft-silicone size boosters or foam push-ups, which can be slipped in and out of bras, or stick-on lift-ups for an invisibly magic hoist.

These silicone slivers are now known as "chicken fillets."

Major player in body fix-it lines, Dutch company Magic Bodyfashion, which kicked off in 1988 making foam shoulder pads, for example has water and oil filled pads for stuffing into swimsuits, as well as a pop-in pad with a built-in air pump to blow up as needed on the beach.

Launched a year ago, the company's director Hans de Vries said they have sold 30,000 boxes of air-pump breast boosters so far.

Boosters, said Spain's Comfort, Care and Beauty at the Paris fair, adapted to body heat and were easy to handle. "Sales are on the up the up," she said.

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