If you’re on Instagram and are at all interested in underwear, you may have seen Heist’s campaign for their soon to be launched new range. Best known for their tights that don’t roll down or dig in, Heist are now expanding their offering to include what they call ‘bodywear’, and they’re doing a good job of creating some buzz around the launch by channeling a collective loathing of uncomfortable underwear in a couple of different ways. The coming soon page on their website doesn’t give much away about what types of garments will be included, but they’re certainly alluding to it with this text:
Shapewear? #NOTHANX. It’s not for us – or for the 1,025 women we spoke to about it. We refuse to squeeze, sweat, or struggle into something that’s not worth it. So we’re doing something about it. Better bodywear is coming.
As reported in The Pool (twice!) in the last couple of weeks, Heists’s campaign on Instagram started with images of skin with impressions that have been left by tight clothing and they went on to share videos of comedians wrestling with shapewear. Both of these articles and the campaign they’re referring to frustrated me enough to begin writing this blog post because, well, I have opinions. I’m going to address the latter point first though, as I have way too much to say on the former.
First things first… shapewear doesn’t work if it’s not tight!!! I mean, how is it going to smooth wobbly bits, lift your bum or nip in your waist if it’s not tight? Magic?! Spanx offer extremely good garments that do their job very well (the shorts I have are very comfortable and don’t ride up or dig in), and if you don’t want to pull on a firm control bodysuit like Celeste Barber is doing in the video below, there are in fact other options – like choosing a different dress, going to the gym regularly, or not giving a fuck about what other people think of your squishy bits. Nobody is forcing you to wear tight shapewear but, if you do choose to, please enjoy the effects and stop whining about how it should be more comfortable.
Which brings me to the other part of the campaign – the rather beautiful photography of imprints on skin left by clothing. The brand says in the caption of their Instagram post below that they “chose to post this photograph […] as the image accurately shows the side effects of bad underwear.” Except it doesn’t, because even well-fitting clothes can leave marks on your skin. The elastic around the top of socks often leaves a dent in my squishy legs, hours after I’ve taken them off. They aren’t bad socks – in fact, they’re good because the elastic means they stay up – but they leave a mark. I mark very easily and get all sorts of indents and impressions on my skin from jeans, skirts, my watch, and even my wedding ring. It’s not that these items don’t fit properly, they just like to show my skin some love. You can’t tell by looking at this photo whether or not that woman’s bra was uncomfortable. You can only find out by asking her.
And Heist did plenty of asking, by speaking to over 1,000 women about what they disliked about their underwear and looking at how they could fill a gap in the market. I’ve nothing against their attention grabbing social media campaign per se, but what I do have an issue with is the constant claim by brands – blatantly or, in this case, indirectly – that they’re ‘reinventing’ the bra. You might be making something that is more comfortable for some people, but not all, and comfort is one of many things that we expect from our bras. After all, if comfort was your number one priority then you’d probably choose not to wear a bra at all, or to wear one of the many options that are already available – pretty lace bralettes, cami tops with built in support, or seamfree pull-on bras that you can sleep in.
But comfort is not the only thing a bra is expected to do. The main job of a bra, as opposed to any other garment that covers the breasts, is to provide support. Many women choose underwired bras with seams precisely because they are the only available option which provides the support they need, and so complaining about how underwear is ‘torture’ is slightly missing the point. We all know that high heeled shoes are uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time, and are probably not the best choice if there is a lot of walking or standing involved. However, we choose to wear them because they look great with our outfit and make us feel good. It’s the same for a bra. You might choose a bra that lifts your breasts to exactly the right place, pushes them together for knockout cleavage, or that creates a full rounded shape that you like. To expect a bra to be able to do that without any structural engineering shows very little knowledge of how bras actually work.
The majority of the weight of the bust should be supported by the band of your bra (80%) with the straps taking the rest (20%) so there is no way a bra can actually support a lot of breast tissue without being like a firm hug for your rib cage. Some of us have skin that marks relatively easily and so removing a bra at the end of the day can leave red indentations in the skin but, if the bra is well fitting, these shouldn’t really hurt. However, not everyone needs/wants that level of support and, as I mentioned before, there are plenty of options for those who don’t. Criticising the bra as a generic garment for being painful to wear is about as pointless as saying that all shoes hurt. I once complimented a rather dapper colleague on her impeccable suit and brogues, but she complained that the shoes hurt (despite being flat) as she usually only ever wears trainers. Comfort is relative.
I very much doubt that what gets revealed at the end of this campaign will be revolutionary but I find it frustrating when fashion writers believe the hype and suggest that it might be. That a brand might be reinventing the bra or creating some miraculous slimming device that slips on easily yet also smooths out every lump and bump. What Heist are actually creating with their mysterious new ‘bodywear’ range is more options for women who don’t like the current ones. But, of course, that doesn’t make for such a good marketing campaign.
2019 UPDATE: Thankfully Heist were not planning to “reinvent the bra” and revealed that their new garment was a bodysuit, called The Outer Body. I treated myself to one and then, rather annoyingly, was told mere days after ordering that they were reducing the price by £25 (they offered me a discount on my next order over £50, but this was not a great start). The luxurious box contained my bodysuit and also a card which proclaimed, amongst other things, that putting it on would involve “no struggling”. After spending the best part of a minute wriggling into it, I would say that claim, and the “15 seconds” one on their website, is clearly LIES. Who did they test it on? Not someone with big thighs and a belly, clearly!
The body itself is soft and comfortable to wear, and does nip in my waist and smooth my tummy, but it’s not ideal for women with a ‘pear shaped’ figure as a) the compression panel doesn’t extend onto the hips, and b) the cups may gape a little (click on the image to view larger). However, it’s worth noting that the bust gaping is often a problem for me with garments of this type and I found the size L to be a good overall fit, selected based on the measurements chart on the Heist website. Overall, It’s a very good product, but WAY overhyped.
Hi! Thanks for this post. I also ordered the Heist bodysuit, and while I do really like it – I have to agree with most of your post. It does take a minute to wriggle into, I agree!
I bought an M as that’s my size in their other garments, and was even debating exchanging it for an L – but – as you point out, a bodysuit has to form fitting to work! I’m not 100% sure I like how deep the v cut is, especially when wearing it with a blazer – but it is super, super comfortable.
I bought two of their bras and they are the most uncomfortable bras I have! They move aroun d all day; the bralette actually folds over at the bottom – the elastic stretches after the first wear so they no longer fit snuggly. They don’t breath so you sweat. There stitching inside itches (polyester overlocking which is really bulky) and the strap at the back of the bra is some fuzzy polyester that tickles. Tights are great but my expensive foray into their lingerie has been a massive disappointment.