ROSEMARY MAC CABE

So we’ve covered New Look, second-hand stores in Dublin (sorry, country folk – but feel free to leave your top tips in the comments!) and, moving slightly away from the specific-stores plan, accessories in general, taking in Asos, Accessorize, the Cambridge Satchel Company and, of course, my favourite DVF handbag. So what’s today’s plan? It’s a little late, I’ll grant you – but today I’m gonna take a wee look at Marks & Spencer and its amazing range of shapewear. Because, like house-building (I know because me fella’s building a gaf and won’t stop talking about it), a decent structure starts with a solid foundation, and shapewear should now be your new best friend.

Herve Leger dresses - shapewear musts

Shall we start with a disclaimer? I love M & S. I go in, looking for tights or underwear or chocolate chip cookies (similar recipe here, yum) and I invariably emerge with a fantastic item of clothing from its Limited Collection range – items that wear well, aren’t so trendy that they age quickly and are really well sized. In that, I don’t mean that in M & S I’m a size 8, but I’m not an 18 either. Its designers seem to have a clue when it comes to garment sizing.

However, I have some serious problems with the attitude of M & S to its Irish customers. You can’t order from any of its stores outside the Republic of Ireland; its website will deliver to Bahrain, but not here; you can’t special order items in unless they’re already in “our Irish warehouse” which, presumably, is stocked directly from the UK warehouses.

I do get over these quibbles – only just – because M & S has by far the best range of shapewear options on the high street. What do I mean by shapewear? You know, stuff that pulls you in and up and in some more, and makes your silhouette lean and smooth, no matter how tight or unforgiving the fabric of your outer garment is. I wear mine almost 24/7 (sexy, I know) – I have a black bodysuit that I wear with jeans (handily preventing the dreaded builder’s arse in the process), dresses and skirts; I have a nude body-hugging slip that looks amazing under dresses and long tunics; I wear my high-waisted knickers basically whenever they’re clean (although not if I’m going to the cinema, or out for a big dinner – sitting down in tight underwear is often not the best idea in the world, to put it mildly).

The plain honest truth is, underwear is not going to shave inches off you, no matter how expensive it is or how many promises there are on the box. But it can make you look the very best version of your shape; smooth, lean (ish – ahem) and toned. And really, what more could you ask for?

My picks?

all from M&S underwear range

Sexy, huh? Shapewear is one of those odd things that reminds everyone of Bridget Jones’ Diary or posh weddings where everyone wears Coast and Spanx and gets very drunk, but it really is the easiest way to make every outfit look better. Since I started wearing it, I’ve found loads of things in my wardrobe that I could never wear before have suddenly become my favourite outfits!

Oh disclaimer # 2: M&S Shapewear is not cheap. But this is a budget style update because once you’ve invested (around €50 for a body, €45 for a slip, €30 for control knickers, and so on) these items will last you forever and will honestly become your I-overindulged-this-weekend saviour. If you’re unhappy with your purchase, send me an e-mail about it (rosemary.maccabe [at] gmail.com) and I’ll, eh, sympathise.

Related posts:

1. Budget style update – Part One
2. Budget style update – Part Three
3. Budget style update – Part Five: menswear, a guest post by Joey Kavanagh