Sucking in That Gut

July 07, 2010, By 1 comment

Sucking in That Gut

In May, the New York Times published an article on the increased popularity of “shapewear” for men. That’s right. Spanx for men have become a hit.

Already popular among women and even featured on “Oprah,” Spanx are designed to invisibly shape your body, aka hide the flab. If you visit their website, you’ll see exactly how they work for women and men. And they’ve done well while ranging from $55 to $58 for men. Their inventor, Sara Blakely, won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2002.

And it’s not just Spanx that have created this product for men. Sculptees is a brand of shapewear specifically for men. According to their website, Sculptees “creates an athletic triangular effect of a lifted chest, upright posture and a slim waist.” Ranging from $38 to $78, they offer a variety of products including sculpting T-shirts and tanks meant to help that shirt look just a little bit better tucked into those pants.

But there’s more. If you search Google for “shapewear for men,” there are more than 6 million results, many of which are articles on how popular the products are. From shirts and tanks to shorts and even underwear, men can find the product they’re looking for in virtually any color.

Here’s one tip for you about “shapewhere.” No matter how much money you spend on Spanx or Sculptees, you’re not going to look like their model. He gets paid to wear it and likely doesn’t have a “problem area” to mask.

At the end of the day, you have to take your shirt off. Instead of wasting your money on ridiculously “metro” products, do something good for yourself and exercise. Spanx won’t help you live any longer.

Don’t like that your belly is bulging out? Check out our video series Move It, Fat Boy or some other tips on Feeling Good. If you really want to slim down, you’ll have to work for it.

Catherine Couretas is a freelancer at Barefoot Proximity and a regular contributor to ManoftheHouse.com.

Comments (1):

Bill S. Dumb article for several reasons, and it perpetuates several unhealthy and unrealistic myths, such as "if we just work out we can all have movie star bodies." Reason one, exercise alone does not do much for weight loss because it often leads to bigger appetite. Exercise is good for many reasons, but eating smart is more effective for weight loss. Two, many people have a stocky body, genetics, age, or health condition that makes being slim in the waistline all but impossible no matter how much one "works at it." In general, people are better off accepting a realistic goal for their body than an unattainable one. Having said that, I think I would be more embarrassed by wearing a girdle than I would with my "portly, middle-age build." Also, my guess is that it would be uncomfortable and hot, and probably obvious unless worn under a suit jacket all day. Who wants to do that? - 08/13/2011

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