Real stories · The smooth-line secret

The dress didn't change — what's under it did

Sandra spent an entire lunch trying to work out what was different about me — and I let her, because the honest answer was underwear. I'm 67, and my relationship with shapewear had ended years ago the way most women's does: rolled waistbands, seams that dug like fence wire, and an hour of holding my breath for a smoothness nobody even noticed. The fitted dresses went to the back of the wardrobe and stayed there.

What I wanted was a smooth line that didn't require suffering for it.

Then I found the Sanivelle from a British label called York Boutique — high-waist smoothing briefs that come as a set of SEVEN pairs, in soft everyday colours. Two easy sizes cover the lot.

The difference is that they smooth without punishing. The high waist gently settles everything and — the real miracle — stays put: no rolling down, no digging in, soft against the skin and breathable all day — which is why the fitted navy dress has come out of exile — and under clothes they simply vanish. No lines, no ridges, no evidence.

A high waist that stays put and smooths without punishing — no rolling, no digging, invisible under everything — which is why the fitted dresses have come back out of the wardrobe. Seven pairs, under three pounds each.

The set of seven was £19.95 — under three pounds a pair, which is still less than one of the 'miracle' garments that spent 2019 punishing me. Half the usual £40, and one for every day of the week.

They have since done a fortnight of ordinary days and one lunch in the fitted dress, breathing normally throughout, and Sandra — who studied me over two courses — finally demanded to know if I'd 'been doing Pilates'. I have not been doing Pilates. I've been comfortable.

If your shapewear also feels like a punishment, do have a look. The Sanivelle is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 250 women, it comes as seven pairs in soft assorted colours, in two easy sizes — and at half price the sets go quickly.