It had to happen — men and Spandex have become best buds thanks to ‘shapewear’, a tidy euphemism for girdles, corsets, anything you wear beneath your clothing that sucks you in, holds you tight and makes you look sleek, trim and smooth.
Until the moment of truth when it all has to come off. Reports today’s New York Times:
“We are selling them as quickly as Spanx can make them,” said Nickelson Wooster, the men’s fashion director at Neiman Marcus, which was until recently the only department store carrying them. (This month Spanx for Men arrived in Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom, and at Web sites like freshpair.com.) “Men may not be talking about it, but they’re buying it.”
Men’s “shapewear” is “the next big thing,” declared Michael Kleinmann, the president of Freshpair, which sells underwear to both sexes. Already, compression garments from brands like Equmen and Sculptees, to name two, have been selling briskly.
Eighteen months ago, when Freshpair got Equmen’s compression T-shirts, “we sold out,” Mr. Kleinmann said. Men’s torso-enhancing T-shirts are part of a revolution in men’s underwear that has been taking place over the last decade, he said. Another popular but hush-hush product is profile-enhancing underwear, which he called “the equivalent of a push-up bra” for men.
The success of Equmen, an Australian label, is one reason department stores and online retailers have been eagerly awaiting Spanx for Men. At Saks Fifth Avenue, Equmen has been sold for less than a year and has already become one of the store’s best-selling underwear, said Eric Jennings, vice president for men’s fashion at Saks.
Women who wear Spanx know the ins and outs of a garment that squooshes all the jiggly bits into a likeness of someone who actually hits the gym more than the remote. They do work magic, but try getting into one! Then…..try getting out again.
The dilemma, for those who are single and dating, is whether or not to wear Spanx on a date you think might end up with the removal of clothing for frisky purposes. A pretty bra, front-closing — cha-ching! A pretty bra, easily unhooked from the back with one hand, workable. Shapewear? Not so much. Even being seen in acres of flesh-colored nylon and its shimmering sausage effect — deeply unerotic.
It’s hard enough to peel yourself out of this stuff, but someone else? Someone new, breathless at the very thought of the encounter to come….and now it’s wrestling with Lycra time.
Best to disappear for a few discreet minutes. Remember the moment when Bridget Jones is discovered wearing granny pants?
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Broadside 
As a male I discovered girdles. Girdles I believe have been for many years a women’s best kept secret. About 5 years I found a Professional Corsetiere for a fitting and some helpful consulting. I found there is much more to being in a girdle then I realized, but the benefits are most definitely there, it just takes some leaning and keeping a open mind. Now I wear a long legged high waist boned and zippered panty girdle Rago 6210 everyday without question and I love it. First the corsetiere that I used talked to me about my life style, this is quite important, in my case I am fairly active, but for work I work on computers and do a fair amount of sitting. This told her that I needed to be in a fairly firm boned girdle for stomach and back support. The next she measured my hips and waist, she recommended because girdles stretch that to benefit the best from the needed support to be in 2 sizes smaller, going smaller and tighter does give you the needed support and does hold you in. The next she had to teach me how to put on a girdle, trust me there is a right way and a wrong way. The corsetiere had me lay down on a bed lean way back pull up my knees, this pulled up my internal organs and stomach and back muscles into their normal natural position, then she had me pull up the girdle, hook up the hooks and eyes, pull up the zipper and stand up. Wow I was amazed how great I felt, the support and control was amazing with much more energy and confidence. She then told me that it is important when in a girdle just to keep my stomach muscles relaxed and just rely on a girdle for needed support standing and sitting, this not so easy to do and takes awhile to get use to, it can take a few weeks, but it is well worth it. It also takes developing a daily routine, wake up each and every morning clean up and put on you girdle and go on with your day. What I also learned and from my own experience that wearing a decent vintage girdle everyday has some very serious health benefits, we as humans stand erect, gravity has a very negative effect on our internal organs, wearing a decent girdle everyday will hold and support our internal organs in their normal natural position. After now around 5 years of daily wearing a girdle I am always amazed how beneficial being in a girdle everyday has, you do get to the point you really do love being in a girdle. A girdle just becomes very much of who are.
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