Let me start by saying - I never thought I'd be the type to rave about shapewear, but here we are. As someone with a post-baby belly and thick thighs (hello, size 16 jeans), finding shapewear that doesn't feel like a medieval torture device is impossible... until I tried these.

The first thing I noticed? The leg openings are WIDER than most shapewear. No sausage-leg effect here! I could actually sit through a whole workday without that awful thigh-cutting sensation. The cotton crotch is a game-changer too - no swampy feeling down there.

Here's the real test: I wore these under a bodycon dress to my cousin's wedding. Normally I'd be adjusting all night, but the side boning actually WORKED - zero roll-down even after hours of dancing and buffet indulgence. Saw photos later and gasped - my waist actually had definition without looking squeezed like a tube of toothpaste.

Pro tip: SIZE UP if between sizes. I almost made the mistake of ordering my 'aspirational' size until reading reviews. Went with 3XL (normally wear XL) and got perfect compression without organ-crushing tightness. The fabric is surprisingly thin yet effective - like magic spanx that don't show lines under clothes.

Not perfect though - the back seam does show under super thin fabrics, and it's not miracle-worker level compression. But for everyday smoothing? 10/10 would recommend to my fellow thick-thighed, soft-bellied warriors.