Like this?

Why cinch the waist during the nine months that you are so totally allowed to let it all hang out? Don't do it now, get some fries instead. ;P

That said, there's a brand called "Anita" that does the pregnancy belly-holders (sans undies part) and the return to your old wait post-pregnancy tummy-flattening corset-type thingies in light easy-wash material. They were really good to me.

(pregnancy belly-holder I'm sure you've all seen, helps hold the tummy when it gets bastardly heavy. Worked wonders when I needed to be on my feet at the end!)

I don't think loiseau is actually pregnant, unless something has changed.

You can find shapers with a normal non-restrictive panty that don't flatten the bum. There are a lot out there that have an attached panty but only shape the waist and tum. Of course there are the hose things and things like this and this. The thong one might be good, no ass smooshing.

losieau, are you wearing blousy clothing and styles like this and this?

Oh no!

Well that's a really cranky feeling. :( Then lets move on to proper shapers! Whenever I'm in the states I find that even brand-name-malls have the craziest stuff around, but I don't know any decent brands. Is http://www.bodyshaperz.com decent? I dunno. But they have that waist-but-not-junk thing you want.

Wow, the stuff you showed is so much better LoriFLA, I love ameeericaa! I wanna live in america! (said like that girl in west side story)

Sorry, yeah, I was referencing my post from a couple of weeks ago about being asked if I was having a boy or girl.

Today I was offered a seat on the bus and without thinking said, "Oh, no, that's okay, thanks!" The guy insisted, "... because, you're pregnant." I said, "No, I'm just fat, but thanks anyway."

Then a teenage girl told her friend and they both laughed their asses off about it in front of me.

: ((((

Anyway, I'm willing to try mechanical assistance. I don't wear empire-waist stuff. This shirt is blousy but not empire-waisty -- just not form-fitting. (I think form-fitting would be worse because I do have a bit of a tummy. I'm going to look at putting a tonne of darts into every shirt and dress I own now though, just to avoid this happening again in another two weeks.)

Shit, LoriFLA... those things look kinda scary.

Yeah, they are scary and I mostly refuse to wear them, but I have before, under a formfitting dress.

Even if you do have a tummy sometimes it's better to go sleek and form fitting. It doesn't have to be tight but more close to your form.

Good luck, loiseau. I hope you're not too distressed over it. People are clueless. I have a friend, she has beautiful thin legs, is slim all over really, but has a tiny bit of tummy and wears those blousy shirts. People ask if she's pregnant.

Ooo figleaves UK do deliver to Japan.

*spends Birthday money*

I had a baby recently so I'll tell you how the waist cincher is going on getting my tum back.

Or at least looking like it....

And loiseau - don't let silly teenage girls get you down - they'll get theirs soon enough (^_~).

Karma baby! It's gonna sock them right in the gut one day! (And possibly the thighs and butt.....)

This one is cheap and looks a little more comfortable.

honestly, can i tell you how much I hate those things? Sure, they're great on the 2% body fat models. Get them on an average human and, well... not so much. My mom got me one for my sister's wedding (gee, thanks mom). First thing is, the fat's gotta go somewhere. so you get a roll at the bottom. and then you realize stay-put silicone is fancypants speak for line o' misery. As it does stick to your skin. and attempts to take your skin with it when it rolls up. which it will. (and on the cheaper ones it isn't silicone, it's latex.)

If you're going to get anything get something with some sort of structure. the bones are the only thing that will keep it from turning into a painful innertube around your waist. But anticipate, if worn regularly, a short lifespan. Plastic bones warm to body temperature, warp, and don't return to their original shape.

The figleaves one Lori posted seems the best option. You don't need to yank it over your head (the stuff that keeps it in place on your hips also keeps it in place everywhere between your ankles and there when you pull up, and in place on your hair, which will just go with it, when you go over the head), and it has a bit of a structure to it.

and yes, I realize how moronic it is for someone who has deformed her ribcage and so on to complain that silicone and spandex is uncomfortable. But it is! Give me steel and silk over that any day for comfort.

Little derail: At the Central Park picnic a couple of weeks ago, a new attendee, The Pluto Gangsta, asked gaspode if she is pregnant. When she confirmed that yes, she is, he said, ah, I wasn't sure.

So I (wearing a blousey top that day) said (jokingly) "I'm just fat."

"No, no," he cried, "I wasn't trying to suggest you look pregnant!"

"Oh? So you think I'm too old then?"

"NO! I didn't mean that either!"

At which point he picked up the picnic knife and pretended to commit hari-kiri, realising that anything he said after that would dig himself further into the pit I'd shoved him into. Hee.