A Review: The Yummie Tummie Tank Top

As most of you know, I am the mom to three boys. And while I am pretty slim compared to a lot of folks, my belly got pretty stretched out when I was pregnant with the twins. I worked hard to lose much of the weight, but there is a good amount of belly flab that a doctor (the hubby) has told me may never go away even with a million ab crunches, because the skin is so stretched out.

(Okay, maybe a million ab crunches would get rid of a LOT of the belly flab. But not all of it!)

Well, along comes a new company called Yummie Tummie, with a line of shapewear (you know… the clothes meant to hold you in, in all the right places!) and they asked me to pick one of their items and write a review of what I think about it. Not one to turn down free clothes, much less ones that might make me look awesome (!!) I said, “Yes, please!”

What’s cool about their line is that they make shirts that are designed to hold in your tummy, and reign in your muffin tops, but are also meant to be seen, not hidden under your real clothes. You can layer it with regular shirts, or wear them alone. It’s designed to “visibly slim, shape and smooth you. It's the first shapewear on the market that is comfortable enough to wear all day and evening.”

These are tank tops and t-shirts, and v-necks and scoops, and they even have long sleeve styles. They come in ten different colors (and occasionally fun prints like leopard!) They range from extra small to extra large. One has a built in bra, and another is actually made with drop-down panels for nursing mothers! How cool is that? I mean, when do you need a tummy shaper more than any other time in your life, right?

I chose the regular length tank top in black. I almost went for the extra length style because I like a long shirt but that one seemed to go down to the upper thighs. The regular length was thankfully long enough to show through below when wearing a regular t-shirt over top of it.

Alone, the shirt looks very stylish. It has pretty, narrow straps, less than an inch wide, and I had a black bra to wear with my black shirt, but you might have a bit of trouble hiding a white bra strap if you choose the salmon colored shirt. But if that bugs you, you can get one of the built-in bra shirts.

So… I hear you wondering… did it work? Did it hold in my twin-tummy?

It did! (I was thisclose to pushing the "upload button" on a "before" shot of my belly, but you will just have to take my word for it. I got too darn shy.)

It held my twin-skin belly in and it looked really good at the same time! I loved that it didn’t look like a shirt meant to hold stuff in. It flows pretty seamlessly from comfy bra-area into the tighter, form fitting shaper, and then back to the regular, more loose fabric at the bottom of the shirt. This is genius because the bottom just hangs loose like a regular shirt, totally camouflaging the fact that you are camouflaging!

Think of Yummie Tummie as a tank top or T-shirt on steroids: that favorite, super-soft,lightweight cotton wardrobe staple you wear alone or under everything you own. From your bust up and your hip bones down, it is exactly that. But, made with a patent-pending dual fabric technology, its extra bonus comes from its same-tone, firm control midsection panel, which smooths and shapes your tummy and hips, eliminating pounds off your appearance, and camouflaging any lumps and bumps.

When you hold the shirt up on a hanger, you can see that it is built like an hourglass. So it’s comfy where you want it, and firm where you need it.

Are their cons? Is it perfect? It’s not perfect.

They claim that the shirt doesn’t roll up over your belly like some shapers. And no, it didn’t roll up over my belly. But I have to say the firmest point in the shirt did rise up from my belly button closer to my ribs as the day went on, and I found myself yanking it down and stretching it out flat numerous times.

But honestly, I don’t think it is possible to make a tight belly shaper shirt that doesn’t ride up, unless you have it connected by garters to your stockings, like the old days.

As far as riding up, I think what with the super length and styling of the shirt, they do the best job one can possibly do in making a shirt like this. It does ride up, but it doesn’t look at all odd or unattractive when it does. And I have to admit, I yank down quite a few of my more form fitting shirts when I wear them as well.

It’s one of the few tank tops I now own that I am comfortable wearing alone. It makes me look attractive and in shape. The front doesn’t hang open when you bend down, either. With a button down or a t-shirt over it, it looks really nice because of its length peeking out below the other shirt. It is sleek and soft, and actually wicks away moisture. On cold days it keeps me warmer.

If you are wondering what size shaper to get, check out their great chart here. You can measure yourself and look up your measurements in the chart to figure out which size is best for you.

The price for one of their shapers was a little steep for me, I have to admit. I probably wouldn’t have bought one for myself at this price point. But I haven’t checked out the price of other brands of body shapers, so perhaps it’s equitable. And unlike other shapers, this is something you can wear as actual external clothing. So it’s kind of a two-in-one shirt; a belly flattener you can wear with shorts. And they have a 30 day return policy, so no worries about whether you will like it.

So let’s see… cons are the price and a bit of a ride-up problem, the pros are how good it makes you look, how comfortable it is, and that you can wear it as clothing and not just as underwear. Tuck it into your pants and you CAN wear it as underwear if you don’t want it to show. The colors are lovely and the style is very hip and attractive. Here is a photo showing the shirt on a larger woman than myself.

The founder and creator of Yummie Tummie is Heather Thomson. Beginning her career in intimate apparel, Heather went on to serve as the founding Design Director for P. Diddy Combs' Sean John label, and also worked side by side with Jennifer Lopez, as Vice President of Creative Design for Ms. Lopez’s Sweetface brand. Most recently, she served as Co-Creative Director of House of Deréon line of clothing along with Beyonce Knowles.

She recognizes that we need to overindulge once in awhile, and so created these fun and stylish tops to help women look their best whether we have over-indulged, or just stretched out our bellies with babies! Or both!

You can go to Yummie Tummie’s site to shop around and see if you want to check out their product. But you might also want to spend a little time at their sister site, www.EatDrinkandBeYummie.com for a great list of all your favorite over-indulgences. It’s a fun little site where you can rate your favorite desserts, upload new indulgences, and find recipes to all your favorite treats. My favorite section is full of recipes for indulgent cocktails you can make at home!

Want to see the Yummie Tummie in action? Here it is on Oprah!