When to Replace Your Shapewear

No matter how well you care for it, all shapewear needs to be replaced at some point or another. Even the highest-quality shapewear has a lifespan that eventually runs out. As shapewear begins to wear out, its material stretches. The shapewear itself begins to lose its original shape and elasticity.

When shapewear stretches out and loses its shape and elasticity, its functionality reduces significantly. Therefore, it is important to stay on top of your shapewear’s condition and replace it when needed. If you don’t replace your shapewear often enough, it will become much less effective at smoothing and sculpting your curves.

That being said, some shapewear pieces need to be replaced more frequently than others. How often you need to replace your shapewear depends on the specific shapewear’s material, style, and quality as well as how frequently you wear it.

Everyday Shapewear

As you might expect, everyday shapewear that you wear on a very regular—i.e. almost everyday—basis needs to be replaced more frequently than shapewear that you only wear on occasion. How often you wear a certain shapewear style makes a big difference in how long the shapewear lasts and how often it needs to be replaced.

Shapewear that you wear everyday should be replaced every three to six months—especially if you wash it frequently. If you are an avid shapewear lover and have specific shapewear styles that you prefer to wear on a daily basis, buy multiple duplicates of those styles so that each piece can be worn and washed less frequently and thereby lasts longer. 

Special Occasion Shapewear

Shapewear that you wear infrequently—such as shapewear that you only wear under business casual clothes on business trips or under a certain formal dress that you wear once or twice a year—

Make sure you store your shapewear for special occasions carefully in order to preserve the lifespan of these styles that you wear infrequently. If you do not store your shapewear properly and expose it to too much light and heat, it may wear out prematurely—even if you don’t wear it very often.

High-Compression Shapewear

The compression level of your shapewear also plays a part in determining how long a certain shapewear style will last before it needs to be replaced. High-compression shapewear tends to stretch out less easily than low-compression shapewear, because it usually boning or is made from thick, double-layer material.

However, with that being said, many people who wear high-compression shapewear are counting on their shapewear to perform at maximum efficiency. If this applies to you, then you might notice more quickly when your high-compression shapewear begins to lose its original shape—even if the change is only slight. As such, how long you can wear your high-compression shapewear before you need to replace it depends largely on the level of performance you expect from it.

Low-Compression Shapewear

Low-compression shapewear is usually made from thinner material than high-compression shapewear because it is designed to provide gentle shaping coverage, so it tends to stretch out more easily than thicker, stronger high-compression shapewear. Furthermore, most women who wear shapewear on an everyday basis choose to wear low-compression styles more regularly than high-compression styles.

However, as long as you take good care of your low-compression shapewear and wash, dry, and store it correctly, you can expect it to last several months to a year depending on how frequently you wear it.

Taking good care of your shapewear—namely washing, drying, and storing it correctly—and expanding your shapewear collection so that you don’t have to wear the same pieces day after day are both tactics that can help you extend the life of your favorite shapewear styles so that you can enjoy their sculpting and smoothing benefits for as long as possible.

When the time inevitably comes for you to replace some of your most beloved shapewear styles, check out shapewear retailers HauteFlair, Flexees, and Shapeez to explore new top-quality styles that will eventually become some of your favorites in your collection.