I spent $340 on shapewear last year. Here's the one I actually wear.

I have a drawer full of shapewear I never touch. I'm not exaggerating. There are five pieces in there. Five. And I wear exactly zero of them. The nude one that rolls down the second I sit in my car. The black one that felt fine in the store and then spent eight hours slowly cutting off my circulation.

The seamless one that showed through my white blouse so badly my manager asked if I was wearing a tank top underneath. I bought all of them for the same reason. I was standing in a changing room, sucking in, thinking this is the one. This is the one that's going to make me feel like myself again. None of them were the one.

It was a Tuesday lunch when Sarah changed my mind. She works at the same clinic as me. Longer shifts, more patients, constantly on her feet. And she always looks put together in a way I could never figure out. Not overdressed. Just like everything fits. Like she has a secret. She does have a secret. She pulled up her shirt right there at the table and showed me.

A black bodysuit. V-neck, clean lines, nothing complicated. She said she'd been wearing it for three weeks straight and hadn't thought about it once. I said that was impossible. I ordered it that night mostly to prove her wrong. The first time I wore it I had a full day of patients, an after-work drink with a friend and then grocery shopping before getting home at 8pm. I changed into pyjamas and only then realised I'd completely forgotten I had it on. I texted Sarah immediately. She replied: told you.

Here is what I will tell you that no product description ever will. The neckline is the thing. I've spent years avoiding wrap dresses and open blazers because everything I owned underneath was either too high, too low or too obvious. This one sits exactly where it should.

I wore it under a blazer last week and my colleague asked where I got my top. It wasn't a top. The bust support is real in a way that surprised me. I skipped my bra on day two without planning to. Just forgot. Didn't notice until I was already at work.

And the snap closure. I know that sounds like a boring thing to mention. But if you have ever had to fully undress in a clinic bathroom between patients you will understand why I nearly cried with relief the first time I used it. I still have the drawer. Five pieces of shapewear I paid good money for and haven't touched since January. The Levre one is on top. Because that's where I put it after I wear it. Every single time.