NULAYER › Occasions › Shapewear for Thanksgiving dinner
Yes, wear itThanksgiving dinner is two hours at a table, a second plate, pie, and then the same chair for the game. Shapewear that is built for maximum compression fails this day in the obvious way: it is fine at the first course and unbearable by dessert. The honest question is not whether a bodysuit smooths, but whether you can eat a full meal in it.
The NULAYER bodysuit is medium-firm. It smooths the midsection and the waist, and it is built to be comfortable to sit and eat in, which is the whole brief for this day. It is not a maximum-compression garment, and we say so: if you want to be held in as tightly as possible, this is the wrong bodysuit for the fourth Thursday in November.
Thanksgiving clothes are jeans, trousers, or a sweater dress, not a slip dress. Under jeans and trousers the mid-thigh cut earns its name: it smooths the upper thigh where denim pulls across when you sit, and its leg hem sits well above the knee, hidden. Under a loose knit dress that falls from the hip, the same cut works. Under a fitted rib knit that clings below the hip, choose the thong instead.
The top half is the same on both cuts. The deep V sits under a crew-neck sweater with room to spare, the straps adjust for your torso, and the built-in bra has no compression on the bust, so your own bra goes underneath if you prefer.
A long family day means several bathroom trips in a house with one bathroom and a queue. The hook-and-eye crotch closure opens and closes without taking the bodysuit off, so jeans come down, the hooks open, and everything goes back the way it was. Nobody is waiting while you wrestle a bodysuit back over your shoulders.
The day ends on a sofa. Breathable mesh panels help in a warm house, and because the bodysuit is held up by its straps rather than a waistband, it does not roll when you slump. Machine wash cold and hang dry that night, and it is dry for the Friday leftovers.
Which size: Size by bust and waist from the chart, and take the larger band if you are between sizes. This is the one day of the year to choose comfort over the last inch of smoothing.
| Band | US | Bust (in) | Waist (in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| XXS–XS | 0–2 | 30–33.5 | 23–26 |
| S–M | 4–10 | 34–38.5 | 26.5–31 |
| L–XL | 12–14 | 39–41 | 31.5–34.5 |
| 2XL–3XL | 16–20 | 41.5–48 | 35–41.5 |
True to size for most wearers.
Between sizes: the smaller band for maximum smoothing, the larger for all-evening comfort.
It is medium-firm and built to be comfortable to sit and eat in. If it digs in after dinner, the size is one band too small; the straps at their longest pulling is the same sign.
Yes. The leg hem is bonded and flat. Under thin, light leggings check it in daylight, because any edge can shadow through a very thin fabric; under dark or thick leggings nothing shows.
Mid-thigh if the dress falls loose from the hip; thong if it is a fitted rib that clings below the hip. The knit-dress page has the full rule.
Written by the NULAYER team and checked against the garment's tech pack. Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Facts on this page: 78% nylon, 22% spandex; machine wash cold, hang dry; designed and made in our own factory in zhejiang, china.