Squeem womens 'Seductive' Open Bust Vest

I bought and have been using almost daily (6 out of 7) both the Squeem Vest and the Cincher about six weeks ago and thought I would offer my comparison. I am 5' 4", 150 lbs., and recently had twins. Tummy is a hot mess. I ordered a large and it is a good fit in both. Waist = 32", hips = 40". Although I am at pre pregnancy weight, things are NOT the same. I carried to term and had significant diastasis recti (ab muscles separating down the center line.) This makes the top of my tummy, above the belly button, push out a bit, especially after a meal. Combined with the lower belly still carrying some extra jiggle and just not being as elastic and 'tight' as it once was, I stayed in maternity pants for eight months post-partum even though I had lost all but 8 lbs of baby weight within two weeks of delivery. All my regular pants just didn't fit, and going up a size resulted in waistbands that fit and hips and legs that were way loose. Just giving you some background as to how I got to the point of buying rubber shapewear. :)So. I read dozens of reviews on both and started with the vest because it seemed to be the safer bet to avoid the dreaded back fat popping out the top of the more corset style waist cincher. And that's true, but I did end up buying the cincher too, and like it much better. First the vest though. Straight out of the package it went on fine (only a little tugging to make ends meet) on the looser of the two rows of hooks. Right away it held me in as far as tummy and hips and did incredible things for the girls. The awareness it brings to your posture helps, but also the straps of the vest that scoop the outer edge of the breast really keep me facing perkily forward instead of lolling into the armpit. I immediately tried on ten things that had been pushed to the back of my wardrobe for being ill-fitting and was delighted by how sleek I looked in them. Pants no longer caused muffin tops, and dresses hugged my chest while skimming my waist. I decided I would live in this thing.But. I have had a hard time with these straps. Never mind that they are wide and their placement made it immediately apparent that this could not be worn with anything sleeveless. MAYBE a very wide strapped tank style with a high back, but even so, the straps are so far into my armpits they would certainly peek out. Even that wasn't deal breaking, because I figured it could be for use with tees and blouses and long sleeved dresses. What I really struggle with is the way the straps bunch in the back and make little tents above my shoulder blades. Tightening them doesn't help, it just makes the straps dig into my armpits and rub them raw. Throwing my shoulders back in Jane Austen perfect posture helps, but isn't usually how I walk around the office.Another thing to consider is the hook and eyes in the center. Especially when you have it fastened on the looser of the two settings, this does create an obvious row of bumps under any fitted top. I should add here that I have been wearing both the vest and the cincher with a belly band underneath to separate the vest from my skin. And as needed I wear a belly band or a tank top over the vest or cincher to help camouflage any tell tale ribs and bumps. This works pretty well, but as the weather warms up I can see it being impractical.This brings me to why I have come to prefer the cincher to the vest. No bumpy straps, AND I can easily wear this item 90 degrees to the side so the row of hook and eyes aligns with the left seam of my shirt. The smaller seams and the flexible boning throughout the garment can also show through fitted clothing but much, much less. I had read a review of someone saying they wear the hooks and eyes in the back but a) fastening it behind my back would be impossible without help and b) once fastened it is _obviously_ snug, so turning it is laborious. Putting the hooks to the side is easy to put on and makes it much less obvious under clothing. There is a little bit of back fat being pushed up above the cincher going on but not much more than you get from your bra just digging a little and overall it hasn't seemed very noticeable.One thing that is aggravating about both is that with continual wearing, there is some bunching that takes place, especially in the bend of my waist, and occasionally I have had weird divots when sitting down where the plastic stays bow in. I can't see how that would be avoidable though unless you opt for unflexible stays like you find in steel boned corsets, but that's a whole other level of shapewear and waist training that I haven't gone to yet. The bunching I try to smooth out when I take the garment off at night to help it retain shape and lie flat. I especially do this after washing it. It seems to help.A couple of things about the long term effects of this waist trainer. I bought a size large, and that is enough compress and shape me for my everyday clothing, but I don't think it's enough to actually compress my internal organs and ribs to whittle my waist long term. Before buying, I read several reviews of women saying 'I've worn this a week and already dropped to the smaller hook size!! I'll have to buy the next size down soon!' Not so, unless you are dramatically losing weight immediately after buying. It is rubber. It STRETCHES. I dropped to the next row of hooks on the vest after ten days or so too, but that is because the garment stretched a bit after wearing it 10 hours a day for ten days. It was right at this time that I bought the cincher, in the same size as the vest, and I had to start on the looser hooks with that too, until I had 'broken it in', and went down a row.However. I do feel that I look noticeably slimmer just after I have taken either the vest or cincher off. And since I began wearing these, I have lost weight and inches. I don't know how much has to do with the compression action of the vest but I can say this for sure:1. I eat less when wearing it because I feel full faster - it's tight, and eating too much is not comfy.2. It has improved my posture, and brought awareness to my core as it supports my back and abs. As a result, my diastais has absolutely improved in the six weeks since purchase.3. Seeing myself look better in clothing while wearing this has prompted me to just want to get back into cute clothing, period. With the warm weather coming, I would love to get my body back to a point of not needing a rubber vest to look this good, so I have cut carbs and dropped ten pounds in six weeks. 80/20 works for me - just avoiding bread, pasta and potatoes 80% of the time and eating what I want 20% of the time has been a totally doable moderation.4. I knew I wanted to lost weight when I was buying this and had read about the helpfulness of wearing support garments to help prevent exacerbating 'belly flap' (better known as 'mothers apron'). Between carrying twins and having a c-section, this has been a problem area and I am so glad to report it does look better.One last thing - before I put on a belly band, and then the Squeem over it, I have been putting coconut oil on my tummy. I see all kinds of caffeine and anti-cellulite creams pop up to be purchased in conjunction with waist trainers but I am wary of the chemicals. Putting coconut oil on and wearing this has seemed to help the tone of the very soft and stretched skin on my tummy. I'm still not going to be rocking a bikini any time soon (or probably ever - TWINS!), but I am happy to just look better naked.

I'm 5'8 and typically wear a size 8. I consider myself average except for my tummy, which is why I bought this product. When I first put it on, it was certainly tight, and actually made me feel like I was having a hot flash. It is rubber on the outside and does make you warm. The cloth on the inside is very helpful, but when you take the garment off your skin will smell like rubber and be sticky from the moisture ( not very romantic ). This wasn't terrible, but you will notice. I wore this around the house the first day and simple tasks like bending to get items out of lower cabinets was uncomfortable, this garment is very stiff which I guess is what it is intended to do. It is great if you're not moving. HA! Day 2, I'm not giving up on this just yet, so I put it on in the morning and hope to wear it all day. Again, not easy to bend and move in. The garment has begun digging into my waist. My upper abdomen looks great in it, but the part of my waist between the upper and lower abdomen now has a defining crease. This has made me more selfconscious. I'm walking around more worried about the huge crease between my upper and lower abdomen. hmmm.. Guess the garment does "give you a waist". Now after several hours of running errands, in and out of the car, unloading groceries, etc. The garment started to pucker in the back and slowly creep up a little. This caused me great concern while walking around in public. Worried if my lower back looked weird while in the grocery store. As promised I wore this ALL day. My hubby and I went to dinner, and you can not lean in your chair. I'm serious here, just leaning over your plate to take a bite isn't easy. Almost funny the first time you try. This garment keeps you very very straight! I definitely knew I had it on, which makes you wonder if you're acting strange. So distracting during dinner, that I spent the entire dinner worried about this garment, was it moving, was the back still puckered, don't lean over to say something, careful getting up, etc.....GEE! Didn't realize this was going to be all consuming. The garment did get more comfortable because it stretched a little, but this is obvious because of the waist creasing and back puckering. I did wear a slightly tighter shirt, and unless it was skin tight you're not going to see the hooks. But, you will notice the crease in the waist and puckering in the back. Now, while sitting upright and not moving at the dinner table, I look down and my upper thighs are bulging. Bulging at the crease between my hip and thigh. I'm guessing the compression of the vest has pushed everything down. Luckily I placed my napkin on my lap high enough to cover the unsightly thigh bulge. By the end of the day, the straps have rubbed the front of my shoulder, a little tender there. Ultimately, would I wear it again, maybe from time to time when I feel the garment is needed. Such as a formal dinner, etc. I'll just need to wear it when I don't mind the constant distraction just to look thinner, and don't have a romantic evening planned. The rubber smell and sticky skin will not help your love life. Hope this helps...

Edited: I originally ordered the size according to measurements (as recommended went with the bigger size as I was between two sizes). It was way too big; it was actually loose at the bottom. This caused a huge headache as I needed it by a certain date, so I had to find something that works in a thight timeline, lots of frustration, plus for some strange reason the smaller size I needed was significantly more expensive?Anyhow, in the correct size this is the best& my favorite piece of shapewear! It looks good, does the job and...wait for it....is actually quite comfortable! Just beware of their chart you may want to go with the smaller size if between 2 sizes BUT everyone is shaped differently, I, for example have a longer torso and my hips are quite narrow and not big when comparing to waist so this may all need to be considered. But after all it was worth it.

Pros:Dramatic slimming effect. Doesn't ride up as it changes to your shape, like other similar products do; sticks like a second skin. Can move around relatively normally in it. I have diastasis and it's very effective in terms of offering abdominal and back support and making me look not 6 months pregnant anymore. Not noticeable under clothing (even tight). Comfortable enough to wear all day.Cons:Doesn't seem to have as good a long term effect on diastasis (I.e. everything flops out again when I take it off!). Straps not very comfortable and dig into armpits. Advertising incredibly unhelpful. I'm not naive enough to think it would transform me into one of the models but I would really appreciate some more realistic/average body shapes showing what the product will look like on someone who actually needs it!

I bought this product quite recently and its quite good. However, after a week or so of wearing it, the compression started to reduce and I had to start thinking of other ways to make the cinching more effective. A third row or line of hooks would have given a better result but unfortunately, this productonly has 2 rows/line of hooks. So if buying, be prepared to find others ways quite soon that can help in your cinchin.Also, the product has a bit more compression up the top of your belly but not quite as good on on your lower belly.So, overall, this produc may be good to start with in the first week or 2 of your waist training but definitely, you will need to find additional ways for a better or a real result.

Very pleased with my purchase. It arrived the next day and fit well. I followed the Squeem sizing chart as indicated by the seller and was honest with myself in ordering a large.Was hard to put on the first time but two days later it's easier and I'm attempting to wear it to work today for a full day. I love the way it makes me sit up straight and my back feels more stable.I am a petite 5 feet two inches tall with a booty that curves out quite a bit so I was worried that it may not fit well but it does and doesn't roll up but skims smoothly over my 'humps' lolIt covers my whole lower stomach and when I sit it just touches the top of my thighs but it's not noticeable or uncomfortable.Looks great under my clothes and I'm very pleased with this investment!

This is my second squeem purchase. I decided to buy this vest to try and minimize the appearance of back fat. This did the job. However, my torso is very short and I found that the top of the bustier dug into my bust and as with my previous squeem, the waist area bunches up. With that said, I'm still happy with the way this makes me look in dresses. Quality is excellent. The smell is not bothersome (wash before use).