Do You Wear Underwear with Spanx? The Creator of the Famous Shapewear Settles This Debate

When it comes to shapewear, Spanx are synonymous with the perfect undergarments for dresses, skirts, and pants. While fans of Spanx agree the next best thing to wearing Spanx is taking them off at the end of the day — there is a major disagreement on how they should be worn. Actually it’s more about what should or should not be worn under your Spanx.

Here is the question that has divided so many Spanx wearers: Should you wear underwear with your Spanx or do the Spanx also serve as underwear?

If you did a quick survey of friends that sport Spanx, you may get a variety of answers. Fortunately, the creator of the brand, Sara Blakely, weighed in on the great panty debate. "I have never been a lifeline on whether you should wear underwear or not, so this is exciting," Blakely said to the Today Show.

Spanx are offered in a wide variety of styles — high waisted, capri pants, and even regular underwear with tummy control, but do they really need an additional undergarment?

"I will say that when I created Spanx 20 years ago, I designed them — and I’m glad you guys are talking about this because the nation’s divided — but, I designed them so you don’t wear underwear under them," Blakely said.

However, Blakely added that to wear or not to wear underwear really is a personal preference. "Half the women wear underwear under it, and so that’s fine, too."

So the next time you are adding Spanx to your outfit of the day, you can skip the extra piece of clothing. Look at it this way — one less thing to wash on laundry day. Blakely was quick to add that choosing to wear and then always wash your Spanx is a personal choice. However, that is one debate we’re not really interested in taking up.

If you are looking to add to or update your Spanx collection, here’s a few of our favorites: