There’s just no getting around the fact that shapewear is so unsexy. I feel kinda sad for the poor model above. She’s working it, but it’s still shapewear.

Anyhoo… I was recently sent a pair of ShāToBu High Waist Shaping Tights to review. I wasn’t excited about reviewing these tights because I have plenty of pairs of tights and almost all of them are shapewear tights. Don’t get me wrong – I love shapewear tights, I just wasn’t looking for another pair!

When I finally decided to wear these last week I took them out of the package and started trying to get my body into them without REALLY knowing what I was putting on. BIG mistake. It took me 10 minutes to get into the tights and at the end of it I was nearly sweating and a little bit out of breath. Until I got them on I felt like I was stuffing myself into a casing that was 10x too small. {Not the best way to start a Monday morning!}

Only after they were on did I read the packaging to learn that ShāToBu High Waist Shaping Tights are “Get Fit” tights. What this means is that the tights are constructed with muscle toning resistance bands. If you look closely at the image above, you’ll notice parts of the tights that are darker than the rest of the tights. This is where the resistance bands are located. They pretty much cover your entire midriff straight down to your knees, hence why it took me so long to get into the tights. The bands are tight and firm, and putting the tights on took quite a bit of effort!

Throughout the day it was clear to me that I had resistance bands wrapped around my legs. There were times when I was walking around at work that I actually felt like I was exercising, which was a little surreal. As for the color of the tights, I received a jet black pair to try, and they are a great opaque black.

I’m not going to try to tell you that you’re going to get SO SLIM wearing ShāToBu High Waist Shaping Tights because that would be absurd. Having worn them now twice, I do think there is something to the resistance bands and at the very least I can believe that you would burn a few extra calories just by wearing the tights and going about your normal routine. The resistance is light, but it’s there. There are even resistance bands that wrap around your bottom! You have to pull them up specifically into place or you’re going to feel really awkward! They do give a great boost to the old posterior!

Because of the extra strength of the tights due to the resistance bands, I 100% believe these tights do a better job than most other shapewear tights I’ve tried of sucking everything in and making you appear trimmer. I never felt uncomfortable, but I definitely felt trimmer, tucked in, and all smoothed out.

My only complaint – and it’s a relatively small one – is that the resistance bands weight down the tights in a weird way. Not that I felt droopy or anything, but anytime I used the restroom I had to be certain to pull the tights all the way up again – starting below my knee – because the fabric seemed to fall quite a bit.

Would I spend $38 to buy these tights myself? Heck yeah! In fact, I’m going to go one step further.

I fully intend on investing in this sexy garment to wear under my wedding dress in July! This is the ShāToBu Seamless High Waist Shaper and I think it’ll give me the exact support I want under my gown. This shaper is pricier at $68, but if it makes me look as trim as the tights do then they’ll be worth the cost!

Disclosure: I was provided with one free pair of ShāToBu High Waist Shaping Tights to review. Honesty is the best policy, therefore all opinions above are my own.