How do I hide my overhang?

[wardobe123]

Is making me look so fat. I wear baggy clothes because my waist is two sizes bigger than my body

I find the advice from Melissa Morrell on YT is good. Some items are expensive but can take the style ideas for elsewhere.
I also have an overhang from weight gain and 3 c sections.

These Uniqlo tops hide my belly and I can wear nice skirts and trousers. Love them!

Something I noticed recently about myself was that my underwear made a line above my pubic bone and under my gut. It is possibly making stuff look worse- lumps in clothes. I am going to try to find higher waisted pants. Do not know if this comment is useful but trying to help

She didn't deserve that, she wasn't mean in her post. I actually found what she had to say quite helpful.

Don't be bloody daft. It's not going to reduce the belly size is if

A dexa?

No it's not true.

I’ve had four c sections and am a size 10. My stomach overhangs like this and I do Pilates three times a week. Sometimes it’s not exercise and diet it’s what happens when you get pregnant. .

In that picture you posted you look overweight on your back and you have the overhang as well which is why people keep mentioning your weight and diet they are only going on what they can see in the picture

But if your only 5ft like you said you were the overhang will always look 100 times worse than if your taller - short people tend to have very little wiggle room with anything

to be perfectly honest that over hang is not going to go anywhere unless you have surgery

buying stuff to hide it won’t really hide it
people will still notice it and you will know it’s there

Hmmmm my experience is likely fairly different than yours given I have a larger grown family. I think it is actually you who are “tarring every woman with your experience”. You may be in the position to diet and exercise your way to a flat stomach but that’s because of your limited experience of this issue. Why not listen to what’s being said and learn?

Getting a bra fitting is good advice. I found my shape changed post pregnancy and sorting out the shape of my top half (although that wasn’t the area I was most concerned about), seemed to even out my overall shape. It kind of made the space between my chest and tummy more defined. Hard to explain, but it made a big difference.

I'm sure fast fashion/shein etc is not popular on Mumsnet however these are the best trousers I've ever had to disguise my mum pouch... I'm a size 12 but the gut makes me look a lot bigger. I got these in a L and they were a game changer. Image pending...

I sympathise, OP. I have a similar situation with my stomach, after my first pregnancy and my eldest daughter, I was huge thanks to undiagnosed gestational diabetes - she was a enormous baby at nearly 12lbs so my abs and stomach never went flat ever again. Plus, having had 3 c-sections, I didn't stand a chance lol 😆 😅

My body was pretty good before, a totally flat stomach and size 10. Even after I lost loads of weight during my second pregnancy with a low carb diet, I still had the most protruding stomach. My abs are absolutely separated with diastasis (sp?) recti, so nothing will probably ever help except surgery.😵‍💫😢

Sympathies, and i lived under slightly higher waisted or looser jeans and trousers, either with a t-shirt over the top or a jumper.

Any more advice is welcome as I've never found out a good enough solution except a low carb diet which is dull!

I like a next midi knicker as I think it gives a better silhouette but doesn’t cut off air supply or just redirect the fat to stick out somewhere else.

otherwise, it’s dressing for an apple shape. You have slimmer legs and arms and boobs. You don’t want body con as it’ll make you look like a barrel. No pleats over your lower belly. Good quality fabrics that drape rather than cling.

Usually good shapes are wrap and v neck tops.

Trousers/jeans are boot or straight cut and higher/mid rise. Wide would work too - it’s trying to balance the proportions.

https://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/trousers/blue-tropical-flower-print-crinkle-trousers/p/946054749

https://www.mandco.com/mco-white-short-sleeve-wrap-top-p

I agree with other posters who have suggested larger pants. Full, waist high briefs smooth over the area; low waisted thongs highlight the shelf.
It’s hard to be specific without seeing the rest of you, but drawing attention elsewhere with clothing choices is as good a disguise as any.
Anything with a seam or line around the waist is going to highlight it.
Big knickers, a dress without a waist seam, flat front trousers with a side zip, with a fitted shirt over. That sort of thing

Basically, boxy or baggy or peplum tops and skinny or slim fit bottoms. Or shorts.

At 5’ and five pregnancies I am guessing you had massive bumps. Have you been checked for diastasis rectii ? You may need some specific exercises or even surgery.

This

I have a ‘shelf’ too. Mine is from two c-sections, but mainly the second one which wasn’t stitched up very well. Shame it wasn’t the other way round, like one of my friends! Mine is a lot worse post menopause, I am also a size 12, and although I do need to lose weight, last time I did lose some it didn’t improve at all. It shrunk slightly, but the shelf was still very much there. Occasionally I get so upset about it that I consider surgery but that seems a bit excessive, to risk my health for vanity.
The most smoothing pants for me are weirdly not shapewear, as that seems to be a bit too pulled in around my middle which hurts my back, or dig in at the waist and sort of give me more of a bulge just below. Hard to explain in print. So the ones that smooth best are a deepish shorty style, but with a non stretch section, or more rigid section, across the pouch. It depends how soft your tummy is, but this shape for me just brings it in enough to look smoother without squishing everything else.
It’s hard to find this style though, as it has to be deep enough not to roll into my scar, but not so high that it digs in above the shelf , making it just as bulgy.
The best ones for me were the Panache ‘Ana’ shorty, in one size up for a bit more depth. They have annoyingly changed this style now and discontinued the one that worked . So I am on the hunt for something similar. Basically anything with a non stretchy section along the front, just below waist height.
Clothes wise I think trousers with any Lycra content at all seem to make it much more noticeable.

It’s going to smooth it and give a good foundation for clothes. Obviously. You asked for help in styling and she gave her time to do that.

I swear by wide leg trousers, with a pleat, boots / loafers / trainers, a slightly more fitted top/blouse then a denim jacket / cardigan / jacket depending on the occasion! Can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion and the trouser materials! (I am a distinct pear shape with a definite overhang and this is all I’ve found that I feel
Vaguely comfortable in!!)

I think accepting these are the wrong underwear for you would be a start op.

You’ve been clear that you don’t want advice on how to reduce your belly size. That’s understandable.

So, the advice to help with dressing for that body shape, which a lot of us have, is to smooth over it in the first instance. Therefore, knickers that smooth over it and give a good foundation for what comes next.

Also, something else that doesn’t reduce belly size, is calling people that are trying to help you idiots or daft.

It is really hard to dress. I struggle when I swell up like this because some days I’m fine, other days I look pregnant. I want to dress so people don’t ask me if I’m pregnant (because I can’t get pregnant) but also it can vary through the day which doesn’t help at all

I find Snag full briefs work the same as shape wear but don't feel uncomfortable at all - just like wearing normal knickers.