Equmen undershirt results in sweat-soaked skin

Mar 20 2009 by Emma McKinney, Birmingham Mail

THE last time I wore something the size of the Equmen undershirt I had still not yet learned to dress myself.

But, hearing that hunky James Bond star Daniel Craig had been encouraged to wear one under his Oscars tuxedo, I thought it was good enough for me to try.

On first sight I wondered how the tiny garment could possibly fit.

But once I placed it over my head it stretched to the required shape.

Then a bizarre thing happened.

The layer of heat which was trapped next to my body which usually keeps me nice and toasty was drawn into the thin second material I was now covered in.

It caused a ripple of chill to spread through me. Once I had reheated I had a look in the mirror.

The idea of these tops is to change your body shape by pulling in a bit here and pushing out a bit there.

But I have to report that it failed for two reasons in my case. Firstly, I do not have a great deal that needs pulling in – which admittedly is hardly the fault of the product.

But, secondly, all it seemed to do was highlight the small amount of belly fat I do have by simply hugging it tightly.

I persevered with the experiment and wore it under my T-shirt while I was reporting on the Combined Services Bobsleigh Championships in Turin, Italy.

Perhaps its biggest drawback, though, is when it comes to actually extricating oneself from what soon becomes a sweat-soaked outer layer of skin.

I found that this involved writhing around, pulling at the never-ending stretchy fabric while all the time it was determined to stay very firmly stuck to my back.