We’ve all been there before. You spend forever looking for the perfect plus size dress and then finally you find it. You love the color, you love the style, you love the price…but you don’t love the few unexpected and unwelcome bumps in your silhouette when you try it on. Don’t panic yet – one piece of shapewear could be all you need.

If you haven’t bought shapewear for a while then chances are that you still have visions from Masterpiece Theater in your head of being levered into uncomfortable 19th century whalebone corsets with strapping servants yanking them tight enough to squeeze the life out of you while simultaneously contorting your body into freakishly unnatural shapes. Mercifully, technology has come a long way since the time of Mr. Darcy. So, read on to find out how to – painlessly and comfortably – smooth out the bumps and create the perfect silhouette in your plus size dresses.

First of all, put on your perfect plus size dress and take a look in the mirror. Identify where the unwanted bumps are and know that wherever they are – from the thighs, through the waist and beyond – there is a piece of comfortable shapewear out there ready to help you get things under control. Choices range from mere control top pants to body suits like the Spanx Slim Cognito Shaping Mid-Thigh Bodysuit, which control wobbles all the from the mid-thigh to the bra.

Since so many options are available your best bet is to take your perfect plus size dress to a department store that features a full range of shapewear options – and then settle in for a major trying-on session. You’re going to need to consider how the various styles of shapewear make not only your perfect plus size dress look fabulous, but also whether it will be effective with other outfits too.

If you’re going to shop online, some of the most popular brands to search for are: Flexees, Sassybax, Body Wrap, Barely There, Maidenform, Flexees and, of course, Oprah’s favorite, Spanx.