Sunday, May 5, 2013

Kleinert's Dress Shields to the rescue

Wearing old J.Crew stretch perfect shirt size regular XXS sold here, GAP outlet pants size 1 similar here, and Talbot's pumps.

The story behind today's outfit is that I can finally wear my green J.Crew stretch perfect shirt in warmer weather, thanks to Kleinert's Dress Shields

Ever since high school, something strange happened to my underarms....they were always sweating, annoyingly. I couldn't wear any fitted tops without having these embarrassing wet marks under the arms. I tried every brand of antiperspirants at the drugstore, which seemed to irritate my skin, and didn't prevent the wet marks at all. For two decades, I only wore loose knit shirts, darker colors, and layers to hide any signs of wetness under my arms.

But of course, sometimes I just want to "look good" which requires a fitted top. For instance, I love my green J.Crew shirt, the most fitted button-up I own, but it shows armpit wet marks major time! Thus, I've been reserving this shirt for the winter only when I can layer a short sleeve t-shirt underneath to soak up the sweat before it reaches the outer layer. (I wonder if wearing layers actually makes my body hotter and sweat even more!)

It wasn't until I read this Extra Petite post, that I found a real solution. I'm a little hesitant on trying the panty liner trick (because I've actually had a panty liner fall out of my own panties once, so embarrassing! I'll be horrified if a panty liner fell out of my sleeves too). But one of Extra Petite's readers suggested Kleinert's products.....something I've never heard before.

I could not believe this company has been selling sweat-control products since 1869, and I finally heard about it in 2012!  I suppose the population of people with sweating issues is small or no one ever talks about it. Heck, I was pretty content with wearing loose tops and sweat-proof fabrics, that I never thought about searching for alternative solutions, and never talked about it to anyone myself.

The Kleinert's website looks infomercial-cheesy, but I like that they have many interesting options. I decided to try their Washable Snap On Ready Shield style 1114F in Beige.

It's easier to put the shields on the bra first, before wearing the bra....
They are not the prettiest thing, and looks quite ridiculous on....
The inner side of the shields feel like linen-cotton (2 layers of 100% cotton absorbency to soak up the sweat). The outer side is a silky nylon.
I'm wearing this whole contraption underneath my green J.Crew shirt above, and you can't really detect I'm wearing these shields. And they work! 

I wore this outfit for 10 hours at work, and my typical sweat did not show through. Granted it does feel like I'm wearing pads under my arms, but they're not uncomfortable, and are breathable. My overall body temperature felt cooler than wearing a full t-shirt underneath.

The best part is that they are washable, and yes, I'll be wearing these every time I wear my green J.Crew button-up shirt!

Since I'm into vintage stuff, I also loving these old Kleinert's advertisements I found on Google search...
Still can't believe I have been oblivious to these until now...
Do you wear dress shields?  Or have other solutions to underarm wetness?

3 comments:

Me said...

How cool!! I was also intrigued by Jean's liner trick, but too nervous to try it for fear of it falling out (like you said).

I have avoided so many plain colored work tops because I sweat so easily (my classroom gets so warm). So my trick has been to wear patterned tops that hide the marks. Or I will wear the non-patterned on days when the lights are off (notes/videos) for most of the class period. Lol!

I will definitely keep this product in mind when I put together my work shopping list at the end of the summer. Thanks so much for the review!

CynthiaC said...

I love Talbot's pumps. They fit so well (i.e. they don't vanity size. I'm a 5ish and their 5s don't slip off, unlike other brands, where I often have to go down to 4 1/2 (i.e. non-existent). I have two pairs of pumps from last year and may consider more... :)

Olyvia said...

Michelle, gosh, a warm classroom and kids staring at you all day would make me sweat like a horse, haha. Patterned shirts is a good idea too! I find these dress shields helpful for basic button-up shirts.

Cynthia, I find Talbot's pumps to be very well made and they usually have great sales in July if you are considering buying more :)