LINGERIE FOR EVERY DRESS

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Lingerie For Every Dress

Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: a deep plunge

Kate Hudson keeps it classy with a tres low cut embellished gown.
Image Credit: Lester Cohen Archive, WireImage.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: a deep plunge

For a deep plunge, try a plunge bra or a reveal adhesive bra. Dramatic dips (think: JLo's infamous Versace dress) call for a triangle-shaped adhesive bra. Working against gravity, the top portion can be stuck anywhere for more or less hoist.
Fashion Forms U-Plunge bra, $28, www.fashionforms.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Top: a white tank

We love Gwen Stefani's rocker style, but a black bra peeking out from underneath a white tank top may not be the best option for everyday wear.
Image credit:Theo Wargo, WireImage.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Top: a white tank

Under a white tank top, go for a white bustier. Not only will it eliminate pesky bra straps, it sucks your tummy in and gives your bust a boost. Voila!
Le Mystere bustier, $125, www.thelittleflirt.com.
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: slinky, body-skimming dress

Beyonce arrives at Conde Nast's Movies Rock party in an oh-so-tight emerald mermaid gown.
Image credit: Jordan Strauss, WireImage.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: slinky, body-skimming dress

For a body-skimming dress, wear body shaping undergarments -- they control belly bulges by minimizing and smoothing the tummy and midriff. Some have waist-cinching features for an instant hourglass and others even have a built-in lift to amp up droopy bottoms.
Spanx Hide & Sleek strapless full slip, $77, www.spanx.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: backless

Sienna Miller made a grand exit in backless Emanuel Ungaro at the Royal Opera House for the British Academy Film Awards.
Image credit: Jon Furniss, WireImage.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: backless

Wear a reusable adhesive bra with a backless dress. Constructed of silicone, this chicken cutlet-like adhesive is a bust must for hidden enhancement.
Fashion Forms, Nu adhesive silicon bra, $65, www.fashionforms.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: halter

Dreamgirl Jennifer Hudson pulls off a halter gown without a hitch at New Line Cinema's 40th Anniversary Gala.
Image credit: Jim Spellman, WireImage.com
Lingerie For Every Dress
Your Dress: halter

A convertible bra is best for a halter dress. They can be worn in several permutations to hide under complicated clothing.
Panache multi-way bra, $53, www.figleaves.com

By Rebecca Apsan
Before you get decked out this holiday, remember that behind every great outfit is great lingerie. Just as you wouldn't wear gym socks with heels, don't try to stuff a pair of granny panties under a special-occasion dress. I've sold enough shapewear to stars to know that it's what you don't see underneath those red-carpet gowns that gives the mind-boggling, gravity-defying va-va-voom.

Rebecca Apsan opened the La Petite Coquette boutique in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1979. The store is a showcase for Rebecca's pursuit of quality, unique product and extraordinary service, and her legendary charm and enthusiasm has made La Petite Coquette a destination for celebrities, models and stylists. Rebecca's insight into how lingerie can change the way a woman feels about herself is the underpinning of her credo: "Stop wearing underwear, and start wearing lingerie!" She is the author of "The Lingerie Handbook (Workman Publishing)."