[melissaw]

I agree that Torrid's quality is hit or miss. In fact, I sit here in what was originally a $68 maxi-dress from Torrid that I can now only wear to bed as it is pilly beyond belief. Mind you, I did not pay original price for it - I rarely do since everything eventually goes on clearance... and they eventually have 50% off clearance sales... and I'm a cheap a-hole. That said - a large portion of my wardrobe came from Torrid, and I *can* say their jeans are fantastic.

[chickiechic]

I read this really great article about why plus size is so hard to sell and fit... above-average sized bodies just have a lot more variation (are weights are more spread out along the bell curve) than our thinner-than-average counterparts. There is a lot more difference between several 150 lb to 300 lb women than several 100-150 pound women... unless I get my weight under 175 (it's a 16 for me), NOTHING fits right off the rack (and even then, there are only a few designers whose styles really suit my shape). Walmart has been making an effort to keep some plus-sizes in stock, so I can usually find basic cotton or denim pants there, and I can still wear tops in XL (which most dept. stores do carry). I wouldn't call it stylish, but I don't feel too freakish going that route. For work though- ugh. *If* I can find them, simple sheath dresses in stretchier fabrics work OK... any other style usually shows too much cleavage (or lack of it- because my C cups are undersized for plus-sized clothing). Sweaters, shrugs, and wraps are my friend. But it's hard to find those things consistently, so I've gotten in the habit of buying them whenever I see them. That said, I've gotten so frustrated, I once vowed to take sewing classes and start making my own.

[RMetalBroad]

I HATE Torrid. I loved the place when they opened up a few years back but quickly found out that the sizes were not suited to me. They were suited to plus sized females who had to have enormous boobs, skinny arms and skinny thighs. I have an average sized bust, big arms and big thighs.

They also are very poor quality, the few things I got from there that I liked wouldn't last very long. Hems would unravel, buttons fly off, seams would fall apart all in a matter of weeks. For the high prices I paid I would have expected the clothing to last at least a year.

And there is only so much Emily The Strange or Nightmare Before Christmas stuff a I could handle.

I shop a lot at Ross, it's a discount store like TJ Maxx or Marshalls. I've found Levis for $10, a black $400 Jones New York wool coat for $60, a BCBGMAXAZRIA dress for $20.

Over the years my tastes in clothing has gone less punk/goth and more
"alterna-practical". I grew out of Torrid and Hot Topic fashion ages ago. Yet I still wear mostly black, I will never grow out of that color.

Now a days, when I'm not wearing scrubs, you'll find me wearing converse or motorcycle boots, jeans and an interesting T-Shirt, usually a band shirt like The Pogues or Opeth or a geek shirt from The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. When the weather is nice I'll wear a cute dress with bike shorts on underneath (again found at Ross for a steal). I haven't been to Layne Bryant since I moved up to Santa Barbara but I could sometimes find something I liked there, they have the best bras.

[melissaw]

I have pretty big boobs (42DDD) and have sometimes had the opposite problem at Torrid - especially with lingerie. Anything that fit me in the waist (typically a 0 or 1) was always too little in the boobs. Same goes for anything with buttons. I do sometimes have problems with the arms being tight in clothes that otherwise fit me well. Frustrating.

I mostly need Torrid (or plus size clothing stores in general) for pants/jeans/skirts anyway. I can usually manage to fit any (non buttoning ) top in 'regular' sizes... somehow. I guess that article was really on to something... body shapes are just *so* different.

[neon_zephyr]

I often shop at Marshalls, Macy's, and Anthropologie. Lately, I've found some nice things at Target, too! I'm in LA, mostly. In the UK, I also like Primark and Topshop. At the moment, I've got clothes in a wide range of sizes in my closet, so I've limited my shopping to particular items, like special events or something. I find it really tough to stay motivated when I can just buy new clothes that fit, so I've removed that option for myself in order to fit into some of the smaller and nicer things that I own.

[chickiechic]

Is anyone here familiar with pin up girl clothing (not enough posts yet to link, sorry- take out the spaces, and sandwich between a triple-w and a dotcom to visit)? I noticed they go up to 2X... although I would need artificial support to fill out the top, I like them a lot.

[dolphinea]

I haven't purchased clothes from them yet, but there's several Chinese and Thai sellers on etsy.com I can't wait to buy from. Also found an Israeli designer called Studio Shihar on etsy and I love her stuff, too. I'm going to wait until I'm down to my goal weight to redo my wardrobe.

In the meantime, I'm shopping for interim size stuff at Ross Dress for Less (not online - brick and mortar store) and buying used things off eBay.

[Elladorine]

I just wanted to point out I found an awesome swim suit at Torrid a few weeks ago, it's black with silver skulls and crossbones all over it, and luckily it fits me decently. I've been taking aqua fitness classes and have gotten so many compliments! It's available online as well.

I like a lot of their clothes as a whole but still have trouble finding things that fit me properly (I'm an apple).

[Technosexual]

Hi. I'm from Michigan, and my local store of choice is Deb. ( debshops dot com )

They're a semi-trendy shop for "juniors", but, they have a pretty large selection of plus size clothing. I love flared jeans, and they always have them in varying widths. ( I like my flared jeans VERY flared. ) They have jeans, skirts, pjs, t-shirts, tops, and dresses, along with some dressier pants.

I remember shopping in this store when I was young, too.

Their quality kind of varies, I have a hard time finding a style/denim material that I like, and a lot of their denim isn't very thick.

They carry lots of different brands.

I also do have a little trouble finding a pair of jeans that fit me well. Some are just way too long, some fit in the thighs, but not in the waist, some fit in the waist, but not in the thighs.

It's worth it when I find those perfect pair of jeans, though.

They're also cheap, and they have lots of sales/clearance.

The last time I shopped there, I was shopping for a whole outfit to wear to my boyfriend's work party.

I found a nice darker pink halter top with lace, a lighter pink 3/4s sleeve ruched jacket, and a pair of jeans that fit great. All of this cost me under $30.

I can't wait to shop in their non-plus section, LOL.

[JasonsLea]

I never have money to go shopping but I love browsing and dreaming. I love the clothes on Pinup Girl Clothing, Torrid, ModCloth. We have these stores called Debs and Dots and they have some really pretty plus size clothing. I also like Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug.

I'm going to check out the links ya'll posted!

[JasonsLea]

Ooooh yeah, I also love Ebay!

[SalaamDementia]

I have the hardest time finding clothes that fit me right. I'm 6 foot tall and if I get pants that fit the length of my legs they don't fit in the waist.

I'm just a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. I'd love to wear something more fun, but I'm just not comfortable in most of it. I used to have some fun pants from Hot Topic, but they don't fit me anymore.

I love thrift stores though, I find some of the coolest clothes there. I can't wait to lose some weight and look awesome in some true alternative clothes that are a little more form fitting and revealing. ^_^

[generatrix]

GOTHIC PLUS website looks fantastic for us truly plus sized gals (meaning over size 16 american). i haven't tried it yet, though... i notice that it's just a little bit more money to get stuff specially made!

[dolphinea]

Has anyone had something from Alloy.com? Curious about their quality.

[farn00a57]

Try B&Lu, or bandlu.com, it's not really goth or alternative but they do have really nice plus size clothes and the thing is they are pretty good quality and unique. i think they're a pretty small company so you know that you aren't going to be sharing the same wardrobe with thousands of others. I have probably about half of my clothes from there. They have quite a few vintage styles as well for those like me who are more into the 40's 50's retro look. But not all of their clothes are vintage looking. I'd check them out. I usually shop only at Torrid and B&Lu....every where else it seems like it's "old fat people" clothes.