100 lb. Club - Transitional clothing - where did you get it/get rid of it and for how much $$$?

As it turns out, right before I decided to "change my life" I had just finished a shopping trip at Lane Bryant and bought 3 new jeans because what I had was getting too hard to button. Fast forward almost 3 months later, and now I am practically swimming in those pants and only wore them a handful of times.

So, my question is, how do you deal with transitional clothing that you may have even spent a good bit of money on? I do have some things I've had in my closet for awhile that I'll be donating, but these jeans are practically brand new, and it would be nice if I could get some money for them.

Where do you buy your transitional clothing (internet, thrift stores/second hand shops, word-of-mouth, garage sales, etc), how much did you spend/were willing to spend, and when you were ready to get rid of it, where did you sell it, and how much were you able to sell it for? I'd love to get some ideas and see if I can't sell some of this clothing to help pay it off on my credit card :P

Old Navy was where I bought transitional clothing. The clearance racks were my friends for cheap khakis. I basically just worked and worked out during this time (I was recouping from an injury as well) so I didn't need much until I hit a medium shirt and size 8 pants and then I went kind of nuts. I completely wasted one pair of pants, as I was a 14 for all of about 5 minutes (but a 12 for quite a while :shrug:). That's a bummer that you bought new clothes, but well worth the sacrifice, IMO. If they are in good enough shape you could Ebay them or take them to a consignment shop. Mine sat at the bottom of my closet for a few months until I moved. Then I took them to the Goodwill in garbage bags.

One of my friends was telling me about Old Navy not too long ago. I thought that the one we had didn't have a plus section, and that the closest one that did was a 1.5hr drive (at least, that was according to oldnavy.com) but one of my friends insisted that the one by our house has plus size, so I might check it out the next time I need some clothes. I hear they have some good clearance and sales, you can get stuff for pretty cheap!

My mom lost a lot of weight after she had hip and knee replacement surgery, the former in 2004, the latter last year. (Funny, just a few months before she had the knee surgery she regained her appetite and kept it after she had her mastectomy 3 months later.) She got new clothes, I think from the Blair catalog, and to get rid of the old ones just donated them to charity thrift shops. If I have clothes I want to get rid of, I either put them in the load for the thrift shop or else over on the St. Paul side of the metro they have a lot of collection boxes for an outfit called USAgain (not a charity) and I sometimes load stuff into a bag and toss them in there

I usually donate my too-big clothes to the Salvation Army or Value Village. I then BROWSE these places for my current size. I find it's a lot easier to find tops than bottoms (I'm so short you see) so I end up sucking it up wearing my friend's castoffs (she's a lot smaller than me now, but had been in a 14-16) or my mum's hand me downs. We don't have an Old Navy nearby (and I'm surprised that it's considered "cheap" in the States--it sure isn't here) but I'm planning on hitting the Niagara Falls outlets and see what I can find.

Here in San Diego there's a store called Great Curves, down in Point Loma. I just bought a red satin slip dress--new, still had tags!--for $23. Niiiiiice. They take consignments for sizes 12 - 7x, and you get 40% of the sales price back. I just dropped off some of my "too big" stuff, and if it all sells (fingers crossed!) I should get about $150 back.

I would suggest looking for consignments shops in your area. If the jeans or other clothes are in really good condition they will buy them or you can often get more for your old clothes if you take in store credit and buy clothes from them. I have gotten some really nice, designer clothes at consignment shops for a fraction of retail.

I've been able to wear my own old clothes so far, because even though I've always been on the heavy side, I used to be shorter, too, so I could just take the hems out. I can vouch for Kohl's, though. If you want new clothes, that would be the cheapest place to go- every time I go there I can find a 90% off sale, so you might only pay five dollars for a pair of pants.

I buy clothes at regular department stores. I'm cheap and have always been that way so I pretty much refuse to pay over $20 for a single item. I shop department store sales and I shop online. I generally try to buy things for about $10 per item. My favorite store is Macys although if you have a Dillards in your area, they have great sales too.

When I sold some of my bigger sized items on Ebay, I actually was able to sell some stuff for more than I paid for it or about the price I paid for it. So it was a pretty good deal.

Most of my old clothes are not worth selling. Ill give them to my sister if she wants them or to anyone that wants them for that matter. Ive been in those BIG sizes for a while now. I was telling Michael I needed some new jeans today and he said "wear a belt, clothes arent cheap" he didnt mean it in a bad way. Just meant Id be losing more so it wouldnt make much sense to keep buying every few lbs. I can see what he is saying but it would be nice to have a few new things. I mean Ive went from a 26 to a 20.

Rakel:

Most Old Navy stores are no longer carrying plus sizes but they do sell things online with $5 shipping and have a lot of sale and clearance pricing as well as 2fer specials.

Although the stores don't actually carry plus sizes, Old Navy's straight sizes go way up to a size 20. The measurements for Old Navy size 20 is a 39 inch waist and 49 1/2 inch hips. I have several pairs of their size 20 jeans... the ones that have some stretch in them I am able to wear even though I wear a size 22W in most other brands right now.
Just FYI!!

I am a big advocate of thrift stores. I buy almost all of my stuff there, though I browse clearance sales all of the time. The things I get at the thrift store are almost always better than the stuff I get new at Wal-Mart or other discount stores.

I have in the past found a single mom who is about the size I was to give a few things to.

I've also used consignment stores... I have friends who have sold on Ebay and last but not least I have donated to womens shelters.

What you have to decide for your self is:

Do you need to make some of the money back? Will what you make back be worth it or will it be so paltry that it makes you angry? Would it make you feel better inside to just donate them?

I have gained and lost so many times that I have quite the box of clothing in many sizes. As a matter of fact, just today I dug in and found a brand new pair of jeans, still with tags on, in a size 22 and they FIT! I started in a very tight 26. I also found 3 more pair of pants to wear. When I outgrow my clothes they generally are pretty messed up... holes in the thighs, stains, ugh. So I throw them out. If you have any nice stuff I recommend eBay.

I have bought most of my clothes from Walmart, ShopKo, and other despartment stores. I usually pay 15 bucks for jeans, 10 bucks for "stretch pants" and 5-8 bucks for shirts. I am cheap. When I get thin, I am gonna buy some nice stuff!

Lyn
TWENTY SIX pounds gone!
My Blog:
www.escapefromobesity.blogspot.com

I get my newer stuff at Macy's as they have *great* clearance sales. I also have gotten some stuff at Target and Kohls. I have used ebay and have gotten some really nice second hand LL Bean, CJ Banks, Eddie Bauer, Liz Claiborne stuff very inexpensively. As far as the stuff that gets too big. I donate to Salvation Army.

I think even though you plan on getting smaller, that you deserve to look nice on your journey there. You can do that for very little $$ if you shop smartly.

I would suggest looking for consignments shops in your area. If the jeans or other clothes are in really good condition they will buy them or you can often get more for your old clothes if you take in store credit and buy clothes from them. I have gotten some really nice, designer clothes at consignment shops for a fraction of retail.

Wow, I never knew that! I think I'll check out some consignment shops around. I know where at least one is, but I don't know if they sell plus size stuff.

When I outgrow my clothes they generally are pretty messed up... holes in the thighs, stains, ugh. So I throw them out. If you have any nice stuff I recommend eBay.

I have bought most of my clothes from Walmart, ShopKo, and other despartment stores. I usually pay 15 bucks for jeans, 10 bucks for "stretch pants" and 5-8 bucks for shirts. I am cheap. When I get thin, I am gonna buy some nice stuff!

Yeah I hear you! Most of my clothes end up that way too. I wear them until they are falling apart, lol. I am so going nuts when I get down towards my goal. I love to shop for clothes (even when I'm big I love to shop, although it can be incredibly frustrating too). There are so many things I like, though, like dressy clothes. I end up not wearing the dressy clothes I buy because, well, combine obesity and the Florida weather, it just makes me very acclimated to start sweating buckets, red-faced, drenched armpits, you get the picture. So, dressy clothes are *USUALLY* very uncomfortable for me to wear.

Wow, I never knew that! I think I'll check out some consignment shops around. I know where at least one is, but I don't know if they sell plus size stuff.


Some don't sell plus sizes and some stores only sell plus sizes. Call around and check what their buying and sizing policies are.

I take mine to a consignment store. The sold amount is split 50/50. I average about $500 a year on clothes but I also take my daughters things as well. I buy my clothes when the consignment store has $1 day which is the 1st tuesday of the month. I have gotten formal gowns for $1 not to mention items with tags still on them.

What doesnt sell at the consighment store I take to the flea market with other items I have, I usually charge $2-$3 per piece. What I have left I divide by sizes and fill boxes for $10 each. Then finally I donate them to a homeless center in town. I try several times to get money out of the clothes since things are so expensive these days.

Have you ever heard of freecycle? Its a computer group that gives everything away for free with no strings attached, they dont want/need the items anymore and dont want to throw it away.

I give mine to needy people in our church or ship to missionaries. In this way I feel that I am doing something worthwhile while I am helping myself by cleaning out the closets.

As for where I buy, I usually do thrift stores, consignment shops, clearance sales, etc. I don't do this expensive stuff - ESPECIALLY on transitional clothing! :)

I'm having fun shopping in a different type of store...ummm...my basement! hahaha big rubbermaid containers full of stuff that is 2x and 1x -- i can't squeeze into the 1 yet, but i got them out and washed them and gave away stuff that's not fashionable anymore, etc., and it's a ball ~ so glad I didn't throw them away!

ONE good thing of having only 2 stores to shop in (Penningtons & cotton ginny!!!) is that items of clothing tend to be pretty neutral, a bit shapeless, and therefore ALWAYS/NEVER "in style" lol, so I can still wear a lot of it!!

I never look in 2nd hand stores - not because of snobbery, but because I think no one is as BIG as me so how could they give away clothes!!

I kept a lot of stuff as I was gaining weight, so I am pulling it out as I shrink back into those sizes. So far, I haven't had to buy much, but Sears had a sale recently with tops for under a dollar and pants for about $2. I wasn't sure how the quality would be, but the stuff I've gotten so far has been really nice.
I agree, thrift stores are great, but if you shop end-of-season sales, you can get new stuff for less than you'd pay for used stuff at Goodwill. My daughter said Old Navy has lots of clearance right now, she got some jeans for $3.
She is my clothes horse and I have sold some of her stuff on ebay. If it's good quality, recognizable and popular brands, and like new, it can be worth your while, but it's unpredictable how much you will get. I used to consign lots of her stuff too, but for that to be worthwhile it helps if you have a good amount of stuff to unload, and I would advise you to shop around for a good consignment store, because their policies vary greatly - most important is what percentage you will get. Consignment stores in upscale areas are your best bet. I developed a relationship with the owner of a consignment store in my area. My DH's family is french, and as my DD was the first grandchild, she used to get lots of kiddie designer outfits and very high quality stuff from them. When I would consign, the owner had a list of customers she would call to let them know I'd brought stuff in and most of it never even made it out on the floor.

Most of the stuff I've shrunk out of now, I just give away. I've got a couple of friends that pick through it, then the rest goes to Goodwill.

I look for clearance sales, especially Marshalls, Filenes & Daffys. Macy's is good when they have sales and I've bought clothes at Kohls. I will treat myself to an occasional higher priced outfit, for example, I bought a dress at Ann Taylor for a friend's wedding back in May. But it had already been discounted somewhat.

Also, when possible, I try to buy things which are wrap style. The dress was a wrap style as was a jacket I bought there on clearance too. The great thing about wraps is you can keep wrapping them tighter as the weight goes down so you can get more use out of them. And it's fun to see the wrap part getting longer as there's less of you to go around! :) And when I bought my trench coat, I bought an XL vs. a specific size so I can get more use out of it, just keep belting it tighter.

There's a church clothing drive near me which collects periodically or upon request. All you have to do is box or bag the clothes & leave them outside on the doorstep. So that's what I usually do. I'm a 16 now & when I was ready to get rid of the 18s, a family in my community experienced a fire and the adult woman of the family was an 18 (signs up in a local business indicated that) so I dropped them off for her. The 16s are getting loose, but I'm not quite ready for the 14s yet. Probably the church clothing drive.

And while I got rid of a lot of clothing as I was gaining weight, I kept some of the more expensive stuff (suits, dresses) & the basics (jeans, shorts). What I did when I first started losing weight is I sorted it by size (being as thin as 120 at one point, I had a whole women's clothing store in my closet, ranging from 8-20). I gave away what was too big, except for one pair of pants which I want to keep as a comparison. I then put everything else in a plastic bags & marked the sizes with labels. I then put them in storage boxes, making the larger sizes more accessible. I was an 18 at the time, so I put the 16s where I could get to them when I needed them, the 14s under that, etc. It clears space in the closet, but keeps the clothes handy for when you need them.

As for getting rid of old clothes, I usually pick a charity and bag up my clothes. When I moved, I gave 20 garbage bags of clothes to the Salvation Army. that was after I sold a bunch of stuff on Ebay.

Oh yeah, I love freecycle too. When I was a single mom, it helped me so much when people gave items to me. Now I am remarried and while we are not exactly well off financially, I try to give away about half of my kids' clothes on freecycle when they outgrow them. I sell the other half on craigslist for 10-20 bucks a box. Anyway my point is if you can possibly affird to give a few things away, it does bless someone else in need and is good karma IMO.

Lyn
TWENTY SIX pounds gone!
My Blog:
www.escapefromobesity.blogspot.com

Goodwill is my home away from home!!!! I have a closet FULL of top designer name clothes-for merely nickles-all in sizes 6,8,&10. This is my goal weight size(s). I wouldn't have been able to get in-between clothes without them.
When I reach my goal and am satisfied-I will probabbly shop elsewhere. But, for now- I can't beat it!!!! 47 cents for a pair of designer pants.....!! still laughing about THAT one.

I got really lucky that a friend of mine had just lost a lot of weight and she supplied me my in between wardrobe.

I agree with Jan on Goodwill. I've found some remarkable bargins there. It's like a treasure hunt everytime I go there. Some are better than others, but we have a brand new one in a nice area of town that is amazing. Old Navy also has some great clearance items. I just bought some new workout pants today for $1.97 a pair (the had size small - XXL).

I donated my old clothes to goodwill and I went to old navy (their clearance ROCKS), tj maxx, and marshalls, and value city...... also try ebay...and if you have friends that are the same size it is cool to switch clothes and have different stuff to chose from without sepnding money....

I get my stuff at places like good will and the thrift store. Nice clothes that don't cost much. I give them my old clothes that are to big for me now. The hubby went and spent a ton of money for me 5 new outfits this summer. They are now to big and what a waste of money that was.

I don't know, maybe everyone knows this already, but I have a friend who works at babyGap and she said all Gap stores (Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic) do 3 markdowns and you can tell by the last number. Ending in 9 is the 1st markdown, ending in 8 is the 2nd, and ending in a 7 is the final markdown. First markdown is usually Sunday morning, final markdown is Tuesday. So if you see something on a Tuesday ending in 7, buy it now because it won't get any cheaper.

I'm having fun shopping in a different type of store...ummm...my basement! hahaha big rubbermaid containers full of stuff that is 2x and 1x -- i can't squeeze into the 1 yet, but i got them out and washed them and gave away stuff that's not fashionable anymore, etc., and it's a ball ~ so glad I didn't throw them away!

LMAO! Glad I am not the only one doing this... Is it an Ontario thing? :carrot:

ONE good thing of having only 2 stores to shop in (Penningtons & cotton ginny!!!) is that items of clothing tend to be pretty neutral, a bit shapeless, and therefore ALWAYS/NEVER "in style" lol, so I can still wear a lot of it!!

Sweetheart... You are heading into (if not already into) Walmarts' plus size clothing (they have cute things... TRUST ME! Gawd love George for my dress shirt but it is a 4 x and I can't wear it till I tailor it now!), and Addition-elle. They have one if these in most areas. If you are comfortable enough to do so... PM me. I have lived ALL over the province. I may know of some places in your area... And hey... Maybe if you are close to one of the places I frequent we can do coffee... or shopping. ;)

[/QUOTE]I never look in 2nd hand stores - not because of snobbery, but because I think no one is as BIG as me so how could they give away clothes!![/QUOTE]

It is not that no one is as big... It is that most have "dumpy" clothing up here. If you ever have the chance though... Once you hit a 6-12... Take a drive to Kingston to their value village. Take about 500$ with you... You will spend it and hit the royal jackpot! There are a lot of slimmer women there who discard single, double or never wear clothing. It is a status issue.

There are also a couple really great consignment stores in the GTA... Some lingerie places in Barrie... A nice place for business wear in Walkerton, etc. etc.

Ok... So I get around the province a bit. *grin*

Forgot about:

Laura 2 - Dress clothes

Voluptuous - Trendy and sexy clothing

Marks Work Wearhouse - carries up to a size 2xl

Sears - Carries a lot of sizes (up to at least a 24/26 and catalogue is sometimes higher)

Zellers - Up to a 3xl and sometimes higher depending on the make.

Reitmans - Up to a 22/24 and up to a 3xl I think... They own penningtons and addition-elle as well but all the stores carry a different set of clothing.

There are more as well... These are just the places with NICE looking clothing. *grin*