Looking Good, Feeling Great - Does your wardrobe express your personality?

I absolutely hate shopping for clothes! Ironically enough, I work for a major fashion retailer. I sell cutesy things to cutesy little figures all day long. When I went to work in clothing it triggered something...additional weight.

My clothing choices have aged with the more weight I have gained. I find myself wearing styles that I would have never worn before the weight. I love mixing things up a bit, like wearing an edgy graphic tee under a dressy jacket or wearing a crisply ironed button up with camo bermudas and ballet flats. Not lately, though. My wardrobe is now 15 years older than I am.

I can't get over it. I dont want to look rediculous so I have opted for middle aged socker mom attire. If you are a middle aged socker mom and happy with that, I am not saying it is bad. I tend to be a bit more alternative. I am more physically comfortable dressed like this, because it hides my shelves to a certain degree. Emotionally, it leaves me feeling like a walking misrepresentation. That isn't who I am, it isn't what I want to wear and it just isn't me. I have seen women that can pull it together seemlessly and look great. I have also seen women that look like they came from the circus and are just trying too hard. When I was thin, it worked! Now it makes me feel foolish.

When I do shop, I find that the styles available to women of our size are just...well...old. There is a retailer that is well known for selling clothes in our sizes that is a perfect example. It starts with Dress and ends in Barn...lol. If I was selling cosmetics to middle aged women in the Bible belt, this is where I would shop! But for my real life...

On top of that, I am cheap. With an endless supply of cash, I could look great every day now that "the internets" bring any store into my living room. I am a bargain shopper or a sale diva or whatever you want to call it, but really it is just plain cheap. I will spend money on my husbands clothes, my grandsons clothes etc., but it is only when they are on sale. But when I am buying something for me I always ask myself how often I will be how to wear it, what it will work with and if it will be versatile enough. I just don't buy the trendy stuff I want...like I said, I just can't get over it.

How do you work your personality in? What are your tricks to looking CHIC? I need help. I want to look great on my journey, not just when I get there.

My wardrobe is crap compared to who I am. I am a jeans/boots/t-shirt type person. I have business casual/business professional attire! GRRR

As I have made no secret here, I am a clothes horse. You asked a lot of different questions but I will answer it according to how I deal with fashion, my lifestyle, my age and my preference.

I have been told that I look 15 years younger than I do. So, based on that, I try to dress appropriately for a woman who is 35-40 years old. I like classic styles but updated. I work from home now, and have for three years, so I could buy nothing but sweats. However, even when I was a size 6 I never liked wearing sweats. It is just not "my style".

Here's some checkpoints that I use in dressing as a larger woman:

1) Put your money in a good bra! Have pretty panties. They make you smile. If you can wear a thong without yanking on it every five minutes, go for it. If not, don't. Being "uncomfortable" is a fashion killer and a major Don't

2)Spend your money on the things that you love and plan to wear the most on. Don't spend lots of money on something you will only wear once.

3) Shop quality second hand stores including consignment. Second hand quality is always better than first hand cheap.

4) I have shopped in the place you mentioned and bought a dazzling lime green and royal blue sleeveless silk dress (better yet on sale!) that is definitely an eye popper with a summer tan and my blonde hair and hazel eyes. Don't be a fashion poo-pooer---I will go into any store that has my size and trust me they are becoming more and more frequent as we speak.

5) Have fun. Accentuate your positive qualities and forget the negative ones. I have always had great success with styling my hair and makeup. I am a "model size 24" (meaning that my proportions are evenly distributed). I make good use of that. I have long arms and legs but a short waist and full hips. So what? I can look really good in a swimsuit (curves) and capris (skinny ankles).

You don't have to spend a million to look it (and I think someone else said that but I don't know who to give credit to).

It is all in your attitude! If you got it, you can get it and you can look it.;)

Don't "wait untill you're a certain size" to look good. I agree you might not want to spend a lot of money on transition clothes, that you're not going to wear a long time. Used clothing stores are great for pants. You just might find some really cute tops there too (you're not the only person losing weight. Other people turn in their clothes too). But buy a few cute tops to make you feel good about yourself. I don't buy too many trendy clothes that are only going to last for a season. Buy nice things, the quality shows.

do you sew? Helps if you can take clothes in a size, to get a little more wear.
Discount stores, like TJMaxx and Marshall, have great, name brand clothes for very reasonable prices. I buy there so much I hate to shop other places.

How do you work your personality in? What are your tricks to looking CHIC? I need help. I want to look great on my journey, not just when I get there.

I'm with you, I generally hate clothes shopping - mainly because I rarely find the styles that suit me at prices I'm willing to pay. There are some great catalog websites that have fabulous, trendy and chic styles but I will never buy anything without trying it on and most of the best sites don't deliver north of the border.

Accessories have become my new best friends...they can make any dowdy outfit shine. Shoes, jewelley, bags, scarves etc are the best!! Not to mention that they are wearable as you shrink. Funky (and cheap) necklaces in particular are my signature and can always match my outfit for any occasion as well as my mood.

Even wearing a size 4 misses...i can't say my clothes really represent my personality. I have not had the money to go out shopping for myself. I wear alot of hand me downs, that although nice, i didn't pick them out for myself. I hope by the time i get to goal, i'll be able to actually take a day for myself and have enough money to REALLY go pick out clothes that represent who "I" am...whoever that may be now.

I feel the same way. I do have a lot of clothes in my closet, but none of them are really me. Pretty much the only place around me to shop is Fashion Bug. They do have nice plus clothing, but it's not me. I'll look around and find something I love...but it's on the "other" side of the store, the Junior's side. Hopefully it doesn't take me too long to get there!
Jamie

Another clothes horse here and pamatga pretty much summed up how I have always dressed. I do VERY MUCH try to let my wardrobe express my personality and style. This was true at 215 lbs. and is true now (just easier).

Second hand stores are GREAT if you can find things in your size. Sometimes the pickings are slim. But, if you shop often, you can usually find great pieces.

It really is about pulling the outfit together. I too have found some great pieces at DB Woman. Funky, fun denims, great gold sweaters, super accessories and don't discount the basic pieces. A killer black dress with the right accessories is a head-turner.

What are your assets? Concentrate on those and buy things you love. At 215, I was known for my flowy skirts and scarves. They were signature pieces for me. With a thick waist, I paired dark, solid tops with jackets or vests. This helped draw attention away from my mid-section and down to either my legs, or up to my face :D

Learn to sew, at least some basics. It is amazing what a nip here, and a tuck there can do for some of the pieces you find. Boring black jacket? Add some piping or funky buttons or ??? Paying attention to those little details is what transforms pieces into an outfit.

Take note of those with a similar shape to your own. When you see someone that you think is particularly well dressed, take the time to dissect the outfit. WHY do you think she looks good? What is she doing? Try those ideas in your own wardrobe.

If YOU feel good wearing your clothes, you will radiate with confidence and you will be that person that looks CHIC too :)

Seems to be my topic at the moment...I personally see myself in some sort of college- style-chabby-chic...(anyone know what I mean?). I loved the Rorys clothes in Gilmore Girls...Anyway. But being always overweight and scared of showing of my body, I tend to wear more sportive clothes. But I feel that they don´t express my personality. I was a bit shocked as my mother picked up a large sweat shirt in a shop and said: "Try this, this would be so you". And she meant that serious...

I have the stupid tendency to buy clothes even if the don´t fit....You know, I´ll lose weight soon....So now I own a lot of beautiful clothes. Unfortunately not in my size. It´s just stupid, but I feel if I would buy some plus size clothes I would be like giving up hope of being thin.

And there isn´t such a variety of plus size shos here in Germany and not every internet shop delivers to Europe/ Germany. We have Ulla Popken. Try to read the name out loud and you know what kind of clothes she designes....

Conclusion: No, my clothes don´t express my personality. In my opinion. But may just because I am not **** brave enough.

I wish I had an answer for this one but I don't.

I know exactly the kind of clothes I want to wear... I just can't yet as I'm not where I need to be (be that physical or mental, something stops me)

Hmm..I think I have clothes to go for every mood I go through, lol. Most of the moods are happy, depressed, or blah, lol. Blah is like..big shirts dont care what anyone thinks. Depressed is mostly all the black clothes..and the happy clothes are all the pinks and red and cute girly type of clothes. My pants generly go with everything, lol. I am a Navy wife..so I do have a lot of Navy clothes. I love anything with anchors, sailors, pinups. I do have a lot of custom made Navy shirts too.


So from re-reading this..it makes me sound like I have a split personailty, lol.

Gah, I have clothing in my closet that runs from the tiny size 3 I used to be to the size 20s I have hopefully put behind me forever. I'll never wear those expensive designer size 8s again, but I just cannot part with them.

So what do I wear? Land's End, JCPenney, Wal-Mart, Target, Ross. Plain neutral pants and cotton t-shirts. Bleh.

My clothing all sucks. I've got two pairs of jeans that fit, a load of tshirts that are pretty much all too small for me now, a few hoodies I put over them, and a cheap pair of knock-off crocs I live in. I've gone to every single jean store where I'm from and there is not a single place that sells jeans that look even remotely decent on me. I've got very short legs, with very big thighs, and a somehow flat stomach. Even Gap's Curvy jeans look ridiculous.

So for now I'm just holding my breath until I lose weight and can fit back in my old clothes. Even though I'm a size 10 right now, I cry when I go shopping for clothes, because my body proportions just aren't common enough for -any- line to carry appropriate jeans/pants. Either they won't pull up past my "hammy" thighs, or if they do, they slip right back off because they're inches too loose in the midsection.

Basically shopping just sucks.

My "wardrobe" is very bare and doesn't reflect me at all. What I have pretty much just gets me by for now. When I go to the mall it seems like my choices are stripes or floral patterns at a size 20 and it's really frustrating. With my mini goals I hope to add some things that reflect me.

Most of my clothes are t-shirts I got from the internet because I thought they were cute. Hahaha. And lots and lots of octopus t-shirts!! (see: screenname)

For work, however, I can't exactly wear t-shirts (except on Spurs game days yesss!!), so I recently bought myself some cute tops. I have plenty of pants to last me a while. I don't know about them matching my personality, I think they do because I liked how they looked on me, lol, but I did choose things that flattered my figure.

Additionally, like someone before me said, I love love love to accessorize. I have so many huge earrings of different colors. I have short hair, too, so they really stand out and can totally make an outfit. I am also a sucker for purses. Shoes, not so much, though I have gathered quite a collection over the years... hahaha.

:)

I agree about the tops. You can get lots of cute and stylish tops in our sizes at good prices, and the ability to pair them with jeans, capris or a skirt allows you to have a different look every day with just a few pieces.

I look for last season's fashions...they mostly still look current, and they are half the price or less.

....deedee....

I love clothes.... I moved to CA almost 4 months ago with 4 bags, which only 2 were clothes, now...... let's just say I found this store called Susie's Deal and everything in the store is $5.99 or less. They have really cute plus size clothes. I don't ever get pants there just tops, but they are super cute and made for big girls. I still will wear a bright shirt with a black 1/2 sweater to help make me look a little slimmer, but other than that I think my personality fits my style. I'm from the south and I love CA because the clothes out here are cheap and way more trendy than I was used to. I get comments all the time of how trendy and great I look. Wow, I'm sorry I'm seeing my words on the screen and it sounds like I'm super conceited. I'm really not, just excited about wearing clothes that fit me and my personality not the other way around. We are beautiful and fabulous let's live now instead of always living for tomorrow. Y'all know what I mean, do what do in getting healthier, but let's enjoy life now as well. I hope this makes sense. :)

I live in scrubs (I'm a nurse), my kid's hate going out anywhere with me because of that.
Paulas

I am glad you posted this. I dress NOTHING like what I would dress like if I was normal or skinny. I guess I just stopped putting effort into how I look because I know nobody will be checking me out anyway. I had a son two months ago and am stuck in maternity pants and sweatpants...it is so, so depressing. It is part of what made me realize I need to lose weight- I am no longer the person outside that I am inside. I probably look a decade older than I am...I sure feel that way.

yes. my clothes say I MUST be comfortable and I don't like to spend a lot of time putting myself together. when i lose weight there are things i will wear that i won't now...but they will still say the same thing.

Some of my clothes, I think, really express who I am. There are some pieces that absolutely do. Others, not so much. I would like to one day really go through everything I have and get rid of (donate to charity) clothes I don't think "jive with my flow" (so to speak) and keep only those that do and rebuild from there, selecting only clothes that speak to me and express who I am.

But it's hard bc clothes often appeal to me in the store and then lose their appeal once I get them home, even if they fit fine and I look okay in it.

And I sometimes, in the store, get too excited when something fits (esp. when it emphasizes my breasts) that I buy it without considering "Is this really me?"

Generally, I like monochromatic clothes -- solid colored tops and bottoms. Any patterns I DO like tend to be really particular and appeal to me for a specific reason. I like shirts that are kind of low-cut that I can wear a necklace/push-up bra with, I like shirts that some down and cover my abdomen, I LOVE stops with a square neckline and I like button-down tops with a little stretch to them to accomodate my boobs. For pants, I like dark dark dark blue jeans (or black), as simple as possible, no low-rise. I *HATE* clothing with writing/words on it, I *HATE* the color red for clothes (on me), I *HATE* pastels and I *HATE* appliques. I don't have anything pastel or red in my closet, but I do have quite a few shirts with patterns that appeal to me generally, but that really aren't *ME* so I wind up never wearing them. I also have shirts that really are too 'short' for me -- I liked them on the hanger, and maybe even for a moment when I tried them on, but they just don't work. Id like to get rid of that stuff and replace them.

KLK, I think I know exactly what you mean when you say you have clothes that you get home and don't wear because they are "not you".

I do the same thing - I try on a top or something in the store, and if I think it fits well I buy it. I have a collection of tops and dresses that I'm afraid to wear because of the low neckline. I try it on, I think "that fits me perfectly", and I buy it, especially if it's on sale. When I try it on at home, I think "I can't wear that in public, it shows too much cleavage" or something silmilar.

I like styles that are "feminine". Longer, flowy skirts, tops with lace, ruffles of any kind. I also like capri jeans and pants, with some embellishment like a pattern on the leg or back. I love the "baby doll" look in a top, with an empire waist.

I love crossover styles in a top or dress, but I feel some of them are so low-cut they are not appropriate for me with a 38E bust. My BF usually says something like "you look incredible in that", but I won't wear it because I would feel that guys were always staring at my boobs.

Lots of people seem to wear these kind of styles, even large-busted girls, so maybe I just need to "get over it" and wear the stuff anyway. I've tried wearing deep vee tops with a cami underneath, and this helps, but I always think it sort of defeats the purpose. Besides, I don't really like layering.

What do you think?

....
Conclusion: No, my clothes don´t express my personality. In my opinion. But may just because I am not **** brave enough.

That's me too. I've spent the last umpteen years in men's XX and 3X T-shirts and men's jeans (because I didn't want to have to admit what size I wore in women's clothes :o ) and maybe, at the time, I was so unhappy that I was hiding my personality as much as I was hiding (or trying to hide) my body. I recently discovered skorts and am nuts over them - I'm actually appearing in public with bare legs for the first time in probably 20 years - they are sporty but still kind of feminine (and can hide *things* really well :D ). I still have a way to go before I'm really ready to let loose but I think the skorts and women's polos are getting closer to the real me than those men's clothes were.

I'll never wear those expensive designer size 8s again, but I just cannot part with them.

Oh, Darkblue, don't be so sure! I've got some jeans that I couldn't get past my knees for years but have been hauling around for so long they now qualify as *vintage*. Although I can't quite wear them yet, I've actually been able to move them from a box in the garage to the "pretty soon" closet so don't sell yourself short. You might be surprised and find yourself back in those designer 8s after all :)

You might be surprised and find yourself back in those designer 8s after all :)

Seconding that!
When I was younger my girlfriends and I mostly wore dresses we'd find in second hand stores. It wasn't unusual to see one of us wearing an old wedding dress grocery shopping :dizzy:
I have a hanging wardrobe full of my favorite dresses that I haven't been able to fit into for 7 years. But d$£%it! I will be wearing that blue evening gown this Christmas!
I also have some classier nice ones my mom bought me when I was really skinny. That goal is a bit loftier ...

What a great thread! Right now, my clothing fits my personality because it is neutral and comfortable. I am also 27 weeks pregnant! :D

All kidding aside, I can totally resonate with those ladies who are cheap and don't want to spend money on themselves. Here's how I see it. I shop consignment, good will and great second hand stores. I give a new store at least 2 or 3 attempts before I decide its trashy or doesn't have what I want.

Mostly, I look for basics and nice dresses. I am an RN so my work clothes are scrubs. Easy there. I like to dress up for Sundays to go to church. I like feeling feminine. I never really was comfortable in shorts for the summer and find I am just as cool and content in capris. So, I have a lot of capris (jeans, khakis and neutral colors) Every once in a while I will treat myself to something on sale brand new.

I had a light bulb moment when I do such a great job keeping my house clean, my professional attire clean and neat, my children looking sharp and crisp in play clothes, even DH looking fresh. Why do I let myself go? It seemed like I didn't fit the picture with the rest of them. These days I find myself feeling and acting more feminine... I just found out I'm having a baby girl...and I think that has helped me to get in touch with my more girlie side. A side that I really suppressed for far too long!

I have a hard time shopping for the style of clothes I want though, so if I see it, and its on sale, it is easier for me to justify its purchase because its usually last season or not hoochie enough for todays gals! :D

I LOVE clothes. Honestly, I think buying more clothes of the fashion I like was the biggest motivator for me in my weight loss(Sorry, Madame Health, you're important too) because at the size I was, it was difficult to find things that appealed to me that fit.

Just recently I went on an online skirt shopping spree... Well, I only bought 4 skirts, but that was all I could afford. Very full mini skirts, with tulle and lace and ribbon oh my! I can't wait until they arrive in the mail. I've desperately needed new clothes. (Most of my clothes are too big now, and the one's that aren't are falling apart) Next month, I'm buying a few more and maybe some shirts too. =)

Does my wardrobe express my personality? Hmm, I'm not sure about that. What does dark, unusual, elegant, frilly, cute, or sometimes freakish and morbid style translate to? Well, maybe it doesn't necessarily express my personality, but it is very well ME. I love it. I dressed this way at my highest weight too, except my clothes were very watered down because nothing good came in my size. Even then, it was me (save for the watered down part. I come in full flavor!)

A few years back, I wore nothing but jeans and an oversized hoodie. So NOT me... and it made me look 10x bigger than I actually was... I wish my current me could go back to that girl and give her some advice. :/

I have a few items that really reflect my personality. Those are the pieces of clothing that stick around in my wardrobe for years and make me feel great when I wear them. I wish I had the body type and the budget to experiment with styles, though. It also kinda sucks when you spend most of your waking hours at work, and there are limitations on what you can wear there (i.e. I can't really wear skirts or jeans.) Most of what I do find is from the Lane Bryant clearance rack. And we all know how limited that can be! ;)

I'm actually 35 and don't put much stock in what's appropriate for my age or whether or not people think I look young. I see too many people in the mall who are dressing really inappropriately regardless of age, shape or style and so I try to be more realistic. I have facial piercings and really striking hair. My clothes totally reflect my personality and always have even when I was at my HW.

I have a lot of "soccer mom" clothes but I don't wear them in soccer mom style. I love Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and the Worthington line from JcP. I just mix my tailored pieces with edgier/vintage/eclectic accessories, bags and shoes. From being heavier, I realized that the structure, quality and the fit of the garment was the most important thing. It's really easy to make things look edgier or more conservative depending on how on uses accent pieces.