Hi, I'm new (waves to everyone). I'm sure my question has been covered before, so I apologize, but I couldn't find anything in the archives.
Anyhoo, I've lost about 15 pounds since 1/1/10 (yay!), but I still have a long, long way to go (sigh). My formerly kinda tight clothes are now a bit loose. Do any of you have advice on buying clothes? I don't want to spend too much on the "intermediary" sizes, but I work in financial services, so I do need to look professional.
I know what you mean. I got two pairs of jeans for Christmas - a size 24 and a size 22. The 24 fit perfectly, and the 22 was snug, but wearable. I've lost about 12 lbs since then and the 24, while not quite falling down, sometimes feel like they might :lol. The 22 is even starting to feel loose in my butt and thighs. I know I have some 20s and 18s boxed up from when we moved last year that I can wear when I get there, but I don't think I have anything smaller than that. I don't want to spend a fortune on clothes that (hopefully!) will only fit for a little while.
I'd recommend finding a good tailor for those little adjustments in your professional clothing. For example, if you wear a lot of pantsuits, you can have the jackets and pants taken in, but buy smaller shells to wear underneath.
As far as actually buying new clothes go, I'd recommend signing up for a service I use called "Shop It To Me." I won't link it because I don't want to spam, but if you google you can find it. Basically you put in your size and the brands you like to wear, and it sends you an e-mail 2 days a week with where those brands are on sale. I got a Steve Madden coat that was reduced from $250 to about $110 - it's amazing!
Because you need to look professional I think you would be able to score some nice things at a resell shop. Clothing found at resell shops is often more trendy, and in better shape than what I find at thrift stores. Of course, thrift stores differ from region to region. Maybe you could find something nice at a thrift store.
Also, sometimes, you can score great stuff from the clearance section of department stores. I once got a beautiful lined suit for a total of $25 (I think the jacket was $15 and the pants were $10) from a Dillards clearance rack. It was a black suit, very lovely cut.
Do you know anyone who has stepped out of the professional world that maybe you could borrow from? Or maybe someone who has lost weight and would love to give you some of their outsized items?
Do you have a Ross, Marshalls, TJMaxx or Steinmart in your area or nearby? That is where I have done a majority of my shopping and the prices are excellent!
I know none of us want to spend anymore than we have to on the 'intermediary' sizes but think of it as rewarding yourself for a job well done. And when you do have to buy something new try to make sure you can mix and match it to create more outfits, then you can get by with less.
I would find a few basic pieces and find a way to wear them alot with different things. For example, a pair of black pants can be worn with lots of different tops.
Basically, I buy a few things and wear the heck out of them until I drop to the next size. I have about 3 pairs of pants I rotate in my current size - jeans, some black pants, and some black cords. The jeans I need to replace with a smaller size, but the other two will last me a little while longer. I find I can wear my tops a while longer than my pants, partly because a little bagginess on top is easier to live with than baggy-reared pants.
I find the hardest thing is not over buying. It's way more fun to dress now than it was. But I bought too many things in a size 18 thinking I was going to be there a while and in less than a month I was a 16 - normally I spend several months at one size. Oh well. I guess it's a good "problem" to have!
Im not sure where you live, but kijiji is a good site to buy second hand clothing. I know i have listed my items on there, including my bisness suite ect. and everything is usually very reasonable...
Thanks for all your advice, everyone! I live in Manhattan, and sometimes I feel like the only apple bobbing along in a sea of matchsticks.
I really love some of my suits, so having them tailored is a great idea. I also just found out a TJ Maxx opened a couple of months ago less than a mile from me, so woohoo! I'd never heard of Kijiji before, but I'll check it out.
Even if it's not quite your usual style, for things you buy, you may want to look for things that are a little more forgiving than fitted suits. There are knit separates that very professional but can usually span a couple of sizes and you'll get more wear out of them and be able to buy a bit less as you're losing and therefore getting limited wear out of each item.
Last edited by PeanutsMom704; 01-24-2010 at 08:39 PM.
Dresses are PERFECT. As you lose weight you can do different styles with them - scarf or belt around the midsection are two examples to nip in the waist. You can wear different jackets/baleros over it as you shrink down to cover up any weight loss on your top half, while also concealing a pin in the back of the dress to make it a bit more snug. I'm the queen of rigging clothes to look right. I even bought a pair of to*die*for heels back in December that were a size too big (they didn't have my size) and put a ton of the comfort pads/non slip pads in them to make them fit. With just the right touch, no one could tell.
Also a fairly inexpensive place is FashionBug. Every so often they have buy one get one for $1 sales. Overall they're terrific. They recently starting a true size program where all of the items in the store (and online) will have the same measurements... so you won't be buying an XL in one shirt and a 2X in another. All of their items range from size 6-32, I believe. So if you go into the store, there's no shopping on the "fatty side" (as I always call it).
And, as always, Craigs List and Ebay as well as the places mentioned above.
Remember, too, that you can wear the crap out of things because it doesn't matter if you wear them out quickly--you won't be wearing them for long. I went through a 2-week period where all I really had was one pair of black pants--I had several pairs of pants that almost fit and several that were too big and I couldn't stand to wear once I fit into my "goal" pair. So I washed that one black pair every night and I honestly don't think anyone noticed. Black pants are black pants.
I read over and over here to hit the thrift stores, and I wish I had sooner in my weight loss. When I finally did, I was thrilled and scored some high-end gently used pieces. I'm still going to shop at thrift stores even though the clothes are here to stay.
Since I started losing weight the goodwill & ebay have become good friends. This past year I've gone down from a 24 to 12 so I really understand not having any clothes that fit. I'm really on a tight budget (darn student loan debt), so the last few months I've been shopping thrift stores with mixed results trying to get some basics that fit. Also, ebay has been pretty wonderful. I bought a mixed lot of professional/work clothes sized 14-16 a few months ago for $125 (including shipping), it had 35 pieces (tons of tops/bottoms and a few accessories) and all was gently worn. I'd highly suggest trying ebay, especially if your local thrift stores are working and you don't want to spend too much money. Good luck!
Everyone has given you some really great advice already. I would like to add that if you belong to a gym you should ask them about a clothing swap. Some gyms have groups of people who are swapping out the sizes they are shrinking out of as they lose weight. If you are a gym member and they don't already have such a thing, you could suggest it and/or help start one. Other community type organizations sometimes do this too, so also check with your church if you have one, your kids' schools if you have kids (sometimes the moms form such groups), etc. Also, I don't know how you feel about Brooklyn, but there seem to be, for whatever reason, a lot of thrift stores with professional/dressy clothes in that area (or at least there were the last couple times we were there - DH is from Brooklyn). Good luck, I feel your pain having gone from a 20 (I should have been in 22s) to a 12-14 during this last year has been crazy on my closet.
I work in an accounting office, so I need to look professional too. I recently ordered some blazers, blouses and dress pants from Coldwater Creek. Look in their Outlet dept. The prices are greatly reduced.
Occasionally I will find a great blazer at the thrift store.
Clothes during weight loss?
