I used to only shop in the plus-sized department of stores because, to be honest, it was the only thing that would fit me (I was a snug 1X - looser 2X when I started). It would really limit where I could get clothes from, and cost a lot of money to get an outfit..mostly because plus-sized clothes are so much more expensive than smaller ones.
But recently, having lost almost 30 pounds (yay!), I've gotten rid of all of my bigger clothes as motivation to never let myself wear them again, and have found myself needing a few things to replenish my wardrobe for school. Problem is, I'm stuck in limbo between the plus-sized and non-plus-sized world! the 1X in things is normally too big, but the XL is snug.. it's really making me mad! I feel like I don't fit into any stores. Hopefully I shrink some more soon, hmph!
ANYWAY, let me know: what's your biggest clothing peeve right now? I'm sure I'm not alone in the in-between sizes thing.
Last edited by pinksparkles; 08-21-2011 at 10:48 PM.
My biggest pet peeve since gaining is that plus sized clothing does not ft me right. The jeans always expect my butt to be twice the size it is, so they have that unflattering sag there. My chest is pretty proportioned for my bigger body now, but the shirts when there is an empire waist or seam, they are usually too big. Plus, the clothes are usually ugly. I end up hating my clothing within a couple of months.
I miss my cute clothes. I don't know who thought that big girls like big prints. I never got that. Nor do I feel the need to have butterflies and flowers on EVERYTHING. I'm 29 not 12.
Then there are shoes. I was a wide-width when I was 135 lbs. So at 230+ my feet have widened when I had kids, then have fat to top them off. The wides either aren't wide enough ( I refuse to wear a size 10 for width when I'm an 8.5) I would KILL for a sexy pair of shoes!
My hips are a 16 and my waist is a 12! So even though I am thinner, I don't feel like I look thinner because I have all this extra fabric around my waist. I look thinner naked but I feel like my workplace would frown on that. Also my bum has shrunk up (not hips, just bum!) so for those of you familiar with the world of Mexican clowning . . . I look like Cantinflas.
Don't get me wrong. I am happy for the progress that I have made but I wish my parts would progress at the same rate!
I'm with you on hating clothes shopping! I think my biggest peeve is fitted, button-down shirts for women. Anything off the rack either doesn't fit my, well, rack, or the bottom balloons out. And don't get me started on the manufacturers' tendency to forget that bigger boobs means more fabric in terms of length. I teach and it's down right embarrassing to write on a chalk board as it means my mid-riff shows (and there's nothing anybody wants to see there at the moment).
Although I've never worn plus size, I've found that buying new clothes that are a little snug and tight are motivation to keep working towards my goal. And it's worked! You'll be saying goodbye to the plus size stores in no time, good luck
Ack! Jeans! This is pretty much a normal frustration no matter what, but they either fit my legs or my hips, never both.
I guess more so right now would be shorts - I want to run in them but they ride up so horribly and I can't wear a pair of spandex because it would look horrible. So I'm stuck wearing pants or capris. I just want a pair that I don't have to pull down every 30 seconds.
I'm so glad to hear I'm not alone! Looks like we all have different issues, too. Maybe clothing manufacturers need to re-think their sizing proportions!
Sheramama- I have a similar jeans issue.. my thighs are too small for the pants my butt needs and I get an awkward saggy thigh look in most pants.. grr.
lucky72- I have a gappy waist problem too stretchy pants are good for that sort of thing, but they aren't always appropriate to be wearing all the time. :P I'm down with the nudist plan, haha!
0059500 This is true, and is basically what I've done for a few items, but I feel uncomfortable in those.. which makes me not want to wear them, and defeats the purpose of buying them. :P I'm just fussy. I've made a "not-yet" section of my clothes, though.. and make a point to try them on every week or so to see if they pass my self-test.
mindymoo AHHH, shorts! I'm so glad summer is ending because I can't stand shorts. I normally get the bermuda style ones to avoid the pulling-down problem, but then my legs look stumpy.. which is hard to do when you're 5'11. :P I played rugby in high school, though, which required shorter shorts as a team uniform, so we were required to wear longer spandex underneath them.. maybe you could try that for running? plus, wearing tighter clothes underneath makes me jiggle less.
Last edited by pinksparkles; 08-22-2011 at 12:35 AM.
Sizes in certain stores. In most stores I'll take a medium right now (maybe 90%), but every so often I encounter a store where I can barely fit into an XL. My hips are a 37, my waist is 27, I'm not an XL, what gives?
Im 6 ft tall..and a big girl..I cant find shirts to cover my belly without getting a shirt that is super large like wide large as well as long enough.. Then there is the jeans issue: My bum and hips fit into a size 14 and my stomach is a size 18 around the waist...so try finding a pair of jeans that are slender in the butt thighs and hips but jeans that are wide enough at the waist to fit along the waist line!!! Then on top of that..they also have to be extra long..As well..my boobs are small but my waist is huge..so i could fit the upper part in a 1x and my tummy rolls into a 3x..UGH!
I know your frustration! I was stuck there for years before I gained weight in high school. Before that I was stuck between Junior's Plus and women's. It was a horrifying time in my life and I remember coming home from clothes shopping crying. Luckily in losing weight I wasn't stuck in the void between plus and regular for quite long.
I actually enjoy clothes shopping now, which shocks me.
My frustration always stemmed from the fact that clothes NEVER allowed enough room for my bust! I'm not incredibly large busted (usually I'm a D cup!) Yet even when I was plus sized, I found I would have to go up a size in tops just to accomodate my bust. I fell in love with halter top dresses because I could actually buy my size!
For you though, not all plus is the same anymore and it actually depends on where you shop. Certain plus size stores start at 12, which helps immensely because that 12 is generally cut differently than a regular size 12.
When I was Plus size, I shopped pretty much all the time at Dots and Torrid. Torrid is a tad expensive, but if you wait for a 50% clearance sale, you can generally make out like a bandit. Torrid stocks a size 12, which helps depending on what you need. Dots is wonderful store that has both a regular and a plus size section. Their plus size section starts at 14/1X, but their regular size section generally ends at 15/16. The clothes are usually the same, so if something is too big in Plus you can find it in Regular.
Good luck in your journey! Hopefully you won't have to be "stuck" between Plus and Regular for long
Plus-sized clothes actually used to work very well for me because I'm very, very busty (maybe an G or H cup now?) but have a small rib cage (just a bit over 32" at the moment) and normally plus-sized clothing accounted for that. Now that I'm in regular sized clothing I'm having some major issues!
Clothes that fit my waist are WAY too tight in the chest. Ones that fit my chest are WAY too big in the waist. You can just imagine how dress shopping is for me! Add to that that I live in a country where they don't even sell bras above an F cup (and they only really recently started selling those and only have specialty shops for huge amounts of $$) so the proportions on clothes here are way off my own. Finding tops is near to impossible and after months? of looking for a dress I finally found one and I'm pretty sure that's just because the manufacturer accidentally cut it too big in the bust. I figured it out and my bust size is at least 2 sizes bigger than my waist but even then bigger tops/dresses are cut with the assumption that you have a large ribcage/small breasts so they don't even fit me very well!
Oh, and pants... yep, I get the gap thing going too! I'm planning on trying out those Levi's Curve ID pants next time I go to the states and also see if there is a fashion bug where they have pants with different curves to see if that helps.
Once I get to goal I plan on just buy a bunch of high quality clothes and getting them altered and hoping that they last awhile! It's sad because I LOVE clothes but finding clothes that fit takes forever!!!!
Unfortunately this rings true no matter what size you are. But I remember being in between Lane Bryant and "normal" sized stores.... it is a TOUGH time, but it gave me more motivation to get it done. It is still frustrating to shop for me. Like many of the other ladies have said, some stores I'm a 12 (YAY!) but some stores I'm still a 16 (Boo! ). I wish I could say it gets better, but soon you won't be able to shop in plus sizes at all any more. That's a pretty awesome thing
I cant find shirts to cover my belly without getting a shirt that is super large like wide large as well as long enough.. Then there is the jeans issue: My bum and hips fit into a size 14 and my stomach is a size 18 around the waist...so try finding a pair of jeans that are slender in the butt thighs and hips but jeans that are wide enough at the waist to fit along the waist line!!! Then on top of that..they also have to be extra long.
My heart goes out to you. I am 3 inches shorter than you and I have these issues...cannot imagine the frustration you have. I have the stomach problem and trying to find longs are really annoying. Dress pants are a disaster. I will tell you that American Eagle sells x-longs online and with a code or whatever I can usually get a pair for about 30 bucks! I also wear a size 12 shoe which is impossible to find in stores. Do you have this problem?
I am right there with you girls... I have become famous among my friends for making button extenders. What I do is buy a button about the same size as the button on my jeans, and but some 1/4 inch elastic, and I sew it into a loop and attach it to the button. I found this helped tremendously with jeans as for me they generally fit well in the but and thighs but are too tight around the waist. It adds just enough space and stretch to make the jeans fit as comfortably as one can expect of jeans.
I am, however, most defiantly one of those people who wear black stretchy pants even when it is inappropriate. I would wear them every day if I could.
I hate clothes. >:(
). It would really limit where I could get clothes from, and cost a lot of money to get an outfit..mostly because plus-sized clothes are so much more expensive than smaller ones. 
Add to that that I live in a country where they don't even sell bras above an F cup (and they only really recently started selling those and only have specialty shops for huge amounts of $$) so the proportions on clothes here are way off my own. Finding tops is near to impossible and after months? of looking for a dress I finally found one and I'm pretty sure that's just because the manufacturer accidentally cut it too big in the bust. 
