I hate clothes!
 

Fall is coming soon, and I have nothing and I mean nothing that I can wear for fall. All summer I've been wearing the same six outfits, and I have two dresses. I don't see a point in spending a ton of money on clothes when hopefully, I will go down a size before long. But, with fall coming I need new t-shirts, and jeans. I also need some slacks, and maybe a new dress just in case someone gets married or something. I'm wearing a size 26/28 but I think they might be starting to get a little big on me. I think I have one pair of size 24 shorts stuck somewhere in my closet so I guess I need to get those out and try them on. It would be nice to be able to buy 22/24 for fall. Last fall winter I was in a 30/32.

What do you buy when you change sizes?

I actually wait to buy anything until I go down so far that my clothes look horrible LOL.

It took five sizes for me to finally get new stuff. My friend had to do an "intervention". I love smaller sizes, and I LOVE shopping....but it is hard for me to get used to being smaller...

Anyway, if I were you, I would wait until you cannot handle being in your summer clothes anymore..and then get a few pairs of jeans and maybe some yoga pants etc in the size you are when you go shopping. The reality is unless you plan on dropping 5+ sizes in the few months of fall/winter, belts can go a long way!

Thrift stores! Inexpensive and great for when you are "transitioning".

I started at size 34W and now wear a size 2. I have a very professional job where I have to very much dress up every day. Needless to say, I went through AT LEAST 4 full wardrobes on the way down.

Fortunately I have skinny relatives and friends who donated to my cause and also my 2 favorite places to score nice clothes on the cheap was the clearance racks of Target and Kohl's!!

It was still expensive, but totally worth it.

Jen

I like shopping final clearance sales online. Sometimes I see something ridiculously marked down but a size or two too small. If I like it, I buy it. Half my closet is filling up with things that don't fit...yet. A quarter of my closet is filled with things I wear now, mostly stretchy fitness gear because I work at a fitness studio. That'll last me for a couple sizes down. And the other quarter of my closet is filled with stuff that is really nice and I can size it down, should I need something nicer to wear. I guess it helps that I know how to sew. When I get really sick of something, I get rid of it.

I just bought a few pieces of fabric for new tops. I really needed something nicer to wear outside of work. I'm making some kaftan-style tops that are good at any size, in a variety of colors/patterns, to wear with jeans/pants. Very easy to make. I'm terribly tired of my t-shirt and pants uniform. I used to make myself a lot of really stylish clothes, but stopped when I got so dissatisfied with how I looked.

Goodwill, Salvation Army, consignment shops.

Much of the time I would have 2 pairs of black dress slacks and 5 tops that would do for work. Then I would wear all my too big clothes at home.

I have not had many clothes while losing weight but when I was at my highest weigh I did not have many clothes. I hated shopping but now it is much better.

I am in this boat now as nothing I have fits properly anymore and I work in a corporate environment every day so I can't look sloppy by wear clothing too big that doesn't fit.

I took my nicer, staple pieces and had them altered which was really cheap (less than $20). Anything else I needed I just bought from Target.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! Most of my clothes are 5x's from when I started this journey. I had some size 26 shorts that I bought a few years ago and never wore because I gained weight and couldn't fit into them. So, I've been wearing those all summer. Now, my 5X shirts will fly over my head on a windy day, or when I bend over you can see straight through them, so it's time I retire them!

I think though, I will wait until mid Sept or so before I go buy anything. I appreciate your suggestions! I actually never thought of checking Goodwill or thrift stores.

If you are 305 like your ticker says, you are literally swimming in 5Xs!!!!

Walmart.com has a great selection of cheap plus size clothing so check there as well. Since so many places are having clearance sales now, you should be able to snag some good deals too.

Lol, funny thing is, goodwills and thrift shops where I live don't really have plus sized clothing. I do know though, that once I have to buy some new clothes, my bigger clothing will be going to the thrift shop! :P

I hate trying things on but love the thrift stores, because when I get rid of my clothes they can go back to the store that they came from and help others out. Since most of the thrift store around here are charity stores.

I have had great luck at Kohl's. A friend of mine who had gastric bypass also told me to buy a few staples, like a nice pair of black slacks and a black cardigan and then buy clearance stuff for everything else. The best way I found to do this was to buy out of season stuff and modify it. For example, this time of year pick up colorful tank tops to wear underneath a sweater or blazer. I did that last year and most of them were in the $2 to $3 range at Kohl's after clearance and a % off coupon.

Now is the time to focus on accessories. No one will notice that you wear the same white blouse and black slacks over and over if you dress it up with cute scarves, chunky necklaces, and other fun, bold accessories that you can wear through many sizes.

Also, some people (thankfully I get to be one of them!) don't change shoe size as they gain/lose weight. If you are like that, enjoy some shoe shopping!

It is also a good time to start looking for fun handbags if that is something that you like. These things will make you feel better about how you look without breaking the bank for things you will just grow out of.

I would definitely recommend that you start shopping for accessories and learn to have fun doing it! This will motivate you to lose more and look forward to clothes shopping as well, because if you are anything like me, right now clothes shopping is a chore that you aren't thrilled about, so accessory shopping is the first step in learning to like shopping for yourself!

I'm horrible but I pretty much buy clothes all the time and will keep up with each size. right now I'm pretty in between (at least when it comes to shirts) and my pants are starting to get saggy in what used to be my much fatter a*s, but jeans are and have always been a problem for me. I'll pretty much keep wearing my same clothes until they literally look too huge, because I've spent a great deal of money on them and most of them are too new to part with. yeah I have a problem >_> lol

Dreamgyrl- I'm 304 ( I lost a lb this week, lol), I'm really hoping I can wear a 3x when I get my fall clothes.

20lbtogo- I've never been a girly girl. So, I've never wore the jewelry, and cared about handbags and shoes. I am interested in adding those, but I just have no sense of style. I'm trying to learn to care for myself more as I get smaller. I don't think I can fit into anything from Kohls yet. I would love to though. I'm so ready to not need a 4x or 5x any more.

Hmmm, I think you can probably wear a 3x now. I know every body distributes weight differently, but at 305 I wore 3xs although as you probably already know, not all 3xs are created equal. :D That's one think I hate about clothing - they need to standardize sizing as one labels definition of a 3x can be totally different from another's.

You will get there by fall - shoot, I think you may already be there honestly lol

I've been lucky enough to get some handmedowns from friends and thrift stores. I've bought some really nice new clothes on sale or at TJ Maxx or Marshalls. It hasn't been that bad and it's been more fun than I thought possible.

I've probably spent 2K on clothes in the last year, and I've only gone down from a 6X to a 1X/2X on the top and from a 32 to a 28 on the bottom. I have issues getting 2nd hand because I'm extremely long in the torso, and everything is too short.

Don't be afraid to shop online once you know your measurements. And I always buy a little snug because I know it's going dow

I have bought a couple of outfits which I can mix and match .. the pants are almost a size small but they are an elasticated material so they have a bit of stretch ... the tops I get are harder to do because I am big busted so my tops always look a lot bigger cos they need to accommodate the girls. So I have gone bottoms from 3xl to xl stretchy .. but the tops Im still 24 .. although I can fit 22 but its more fitted and I dont feel comfortable about snug clothes. And I like to get a long sleeve top .. and more of the tunic style tops so its all about layering cos now my clothes can be worn Autumn to Spring .. just lessen the layers.
New wardrobe consists of - 2 pairs black pants, 1 pair funky tights, 1 pair jeans, 1 short black skirt, 1 short grey skirt. Tops - 4 tunic style tops of various lengths and colours, an over dress, 2 mohair long sleeve tops and 2 singlet tops. The good thing about my new lot is that they are designed to be flowing .. the only thing I will really have to replace this year would prob be the pants, and to invest in a couple of chunky belts to shape the tunics a little more when they get too loose. To get an idea of my clothes check out www.citychic.co.nz and www.thecarpentersdaughter.co.nz ... I dont always shop here .. too expensive .. but I have a few of their pieces and it gives you an idea of what I mean lol

Best of all .. just have fun .. I think shopping at second-hand shops are a good source of the extra clothes on the journey we are on too .. not always a great selection .. but think outside the box sometimes.

I laughed so hard when lazylioness talked about a friend doing an intervention. The same thing happened to me! When I started losing weight, I was wearing size 26 pants that were actually a bit tight on me. I kept wearing those same pants until they were literally falling off of me. A couple of ladies at work, very kindly and with much humor, had a little chat with me in the bathroom one day. This was followed up with a talk from a good friend of mine which led to an epic shopping trip. I went from a size 26 to a size 20 before I bought clothing.

I never seem to have much luck at thrift stores. I do a lot of my shopping at Dress Barn where they have nice business slacks with an elastic waist for about $30 a pair. I like the elastic because as I continue to shrink, I can wear the pants for longer. I have 3 pair of black pants and 2 pair of gray pants from there. I have one pair of Lee jeans that I ordered online for a little over $20. Those pants and jeans are the base of my wardrobe as I work in a business casual environment where we can wear jeans on Friday. I don't try to get creative with what I wear on the bottom but I do have a variety of tops and blouses.

I like to shop for tops at my local Meijer where I can get simple v-neck knit tops in a variety of colors for for $10 to $20 a piece. I love Kohl's clearance racks! I've gotten some really good stuff there for very cheap. workinghardatlosing, I'll bet you are a 3x now and that you will find things that fit in most plus size sections of department stores. I also do a lot of shopping online at www.onestopplus.com . They've got a lot of variety although you have to be careful about sizing. They tend to do vanity sizing so a 3X is really a 4X.

I have to confess, though, I still have a few sweaters and tops from when I was at my highest weight. :o I really do need to go through another closet purge.

That's pretty much what happened for me. I just kept wearing the same clothes, and got mega discouraged because I couldn't see any progress! Finally in November, my bff took me to the city for a getaway and took me clothes shopping. Over night I went from a 6X to a 3X and a 32 to a 28 pant!

I have trouble with tops because I'm very long through the torso (I'm 6 feet tall and I don't need tall jeans lol) and I have an H cup bust. so finding a 1X top long enough is a chore. My pants look funny now because I still need a 28 waist, but they're huge in the butt and the legs.

Well, today I went to find some jeans that fit. Last week all week here the temperature didn't get above 75 degrees, so it was time to go shopping. So, I thought I had find some jeans just in case we get another cold snap.

So, I bought 24's. They are a little snug but they are stretch jeans. 3X tops do fit, but I'm been wearing big clothes so long, I felt like I was stuffed into them and had to ask a friend who is into fashion if they fit or are too tight.

I sure they looked great workinghardatlosing!

I did buy a lot of clothes once during this weight loss journey, and I absolutely had to because I had no clothes that fit and I was going on vacation to Canada. I had only side 26/24s to wear, they were like elephant skin on me as well. I was down to 20s/22s at this point, plus I wanted to look nice for the guy I was seeing. I spent way too much money, and while I can still BARELY wear some of the tops, the jeans and slacks have already been retired.

The second time I went to Canada, two months later, I couldn't wear the 20s/22s! I was definitely in 16s/18s. I just had my friends loan me clothes or they gave them to me. I only had to buy a few tops and it worked out well. Now, I've been sticking to posting on facebook for new clothes, or going to thrift shops.

Luckily, more people are now 14/16s or at one point had some left over in a closet. Next big buy will be at goal if I can continue to get by on the charity of friends. I bought some new tops though finally, cause I'm more top heavy, and I can buy men's large t-shirts, junior women's XLs, and all the 18s tops or dresses in junior at Wallyworld and target so things are cheaper, and more fashion friendly to the style I portray.

All of my friends are small. And wear smalls or extra smalls. I know I will never be able to wear an extra small or a small for that matter. Honestly, if I can get into an XL I would be so happy it wouldn't even be funny.

I am doing the thrift stores and second hand stores too. I refuse to spend a lot of money on clothes that are only going to be temporary (that's the goal anyways!)

I've been lucky at finding nice clothes, and by dressing them up a bit with jewellery and accessories, I feel great along my journey :)

Now is the time to stock up on layering pieces for cheap. I went to JC Penny and found TONS of shirts/tanks for $1.97 - $3.97!