Proof of vanity sizing! For Easter, I wore a suit that I've had for at least ten years. The jacket was marked small and the skirt was marked size 8 ~ not the size 4, 2, or 0 that I'm able to pull off the racks today.

Psychologically, it made me feel fat for the day. My body's the same small size as the day before, it was just a stupid number that was bugging me.

Nellie ~ welcome to the world of overwhelming choice in clothing. Good for you!

What shape are skinny jeans? Are they straight to the ankle? Do they have room for thighs?

Hi Susan,

Skinny jeans stick to your legs, all the way down--they're tapered.

http://www.squeezeoc.com/blog/fashio...skinnyjean.jpg
http://www.momist.com/blog/uploaded_...83f-736253.jpg

Only women with NO HIPS AND THIGHS should wear them. Personally, I think they are a terrible trend. Very few women look good in that shape, because they really amplify your thighs. The only way they can work for women with curves is if you tuck them into big boots.

I'm sticking with boot cuts. Much more flattering!

Oh I see .... perhaps not then.

Vaguely related to skinny jeans - I bought leggings today :eek: :eek:

I will be wearing them under dresses and long tops, but still :eek: :eek:

No 'skinny jeans' or leggings for me. My legs are way too curvy from hips to butt to thighs to calves. I'm loving the flaired jeans look to balance out my thighs.

Me neither. I've tried on straight leg and they are NOT flattering. I'm with you guys - I need a little flare to balance out the top. It's an amazing difference comparing the one with the other. Goes to show that it's worth figuring out how to shop for your shape. :)

Helen, I think legging under dresses are really cute, but you have to be young (like you, you sweet little thing) to pull it off.

OK, this sooooo NOT true! And not fair at all :( I dreamed of the day I could pull anything off a clothing rack and know that I could wear it. That will never happen. I've recently been shopping for "business casual" and not so casual clothes and have discovered that I've been living in yoga pants and low rise jeans nirvana. Hardly anything fits me in "real" clothes! Because I'm so shortwaisted and my ribs practically hit my hip bones, I have virtually no waist. If pants are low rise, I can wear a two or a four. If they (or a skirt) are designed to hit my so-called waist, a six goes around me, but balloons and hangs everywhere else.

...stomping off in another snit fit....

Mel

You don't really need all those ribs, do you?

:lol:

Sorry, Mel! I think you need to find lots of low-rise business casual pants and live in those. Hopefully you can find a brand that fits well. :hug:

Well I did some shopping yesterday and I gotta tell you the choices are just sooo overwhelming. It really is hard to choose. I certainly will not say that EVERYthing looks great, because, well it DOESN'T. But a real lot of stuff DOES. I bought this fabulous, fabulous long silky sleeveless dress. I thought to myself I would never look good in a one piece sheath type dress, I thought everything would stick out. But lo and behold it looked fabulous on me. It's like it was custom tailored for me, shocking. It hides everything that it should hide (my stomach and calves) and accentuates all the positive, my collarbones, bust line and waist. I stood there in the dressing room with my mouth hanging open and holding back tears. All the while I kept thinking, this is soo worth it. I don't care if I never have another lick of ice cream again or another fried chicken cutlet or any of the other garbage I used to eat. I am so sticking to this lifestyle forever and ever. The rewards soooo outweigh the sacrifices.

rockinrobin, I'm so glad you found a dress that you love. I totally agree that "it's so worth it". I love to shop now. When I first got close to my goal, I was a shopaholic. I've slowed down some now and try to be a little more particular, but I do love clothes. I love feeling comfortable in my clothes. I love just picking out what I'm gonna wear each day. It is such a great feeling to feel like we look good in our clothes.

As for those skinny jeans, I could so totally wear those because my hips and legs are the thinnest part of my body. But, I don't care for straight leg jeans. Heck, I gave away and threw away a bunch of straight leg jeans because they had gone out of style. So, I don't want any more.

Mel, I'm the same way. I wear mostly size 4's. I have 1 pr. of jeans and 1 skirt that are a 6 that fit at my actual waist and they are baggy in the seat.

Originally Posted by rockinrobin:
I don't care if I never have another lick of ice cream again or another fried chicken cutlet or any of the other garbage I used to eat. I am so sticking to this lifestyle forever and ever. The rewards soooo outweigh the sacrifices.

Hang that dress where you can see it every day for inspiration. Consider getting it in two or three sizes smaller so you can have something to work toward.

Robin,

That is awesome.
Today I tried on my size 18 petite pants and they buttoned. That amazes me considering they were no where near being able to button a few weeks ago. I think 15 more lbs should put me where I'll be permanently in misses and petites. I just wish my legs weren't so short so that I could just shop misses but oh well. Maybe I'm not the only one that tries to buy crop pants to get pants the right length :)

Mel, I have the same problem with being short-waisted. My trainer always comments on it when she measures me. When I was in my 20s, a sales person told me to shop for dresses in the petite section even though I'm 5'9" tall, and, although I felt like an amazon among those little ladies, the dresses fit so much better. Not sure if that would work for skirts, and it definitely doesn't work for jackets.

Originally Posted by clvquilts:
Hang that dress where you can see it every day for inspiration. Consider getting it in two or three sizes smaller so you can have something to work toward.

First of all I bought it in a size 10. For the past month I keep taking 10's and 12's into the dressing room, though I've been wearing the 10 for a month now. I always think it's some kind of fluke, like it must run big or something. But, nope the 10's fit me. I even bought an *8* yesterday, but and this is a big one - it's from Old Navy and I know there stuff runs large. Anyway, I loved this dress soooo much I really considered buying it smaller. Or not at all, since I'm not at goal and it's the type of dress I want to have for a long time. But I have 2 social functions coming up in May and this will be perfect for them. They are with different people, so I can wear it to both functions. So, I just said the heck with it, I deserve to look and feel good at these events - so I took the plunge and bought it even thought it was way too expensive for me not being at goal yet, but what the heck.

Another strange thing happens to me when I go shopping, which is quite often nowadays. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if yes, well when will it pass? I go shopping and clearly I'm way into the regular sizes now, and I have been for months. When I go shopping I am so paranoid that the sales help and the other shoppers will look at me and think, what the heck is she doing here? She can't wear these clothes, who is she kidding? There's something wrong with me, isn't there?

Yay, on the dress, Robin! It's so great to find something like that (actually to find a dress that flatters you at any size, but smaller is better!)

Nelie - I'm 5'4" and I need petite pants for the rise as well as the length. If you have a regular rise, you may want to look for "short" rather than petite, or find a good alterations place! On the other hand, I'm quite long waisted, and this fashion of shirts that come just to the top of your hips drives me nuts. I just can't stand it that every time I lift my arms I expose my belly! I end up wearing plain t-shirts (i.e. no advertising) so they are long enough either to tuck in or stay down over my pants tops. I really cannot wear dresses that have a built-in or elastisized waist. It's more a comfort thing, as they sit just below my ribs, while my actual waist is 3-4" lower - I keep tugging at them, a very unattractive look. :lol: Skirts and tops are a much better look for me, or a sheath or unfitted dress. This is a fact that doesn't change no matter what size I get down too. Sigh.

Originally Posted by rockinrobin:
Another strange thing happens to me when I go shopping, which is quite often nowadays. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if yes, well when will it pass? I go shopping and clearly I'm way into the regular sizes now, and I have been for months. When I go shopping I am so paranoid that the sales help and the other shoppers will look at me and think, what the heck is she doing here? She can't wear these clothes, who is she kidding? There's something wrong with me, isn't there?

Robin,
That cracks me up. I've been buying "goal" clothes online because I'm terrified of stepping in the misses section and someone trying to kick me out. Its probably even funnier considering the couple misses XL tops I have are now getting big on me.

Pat,
Maybe we are built alike :) I have a long waist, short leg and regular rise. I didn't know misses pants came in short? I've been wearing plus size petites for a while and usually I have to wait until they are a little big on me or else the rise is too short.

Originally Posted by rockinrobin:
Another strange thing happens to me when I go shopping, which is quite often nowadays. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if yes, well when will it pass? I go shopping and clearly I'm way into the regular sizes now, and I have been for months. When I go shopping I am so paranoid that the sales help and the other shoppers will look at me and think, what the heck is she doing here? She can't wear these clothes, who is she kidding? There's something wrong with me, isn't there?

I know exactly what you mean, I always get paranoid that people are looking at the sizes on the hangers as I queue to try stuff on and that they're thinking I'm really optimistic. I'm getting over it a bit now (I've been at my current size for around a year now), but I still sometimes can't believe that I can actually fit in some of the sizes I try on.

Although the other funny thing is that I still sometimes buy shoes from the "fat shop" because my feet are big and they do big shoes as well as big shoes. Now I feel self-conscious going in there because I'm worried they'll chuck me out for being to thin to fit in any of their clothes :rofl:

I'm so psyched!!! Last weekend, I tried on a pair of capri jeans (Chico's size 2) that I bought 2 years ago. Way, way too huge! I gave them to my Mother-in-law (who is trying to lose but has stalled after 10 pounds or so). She was very happy with them. I have another pair of capri jeans (size 10--I think that roughly translates to a 2 at Chico's). I really liked them, so I put in darts in the waist band and they still fit, but they are starting to fray here and there, so I made it a mission to find a new pair of Capris. I had no luck last weekend, but today I stopped off at Chicos. I'm looking and thinking I must be about a size 1.5 or if I'm lucky a size 1. I'm thinking that translates into 8 (1.5) or 6 (1). I find several things in both sizes and head to the dressing room. They're ALL TOO BIG!!! I ended up getting a pair of Bermuda shorts in a size 0.5 (translate to a 4?). Too cool! I'm that small!!!

First, I had no idea there were such things as half sizes!! I've never been in Chico's... but maybe there's a chance I'll fit something there.

We were at a mall tonight that we haven't been in for a while, and I realized that I can shop at almost any store in the mall!!

Robin -- I'm starting to get over feeling like a fraud shopping for misses clothing, but only a little.

I have no idea how I compare to other people, size wise. What do size 12 people look like? So I've taken to looking at the other women who pick up the same size as me in the store, so I can get a realistic sense of what I look like!

Oh, and Robin, you've inspired me. I have this fancy-ish event to go to in May, and I'm thinking I should try to find myself a fancy dress for it!

Robin, I also feel like I'm afraid some sales person will wonder what on earth I'm doing taking such small sizes to try on.

I bought me a pair of white jeans last night. Size 4. When I got them home and showed my DH and DD both said they were "definitely too big". Now , usually 4's fit me fine, but these were an off-brand and I thought they would fit. I'm always griping of how thick my waist is and in these the waist and butt was too big. Plus they buttoned only 1/2 inch below my navel while my jeans usually have a lower waist than this.The brand on these jeans was Metro7 and I think a 2 would have been too tight in the thighs. I just see absolutely no consistency in clothes sizes nowdays.

Congratulations, Allison! There's no better feeling in the world than trying on something and having it be too big, right? Much better than too small, which is how it always used to be. :p I've never been able to figure out Chicos sizes.

Heather, yes, you definitely need a fancy new dress to show off the fancy new you! And we'll want pictures, of course. :D

Lily, clothes sizes make absolutely no sense and jeans are the absolute worst! I have a pair of white jeans too, which I never would have worn in the old days! :faint:

It's funny that Heather talked about comparing herself to other people to see what she really looks like. I still do that too because I can't trust what my eyes are telling me. I can put on size 4 pants, look in the mirror and see fat. Then I have to give myself a mental slap because intellectually I know that I don't look fat. But I still see it and I don't know if that will ever change. So yeah, I totally understand about needing an outside point of reference.

There are so many physical and mental body issues after weight loss that I've been talking with Suzanne 3FC about a subforum to talk about body issues. It would cover the mental head stuff and physical things, like excess skin. I think it would be a good addition to Maintainers. :)

Ah, clothes. We can go on and on and on, can't we? :lol: My DH so doesn't get it. He just shakes his head. Give the man 4 pairs of jeans, one of chinos, 4 plaid shirts and 2 dress shirts, underwear, sock, gym clothes and he's good to go.

I was rearranging my closet over the weekend since I had to move everything so we can paint the bedroom. I have boxes of stuff that I still need to lose a bunch before I can wear, and 2 bags of things that I need only 10 lbs more before I can wear, and a huge bag of stuff that's going to the thrift store, because whether it fits or not, I won't wear it! :) Now everything in my closet/drawers/shelves FITS and I can see my choices much more easily. I even got rid of some shoes that I'm not likely to wear for a variety of reasons.

Chico's clothes don't fit my little body. Boo Hoo.

Originally Posted by Meg:
There are so many physical and mental body issues after weight loss that I've been talking with Suzanne 3FC about a subforum to talk about body issues. It would cover the mental head stuff and physical things, like excess skin. I think it would be a good addition to Maintainers.

Oh, neat idea!!! Definitely a hot issue for me!

Oh my goodness I love this thread!! I hope this doesnt turn into another of my windy, wordy, wonders!! :D

Right now I am in the stage of " Vanity Sizing " be danged. My tag says 14 and I am soooo good with that. I know vanity sizing exists, its out there. Take my 14 year old daughter. When I was her weight and size I wore an 8-10. It astounded me that she was wearing 5's or 6's. So intellectually I know my 14's arent 14's. But I cant allow myself to think to much on it, because I have a horrible habit of out thinking myself right into a funk. :lol: If the manufacturer's are going to give me this lil bit of glory... I'm taking it gratefully for the boost it gave me and for the vision. I can see me very soon needing a 12. :)

Just typing this head-games are begining. Old school shopping kicks in, before vanity sizing. I cant fathom wearing a 5 or a 6, 8-10 is very doable. Okies so if an 8-10 is really a 5-6 now then its entirely possible I can and will be wearing these sizes, no matter whether I see it or not. ( Which will probably drive my "To cool even for herself daughter" insane :rofl: )

Okies, here's a quirk that maybe some of you have experienced. Its probably no suprise that I am testing the tags with varying stores and garment makers. What I am finding as I am browsing, zoning out and day dreaming of the styles and sizes I will be wearing either when I have the cash or curves. ;) Is when I wake up, I find myself back in the plus sizes. Its like me and my cart just graivitate over to there. Perhaps subconciously its where I feel I belong. I have to force myself out of there and back into regular sizes.

Also, I have been wearing clothes so loosely, so baggy. I thinks its been about 8 months since I have had to undo the button or unzip my jeans to get them on or off. I had almost walked myself right out of my pants... hence the whole Walmart trip from my last post. :o Its the same with my shirts and tops. Nothing touching my body unless it absolutely has too, at shoulders and hips. Until the gentleman at the Party Store next to us got Western Union service and they gave him a whole bunch of promotional tee-shirts and he gifted me with a medium. Well I took it because it was thoughtful and generous but chuckled in my head thinking it was to small and would never fit and which daughter should I give it to. But after i got home I thought I would give it a go... just to see ya know. :^: Lo and behold it not only fit but showed curves that were going in the right direction... Inward. :lol:

Quite an eye opener. I had fooled myself with the outlines of my baggy clothes that that was my shape. It sure is wonderful to have the plank out of my eyes. :smug: My daughters and my son are in the process of trying to convince me that I am still to baggy! ( do we have a fall down and faint away smilie on here??!!?? ) Slow down babies this is the first time in years Mom has truely seen herself in years! :lol:

Do you know what else occured to me after this lil shopping trip? I am 20 pounds lighter then the day I married my now husband. Eeeep! He will be coming in a week and I am 30 pounds lighter then when I last saw him in September. WoW.

And on that note... I done did it again.... :blah: :blah: :blah: Wrote another book. If anyboy made it thru... Kudo's to you!! :lol: This is why I dont post very often, I talk to much!

Meg, I have a little story on the white jeans. A couple yrs. ago DH and I were going out with a good friend of mine that is "skinny". She put on white jeans and a bright red shirt and looked so cute. I watched with envy and thought about my own drab, dark clothes I had on to hide my fat. I wanted so badly to be able to dress like her. I decided right then that if I ever got this weight off, that I would buy me some white jeans. So, I got some now. I am going to trade mine for ones with a better fit though. This is a real victory to me.

Vanity in reverse.

A few years ago my Mom and I were shopping for an outfit for her. We found one that fit perfectly and looked great. But then she saw the tag and found out it was a 10 and not her usual 6 or 8. She refused to buy the outfit because she said, "I'm NOT a 10!"

Later that year I found a dress that would look great on her, but knew she'd need it in a 10 due to the slender cut of the dress. It's a shiff style and we're pear shaped. So I bought it and cut the tag out. She still wears that dress.

Sassy ~ You need to get a great new outfit so DH can see the real you and be amazed at your 30 pound weight loss since he saw you last!

Lily ~ strut your stuff in those new skinny white jeans!

Carolyn, I have that vanity in reverse too. I won't buy clothes in a bigger size either.

I haven't had a chance to wear my white jeans yet , but I plan to this Thurs. night. I actually saw some very cute red high heels while shopping for prom shoes with my DD. I did consider buying them, but skipped on them. I have plenty of shoes, but it's so tempting to buy more.

I had a skirt on for about 10 minutes this morning. Holy white legs Batman! Here a vein, there a bruise ... ick. I'm back in trousers. It's a nice suit but not very Springy.

Self tanner, Susan!!

I've got some ... hmmm. Too late for today.
I wonder what I looked like running around in shorts yesterday. My poor neighbours.

Susan, My legs are very white right now too. I'm sure there was a glare coming off me when I mowed the yard in shorts yesterday. However, my face and arms are very tanned now from all that fishing and camping last week. I need to get me some self tanner cream for these white legs.

I look like a clod! I always have bruises and scratches on my legs. Not dainty, me.

I'm pretty happy with this suit. It's one of the ones I got on ebay. But do you think I can make the camera work?? Godsmack for vanity, I guess:) Maybe DS will snap me when I get home from church.

I think I'm imagining things but my skin appears to be darker now than ever. Not that it is very dark and I'd never be as dark as my mom but it is strange. We'll see, my mom will tell me how pasty I am when I visit her in nearly 2 months :)

I wanted to say I wore a new outfit yesterday and DH was impressed. It was just a casual outfit but it FIT! It was an XL "active" pant suit. I remember when I first bought it a few months ago, it has no stretch so I couldn't even put my arms all the way into the jacket.

Nelie, WTG on the outfit. I bet that felt great to get to wear it now.

SusanB, I'm always getting bruises and don't even remember hurting myself. Last night in the tub, I noticed I have large bruises on my right knee and on my left shin. Plus, a huge purple bruise on my right hand (which I'm assuming is from that carpet shampooer that weighed a ton or from all the weeding in my garden). While making the bunk beds in my little grandson's bedroom (here), I smacked my head really hard on the upper bunk. I have a big knot on the side of my head now. I am definitely clumsy. I'm glad you like your outfit and hope your son can take a pic for you. I like to have DD take pic's of me when I wear new clothes too.

AnnTaylor size 2!

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a34..._stef/suit.jpg

Susan & Lily ~ my DH says he can just look at me and I get a bruise. It's especially bad during the summer when we're sailing. I get tons of bruises that I call 'boat bites'. Most of which I don't even know when they happened.

Since I'm so desperate to get some new clothes for summer, I've been eBay shopping. I've won two bids on shorts which should arrive this week. Both are by companies that I like the fit, so I'm not too worried. One I won for $1.50 plus shipping - it still has the $25 tag on it, the other for $3.99 plus $4.99 shipping. I've also bid on some long pants, a skirt, and some sundresses. They're all at the starting bid, so I'll probably be out bidded.

I've been struggling to find scrubs for work. I asked an ebay seller to measure the actual width of the garment for me. It's great.

Susan, you are just the cutest little thing! :love: