Carolyn, my dear, I'm not sure it's possible to make a size 12 swimsuit fit your teensy tiny little self! Unless you're the most talented seamstress in the world, I think you're going to need to go shopping. :D

Lily, it sounds like you did really well! My suit is a size larger than I usually wear too -- I think bathing suits have a whole size range of their own, like wedding dresses.

I'm sticking with the tankini I bought after I reached goal. It will never cover up everything that needs it, so :shrug: - who cares? :lol:

Carolyn, I think that would be very hard to alter a swimsuit down as tiny as you are now.

Meg, LOL that is kinda what I thought. Even though my new suit doesn't look perfect, none of them ever will. I sometimes just am amazed at how vain I am now about how my clothes look. I'm so self-conscious in a swimsuit and I just know I've gotta look better than I did 90 lbs. ago and I think it bothers me more now than it did then. Then, I just accepted that I looked crappy, now I want to look perfect and it just isn't gonna happen. EVER. So watch out water, here I come.

I tried on my size 16 capris today and they fit really well. DH took one look at me and told me I was an itty bitty thing. That is one reason I love him :)

Nelie, WTG on the clothing NSV and the great compliment from your DH. You are really doing so awesome. Congrat's.

I wore a midrift fitting t-shirt with a skirt to church last week. It's lovely standing up but sitting down is another story (read here little rolls).
A woman asked DH if I'd gained weight.
My darling man .... laughed and said "OH, I don't think so ..."

I guess I'll wear looser shirts :D

I'm sorry, but no one should EVER, under any circumstances, ask if someone else has gained weight. Rude, rude, rude!! :mad:

I'm guessing that 1. she's larger than you and 2. she's jealous of what you've accomplished. Hold your head up high and be proud of yourself! :hug:

She's one of the very few people in my life who don't 'know' about me.

Have you ever met someone who is so busy knowing more than everyone else and expounding upon that that they hardly notice that the flood is up to their knees?
She's like that. An old British nurse with sturdy undergarments.

Well, if she needs sturdy undergarments then she's surely bigger than you are! I stand by my jealousy theory. :D

SusanB, I agree with Meg, that is just jealousy.

I had a similar thing happen to me back in April. I was wearing my size 6 Levi's that my son bought me for my birthday. They are fairly baggy. A friend of mine said "Oh, you look better now that you've put back on a little of the weight". At first it kinda hurt my feelings and then I thought "I haven't gained weight". For once, my sister stood up and said "She has done excellent at keeping the weight off and I don't think she's been any smaller than she is right now". So, the friend said "Oh, it must just be the clothes she is wearing because last summer she looked like a stick in all those tiny capri's". I informed her that once it got warmer that I'd again be wearing all those "tiny capris" as they still fit perfectly. I decided to chalk it up to jealousy and go on as this friend is quite a bit heavier than I am.

I can't imagine the nerve of your "friend" to say those things to you!! Don't people have manners any more?? :?:

I wouldn't dream of negatively commenting on anyone's weight in a million years!

Some people just don't think. I do feel that sometimes people are watching and just hoping we'll gain the wt. back. I'm not gonna give them the satisfaction. LOL. I would never, ever dream of making a negative comment about her weight or anyone else's.

BTW, this friend never, ever made a single bad comment about my weight when I was obese. I guess she feels it's OK to give her opinion now.

Wearing the new sundress to the graduation party made many of of friends and their husbands who haven't seen me in several months notice how much I've lost. It felt good to bask in their complements.

Susan - I can't believe she said that!

Meg & Lily - you're both right, I took a look how my favorite bathing suit is constructed and I won't be able to take it in the way I thought I could. So it will have to be a sun suit. I'm going to have DH pick the style he likes best out (of the 2 piece with skirted bottom) of either the Lands End or LL Bean catalogs.

Originally Posted by SusanB:
Have you ever met someone who is so busy knowing more than everyone else and expounding upon that that they hardly notice that the flood is up to their knees?
She's like that. An old British nurse with sturdy undergarments.

Susan, how dreadful! :hug: That's very bad manners and quite inexcusable. :nono:

May I apologise on behalf of all British people who wear sturdy undergarments? ;)

Silver that's too funny!
But if 3FC-ers ever find out you're wearing one of those 'supportive' boned all-in-ones ....:nono:

By George, I think I've found a scrub that fits!


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a34...f/33460015.jpg

Susan, those scrubs look like they fit perfect. WTG on finding them.

Srubs that are actually flattering to boot! Usually, they make everyone look fat.

On Tuesday, I went to NYC's Macy's with the discount card my husband gave me. I was hoping to find a sundress. They had plenty all starting around $198 and only in sizes 6-10. I've always thought of Macy's as on par with JC Penney's. Guess the NYC's version has to be upscale and caters only to slender women but not too slendar?

Then I went across the street to Old Navy and found lots of size XS clothes that fit. Bought two cute tops for the heat of summer.

On Wednesday on my drive home from our Jersey City apartment, I stopped at TJ Maxx and found 3 sundresses and a pair of white sandals for under $100 total.

I'll be wearing the black and white halter top dress to the swing dance tonight and the red and white halter top dress to our niece's high school graduation party next week. The blue and white dress can be worn for every day.

Next, I need to order the bathing suit that DH picked out from the Land's End catalog. It's a blue and white halter top two piece and I'm ordering an extra skirted bottom.

It's been so much fun shopping now that I'm 'my size' again.

It happened again!

I ordered some more clothes from NY & CO. They had some dress pants that were $5.99 so I grabbed those as well in 18 petite. Anyway, I got the package today, opened it up and looked at the pants and said to myself "What? Are these for a barbie doll or what?". So I figured I'd at least see how far I could get, I was sure that I couldn't get them over my hips. I put in one leg and surprisingly it went all the way up my thigh so I started thinking that they were big in the thighs. Anyway, I put them on buttoned and zipped them. They are a bit snug but a few more lbs should take care of that. Anyway, my mind can't wrap around the idea of what something I should and could be wearing looks like.

I was also thinking it is an interesting paradox where me, who was size 26 or near there for most of my life (up to size 32 at my highest weight) thinks that size 18 pants look like they are made for a barbie doll. Whereas someone whose been thin all her life would probably cry at the point where a size 18 was a bit snug.

Nelie, I'm still trying to figure out how at 5'6" you can wear a petite. I have a short upper body, so I kind of need a P in the top, but then the arms are too short. My legs make up for my short waist though, so average pants are either just right or sometimes a little short. But aren't petites for 5'4" or less?

Carolyn- Macy's here is a step or two above Penny's. But they have wonderful sales! Also lots of different departments. Ours in King of Prussia has lots of expensive designer lines, but also sections with much less expensive clothes. I also find that if I'm careful about styles, I can buy in the juniors department which is far less expensive. My dd was visiting this weekend and had a gorgeous haltertop sundress from Macy's in a size 2 that I couldn't resist trying on. I know she bought it in the jr's department, but it was well made and fit both of us perfectly. A little diffently, but we both looked good in it. I think she was a little put out. I have never worn as small a size as she has.

Susan- the scrubs look great!

nelie- how in the world do you find such great bargains! I'm loggin on to NY & CO!

Mel

I have short legs and a long torso. Petite pants usually hit me at the right length and are sometimes even a little bit long, average/regular pants are too long on me. Some shirts will be a little short on me though. My inseam is about 29 inches from what I can tell which is a petite.

Mel - I love Macy's and their sales!! They always have tons of good sales racks. NY & CO online is becoming my next best friend. Maybe one day I'll be able to actually step in their mall store without feeling self conscious :)

edited to add - I decided to assess the bathing suit situation since I'm heading to CA in a few weeks. Well all the bathing suits I wore last year are huge and baggy. A few years ago, I bought a size 16 tankini bathing suit thinking I'd be close to fitting it. I wasn't even close then. I looked like ken trying to fit into barbie's clothes. It wasn't pretty. Anyway, the suit fits although because of my long torso, if I lift my arms up, my belly will show. I'll only probably wear it once or twice and we'll probably be going to Miami beach later on in the year so I don't want to buy a bathing suit now. It'll have to do.

Ah, Nelie, you and I are built the same. I hate today's styles of short tops - I find very few that keep my mid-section covered. Thank goodness it's Summer Reading time at work - we have themed t-shirts to wear! :lol: And petite pants are a necessity for me. If I buy regular ones the crotch is half-way down my thighs and they are several inches too long. (I could deal with the length, but not the rise).

And let's not talk bathing suits..... Thank goodness the opportunities to wear one in Alaska are very limited. :) I did wear one in Costa Rica, but usually with a t-shirt over it so I wouldn't burn, or a life vest so I wouldn't drown, or both.

Originally Posted by WaterRat:
I hate today's styles of short tops - I find very few that keep my mid-section covered.

I actually find the opposite to be true--most of the tops I see at the moment are too long and are supposed to hit below the hips (to cover what super-low rise jeans leave exposed). My legs are a bit short and these long tops really mess with my proportions. I want my shirts and jackets to hit exactly at the hip, otherwise my legs look short or my tummy will show above my jeans.

Originally Posted by baffled111:
I actually find the opposite to be true--most of the tops I see at the moment are too long and are supposed to hit below the hips .....

hey baffled- did ya notice that you are 6-8 inches taller than most of us?:lol3:
But I agree on the tops. This year's styles are long. On me, they look like mini-dresses!

Too bad we can't all divy up our "parts". I've got long legs and a short torso with a wide back. Petite pants fit me perfectly (long is relative here, I'm only 5'2 and a smidge), but petite jackets won't go across my back no matter what size. Regulars are too long and the sleeves are too long. Maybe I should quit lifting those heavy weights! :lol:

Oh I thought I was imagining things. I wore one of my new tops today and I wasn't sure if I was wearing it right because it was so long. Interesting trend.

Originally Posted by nelie:
Oh I thought I was imagining things. I wore one of my new tops today and I wasn't sure if I was wearing it right because it was so long. Interesting trend.

It's a dodgy trend, in my opinion. I think you need either really long slim legs or high heeled shoes to pull them off. Otherwise they just tend to make the legs look short and stumpy.

Still, at the very least, think of all the butt cracks we'll be spared from seeing by the presence of a very long tee!

Oh, but I'm excited for longer tops! :) On me they come where y'all have been having your tops - mid-hip. I'm soooo tired of nice t's (i.e. dressier knit tops for work) that expose my tummy every time I lift my arms over my head. I agree, let's all swap body parts :lol: My torso is built for someone at least 5" taller than me (I'm 5'4" if I stretch) but my rise (from my waist to crotch) is short (thus the petite pants) and my legs are about 28" I'm sure all this comes from having an over 6' father and a 5'2" mother. :)

Originally Posted by :
Still, at the very least, think of all the butt cracks we'll be spared from seeing by the presence of a very long tee!

:rofl: And what a good thing that is!

I got lucky in the proportions department - everything is short or small - just have to do a lot of hemming of pants, even when they're petites.

And I have the opposite problem, Carolyn. I'm tall with long arms and legs. It used to be that normally proportioned pants always looked like capri pants when I put them on. But with age, I've shrunk a bit and now pants fit.

I really like to shop now!

My new Land's End 2 piece arrived and it's almost a bikini! Haven't worn one of those in 25 years. I also ordered a skirted bottom and it hits an inch below my belly button so I'm going to have to hold my stomach in when I wear it.

I ordered my first pair of capri length pants in petite. Again, they're longish and look like high water floods rather than capri's. So I'm wearing them with the hem turned up to look like tailored pants. They are somewhat wide legged instead of tight which is good since I have very muscular calves. I've never worn capri's before because I always thought they would make me look like I had chicken legs - not a good proporation. Instead, this pair looks cute.

Go to our new thread: Summer Clothes Shopping. :D