I really like Old Navy for casual clothes and get lots of dress pants and blouses and bras from the Avenue. I really haven't found any other places for plus sized clothing that I like, but hopefully some time soon, I'll be back at my pre-parenthood weight and be able to shop anywhere again.
I have bought lots of clothes online from oldnavy.com and have been very pleased with the fit (particularly dresses and blouses), so at least they'll still have them online. THe closest Old Navy stores to where I live now aren't the ones with plus sections anyway.
Oh no. I just found the Old Navy plus size section. I never shopped there because I assumed (yes I know) they only had "normal" sizes. I got some great clothes! Maybe I'll go back and see if they are on clearance. I hate not being able to try stuff on before purchasing. My body is so weird shaped that it is a hassle for on-line.
I've liked Old Navy for the simple reason that I'm always convinced I'll lose my weight soon and the Old Navy clothes are cheap enough not to care about. I buy a lot of my casual clothing there because it's easy to find larger sizes, the clothes are somewhat fashionable, and when I lose the weight I won't have to care about getting rid of all those clothes since they didn't cost much.
I recently moved from the States to Asia and I can't find any large clothing here. Everyone is so thin that even the XL shirts are about as big as a Large shirt in the States, and they don't have any XXL at all. Men's pant sizes don't go about 36" waists which they consider very big. Custom made clothing is popular here so it's easy to get that done for my business attire, but I haven't been able to find any casual wear. Old Navy doesn't deliver overseas so I'll have to wait until I go home for a visit before buying anything.
Does anyone know what their return policies are for swimwear?
I can fit into their regular sized clothing, but none of their regular sized swimsuits like me very much :P There is one plus sized suit that is 2 piece (which is what I prefer to wear) that completely covers the tummy and it's on sale so I'd love to try it. However, sometimes their 1x is big on me and especially now that I've lost some weight, I don't know how it will look. My mom said they might not take returned swimsuits though so I don't know if I want to try or not!
I stocked up on a whole bunch of their stuff on clearance at the store near me when they were phasing out the plus sizes. I could never order stuff online though, because I've found that their sizing is just insane.
In the skirts I bought, I wear a 24. In the gauze button up shirts, a 2X. In some regular button up shirts, a 3X. Then, to top it off, there was a t-shirt I liked that was the flowy style that's in right now, and I bought a REGULAR XXL. Go figure. The stuff was alright, but I only bought it because I got everything for like $3.50 or thereabouts.
Our old navy here is fairly new, like built a year ago, and i've never seen plus size there. The only time i've ever seen plus size was when i've shopped in the clearance racks and run into some shirts that must've been exchanged there or something.
It really is stupid considering that in a lot of places "plus size" chicks outnumber the scrawny ones. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they think plus size people should not be seen and may scare off the "regular" customers. Yes I'm cynical.
Old Navy's plus sized section always seemed a bit too matronly for me (no offense) and there wasn't a lot of business casual stuff. I'm really busty and found I had to go up a size in shirts in order for them to fit my breasts and since hte clothing was so cheap it was hardly worth the money to have things tailored. Also, the one time I did take a shirt in for tailoring the woman told me the material was too cheap for her to do much with. LOL.
Still, there were always a few things I like and when I first started getting heavier ( a lot of the weight came on when I had to take predisone) Old Navy was the only place I could find things cheaply. I wasn't about to invest money in LB clothes since I was afraid it would give me "permission" to stay heavy and also I don't like their clothes much either. I seem to have an edgier aesthetic than what most fat lady stores cater to.
We have had Old Navy in our mall here for about 10 years I would say, and there has NEVER been a plus size section. Shopping at Old Navy is partially what motivated me to start losing weight, their sizes only go up to a 20 and I'm about an 18/20 right now...
I guess Old Navy is "cheap" compared to some name-brand department stores... but my family is strictly middle-class and and we have shopped at Old Navy for a long time. I don't consider their stuff "cheap". Kmart and Wal-Mart are "cheap" to me. I'm not offended really, I just want to state that what's cheap to some is average-priced or even expensive to others.
I'm speaking more about the quality of the garments. They are poorly constructed. Sometimes the seams don't line up and often even within the same sized item there is a variation in fit. That says, "Cheap" to me. Also, even with the best, most delicate care things start to look bad after only a few months. The jeans are made of really thin materal and pants have a tendency to split in the butt. That's what I mean buy cheap. I have never bought anything they sale at full price because knowing six weeks later it's going to be 6.97 after having paid 38.50 would throughly chap my hide.
I just feel more comfortable and attractive in clothing that has higher quality construction and none of the razzle dazzle. It's not a class issue. It's a quality issue. Also the idea of "middle" class is highly subjective and I'm fully aware of the relativity of the issue.
I have to agree with misschris...Wal-Mart and K-Mart type clothes are what I consider cheap. Sometimes I will buy a shirt from Wal-Mart, and it looks terrible after the first time I wash it. I can count on my Old Navy tops to last me a few months...and by that time I usually have bought more new clothes anyway I haven't really had a problem with my Old Navy pants ripping..Except for the bottoms that I walk on getting pretty ragged but that's my fault for being so dang short LOL.
If I could afford better stores, SURE I would hop right on that bus. But I know I can find good sales and decent looking clothes at Old Navy...til I get out of college I am an Old Navy and Goodwill girl
Last edited by sockmonkey70; 10-01-2007 at 03:39 PM.
Reason: sp
I haven't really had a problem with my Old Navy pants ripping..Except for the bottoms that I walk on getting pretty ragged but that's my fault for being so dang short LOL.
