how often do you go shopping?
 

I have lost almost 20 lbs now and it's been really exciting for me to finally be successful and I've loved the suggestions and insight of people here. :carrot:

How often do people get new clothes? I have clothes that had been tight and are now loose. Luckily I also saved clothes during my weight gain journey so I have some clothes for the way down. I don't like clothes shopping and don't want to go broke but how often is reasonable to get new clothes -- every 3 sizes? Every 4?

I buy new clothes every size. I haven't thrown down the cash for a full wardrobe in each size but I have replaced pants consistently. Shirts, jackets and sweaters can usually go every other size but baggy pants look really awful!

Thank God for sale racks!!!

Pretty much every other size. Baggy clothes getting pretty annoying. I actually bought a bunch of clothes in a size smaller than I am when I hit a big sale so that I didn't waste it by buying in my size. now those clothes are starting to fit so it is great.

My vote is to shop sales, by stuff that is snug, tight or maybe downright doesn't fit.

I used a trick with control top panty hose. If a skirt or pants fits with control top's sooner or later they'll fit without and then they'll be too big.

I'm also going to recommend second hand shopping and making friends with a good seamstress.

Every 3 or 4 sizes?? Oh no, no, no. For me, it was really, really important to wear well fitting clothes while on my journey. I wanted to look and therefore feel as good as possible. Which to me meant buying clothes much more frequently. I hated wearing baggy clothing. They mask any weight loss that you may have had. I probably spent more then I should have, I was dropping dress sizes quite quickly, but I looked at it as money very well spent. An investment in my future.

I only bought things on sale and very neutural pieces. I bought my tops quite snug. Some things I also brought to the tailor to have taken in. In fact there's a skirt I love sooo much, I've had it altered 4 times. It started out as a 14W and now I'm wearing all size 2 skirts. The tailor has done a great job on it.

Wow, your tailor has done a great job! Mine has to tell me when it's time to stop ;)

Unfortunately, I kept nothing in smaller sizes. I haven't been any smaller for about 8 years and I figured that I would never see those sizes again. So, I am swapping out the wardrobe every other size. My original suits look comical on me. I hit second hand shops a lot. I buy everything I like in every size between current and goal. The only new piece of clothing I have bought is jeans at Wal-mart. That being said, I am a fairly accomplished seamstress, so I have altered many of my skirts. I plan to buy as few pieces new as possible so that I can splurge on an entire wardrobe when I reach my goal.

I buy like one pair of jeans everytime i hit a new size and usually one pair of dress slacks when i drop a size. I've been lucky and had friends and co-workers, who are going up in size, give me their smaller clothes, so i've not had to invest much money in clothes. I don't plan to get a new complete wardrobe until i hit goal. But i too have found it important to look my best since losing weight. Obviously it feels good to have people at work tell me how great and skinny i am looking, but it also makes me feel good and know that i really am shrinking. I like to see my reflection in the mirror when i am wearing clothes that are not baggy but fit. If i didn't have friends giving me clothes, i would defiantely be hitting the 2nd hand stores looking for some bargains. Or some kind of outlet store like TJ Maxx is a great store. I am actually going there looking for my christmas party dress.

One suggestion though...before you buy anything, try it on first in the store! My size 14 pants are pretty loose on me, however when I went to try on a size 12, it was still too tight, so that was an indication to me that I still had a little bit more to go before I can come back and buy that size.

It's hard - as I lose I am so happy with how I look in clothes so I want them to fit well - but I am a single Mom and can't afford to buy every time I go down a size. I too have been lucky with being given some things and I give my clothes that become too big to someone else. Second hand shops can be a good place to look. I have three pairs of jeans right now and they are getting too big - I have one pair in the next size down someone gave me but they are way too long so I am pinning them this weekend and dropping at the tailor on Monday. I may just get by with the one pair that fits well and the less baggy of the other three until I go down two sizes from where I am now.

Way too much these days. Seems like every few pounds one way or another needs a new size.

Whenever my pants get saggy LOL. As long as my pants fit well, I can get away with a tighter shirt. For some reason I kept all of my shirts from when I was smaller, but not my pants :shrug:

I am a Goodwill/Sale girl.Just pick up pieces that I absolutely need. I will get a new wardrobe when I get to goal!

I started in a size 20 and the first new clothes I bought were a size 14. After that, I bought 2 new pairs of jeans each size down as needed. I began as a size 2X shirts and it took me longer to need new shirts than it did pants or skirts. Once I hit a regular large in shirts, I mostly wore DH's until I found new ones that I wanted.

Like rockinrobin has mentioned, for me it was important for my clothes to fit. It made me feel better along my journey. I never felt deprived of clothes. Even now, I buy new ones if I want them.

wow I never thought about this,well I have, but not having to go and buy a boat load of clothes every time I go down a size or 2. Good lord I'll have to take out a loan!!!!!!!!:fr:

lucky for me i already have clothes in to many sizes..but i'm waiting for them all to get to big before i can go splurge at the mall...i'm actually looking foward to shopping i usually hate it!!!!

I started at a size 16/18 in pants, and I'm down to a size 8/10 in pants. Tops I started in L/XL and I'm now in mostly mediums, some large depending on the brand (unfortunately my DD girls didn't go down at all so shirt size didn't change that dramatically). I bought some new pants every size - I had a lot of size 16 and size 14 pants from before I gained the weight, and some size 12. I had to buy more size 12 than 14 or 16, and had to buy all new size 10. I wasn't buying new tops for the longest time because I wasn't quite fitting into mediums yet, but now after 47 pounds I've had to get rid of 85% of my tops because they are ridiculously big.

After all that rambling - I say buying at least new pants for every size - I hated the look of baggy pants, especially at work, plus it makes you feel good to have well fitting pants when you are losing the weight and want to show it. I am also in favor of shopping sales and getting a few good pairs of pants for each size you go down. Tops can be bought less often but still should get new ones when they start looking overly baggy - I know that looking sloppy at work for me won't work.

Baggy clothes make you look heavier than you really are. I try to hit the sales and I try to shop at Wal-Mart or Target. Don't worry about expensive clothes for a while, just get to the size that you want before throwing a lot of money into clothing. Right now, I have a few pairs of jeans but most of my clothes are those "exercise" pants. They look cute and they have elastic waists. I try to wear those as long as I can. I will stitch them up to make them smaller and I generally can do that for about 2-3 sizes smaller than what I bought them in.

Shop every single day!!! BUT... I don't buy every day. Just snoop around on the internet. If it's a must have, then I buy it in the size that I know I am going to make(10). It doesn't fit right now, but it WILL.

I recently (before Christmas) reclaimed 22 hangers. I've had to go shopping. It' too cold around here to run around butt nekked. My sister and neices were very happy to get them.

I've had to replace some of my clothes. I'm fitting into some that were in the back of closet. I really like shopping in the back of my closet. However, I didn't keep all my skinny clothes. I told myself that I'd keep a few but when I hit goal I deserved some new clothes.

My weight loss journey has been a long one -- I've gone from a 26 to an 8/10 (I'm kind of between sizes now). And I've still got about 10 pounds to go. Along the way, I've bought new clothes every season (my weight loss as been pretty slow and steady). I didn't have any old clothes to fall back on.

I discovered all of the good consignment shops in town. They have been my saving grace, particularly when it comes to finding clothes for work or more expensive items like winter coats. Aside from that, I'm also big on shopping at place like TJ Maxx and Ross, where you can find quality clothes at a big discount. I'll usually find good suits and dresses in the clearance sections there. When I hit my goal weight, I intend on finally building a real "career" wardrobe, with some solid base pieces. For non-work stuff, Target has been my best friend!

I have a few items (mostly jeans) that I've kept as I've gained weight....but I plan on splurging when I get to goal. Even if it requires a loan! LOL!

My question is - how many pounds do you normally lose before you go down a size?

I like to get a new pair of jeans with every size so I feel good. Even a pair from a second hand store is great to help save money.

I try to avoid it as much as possible, but I know this will change soon!:D

I hardly ever shop for clothes. Here, plus sized clothing is like the stuff from JC Penny's in the early 80's for your grandmother. *shudders* I usually take a trip t the States once a year for clothes. Hopefully that will not be the case this year.

I scoured the clearance rack (Kohl's, Dillards, Macy's) and just bought select pieces as I could find them-maybe a black skirt or pants that I could wear twice a week to work with different tops. If you're willing to take the time, you can really find high end items at super cheap prices. That lets you know what kind of mark-up clothes have!!!

These were all good responses that I appreciate. Somehow, even though I've "only" lost about 35 lbs, I have gone from a size 26/28 to 14/16 on top and 18/20 on bottom. I guess I was going for that mu-mu effect before. Having clothes that I had worn over the years has been a great adventure as I've started to fit in them again. I do have one frat party t-shirt that will be my absolute goal clothing item (those SAE boys...)...

The other thing I've done is apparently baked my clothes in the dryer as lots have shrunk. That saved some money.