I absolutely hate shopping for clothes! Ironically enough, I work for a major fashion retailer. I sell cutesy things to cutesy little figures all day long. When I went to work in clothing it triggered something...additional weight.
My clothing choices have aged with the more weight I have gained. I find myself wearing styles that I would have never worn before the weight. I love mixing things up a bit, like wearing an edgy graphic tee under a dressy jacket or wearing a crisply ironed button up with camo bermudas and ballet flats. Not lately, though. My wardrobe is now 15 years older than I am.
I can't get over it. I dont want to look rediculous so I have opted for middle aged socker mom attire. If you are a middle aged socker mom and happy with that, I am not saying it is bad. I tend to be a bit more alternative. I am more physically comfortable dressed like this, because it hides my shelves to a certain degree. Emotionally, it leaves me feeling like a walking misrepresentation. That isn't who I am, it isn't what I want to wear and it just isn't me. I have seen women that can pull it together seemlessly and look great. I have also seen women that look like they came from the circus and are just trying too hard. When I was thin, it worked! Now it makes me feel foolish.
When I do shop, I find that the styles available to women of our size are just...well...old. There is a retailer that is well known for selling clothes in our sizes that is a perfect example. It starts with Dress and ends in Barn...lol. If I was selling cosmetics to middle aged women in the Bible belt, this is where I would shop! But for my real life...
On top of that, I am cheap. With an endless supply of cash, I could look great every day now that "the internets" bring any store into my living room. I am a bargain shopper or a sale diva or whatever you want to call it, but really it is just plain cheap. I will spend money on my husbands clothes, my grandsons clothes etc., but it is only when they are on sale. But when I am buying something for me I always ask myself how often I will be how to wear it, what it will work with and if it will be versatile enough. I just don't buy the trendy stuff I want...like I said, I just can't get over it.
How do you work your personality in? What are your tricks to looking CHIC? I need help. I want to look great on my journey, not just when I get there.
As I have made no secret here, I am a clothes horse. You asked a lot of different questions but I will answer it according to how I deal with fashion, my lifestyle, my age and my preference.
I have been told that I look 15 years younger than I do. So, based on that, I try to dress appropriately for a woman who is 35-40 years old. I like classic styles but updated. I work from home now, and have for three years, so I could buy nothing but sweats. However, even when I was a size 6 I never liked wearing sweats. It is just not "my style".
Here's some checkpoints that I use in dressing as a larger woman:
1) Put your money in a good bra! Have pretty panties. They make you smile. If you can wear a thong without yanking on it every five minutes, go for it. If not, don't. Being "uncomfortable" is a fashion killer and a major Don't
2)Spend your money on the things that you love and plan to wear the most on. Don't spend lots of money on something you will only wear once.
3) Shop quality second hand stores including consignment. Second hand quality is always better than first hand cheap.
4) I have shopped in the place you mentioned and bought a dazzling lime green and royal blue sleeveless silk dress (better yet on sale!) that is definitely an eye popper with a summer tan and my blonde hair and hazel eyes. Don't be a fashion poo-pooer---I will go into any store that has my size and trust me they are becoming more and more frequent as we speak.
5) Have fun. Accentuate your positive qualities and forget the negative ones. I have always had great success with styling my hair and makeup. I am a "model size 24" (meaning that my proportions are evenly distributed). I make good use of that. I have long arms and legs but a short waist and full hips. So what? I can look really good in a swimsuit (curves) and capris (skinny ankles).
You don't have to spend a million to look it (and I think someone else said that but I don't know who to give credit to).
It is all in your attitude! If you got it, you can get it and you can look it.
Don't "wait untill you're a certain size" to look good. I agree you might not want to spend a lot of money on transition clothes, that you're not going to wear a long time. Used clothing stores are great for pants. You just might find some really cute tops there too (you're not the only person losing weight. Other people turn in their clothes too). But buy a few cute tops to make you feel good about yourself. I don't buy too many trendy clothes that are only going to last for a season. Buy nice things, the quality shows.
do you sew? Helps if you can take clothes in a size, to get a little more wear.
Discount stores, like TJMaxx and Marshall, have great, name brand clothes for very reasonable prices. I buy there so much I hate to shop other places.
How do you work your personality in? What are your tricks to looking CHIC? I need help. I want to look great on my journey, not just when I get there.
I'm with you, I generally hate clothes shopping - mainly because I rarely find the styles that suit me at prices I'm willing to pay. There are some great catalog websites that have fabulous, trendy and chic styles but I will never buy anything without trying it on and most of the best sites don't deliver north of the border.
Accessories have become my new best friends...they can make any dowdy outfit shine. Shoes, jewelley, bags, scarves etc are the best!! Not to mention that they are wearable as you shrink. Funky (and cheap) necklaces in particular are my signature and can always match my outfit for any occasion as well as my mood.
Even wearing a size 4 misses...i can't say my clothes really represent my personality. I have not had the money to go out shopping for myself. I wear alot of hand me downs, that although nice, i didn't pick them out for myself. I hope by the time i get to goal, i'll be able to actually take a day for myself and have enough money to REALLY go pick out clothes that represent who "I" am...whoever that may be now.
I feel the same way. I do have a lot of clothes in my closet, but none of them are really me. Pretty much the only place around me to shop is Fashion Bug. They do have nice plus clothing, but it's not me. I'll look around and find something I love...but it's on the "other" side of the store, the Junior's side. Hopefully it doesn't take me too long to get there!
Jamie
Another clothes horse here and pamatga pretty much summed up how I have always dressed. I do VERY MUCH try to let my wardrobe express my personality and style. This was true at 215 lbs. and is true now (just easier).
Second hand stores are GREAT if you can find things in your size. Sometimes the pickings are slim. But, if you shop often, you can usually find great pieces.
It really is about pulling the outfit together. I too have found some great pieces at DB Woman. Funky, fun denims, great gold sweaters, super accessories and don't discount the basic pieces. A killer black dress with the right accessories is a head-turner.
What are your assets? Concentrate on those and buy things you love. At 215, I was known for my flowy skirts and scarves. They were signature pieces for me. With a thick waist, I paired dark, solid tops with jackets or vests. This helped draw attention away from my mid-section and down to either my legs, or up to my face
Learn to sew, at least some basics. It is amazing what a nip here, and a tuck there can do for some of the pieces you find. Boring black jacket? Add some piping or funky buttons or ??? Paying attention to those little details is what transforms pieces into an outfit.
Take note of those with a similar shape to your own. When you see someone that you think is particularly well dressed, take the time to dissect the outfit. WHY do you think she looks good? What is she doing? Try those ideas in your own wardrobe.
If YOU feel good wearing your clothes, you will radiate with confidence and you will be that person that looks CHIC too
Last edited by CountingDown; 05-08-2008 at 06:17 PM.
Seems to be my topic at the moment...I personally see myself in some sort of college- style-chabby-chic...(anyone know what I mean?). I loved the Rorys clothes in Gilmore Girls...Anyway. But being always overweight and scared of showing of my body, I tend to wear more sportive clothes. But I feel that they donīt express my personality. I was a bit shocked as my mother picked up a large sweat shirt in a shop and said: "Try this, this would be so you". And she meant that serious...
I have the stupid tendency to buy clothes even if the donīt fit....You know, Iīll lose weight soon....So now I own a lot of beautiful clothes. Unfortunately not in my size. Itīs just stupid, but I feel if I would buy some plus size clothes I would be like giving up hope of being thin.
And there isnīt such a variety of plus size shos here in Germany and not every internet shop delivers to Europe/ Germany. We have Ulla Popken. Try to read the name out loud and you know what kind of clothes she designes....
Conclusion: No, my clothes donīt express my personality. In my opinion. But may just because I am not **** brave enough.
Hmm..I think I have clothes to go for every mood I go through, lol. Most of the moods are happy, depressed, or blah, lol. Blah is like..big shirts dont care what anyone thinks. Depressed is mostly all the black clothes..and the happy clothes are all the pinks and red and cute girly type of clothes. My pants generly go with everything, lol. I am a Navy wife..so I do have a lot of Navy clothes. I love anything with anchors, sailors, pinups. I do have a lot of custom made Navy shirts too.
So from re-reading this..it makes me sound like I have a split personailty, lol.
Gah, I have clothing in my closet that runs from the tiny size 3 I used to be to the size 20s I have hopefully put behind me forever. I'll never wear those expensive designer size 8s again, but I just cannot part with them.
So what do I wear? Land's End, JCPenney, Wal-Mart, Target, Ross. Plain neutral pants and cotton t-shirts. Bleh.
My clothing all sucks. I've got two pairs of jeans that fit, a load of tshirts that are pretty much all too small for me now, a few hoodies I put over them, and a cheap pair of knock-off crocs I live in. I've gone to every single jean store where I'm from and there is not a single place that sells jeans that look even remotely decent on me. I've got very short legs, with very big thighs, and a somehow flat stomach. Even Gap's Curvy jeans look ridiculous.
So for now I'm just holding my breath until I lose weight and can fit back in my old clothes. Even though I'm a size 10 right now, I cry when I go shopping for clothes, because my body proportions just aren't common enough for -any- line to carry appropriate jeans/pants. Either they won't pull up past my "hammy" thighs, or if they do, they slip right back off because they're inches too loose in the midsection.
My "wardrobe" is very bare and doesn't reflect me at all. What I have pretty much just gets me by for now. When I go to the mall it seems like my choices are stripes or floral patterns at a size 20 and it's really frustrating. With my mini goals I hope to add some things that reflect me.
Most of my clothes are t-shirts I got from the internet because I thought they were cute. Hahaha. And lots and lots of octopus t-shirts!! (see: screenname)
For work, however, I can't exactly wear t-shirts (except on Spurs game days yesss!!), so I recently bought myself some cute tops. I have plenty of pants to last me a while. I don't know about them matching my personality, I think they do because I liked how they looked on me, lol, but I did choose things that flattered my figure.
Additionally, like someone before me said, I love love love to accessorize. I have so many huge earrings of different colors. I have short hair, too, so they really stand out and can totally make an outfit. I am also a sucker for purses. Shoes, not so much, though I have gathered quite a collection over the years... hahaha.
Does your wardrobe express your personality?
Yes, I do
