How do you deal with clothes?
 

I just recently discovered that half of my clothes in my closet are too big now. I really didnt want to buy new clothes until i was down a whole size, but now i look like im wearing a tent! How do you deal with not having any clothes?!

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My clothes are getting a bit big too and I like most of them so much that I think I will take them, a couple at a time, to a seamstress and have her take them in, as I can afford them. Also, I am so uncertain about keeping this wt off that this seems like a good idea from a "little bit at a time and see how it goes stand point." Glad you brought this up.

hi
 

clothes are a big expense and most of us don't have the money to go buy a new wardrobe every time we go down a size. I bought clothes from a reasale shop, and just bought what I needed, since I knew I wouldn't be in them long. I didn't want to put out a lot of money, but still wanted to look good. I did buy a few new things, but very few. You're just not going to be in them long enough to make a big investment right now.

I found some really good stuff, used. Remember, you're not the only one losing weight and needing new clothes. They turn their old sizes in too.

I usually go to goodwill or some other secondhand store to get clothes for the most part or ask for them on my freecycle list :) I also donate my bigger clothes to them or give them away on freecycle

For work I do buy new clothes for every size and sell those one ebay when I'm done with them.

I go to Goodwill, Salvation Army or a consignment shop. I have made somee really good buys. I occasionally find designer clothes.

I'm a custom clothier, so alterations are the way I usually go.

Pay attention to how your clothes fit differently as you lose weight. For me, as my backside shrank, I had to lower my waistband on my pants. And I lost fat in my upper back, but my upper arms not so much. Fit is not just a function of how big around you are.

Some clothes aren't worth having altered. It depends on the cut. Necklines will fit differently, so you may have to take things up in the shoulder seams, which also means dropping armhole depth.

Look for a tailor that's been around for some time and doesn't really rush through fittings.

Georgia

Another fan of resale shops. I quipped that I "rented" my clothes for a year. I took bags of things that were too large in the back door, and walked out with bags of things that fit through the front door :)

Like bargoo, I found some amazing pieces - and enjoyed it so much, that I still pop into those shops every once in a while even though I'm at goal :)

Yes, out of force of habit I still stop in those shops once in awhile. Last summer anound the fourth of July I found a beautiful, high quality car coat, definetely a winter coat. I paid $3.80 for that coat and get compliments when I wear it.
My favorite purchase is a Calvin Klein pant suit that I paid $75 for, it is a $200 suit, I did purchase it new at Ross, it was end of season that why it was so discounted. I am going to wear it Easter Sunday.

I started shopping at thrift stores when I started losing. A warning though--I am now ADDICTED to them. Just yesterday I got a Chico's sweater--solid black and beautiful fitting and a pair of low-rise Gap jeans with a flaired leg. The sweater was $5. The pants were $6. Two weeks ago I found a black box Kate Spade bag that is like new. It is horrifically CUTE! It was $2.99. Add to the list Lucky Jeans, tons of Harold's clothing, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, etc. I would never spend that kind of money on those items new. But now, I am totally digging them and thrift shops in general. Your best bet is to go into the better areas of town and spend plenty of time searching the racks. You will figure out which shops are good bets and which ones aren't.

In this economy, it's smart. For the environment, it's smart. Plus, I love shopping. It all works. It allows me to buy top quality nutrition for my entire family because I am spending next to nil on myself these days. Honestly, when I walk into stores like Penney's nowadays I almost get hives. LOL. I have become a thrift store snob!

Thighs Be Gone. Now you have gone and done it, I feel a shopping trip coming on. I haven't been to Savers in awhile my Red Blazer that was brand new when I bought it for $4 is now too big. I need to replace it.

I am so addicted to resale shops! Not to mention that it fits in with my green philosophy.
There is one by me that is very picky about the consignments they take in, and also gets new stuff from stores reducing inventory. I get all kinds of brand names. Great jeans for $6 a pair, even a brand new pair of Gloria Vanderbilts for $6! I was over the moon LOL. And I got a Chico's top for $2 - because it was at the end of season.

I honestly have no desire to shop in full price stores. Which is totally ironic because before I didn't shop in them because I couldn't find clothes to fit. Now I can, but don't want to :rofl:

I have to dress up for work everyday and have found dresses are the most forigiving and look the best while you are changing sizes.

I also invest in a new pair of black pants and skirt when I switch sizes. I found a nice pair of slacks at WalMart and have worn them sometimes 2x per week. Black slacks go with everything and if you look nice, people will notice that more than how many times you are in black pants.

check Craigslist too- I've seen a few "lots" of a certain size where people are dropping (or gaining) a size.

I only buy pants in basic colors. black, navy, brown, beige or white. You can wear tops of any conceivable color or style when you have the basics standing by.

I just today got rid of all of my big clothes! I've been wearing my big clothes for almost a year now! Overall I went down 2-3 sizes, so they felt like a tent for sure. Out of necessity, I had 3 pairs of work pants taken in by a tailor (not as cheap an option as I would have liked -- still cheaper than buying new pants though). And out of desperation over the past few months, I bought ONE pair of jeans that fit and a few cheap long sleeved shirts from Old Navy. But other than that, I'd been wearing big clothes because of the expense of getting new ones.

No more! I have practically nothing left haha. I've been saving up for a new spring wardrobe, so in the next month or so I'm going to do a lot of shopping. One of the best things about being thinner: I can buy cheap clothes and still look good. Before, when I was heavy, I felt like I always needed to buy expensive "structured" clothes that hid problem areas because cheap clothes seem to magnify muffin tops and back fat. Now I can shop in the cheapo stores and juniors sections and not worry about fat magnification. Translation: more clothes for less $$$.

Resale shops are a good option if you are still losing weight but your current clothes are too big.

I have clothes in sizes from 6 - 20 so some of it is covered especially since I tend to wear pants and t-shirts for day-to-day and I don't care if those are baggy but my dressy stuff and what I wear to clubs and such luckily I made myself so taking it in won't be an issue. In fact I am looking forward to it!

I find it really tough to judge my weight loss by the clothes i already own because i own such a wide range of sizes and ive had them all for a long time, they are all stretched and washed and worn, and after a while theyre not really the size that you actually bought them in, not to mention ill lose a ton of weight and still be the same size,, idk if that has to do with my height (im 5'11) or what.

Yeah, I had that happen....lost 15 lbs and worn the EXACT same size. So depressing. A friend lost 5 and had to buy new pants. Huh? What? How can that be?

I have gotten cheap jeans on Ebay. You just have to watch for them. However, I did not start buying them until I could no longer wear what I had at all.

My employer pretty much forced me to buy scrubs. I could not keep the ones I had up---- even with a drawstring. It is a good problem to have in a sense, but not financially.

Tammy

Oooh..went shopping today! Hehe, $40 later I am the owner of one new pair of pants, 5 super, super adorable tops (2 beaded camisoles and three spring weight shrugs that tie at waist) and two brand new pairs of "hawt" shoes! My shoes were store closing donations--so were brand new and soooo cuuuuu---YOUT! LOL. They were both Bandolino brand.

I MUST quit shopping. The checkout girl at the thrift store recognized me today!

Bargoo, did you find anything good? LOL...I love this! We need to start a "thrift" forum on here where we can post pics of our most recent finds!

I'm not there yet, but one of my friends was losing weight, and she needed some smaller clothes.. I had a bunch of really nice clothes that no longer fit.. so I lent them to her, and it helped for a couple of months. If you have any friends of smaller sizes, I'm sure they won't mind giving you a couple of pieces that they aren't using.

I used to love it, she and I worked together.. and I had bought this one suit which I never managed to wear because I got pregnant five minutes after buying it and it never fit. I lent it to her and she's worn it so many times. Makes me feel like the clothes I bought haven't been wasted.

I can't wait to have this "problem" of getting new clothes that are NOT in the plus sizes :)

Back2Basics,

You will have that problem before you know it..... and the problem where you go to the Plus Size Dept..... but you don't belong there anymore--- that is a great problem to have too. It is hard to overcome the mentality of it though.

Tammy

Two of the plus size shops in my area have wicked end of season sales - Addition-Elle and Pennington. A blouse I was in love with last fall was $50 so I passed. Picked it up today (a size smaller) for $9 along with a pair of jeans for $10 as well as a dress for a wedding in a few weeks for $12. All brand new! :carrot: