My problem area is my belly, and I have hard time finding well fitting jeans. The ones that fit nicely on legs and too tight on belly, and if I go by belly, the legs are huge. I started buying spandex tops (Costco had some nice and tight ones), and I wear those under pretty much everything.
I've only dropped one dress size so far so I wear both my current size and my previous one size bigger clothes too. The bigger stuff still fits on the belly (where most of my weight is) but is really too big around the legs and arms. I have a pair of jeans the next size down again that I try on every couple of weeks to see how close I'm getting and whilst I can get them zipped up if I breathe in and say a little prayer, I'd never be able to sit down without the zip popping
I have mixed feelings when I see topics like this pop up. On one hand, I really do TRY to wear well-fitting clothes. I take my clothes to a seamstress to get them taken in because I have a hard to fit body type (large bust, small underbust, long torso, large butt but no hips). I also live in a developing country where clothes prices can be up to 6x what you'd pay for in the states (which is even worse because our exchange rate is almost 2 to 1!!!) so we simply can't afford a ton of new clothes. To add to this clothes here are NOT made with large busts in mind, most bras don't even carry different cup sizes!!! So it's a huge major struggle to find clothes that fit and I have to order pretty much all my clothes from abroad which brings in international shipping costs and customs.
And I'm one of the lucky ones! I know about shops that ship here and I know what a proper fitting bra looks like. Most women here are stuck with the super-expensive local options. Add to that that 40% of adults here are overweight and plus-sized clothes are almost non-existent! To give you an idea the plus-size shops start at an equivalent of probably a US size 4-8 and are super-expensive and look like something your grandma would wear. For a young overweight girl they'd rather buy clothes that are stylish so I see a lot of girls wearing pants that give them muffin tops. What can you do? I really don't blame them because I know how horrendous the local options are!!!!
Then there are those of us who have built-in muffin tops. I ALWAYS have a muffin top and I can guarantee it has nothing to do with the fit of the pants! My stomach is super jiggly and like I said it's a built in muffin top. If I wear pants that actually fit at the waist and stay up then my jiggly stomach just sort of globs all over them. If I wear pants that are too big at the waist then they slide down and my built-in muffin top shows through. Sure, I guess I could wear shapewear every single day of my life but considering that I live in a tropical country, I think not!! So instead, I spend a good portion of my day readjusting my pants and hoping for the best.
I really wish I could get every women into a well-fitting bra. The difference really is life-changing and it can eliminate back pain and boost self-confidence. I wish more women understood that they needed a band size=their underbust measurement and they probably need to go up a few cup sizes.
But beyond that I try to be pretty forgiving. Finding well-fitting clothes is practically a full-time job. Fit models are averages of the population so no matter where you shop it's going to be freaking hard to find a place that fits exactly with your proportions. Add to that that everyone has their own definition of what fits and you're talking about impossible standards here. I DO love stores like AJ Rumina, BiuBiu, Pepperberry, and Levi's that now have clothes that have different levels of curvinesss. I really think they're on to something here and when I do have enough $$ I try to buy those brands instead of other brands that expect every women to have the same proportions.
Sorry for the rant but as a fashion blogger this is something pretty close to my heart.
My problem area is my belly, and I have hard time finding well fitting jeans. The ones that fit nicely on legs and too tight on belly, and if I go by belly, the legs are huge. I started buying spandex tops (Costco had some nice and tight ones), and I wear those under pretty much everything.
This is me exactly! I wear jeans that fit my legs and rather flat behind and wear loose tops to hide the muffin. I need loose tops anyway because I'm currently 32F, so it works out ok.
I guess I should have explained why I was asking this...
I went shopping with my gf. We are the same height and used to be same weight. I went on shedding weight and she has gained what I have lost. I am 152 pounds, she is 185 pounds....we started around 170.
Anycase, we went to Kohl's and found these stretchy legging jeans. As I mentioned earlier, usually buying jeans is a nightmare for me...so I tried these on. -- Lately I have been able to sneak in some size 8 clothing, and I braved myself to try on size 8. Well, the jeans looked horrid on me. I had everything spilling out and it was not a pretty sight. So I got some 10's and 12's to try on. The 12's were perfect. -- Yup, it was "sad" that I was going to have to buy size 12 after feeling great about fitting into some of my old 8's...but as I said, I won't let the label determine what I should wear. I only buy stuff what fits me, regardless of the size.
My gf thought the jeans were cute and she decided to try on a pair. -- She refused to try anything but size 10, and they fit her the same as the 8's I had tried on earlier. My gf refused to try anything larger; even after I tried pointing it out that it could be just the cut, and that I had to take 12...nothing convinced her...she bought the 10's...I feel bad because they look really bad on her and if she had chosen a bigger size she would have looked so cute.
I get that! Lately I've been fitting some 8's, but I tried on a pair of Levis the other day and the 8's were awful. They barely buttoned and the resulting muffin was truly awe inspiring, lol. If I had purchased the jeans I would've gotten the size that actually fit. However, I do have a friend that wears one size and if that size doesn't fit then the brand "runs small". Let's just say that I learned from her mistakes.
Last edited by booskibabe; 01-30-2012 at 12:33 PM.
I don't wear clothes that are too small- if I'm guilty of any fashion faux pas, it's that I tend to wear big baggy clothes that hide my body. I do have some clothes that fit quite well (I recently found that the size 18 jeans I bought last year that I couldn't zip up now look great on me and even have a little looseness to them) but I'm still wearing all the same clothes that I wore 36 lbs ago. At some point I'm going to look ridiculously small in them and at that point I will buy a new wardrobe. Right now I can't see buying a bunch of new clothes when I know I will just have to do it again after I lose more weight. I do have clothes I got too big for in storage and I'm hoping as I get smaller I can use those to tide me over until I can get an all new wardrobe.
My gf refused to try anything larger; even after I tried pointing it out that it could be just the cut, and that I had to take 12...nothing convinced her...she bought the 10's...I feel bad because they look really bad on her and if she had chosen a bigger size she would have looked so cute.
This is like the person I know.
I'm not putting HER down at all. She's a nice person and reasonably attractive, responsible, good worker, etc.
But her clothing sense? I don't get it at all. What baffles me is her steadfast refusal to just up a size so her clothes lay flat.
It isn't a case of lack of access or funds or making do til later because of pregnancy or weight loss/gain or surgery or similar.
It's just weird. When buying new things she'd rather go for the smallest size she can squish into and go with bra showing thru bulging out blouse gaps between straining buttons than just buy a size up so the buttons lay flat. Still skimming the body but not buttons about to burst level.
There's frequent camel toe, panties hanging out, etc with the pants.
It's just weird. When buying new things she'd rather go for the smallest size she can squish into and go with bra showing thru bulging out blouse gaps between straining buttons than just buy a size up so the buttons lay flat. Still skimming the body but not buttons about to burst level.
There's frequent camel toe, panties hanging out, etc with the pants.
A.
Is she a rather busty gal in general? Because, honestly, it could be that she can't find flattering button down shirts. I know the only way I can is buying ones that can be bought by bust size (and even then I had to get the waist taken in some more!). If I were to buy normal button down shirts that fit my bust, it would look like a tent was around my waist.
There was an interview with Sophia Vergara that I read awhile back and she said she always made sure to wear tight clothes because otherwise she looked a lot bigger. Unfortunately that meant that she had a lot of problems with the clothes being too tight in the bust.
I am very top heavy as well. I can't wear button up blouses They all pull. I have tried sowing some snaps to keep the blouse look like it actually fits me, but I have given up for the most part. -- Last summer, I was able to find so many cute flowy blouses with elastic waist. Those were perfect. Hid my large chest and tummy. I was able to look decent and put together. My legs are thin and those wonderful blouses covered all my flaws and I was just left to show my assets
Must add one thing; if you are built like I am. Big middle but skinny legs, those skinny jeans work great. -- The legs are naturally cut slim, so I don't have any saggy material. -- I was shocked how well they fit. I thought word "skinny" was scary , little did I know I may have found the solution to my body type.
I am very top heavy as well. I can't wear button up blouses They all pull. I have tried sowing some snaps to keep the blouse look like it actually fits me, but I have given up for the most part. -- Last summer, I was able to find so many cute flowy blouses with elastic waist. Those were perfect. Hid my large chest and tummy. I was able to look decent and put together. My legs are thin and those wonderful blouses covered all my flaws and I was just left to show my assets
They DO exist but you have to order online: Cambell & Kate white T-shirt, AJ Rumina, BiuBiu, and Pepperberry all sell shirts according to your bust size. I own an AJ Rumina shirt and it does pretty well but I ended up needing to take it in a bit in the waist. Campbell & Kate have probably the widest range when it comes to waist/bust difference, followed by BiuBiu and then Pepperberry.
I don't like saggy baggy clothes where the crotch hangs down and the waist spins around when I move or too tight clothes that feels like they are cutting me I half. I like a well fitting pair of pants. I absolutely cannot wear low rise or else I have to have a muffin top to keep them from sliding down. It is one or the other. Too tight or falling off because of the shape of my hips. So, I just don't wear low rise - period.
And I totally don't care what the label says. My wardrobe now is 8s, 10s, a few 12s and a size 16 skirt I love from 1994. They are all te same size, just marked differently.
So it's a huge major struggle to find clothes that fit and I have to order pretty much all my clothes from abroad which brings in international shipping costs and customs. 
They all pull. I have tried sowing some snaps to keep the blouse look like it actually fits me, but I have given up for the most part. -- Last summer, I was able to find so many cute flowy blouses with elastic waist. Those were perfect. Hid my large chest and tummy. I was able to look decent and put together. My legs are thin and those wonderful blouses covered all my flaws 
and I was just left to show my assets 
, little did I know I may have found the solution to my body type.
