I can so relate!

However, a slight suggestion for the interim, get the baggy shirts but then get a really cute funky belt or even a really cute scarf (to be used as a belt) and wear with the shirt. That way you see your progress and look really hip at the same time. Add some cool earrings, bracelets, etc. and you can do a lot with those baggy shirts to make them look more fitted and stylish while still having plenty of room for the girls.

At any rate, good luck. I purged my closet yesterday and now have 3 pairs of jeans, about 10 - 14 shirts, 6 pairs of undies and 2 bras that actually fit (mostly) I have a lot of empty drawers and can't buy much as I'm still 47 lbs or so away from goal.....but at least what I have mostly fits and the "fat" start clothes are gone completely!

Oh, and about the tankini's! Try the halter style tankini, the regular tankini's always looked horrible on me, but the halter ones work a little better. Also check out water water everywhere and look around online. There are a lot of places that you can buy top and bottom separately just for that reason. At any rate, good luck.

Hahahha! That's what I am, a 38 Long! Actually, I am a pair of 38 Longs.

I hope that Pinkglow's experience with one-piece swimsuits is better than mine. I'm too long through the body even for the "long torso" one-pieces that Land's End sells. They just aren't long enough, and even if they were there isn't nearly enough support. The cups that are made for "full figures" usually max out at C or D. I have seen swim suit tops that are underwires and come big enough, but I'm not really willing to expose my flabby belly to anyone yet. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've been in a pool; decades, I'm sure. As another poster said, designers and swim suit makers have no idea how real women look. Either that, or maybe they figure that if you're not thin, you shouldn't be going in the pool. It's depressing!

PS...I had a ball at the wine/cider tasting. Good company, good food, sitting outside in wonderful weather.

I absolutely don't wear any underwire nor padding in my suits. The ladies are too, too big and I don't need enhancement! My bras come from specialty shops, and the underwire never, ever fits.

I hope you find one that fits you! I really do, because the pool is awesome in the summer!

Glad your cider/wine tasting went really, really well! -hic-

Kira

You need to be in the pool. Go to a plus-size store and find im not a one piece person. never have been. refuse to wear it. i was trying on bikinis today in which i looked like lumpy mashed potatoes, so i wanted a tankini instead to hide some of the lumpy-ness but i dont even look for tankinis because i cant ever find one. (i have noticed the halters are better, i was real interested in victorias secret ones because they come in cup sizes and my friend owned one in which it made her rack look fantastic! my only problem is that you have to order them online, and i have to try everything on!) and i dont need a tan. lol im surbian. i go outside for five minutes, im suddenly hispanic for 6 months. i didnt mean potatoes as in white, i just meant.. lumpy. lol also - i have a problem becuase if i DO wear a bikini, i need the bottoms to be ties otherwise it sucks in too much and makes my fat bulge. but i need the top to be just regular halter, not string because my boobs are too big to wear a string top, those tops were NOT made for large chested people.

also - im extremely long too. im 5'11 and ive measured (odd i know) and 42 inches (over half of me) is legs. youd think id look good? lol

I hate the clothing black hole At the moment my jeans are far too big but the next size are far too small. I managed to find one pair of jeans that are supposed to be the same size of my big jeans but are tighter but I'm desperate to get down to the next clothes size then i can find new jeans. Bought new T-shirts which also don't fit right and my tummy shows through them too much but the bigger size are like tents Looking forward to getting down to the next size then I won't have this problem for a while.

I find it doesn't matter how much I weigh, clothes just aren't made for real people. They are made for manequins! Bathing suits are impossible for me also. I can wear pants in the 4 to 8 size range (depending on which stores vanity size) yet my bra size is a 32G. My girls topple out of everything and I can't do a two peice with my saggy tummy and stretch marks. Guess its another year of shorts and baggy Tshirts for the pool.

Tami, look! Tankinis in size 32G!

http://www.bravissimo.com/products/swimwear/tankinis

Aw, you are SO not alone! All my jeans are saggy and gross on me, and this weekend I went to go find some new ones. I started out really happy and excited, but when I got to the store, nothing fit! Everything looked absolutely AWFUL on me. The size that I was hoping to buy just did not work out, and the next size up looked baggy and ridiculous. I had a total mental breakdown in the mall and had to walk what felt like a mile crying my eyes out, like a fool.

It happens to everyone, give it a few weeks and try again –
Or maybe we should all get sewing machines....

I've gotten to the point where I only go clothes shopping when I'm already feeling gross and depressed. That way, I don't lose a good mood unnecessarily.

There's definitely a black hole, esp. if you are larger or don't fit the standard measurements, which many of us don't.

What's sad is that I remember being 130 pounds and STILL having trouble finding nice things to wear and feeling like a cow at some stores because nothing cute fit. I was TINY! WTF. So, I guess it's no surprise that it's that much harder at 170.

I feel your pain, sistah!

Windchime!! I wanted to respond because I have lost about the same amount as you (27 lbs) and have about the same amount to lose (40 lbs). Yeah... I had the SAME EXPERIENCE this weekend! I figured for sure after 27 lbs that I would be down a size in pants? Not so. The 14s barely fit, but give me a major muffin top. I felt exactly like you... so hopeful, but left feeling fat and discouraged.

I also am "blessed" in the boob region and have always had trouble finding tops. Button shirts are the worst. Either they fit right in the stomach area, but too tight in the chest, or just right in the chest, but now look like I'm 4 mos pregnant in the stomach area. Man, we just can't win!!