i was actually just mulling this over the other day. my closet is such an array of sizes now. truth is, i'm not as in bad shape as maybe some other people in the clothes department because i am just now in a size that i stagnated in for years. so i do have some stuff. but not nearly enough to constitute a wardrobe. so i'm trying to figure out whether it would be worth the investment for me to have some of my bigger clothes tailored to fit or just to suck it up and deal with the extremely limited wardrobe for now and tailor everything if/when i reach goal. i will need to at least buy some summery things, but i think i'm gonna try and hit up target, forever 21, h&m for that. just need to remember to restrain myself. i hate shopping, but when i hit my stride, i can really do some damage, even in discount stores like that. also i'm starting to find that i hate shopping slightly less these days. ;-).

I have had a few things altered. I would only do that for something that I really loved or was expensive to begin with.

I bought one of the cutest skirts I've ever had (it was size 14) at Salvation Army for 4 dollars. It was cheap so it'd be ridiculous to alter it but... I'm going to miss it when it's gone. T_T That's the only sad thing I have about weight loss so far though, because I can remind myself that there are a lot MORE cute things I can fit into at a smaller size than that size 14 skirt!
I mostly have 14's and 16's in my closet since I've never been much skinnier than that except ONCE.... when I came back to America after living in Japan for a year. Then I was a size 12 and my mother dragged me to the store as soon as I got back and made me buy two jeans in that size. I was so mad at her, since I hadn't lost weight on purpose and wasn't trying to maintain it (I was a stupid kid, I guess, but maybe it's true that you have to WORK at something to truly appreciate it) so I grew out of the 12's fast and they went unworn for the most part, but maybe now I can take them back to college with me for when I get down to that size again. I also bought a mini-skirt at Salvation Army for 4 dollars in size 10, but that one probably won't fit me for a while (it was just so cute that I couldn't resist!)

This is also what I do. I buy cheap clothing while I'm losing. Maybe one or two key items that are more than $40 (say, bermuda shorts or capris that I wear daily). But the rest are like $10 or under!

Thanks for the input. It's exciting to think that I might end up less than a size 10 but at this point I'm just thrilled to be a solid size 12, which I don't think I have ever been in my adult life.

Has anyone noticed that the smaller sizes seem to have less difference between them than the larger sizes? It seemed like the difference between a 16 and 14 was pretty large but now between a 14 and 12 seems less so and same for a 12 to a 10. I think that's why I felt comfortable buying the few pairs of size 14 shorts last month as I just assumed it would take longer to go down another size, but that doesn't seem the case. I bought a pair of Chaps denim shorts in late April that were a size 14. Now granted when I bought them they fit somewhat loosely but it never occurred to me at that time to try the size 12 as I just assumed they would be too tight. Well the 14's are now too big to wear so I went back to the store to try them in a size 12 and lo and behold the size 12 seemed somewhat roomy so I went back for the 10 and unbelievably they fit perfectly. I've probably only lost about 8-10 pounds since I bought the 14s although I do think I've lost more inches than weight lately. I've tried on a bunch of size 12 shorts in the past week and they all fit so it's just hard to understand how it took me 18-20 pounds to go from a 16 to 14 but now in less than 10 pounds I've gone from a 14 to a 12. Well, I'm not complaining, although my wallet is since the shorts I bought only 6-7 weeks ago are all too big now. Who would have thought?

Yes I've noticed this as well...also as we have discussed a lot on here, it's sad to say that a size 14 now, is not what it was 20 years ago.

After my husband and I were married I joined WW and lost a lot of weight. I actually got down to 145 pounds and wore a perfect fit size 10. I bought a lot of expensive clothes back then, and saved the nice stuff thinking I'd wear it again. So fast forward to today (in the low 160's) and I'm buying and wearing a perfect size 10...lol

I found that box of clothes the other day because I remembered some shorts in there that are now back in style (madras plaid...cute!) and tried on a pair of size 14 shorts...they were SO TIGHT I could barely get them buttoned...and breathing was out of the question. I proceeded to try everything on and the only thing that fit was a size 16W pair of slacks.

It's funny to me that my BMI is still in the overweight range, but I'm wearing medium and small shirts. What is that all about??? Clothing sizes should match the BMI charts! lol

This is so true. I think clothing sizes have basically gone up about 2 sizes from about 20 years ago. Now the average size is 14, then it was a 10 but as you said, today's 10 is really like a 14 from years ago. I mean we have a size 0 now which is absolutely ludicrous and all they did was take the size 4 from years ago and move the number back two sizes. I guess the anorexics who wear that size feel better knowing that their clothing size matches the amount they are eating.

I've done the same thing with keeping clothes from the past and trying them on when I reach that size again and they pretty much never fit until I am at least a size smaller by today's standards. Another thing I noticed was when I went to try on my size 14s that I kept from 2001-2002 (the last time I was that size), they were all high-waisted and fit much tighter in the waist. Today's styles sit so much lower that the waist is always so huge on me and I can probably wear a smaller size just because of the style.

I totally agree about this. I have a somewhat thicker waist in comparison with my hips and have noticed that I can go down a size if the garment is lower waisted.

I've been buying a few pieces here and there. I also hit thrift stores and garage sales to supplement my clearance shopping. I only buy 2-3 pairs of pants in each size. I started out in very tight 16Ws. Now my 12s are getting loose. I picked up a pair of Docker 10s at a garage sale last week thinking that I would be able to wear them in the fall, but they are almost loose on me. I'll have to shrink them up in the laundry. I usually try everything on in stores--my friends hate shopping with me because I take so long in the dressing room. But I really have no idea what will look good and/or fit me.

Did anyone mention to take the clothes you can no longer wear to a consignment shop to sell and get some money? Kinda like recycling, in a way.