Funny anecdote about my closet shopping. One of the things I tried on was a lavender checked short sleeve button-down shirt. It wasn't exactly tight anywhere, but it just didn't fit right. Maybe it'll work in a few lbs, maybe it never will. I thought the reason I never used to wear it was because it needs to be ironed, which I almost never did for years and years. Now I wonder if it's because it just didn't look that good.

In any case, somehow this shirt ended up in my husband's closet. I noticed it while I was collecting hangers for laundry, but didn't fix it because I was busy and my hands were full. Last night he was picking out clothes for today and I saw him pull this shirt out of the closet, look it over, and hang it back up. I said, "You realized that's not your shirt, right?" He totally didn't. I should have kept my mouth shut and hoped for him to try it on. My husband is 6'1" and skinny but with broad shoulders. The shirt I think is a Petite XL. It may have reached his belly button, but probably not.

zoodoo LOL. My husband and I have mixed shirts several times. Most of mine are mens tees. I would have loved to have seen your husband try it on. I have tried to get out of the "mommy" look for years but I always come back to t's and jeans. I just don't feel comfortable otherwise. I have the funkiest shaped butt that if I don't wear a strong denim that thing just gets way out of hand. I too am a big girl in a petite length. I can find a jean that fits beautifully but then has the longest legs ever. I don't sew so that stinks. I have the underarm/arm hole problem too. My favorite of all though is bras. I have a very short width between breast and shoulder but have a good full DD so finding a bra to support the girls is so hard. I have to shrink the strap as far as it goes then have the wire poke me in the under arm for the entire day in order for the girls to be high and dry. If I were to ever get a job they'd have to take me jeans and all.

THRIFT STORE!!!! I just bought a ton of stuff in my new size from a nice thrift store in my area. I used to look down on thrift shopping thinking the things would be old or dirty. But i got great designers things. Lands End Capris for $3, some workout yoga pants for $4. Give it a try, I have a feeling you'll find at least a couple of things.
I did a google search to find one's in my area.

mamakat- Me and hubby NEVER share clothes. I guess I've occasionally thrown on a jacket or sweatshirt of his (they're always tight in the hips) but never the other way around, as everything of mine would be absurdly short on him. That, and he's just not a share-y kinda guy.

I guess it's true that you don't appreciate what you have. Bra shopping is almost never a problem for me. Not that every bra fits me right, but I don't usually have any trouble finding something. Right now I have a 36DD, several 38Ds and one 40D and they're all OK. My one bra complaint is that I've never had a bra that lies completely flat between my breasts. I've occasionally tried the next cup size up in case that was the problem, but that just leads to baggy cups.

mzKiki - I used to live by a great thrift store, and got tons of stuff there, but the ones near me now aren't usually great, although I will try time again. Just before I started this job I went to the Salvation Army and someone just my size had just gotten rid of a bunch of jeans. One was even hand hemmed to just my length. They're not the best style-wise, but at that point I thought I might be in the field for a while and I was more concerned with having sturdy and plentiful pants than fashion.

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In further closet-shopping news, I checked the attic store this morning. I found several more why-on-earth-would-I-save-this pairs of jeans. I think I have such a hard time finding things that fit at all, there's some part of my brain that thinks that if it once fit, it's worth it. That part of my brain is wrong.

I also found one item in a category I'd forgotten: the summer sweater. I have no idea why this one was sent to the attic. It's pretty fitted, but I not too tight at all, and I haven't been that far out of this size for long. It's out now, and I'm wearing it today and am pretty happy with it. I'll definitely look for more like it. It works well for me because it has the forgiving stretch of a t-shirt and just drapes on my so much better than stiffer fabric, but it's dressier than a t-shirt. Yay!

You might need to drop the band size at the same time as increasing the cup size. Have you ever measured yourself (underbust and bust)? It could be that you really need something like a 34 DDD/F

Oh, and my closet shopping is REALLY REALLY sad. Between moving a lot, two pregnancies, and wearing my clothes down to nothing I'm basically constantly mending my clothes to keep them together.

I desperately need new clothes but $$ is really tight now until I get my first paycheck so I'm just trying to get these rags to last a big longer. I basically have just 1 T-shirt that fits well and one pair of pants (but they are so old that I've patched them multiple times). Everything else is just huge on me.

I haven't tried anything like that recently, but I believe I did in the past. Maybe it's worth another shot, although the problem less pronounced than it used to be. I don't think I can drop a band size; it would be just too tight.

You know, now that you mention it, maybe it WAS my problem in the past. Pre-pregnancy, in the weight range of 130-165, I wore 34C. I may have switched to 34 D in there somewhere. But my point is my bra size, particularly my band, has not gone up at the same rate that my clothes sizes did. Maybe all that time I should have been in a 32 something. But 32 sounds tiny! I'm not a tiny person! Never was.

When my son was born, I didn't have any nursing bras. My mom was down for a week and she went back and forth to the mall bringing me home various sizes of bras to try. (This was the first week of my son's life, and I was content to go bra-less around the house, which upset my mom for some reason.) We decided on 38D at that point and since it seemed to work I stuck with it. At one point when I was smaller than I am now, I had a bra fitting and she recommended 36DD.

I'd definitely measure then if I were you. Also, don't trust people in stores. Measure your underbust and take that as your band size and your bust size is just the difference between the two. I've been measured incorrectly so many times it's not even funny. Back when I was in my 140's-160's I was wearing something like a 36C/D. However, my bras never covered me well enough and I'd get the 4 boob look often. Turns out there's NO WAY I was a 36 band size because I'm around 190 now and my underbust is already 33inches! I probably should've been a 32 or maybe even a 30 then with a much larger cup size. Oh, and a good fitting bra will definitely pimp your wardrobe! I can't believe how much skinnier I look when my bra fits well.