I am on a very low budget, and I also cannot abide buying clothes (I have only 2 pairs of trousers which I just alternate in and out of the washing machine!) so I am hoping to get my fat clothes to last longer. I can do a certain amount of sewing so I can take in simple side-seamed tops and such, but I can't take in jeans. I'm on the lookout for an elastic belt to keep my fat jeans up, though it's a bit of a challenge because of my strange shape. Any other suggestions, particularly with bras, becuase they are so amazingly expensive to replace (I've a naturally big bust even at target weight) but one that doens't fit isn't much help! I'm only due to go down a couple of sizes so it's not a big deal to wear clown trousers for a while, but any tips would be useful.

Thx.

Skirts and tights seem to be kinder to more sizes than pants.

If you sew an elastic along the inside of the waist of your pants its almost like it takes them in a couple sizes - depending on your size. I was able to wear pants from when I was 326 lbs until about 290 or so. Shirts, if they still semi fit I layer them. And you can elastic the waist on jeans too. I'm actually still wearing a pair that had stretch so the legs fit fine and with elastic the waist does also. I wore the jeans when I was a size 26 and now I am a 22.

I'll have to try Odonnela's idea re: adding elastic at the waist of pants/skirts.

Even my top are too big to layer, now, so I'm also looking for ideas to address that!

I definitely agree with your idea of getting a belt! Today, I am wearing a pair of jeans that I wore when I was at my heaviest - when I was around 4 1/2 stone heavier than I am right now. I have a really nice (but really old) leather belt which I always wear with any trousers, and when the belt gets a little big for me, I simply punch more holes in the leather so I can continue to wear it. With the belt, the jeans stay up perfectly well, and they don't look at all like I'm still wearing my "fat" jeans, since it just looks like they are styled to be more loose-fitting and slouchy.

I'm afraid I really don't have any great suggestions with regards to bras. I have a few ones from when I had a much bigger bust, and now they just feel really "empty" when I wear them! I don't have massive boobs, so whilst I do need a decent level of support, I can just about get away with buying cheapo bras whilst my body is changing rapidly, as I'm not keen to spend money on something that's only going to fit me for a short while! You're probably already doing this, but all I'd say with bras is to make sure you're wearing them on the tighest fitting on the back strap, and adjust the shoulder straps so it feels a little more secure. I suppose if you're crafty at sewing, you could hack one of your older bras up a bit and re-sew the back and/or shoulder straps so they are shorter and fit a little more snugly.

Hmmmm.......in the early 90's these "clip" things were in style.
It would be a gathered piece of fabric with a clip on each end, you'd
clip the back of your shirt and it would gather it in.
I'm not sure if you could find one anywhere....do you even know what
I'm talking about? If not I can see if I can find a pic online.
I don't think it would look out of style since ties on shirts are back
in style.

Yes, I know those clip things. I actually have a couple that I bought when I was pregnant, because I didn't want to buy 2-3 different sizes of pregnant clothes. Unfortunately, I think the tops are done for. The shoulders come nearly to my elbows, and there's no way to 'fix' that without looking way too slouchy!

Soft knits, stretch fabrics and elastic waists (drawstrings even better)!

It's hard to find flattering clothes with those characteristics, but when you do, they're a godsend.

I like elastic waist "legging" style pants and thin, stretch-denim jeans in dark colors, because they're flattering longer (I'm not advocating wearing them super tight, but they can easily go from slim-fit to relaxed fit).

The down side is finding those jeans with pockets ( I hate no-pocket pants, now that I don't carry a purse).

I like t-shirt knit bras like the Cacique brand from Lane Bryant. I find that I can buy them at least one (sometimes two) size(s) smaller than my regular size and they fit pretty well through a couple size changes.

I remember those clips, I had a dress that came with one on the back.

I don't know if you own any leggings or jersey wrap dresses or boyfriend cardigans, but all of those styles are pretty popular where i live right now and can last through a lot of sizes as they are stretchy and generally a bit bigger.

Another trend right now is to wear a belt OVER a giant cardigan/blazer/shirt, to kinda bring it in at the waist so it doesn't look too shapeless...might be an option?

You can also buy this thing called a belly band (think tube top around your lower waist) that goes over the top of your pants to keep them up. They are marketed for pregnant women as you can wear it over pants that don't button as well as keep up loose pants. it also smooths things out so you don't have a "muffin top." I am not pregnant, but was thinking of getting one of those to help stretch sizes. Then I could wear some of my smaller sizes that just don't fit in the waist... http://www.amazon.com/Ingrid-Isabel-...ref=pd_sbs_a_1

I didn't have any success there, unfortunately. I got a belt and all that happens is that instead of my pants falling down at the backside I am wearing a belt that has a pair of pants sort of hanging from it like tab-top drapes hanging from a pole! I can take them in if I can be bothered, but it's one of those ones where you have to unpick all the seams, remove the whole waistband, take in the side pieces then refit the waistband, and I can't stand unpicking seams. Why does weight always come off the worst place first? My waist is a lot smaller than my hips, and when I start to lose it all comes straight off the waist so I end up with a waist measurement 3 or 4 dress sizes below my hips, until I get to target weight and it starts to even out. I'm still hourglass, but not so extreme.


Now that's an idea, if it's not successful then it's a bra I was going to have to throw out anyway, so I may as well experiment with chopping bits out. I tend to alter bras anyway because as a wheelchair user I have giant shoulders and the straps are in all the wrong places.