Clothing question
 

Don’t at all get me wrong that I am extremely ecstatic to be losing weight. My life could not be going in a better direction right now. However one thing I am finding to be extremely frustrating (I guess frustrating, but a good sort of frustration?) is the clothing issue. I spend money on clothing, and two weeks later it’s way too big. Again don’t get me wrong, it’s a good thing that I’m getting smaller and my clothing is bigger, but I just cant afford this. A few weeks ago I spent $70 at Old Navy, now I’m wearing one of the shirts (this is only the second time I’ve worn it) and it looks like complete crap. Its way too big, the jeans I am wearing are extremely baggy. The bra I’m wearing isn’t holding the girls because it’s too big. Even though I’ve already gone down a cup size. I keep thinking, I’m wearing a size 16 jeans, XXL shirt. I can’t be a 14 and a size XL. What do you all do about your clothing? Do you shop at thrift stores, or spend a lot of money every few weeks? I need sugestions. This weight loss is putting me into the poor house! Lol. But again I am so grateful and would rather look like crap in baggy clothing any day over having my old body.

When I was losing weight I shopped at Goodwill, Salvation Army, Savers and consignment shops. You can find clothes of any style and any size. And cheap!

Ebay
Thrift Stores
Goodwill
Shop with coupon codes and in store coupons
Friends who keep clothes at different sizes and borrow from them. I have clothes from 18-26

I look forward to getting back into the smaller ones and THEN being faced with the frustrations you are now!! Congrats it means its working!!

Weirdly enough, I've lost almost 30 lbs and I don't feel my size has changed all that much. At least not on my top half.
For now, I am wearing all the smaller pants that had stopped fitting after gaining some of the weight.
My mom recently lost a good amount of weight and gave me some of her stuff (lots of dressy things).
Now I tend to buy the cheaper/on sale stuff cause I know I won't use it for too long and just enough to get me through the size.
Once I get to goal, I will have my revenge and get a whole new wardrobe of the nice things I always wanted to wear but couldn't :devil:

I like to buy big shirts and when they get too big, I'll wear a tight t-shirt underneath and then keep that other shirt open. Or, I can wear that same shirt and this time, put a belt around my waist. For pants, I buy expensive workout pants from Lulu Lemon. They are super flatering, last forever, are stretchy, so they work at many sizes (for me) and make me look about 10 lb.s thinner. I think it's sometimes better to buy something that is more expensive, if it is more versatile. But, I buy my t-shirts for $7.00 to offset the cost. Spend it where it counts! :)

The one thing I do now is buy crap that is too small for me! That is the only way to get it to last. I mean I bought some pants that I wanted to fit right away and two weeks went by, TOO BIG! Unbelievable! lol...so, now I buy things that are snug or just don't fit. ;)

What do I do with it all, well I wear it until I simply cannot and then it gets demoted. My order of things:

0. Waiting to fit (in the waiting room so to speak)
1. Stuff to wear out (nice shirts, things that fit, career wear)
2. Around the house stuff (things that are too big to wear out or just don't look as nice...)
3. Pajamas (you know, things that make me look like I'm wearing a clown suit get demoted to pj wear)
4. Donate or toss or turn into cleaning rags (when I can pull my pants up to above my boobs or over my head, something has to like give lol.)

One thing I do is spend money on certain items that I know I need to. Pants or nice shirts. The rest I try to do "mix'n'match" as much as I can so one outfit ends up being three if you catch my drift.

Old Navy, Target, Avenue, that is where I shop for the best savings. Oh and JcPenneys isn't too bad either.

I just bought 3 new pairs of dress pants from Old Navy because my other dress pants (that I have to wear on a daily basis) where starting to make me look like a hobo. I know a great seamstress that will alter pants for me for fairly inexpensive, so my plan is to rotate my work clothes. I will wear the new stuff right now since it all fits well while the too big stuff is being altered. I can have her alter then to be a little snug, then when the current stuff gets too big, wear the other stuff. I figure this would save me some money, and since I won't be in a huge hurry to get my clothes altered, she can take her time and do the alterations when she's not busy.

Right now I'm getting jeans from a thrift store. You have to sort through all the ones that look left over from the early 90s, but I managed to find a few pair of Gap jeans in my size that fit well. Other than that I hit Old Navy's 50% off jean sale on Black Friday and bought a few sizes down. I'm having the biggest problem with shirts right now. I've gone down a size, but still need an XL to be long enough in the arms however an XL is too baggy around the middle and looks horrible. Plus, it's still cold here but all the stores are carrying spring clothes, very frustrating.

I buy only what I absolutely need to "get by" until I hit goal weight. I have a lot of people at my work giving me their old scrubs (hospital uniforms) and some regular clothes. which helps tremendously in the money dept. I buy from target or walmart to save money. I have to wash clothes all the time because I dont have that many things that actually fit. Just enouph to get by ;)
I love it though. Its awesome when you notice things are getting baggy.

I shop at Goodwill all the time, most of my wardrobe right now is Banana Republic via Goodwill. :)

I am SOOOO glad I boxed up and saved all my clothes from all the different stages I went through gaining weight. I bet I have 4 different sizes of clothes. The smallest sizes are probably out of date (over 7 years old) but the casual stuff is still good.

I have the good fortunes of having a REALLY great Thrift store 2 blocks from me and this one is pretty nice, lot's of old designer clothers and probably due to the donations it gets from the surrounding neighborhood which is pretty upscale and the artsy part of town.

Hey you could always buy new clothes then sell then on eBay as long as they were name brand clothes you could sell them pretty easy and get 75% of your money back!

You're at that difficult sizing stage now, between the smallest sizes at the plus size shops and the largest sizes at the regular shops. I'd go have things re-cut and altered at this point. Only do this with items that are still in good shape, that are simple to alter. Alterations can be expensive.

I am so envious!!! How exciting for you!

Georgia

I also do thrift store and look for sales. I also do don't buy unless I absolutely have to buy something. Another thing I do is I take the clothes that are too big to a consignment store. That way you get at least something back out of them. I love to go shopping for clothes but am holding off until I get to goal. Right now I have 2 pairs of capri's, 2 pair of jeans, couple pairs of shorts, one pair dress pants, a couple skirts. I rotate those around. I am nurse so I wear scurbs at work. That's it! I know, I have nothing... lol
As far as shirts, when I see something I like in a smaller size on sale I've been buying it. And as my shirts get too big I go through my closest and find the smaller sizes I have saved up.

I also have this happening and in the beginning I was so excited just to be buying smaller sizes than my previous size 18! My solution was to start trying thrift stores. I found two in my area that are very good. I am now literally ADDICTED. I have Lucky Jeans, Banana Republic, Inc, Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, Kate Spade, and the list goes on--all in very nice condition and for less than $5 each. In fact, just this week I found an Ann Taylor brown silk blazer that has a gorgeous cut for $1.

I know not everyone is okay with used stuff. For me, it's smart for the environment, for my pocketbook and best of all my thrift shops donate all proceeds to a children's charity. It is good all the way around.


Yes, Flatiron is right. If you are paying thriftstore prices, you usually will get most of your money back selling on CL, Ebay or having a good garage sale. So basically, you are just "renting" clothes. LOL

OK, for casual stuff, go to Costco! Seriously -- a pair of Calvin Klein corduroys costs $25. Walmart for undies and tops, research discount fashion clearing houses in your area (my SIL took me to one I had no idea about, and found a designer brand coat marked down from $260 to $29.99! Just make sure you buy a classic style!). For quick and casual tops, Salvation Army. In the summer, garage sales. Consignment shops are good for work wear. Check out the cost of tailors in your area -- hems and waist fittings may cost less than a new pair of wool pants, especially if you find the right tailor and do a bunch of stuff at once. Look as good as you can RIGHT NOW. Don't wait for "when I get there...". But be prudent to keep your costs down...
Kira

I've spent more money on clothes in the last two years than I care to admit, to the point where it has become one of my major expenses. And yet, I find myself now without anything to wear. My wardrobe is down to one well-fitting pair of jeans, two hooded sweatshirts, one long sleeve t-shirt and a sweater.

There was a stretch of a few months, maybe even a year, where I was losing weight pretty steadily, so I would reward myself with cute clothes. The first time I was able to fit into clothes at Banana Republic was a victory in itself, and out of sheer excitement I spent way more than I should have. I now wish that I hadn't spent so much while losing all this weight, because many of the items I bought were only worn a few times before I had to discard them. Such a waste...

Lately I've been trying to buy stuff at discount stores like TJ Max and Marshalls, and only from other places when they're on sale. When I get down to my final weight (which I've recently decided should be closer to 140, not 150) I'll buy myself a real wardrobe.

I do pretty much all of my shopping at TJMaxx and Marshalls and Burlington Coat Factory, they are all stores that carry the leftovers of higher end stores. I love it because I can buy Calvin Klein jeans for $20 and Ralph Lauren tops for $15!

Yeah, I'm at the same point. I did buy 1 new outfit for a race banquet a couple weeks ago (my hubby is a weekend drag-racer) and 1 pair of jeans that will hopefully fit for a month or so but am planning to hit the thrift stores and such this weekend so that I can get rid of all the hobo clothes via garage sale or something.

I figure once I hit goal then I'll hit the mall and my favorites for a whole new wardrobe! I can't wait! I'm lucky in that I've got a lot of shorts that will last all summer (I think/hope) so I just need pants and work clothes.

I'm still wearing my skinny clothes (16s and some 14s) that I outgrew. My pants are 8-10 years old and high waisted. My girlfriends were bugging me that I shouldn't wear the dreaded tapered pants, but they aren't too tapered. My DD21 okayed them with the caveat that I didn't tuck my shirts in. As if I would ever do that. But now they are getting too big as well. My shirts are staring to hang as well, but sadly my boobs are the same size. I'm starting to remember my dilemma in my youth-that I was 1-2 sizes bigger on top to accommodate them. I don't have a really tiny waist so I guess it's ok. I have no idea what size I am anymore.

LOL There's a lady at work that still wears her 15 year old pants, high waisted and she tucks in her shirt. She is really filling the out if you know what I mean and bulges everywhere. I have often thought of nominating her for What Not to Wear! Lol


As far as clothes. Try thrift stores. I also do Kohl's and with a Kohl's charge you can get some great deals. ( I pay my bill off as soon as I get it so I don't get in trouble with the debt fairy)

I forgot about Burlington Coat Factory... there is one near me...

I've found a lot of good things at Target - they run amazing deals on clearance items as they are changing seasons.

I thought high waist pants were back in style? And I'm actually excited to get to that point. My size 42s are fitting loser and my 4xl shirts are kinda starting to drown me. I'm excited!

Hmmmm. I just got a pair of DKNY skinny jeans. The legs are narrow, but they're narrow all the way up, like stovepipes, more like the designer jeans of the mid 1980s. But the waist, while higher than some, is definitely lower than my high-waisted jeans from the early 90s. It's more at my natural waistline than actually high-waisted. Compared to low riders, though, I guess it would be high.

I sooo relate to this post. The last time I wore a size 10-12 or petite medium was in the early 90s, so I've been excavating clothing stored at my parents' house in their guest bedroom closet. I had to make two piles: too dated & okay. Blouses & shirts are so much more fitted now, with much higher armholes & narrower sleeves. But the jeans ... alas ... the jeans are fit only for wearing around the house or running errands. And even some of the jewelry looks terribly wrong now -- all those door-knocker earrings or lion's head wannabe Versace earrings.

Now I think the sagest advice would be to buy vintage. My vintage sweater sets -- which were vintage even in the 90s -- have held up remarkably well.

I want to second the recommendation of eBay. Try on the clothes in a dep't store, then buy on eBay once you know your size in a line.

I found out what size I am! DD21 and I did some shopping this weekend and although I did not buy anything but shoes (2 pairs) I did try on alot of pants and one dress. I am between a 14 & 12. The 14s felt very comfortable, but DD thought they looked sloppy. The 12s felt very tight, but DD thought they looked better than the 14s. I think I'll wait until I lose 5 lbs and go back and buy some 12s! :D

In the meantime, I'm going to check out some of the local thrift stores to tide me over. :)

I had a bunch of clothes I outgrew, a bunch of hippie tie skirts that work for many sizes and I buy t-shirts at wal-mart for 6 or 7 dollars each. I DID go to addition Elle and bought 2 shirts and spent a whackload on them BUT I bought them small so even though I can wear them now, I've got 35 or so more lbs in them. Okay ya I guess that's only three months but darnit I want to look GOOD while I lose weight!