What to do about clothes?

[motherto6]

In my local area there is a support group for people who did the weight loss surgery. They have a monthly clothing swap because they go through clothes at a rapid rate. My local group wouldn't mind me joining in the clothing swap so maybe there might be one in your area?

If there isn't one you could start one. Talk to the doctors that do the surgery and put it out there. I'm sure you're not the only on in your area shedding some pounds

Michelle

[Mab]

Michelle,
Great idea!
In the interim I have been shopping at WalMart and actually a woman I sit on a board of directors with noticed I had been shedding the pounds, as had she. So she gave me about two weeks worth of business suits.

I am about to go down another size. I am squeezing into 16s now and WalMart has actually been great. I found some dress pants for 4.5o and a wrap dress for an upcoming wedding for 19.82, not bad. Plus since I hope to be out of those clothes soon I am not worried about the quality of the clothes or how long they will last. So it has been a nice alternative to me.

Part of the issue was finding work clothes. Suits are so expensive!

[jessicat]

Another suggestion is to try a thrift store. We have some really good ones here. You'd be surprised at what you can find in a thrift store, and for cheap!
Good luck and congrats on having this "problem"!

[Dee Dee]

One Word !! EBAY !! Since I am a very very loose size 16, I am buying size 14's and will be listing my size 16's. It ended up where many of the 16's I got were actually too large, and those I will turn right around after the first of the year and list. I will list them at what I paid for them plus shipping. As soon as I start moving toward a smaller size, I will buy a few outfits, and then take photos of the ones I am thinning out of. I don't have to leave my home, and I get a nice selection of clothing too. I just bought a totally beautiful Leather coat for $50. I could not have gotten it at reg. retail for less than $200 for sure. It is absolutely beaufiful !! The coat I will keep for awhile. I think It will do me even as a size 12. Especially if I wear rather bulky layed clothing underneath in winter.

I suggest Ebay ladies. I have never had a problem with buying clothing there.

xoxoxoxoxo

[raedar]

Ebay baby,When I lost the weight the first time around I did loose inches very quickly While i have no need for dress cloths (I am a nurse and only get to where the same color of scrubs to work day after day month after month,year.....lol) I was able to get jeans, names like gap ,levi etc for less than 10 bucks,you may want to give ebay a look !!!

[HeatherRene]

LesLy said, "I think i look like a painting already hahaha wearing the same thing over and over!!!"


This had me busting out laughing. It just struck me as very witty. Thanks for the morning giggle.

[Oonagh]

My inlaws buy really nice clothes on ebay all the time. Mom wears Alfred Dunner cuz they fit her right, but JC Penny's charges 40 and up for a tee shirt lol. Her suits, sweaters, and shirts on Ebay rarely run over 10.00 and sometimes are really cheap. My only worry is MAKE SURE you are specifying if you don't want to buy from a smoker. Maybe even stipulate that you will be reporting them if they don't tell the truth. My hubby bought at fabulous leather coat (full length) which hadn't even been worn, tags still on, for less than a pair of walmart jeans -- but it had been hanging in a smokers closet. Dry cleaning x times cost about 5 times the price of the coat and I still got sick every time he put it on. Finally he hung it out in the garage for almost 6 mths, planning to get rid of it. I noticed it smelled like the extra lumber pile (nice) now instead of smoke, so he got it back. Also a lot of vendors now have buyout, and the clothing is new , but not too expensive. You might look into that. I've been wondering what on earth Im gonna do because school (my work) starts in a week and a half and I have big fat zero clothes budget. At the beginning of the summer I "finally decided to do something about my size 12 to 26W closet and took everything to Goodwill that didn't fit. Sadly my mom retired from teaching and decided to go with me, so I took an entire pickup load of my clothes and an entire pickup load of hers-- all the dresses and skirts that are the size I am right now or a little smaller but she plans never to wear again!) to Gospel Rescue Thrift Shop. I'm so broke I can't even go back shop for them lol though they probably filled all their racks. I didn't think I was ever going to lose the weight.

On that note, I don't what to do about the ones that are getting looser (well, right now i just have to wear them, or go to school "nekked") **I don't forsee any big clothing budget coming up, we had just sunk our life savings into a new business when the first, second, third stock marked crashes just hammered us. We hung on but No extras...I feel like I need to get those"fat clothes" out of the house the second I can, because in the past a closet full of giant clothing to wear when I was creeping back up in weight allowed me to deny that I had a problem. What do you think? Anybody else have this problem?

[Oonagh]

Sorry to write so much....I was just thinking about crochet. There's a site called Crochetteville which has a ton of forums, clubs, etc. They do swaps all the time. No storage or whatever, just a moderator. Some are really involved, and some are called Kiss (Keep It Simple Swap). We could team up like a ladder-- everybody send something to a person who needs the size u just shrank out of. Not sure how to compensate the person who's skinniest lol. I would be glad to donate any of my clothes that are still nice enough to wear if the person just paid some of the shipping, cuz right now I can't do it because of cash flow prob. I would also trade clothing for something Else i can't buy right now, yarn for crochet; craft materials people wanna dump, stuff I can use for my kinder class, even stuff from the computer business. Some of you really organized people can probably think of a way to figure this out. Hope so!~~

[M'Lady K]

Mab,

While I'm not a any boards, I do work as an executive secretary in an office where "professional apparel" is required so I can really empathize with you about the expense of new wardrobes. I've been shopping online at Coldwater Creek, Chico's, etc. on their "sale" or "outlet" page. Other places are SmartBargains.com or Overstock.com. BlueFly.com is a little beyond (like A LOT) what I want to spend on work clothes but I drool over their shoes.

Here's a 3 piece suite at Coldwater creek for $59.99 (that is THREE items for $60) Coldwater Creek Whenever possible I try to get two or three piece sets which I can mix and match with other things in my closet. What about this one? Coldwater Creek For $59.99 not too bad in my humble opinion. Sometimes you can't do that though (get 3 pieces for one price), but then I look for the top underneath to expand my wardrobe (change top style and color = new look). Overstock.com has this nice navy/gray pinstripe suit for $52.99 in a size 16 when I looked Emily Women's Two-piece Notch Collar Pinstripe Pant Suit | Overstock.com A nice pair of linen pants in size 16 for $14.99 Coldwater Creek

Smartbargains had this Kasper 3 piece suit in size 16 Save on the Kasper 3pc 1 Button Crepe Pantsuit with Knit Top at SmartBargains.com I thought it was a little pricey but the three different pieces can all be mixed with other things in my closet.

There are other websites like Women's Clothing, Swimwear, Shoes, Accessories and more at Newport-News.com, Chico's - Women's Clothing & Accessories, etc . but I have to pick through their websites to find sizes and style (I think they're more casual). Bloomingdales is just full of themselves - I don't think their "sale" prices are much savings. Nordstroms website will have some bargains in the sale section but you have to catch it just right.

I've found that the trick to shopping these online places (other than knowing your size or knowingly getting a size smaller to "shrink" into) is to visit the websites at least once a week - specials come and go.

Okay, I've talked too much. I hope this was helpful.
~k

[LynSchwartz]

Do you have a "Savers" nearby? Pretty much like Goodwill, but they seem to have a better selection of stuff (at least they did last time I shopped there, but that was 20 years ago). It seems a lot of people buy something new, wash it, and then find it shrank too much to wear comfortably so it sits in their closet for a year or so, then they toss it. For bargain shoppers, we get a brand new article of clothing - prewashed! I still have tons of clothes from there. I only throw them out because some of the styles are really dated, or I've literally worn them out.
Now that I"m older, have been pretty successful, and have money to spend on clothes, I have the opposite problem. Most stores these days just don't make small enough pant sizes, so it is rare that I ever find anything new (and I don't want to shop the teeny-bopper stores/styles). I love Coldwater creek, but the smallest pants size they make is a 4 which is huge on me. They do have some gorgeous jackets, especially the suede ones, which do fit.

[LaJauna]

Why don't you take your clothes to a good tailor? It is cheaper to have them altered then to buy new!