My surgery is in July, but I see a few cute items to wear now. I figured I won't fit it the way I want to and it's a winter item (cardigan.) When did you stop buying clothes at your pre-op weight? When did you buy clothes post? I see myself shopping at the thrift shop post. It's cheaper and I will be between sizes. I am excited not having to pay 40 for a decent top at the plus size stores!

I am almost 3 months post op and I just went today to get some work out clothes, I did not bought much because I am not in the size that I want to be

So when I reach my goal I will go clothes shopping for sure Try not to buy much pre op since you are going to start losing and then it won't fit

I bought my first pair of new jeans, 3 1/2 months out i think. I chose to not buy anything until I didn't have to buy plus size anymore.

Goodwill and thrift stores will be your friend. I buy high end clothes such as Polo and Tommy Bahama clothes there. I buy them, go down another size, re-donante them back and buy a smaller size. I have gone from 4x shirts to large and 52 pants to 36. I would have gone broke even shopping at wal-mart having to buy so many clothes during my losing period. I only buy "like new" items and this process has served me well. Good luck, it is actually fun shopping this way. I do not know if I will ever be able to buy retail again after saving so much money.

I stopped buying clothing for myself literally years ago. Anything I bought was to replace something I desperately needed. But once I decided on surgery I filled 3 boxes full of dream clothes from the SalVal and clearance racks!

I'm glad I have a bunch of smaller clothes to last me until I am a 14/1X. I am currently a 24/3x or 4x depending upon brands. It's a good thing I have an idea my size at a particular weight so once I am there I will start buying smaller sizes. I am so going to be a goodwill girl. The prices are pretty good.

I stopped buying clothes as soon as I decided I wanted the surgery. Post-op, I bought clothes on a as-needed basis only, buying just a few things at a time. I'm not very patient and I don't need much since i'm retired so I bought at Walmart and Target mostly. A few tops, couple pairs of jeans, couple work-out pants, and a couple of sweaters and coats. Now that I am a few pounds from goal, I am looking at clothes and buying what I want a bit more, but still being cautious to not spend a lot. I've heard our body continues to change a bit even after we get to goal weight so I don't want to invest much this first year till I see what shape I'm going to settle into.

Lynda

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I stopped buying when I decided to go forward. I had just gone on my Winter buying spree though so I have alot of new things anyways. I'm a bit of a compulsive shopper. I had lost 40 lbs a few years ago and had bought a beautiful wardrobe to fit that new body. I gained it all back plus 20 lbs though, and pretty quickly. I kept it all, in hopes of getting back there. Now they are all waiting for me around my half way point! I plan to do the Goodwill route also, until I hit goal and get plastics and heal if needed. I don;t want to buy a bunch of new things and then need to do it again once my (perspective) skin is removed.

I too love shopping! I am going to miss Torrid. At least I will have at least some time to still buy cute stuff. The sell from an xl/12 and up.

Well, just think of it this way... once you're out of Torrid, there is Hot Topic, Wet Seal, Alloy, H&M, and other places where that style is available.... except it'll look soooo much better! I know I'm excited!

I'm 3 weeks & almost 30lbs out. I have a closet full of clothes various sizes to get me through my 1st 50 lbs, after that my plan is LEGGINGS-those should be pretty flexible. Then once summer hits, (I'm a teacher) I'll live in bathing suit coverups. Comfy, inexpensive, & hopefully will only have to buy very little.

You are so right about leggings. They grow and shrink with you. I think once I hit onederland, I'll buy some xl shirts, and some 12's and buy from goodwill ever even number size down in pants. I don't mind a little baggy. My goal is a 4/6.

Hot topic is cool. I bought a cute hoody from them in XXL when I was 200 lbs. It was pink and had ears. I love it. It's still their waitng for me.

I lived at Goodwill!! They do have some great clothes there, you just need to have the time to sift through everything. In my area they also have great deals on Holidays where everything in the store is an additional 50% off!! I'd come out of there with 20 pair pants for 60 bucks! Are you kidding me?? That made my day.

Not only that I would also buy a few sizes smaller than I really was too, as incentive. I'd try them on every few weeks to see how I was doing and even if I couldn't get them on all the way it was still a victory for me, because of how they fitted on me the last time I tried them on. If at last time I could only get them up to my thighs and this time I got it over my bum, well I knew I was losing! It was great.

Good luck!!

I haven't been sleeved yet, but I have already forced myself to stop buying clothes. It is so hard :ack2:

I did buy a purse though.... but that doesn't count!

I bought a pair of each 18, 16 and 14 pants from ebay for about 10 bucks, includes shipping. One is even Missme brand. I probably have a good ten pounds to lose before my current jeans (20) fit me like they should.

I stopped buying when I decided to have the surgery. I was in a size 20, and I only had 20s and 18s in pants. It wasn't long before I needed to shop at second-hand stores to supplement. I've gone through two complete wardrobes since then.

I didn't start buying retail until my shirts reached size large. I figured even if I get smaller, I can wear large.

When I do buy retail, I buy on sale. Sometimes the prices are even cheaper than you can find at places like Goodwill. Target, Meijers and TJ Maxx are some of my favorite places to shop for deals. I liked JC Penney too, but they just changed how they price stuff. I've only been there once since then, and the prices seemed good.

I also stopped buying clothes once I made my appointment for surgery. I made do with what was already in my closet for two months and was fine with that.

As I was losing, I made small purchases of a few shirts or a few pants as I needed them. I thought I wasn't going to get much smaller than a size M top and 8 bottom so I bought a lot of stuff in that size on sale. It turns out I was just going to lose that last twenty pounds incredibly slowly.

I stopped buying when I hit goal, thinking that in maintenance I wouldn't lose much more. My shirt size is currently small, so I figured I'd never get smaller than a small. For the most part, I think shirts will be okay. However, I was in a size six pant and even though I'm maintaining and haven't lost but one more pound in the last two months my sixes are all getting big. I think the weight sort of rearranges itself even if you aren't still losing. Now it looks like I'll be okay with my sixes for a while but honestly, it wouldn't hurt me to buy some fours, either.

So I guess what I'm saying is be careful. I thought I'd spend some time in every size on the way down but I skipped straight from 12s to 8s. I'd only buy what you need as you need it, because I didn't wear much of anything I bought for more than two months. I gave away tons of clothes that still had tags on it because I never had time to wear them before I got too small.

And be careful even at goal! I bought an entire wardrobe of fall/winter clothing and it looks like I'll need new pants next year as these are already getting big. It makes me wonder how small I'll really be once I have plastic surgery. Sheesh! And did you know your feet could shrink? I've been a 6 1/2 most of my life, going up to a 7 during and after my twin pregnancy. Now all of my 6 1/2s are too big. It's completely bizarre.

Shop sales and thrift stores when you can to lessen the blow when you find that your new favorite shirt only fits for six weeks. I never really realized how much expense/trouble went into clothing myself for a year, but I've had to replace everything from underwear and bras to shapewear to shoes to jackets. Even my nice leather gloves got too big for my hands!

~Cheri