Hi all,

I'm so discouraged. I'm in the preop phase, getting the preliminary tests I need. I feel awfully unattractive. I've been trying to find clothes that fit me (BMI 47, size 3X), make me feel presentable, and are moderately priced. And so far I can't find any!

I've spent hours trying on possible clothes at Target, only to dislike all the ones I bought once I was home. I took them back for a refund. I spent hours more at a website which seemed to have just what I needed, but discovered when they arrived that my favorites were no longer available (even though they showed as "in stock" when I ordered them). And they were so huge I couldn't wear them (even though I followed their size chart). So they go back too.

The only keepers I've found are maternity gaucho pants with a bellyband (a wide soft waistband) and 2 tee shirts from Target.

Can you recommend reliable places to buy clothes? Or tips when shopping? Where do you buy your clothes?

NancyRN

Cindyn,

I am 6 foot as well. I actually do get my pants from Lane Bryant. Right about now they have a kciking sale to get rid of summer jeans...whatever that means, and they are cheaper. They have LONG pants and I do not mean the ones that say long and still show your darn knees.

I do like Lane Bryant's pants. They are actually too long sometimes. I never pay full price there!! If you hit a clearance you can get some great deals. I have a brand new pair of the madison dress slacks down in a closet from a previous "diet" goal. Grey and I paid 6.00 and they are 54.00. Sad but at the time I said only 10 more down and they will fit. Well never did lost just went off program and gained more. But with my new band I have high hopes!!

You may also want to try Ebay. I got all of my maternity clothes there (size 22/24; 2x or bigger). AND I sold them there when I was finished with them.

The clothes were gently used, quality and MUCH less than you'll pay at a retailer for brand new things you're only going to wear for a temporary time.

Also, some women will sell lots of clothes - meaning more than one item in the same auction. Many will be coordinated so that you can make more than one outfit out of the clothes. If you take good care of the clothes, you can resell them when you're done and get your money back.

Just a thought - some people don't like Ebay or used things, but I wanted to mention it as an option.

Good luck!

Nathalie

I've never cared for Target's selection of clothes for those of us with some meat on our bones.

Don't get discouraged!

I tried walmart and Target- some walmart clothes are ok but most are just ugly. I just cleaned out my closet and found I have not much left for winter to work in so have been trying to find inexpensive clothes that will work till I drop another size. I shop Roamans, Just my size, silouettes, and the lane bryant catalogue which has no affiliation with the stores and in my opinion has better clothes at better prices. Last yr at this time I was hunting up clothes bigger then I had in the closet as I was going up again and was buying 3x's and size 30 jeans. I bought a pr of jeans from the lane bryant outlet this week - a size 24- talk about a high!! I do buy mens sweats from walmart tho- great fro gardening and walking the dog in the fall and winter - last yrs were a 3x and my dh won't let me wear them out of the house now. Just bought a pr of xlg - no more $2 more for the lg sizes!!

Sizes are so different where ever you go and vary so much by the brands that I really try to not get upset when something I like is a bigger size then something I already have but that is hard to do sometomes.

Actually found a really nice womans leather jacket at savers for $20- real leather in great shape!

Only been banded for 4 days but I am sooo looking forward to shopping for smaller sizes. Confession time: I have always been something of a fashion horse for a MO person. I have taken time to find decent clothes in large sizes and enjoyed wearing them. But I have yearned to wear smaller clothes and look really good in them and this is my first real chance. I'm so excited. Isn't this a great journey to be on? Katt

Only been banded for 4 days but I am sooo looking forward to shopping for smaller sizes. Confession time: I have always been something of a fashion horse for a MO person. I have taken time to find decent clothes in large sizes and enjoyed wearing them. But I have yearned to wear smaller clothes and look really good in them and this is my first real chance. I'm so excited. Isn't this a great journey to be on? Katt

I'm with you - I've always loved to shop and loved clothes even when I wear a size 30. In fact, I have to stay out of stores now because I'll buy something and my goal is to buy the fewest clothes I can until I'm at my goal size. One side-affect of loving clothes is that I have a lot in different sizes waiting for me!

I don't know if you have a Kohls in your area or not, but that has been a God's send for me. There's usually a great "clearance" area or at the very least SALES and the plus sized clothes are comfortable, stylish as well as durable. I've gotten a lot of business attire there. That's both before banding and since. Great store. The department stores are O.K., but I find that I spend more money there and I'm rather frugle (especially when I was changing sizes more frequently).

The Catherine's in my area sells clothes that are little flashy for my tastes. I mean, who wants to wear gold lame' and glitter when you're over 275lbs and wearing 2 or 3X? I still don't wear that and I'm a 16W now and can often shop in the "regular" section, buying XL and 18.

I shop the major department stores - Macy's and Dillards. I also order from Land's End and Coldwater creek. I buy a few things from Catherine's - mostly tops. I find a few things at Kohl's as well. I don't like the quality of target, wallmart, catherine's and kohl's.

Macy Woman is my favorite - the smaller Macy's don't have such a great selection, but the one in NYC has a whole floor to plus-size. And if you shop the sales it's cheaper than Lane Bryant and better quality.

I also like JustMySize.com - especially for bras, and Land's End for work clothes - sweater sets, etc. I agree Lane Bryant is kind of flashy for me, and LB and Avenue pants are always too long (I'm 5'4")

Right now I'm trying not to buy any new clothes - I hope to have my surgery by the end of the year and go crazy shopping for smaller sizes!!!

www.newport-news.com

www.silhouettes.com

www.jessicalondon.com

www.kiyonna.com

www.nordstrom.com

www.macys.com

www.dillards.com

www.neimanmarcus.com

www.saksfifthavenue.com (Salon Z)

I don't know if you have them where your at but I love shopping at Cato's and Dress Barn. Plus, once you have lost all of that weight and need just regular size clothes they have them as well. I also like Lane Bryant.

Wow, everyone, thanks for the great suggestions! I checked out several sites and found I really liked Old Navy. You can get a lot of stuff for not much money. At one point, I had 10 items in my online shopping bag and it only came to $125! Went to one of their stores yesterday and got lucky -- bought 4 nice tops, originally $10.50 each, on sale at $2.99 each!

And lucky me, I learned that I have a friend who says she has a "black belt in bargain shopping" and has offered to be my personal shopper. We're going to Macy's next week. She knows all the tips about when it's best to shop (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday because of weekend promotions), how to get an extra 20% off already-50% off items, etc. She's gotten some great clothing (ex. Jones New York) at Macy's dirt cheap.

I'm even starting to move out of plain, nondescript items (black shirt, black pants) and try something more sexy. Torrid has an off-the-shoulder lace-trimmed top that I'm ordering.

It's fun to start feeling good about clothes. Can hardly wait til I'm back to a healthy size.

I loved torrid, and was sad when the clothing there no longer fit me. I am not small enough for Hot Topic yet but torid is a bit big....what to do now? Mandy

I can't wait to do some serious pretty clothes shopping, myself. A new Ross opened in my area and they have so many bargains and cool stuff in the smaller sizes. I look forward to being able to wear cute shoes again too. Orthopedic and New Balance are all my feet can take these days.