Who do you want to be after?

[Nurse_Lenora 903]

I have been thinking a lot about how I want to alter my style post op when I am able to wear "whatever I want".

I want to wear boots, lots of skirts, leggings and in general be even more girly than I am now. (If that's possible lol )

Anyone else thought about this?

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Yes, I think about this.

I even got a subscription to Vogue and Bazaar this year. I haven't read fashion magazines in decades and have NEVER been able to fit into the clothes they advertise before.

I also subscribed to some "regular clothes" catalogs to get an idea about what is currently available.

I tear out pictures of things I like with the intent of making a style board. I also have a few lite rest boards of styles I like: pretty dresses, Paris street style, etc.

[ocgirl15 667]

I live at the beach with 2 young children. So wearing a swim suit was a every weekend nightmare! I want to just feel comfortable in a Swimsuit and stop dreading summer. I want to be the mom that enjoys and looks forward to the beach. I also want to fit in any amusement ride seat.

[jane13 2,256]

I was doing that last night. I am re-thinking how I dress. I am older and of the mind set that I don't care what anything THINKS I should wear. I will wear what I feel looks good on me and I feel good wearing

I will still wear a lot of black though - kind of my thing

[MrsKarenC2008 622]

So great to know that I'm not alone in the now NEW fashion decisions!

I used to wear things that "hid" me ... and going to work was a slip on pant / slip on shirt/sneakers ...

Now I am buying scarves ... more jewelry ... and tops that FIT ! Turns out ... I DO have a waist!

This morning in fact ... I wasn't feeling the best ... so I wanted to just slip on my crappy clothes and go ... But I didn't ... I took the time to find a scarf ... find earrings ... put on makeup ... and feel good about what I was wearing ...

That in turn made me perk up a bit ...

I actually don't mind clothes shopping now ... I actually seek out new ideas and tips on how to dress more current ... and not like I'm wearing a tent.

Love Love Love!!!

[gowalking 10,790]

I'm almost three years post WLS and to my surprise, I have become a dress person. My office is like many other suburban offices...the women wear very casual outfits..not like when I worked in Manhattan and both men and women wore suits.

I used to wear slacks with elastic waistbands of course, and tops that covered my belly...even though I was so heavy that it really didn't matter. 'Sensible (meaning ugly) shoes. No makeup...no accessories.

Now I wear dresses almost daily. Makeup every day. bracelets, necklaces, earrings...always. Shoes with heels. Small heels, but heels none the less. Pretty shoes...not old lady shoes.

I don't want to sound boastful but I am noticed all the time. Men are more gentlemanly...holding open doors and such. Women are nicer. Yes..they are nicer. It's not fair, but it's true.

I can go into my manager's office and feel confident rather than scared and nervous. Same with vendors and co-workers.

Just realize that it takes a while to find your 'style'. You will probably buy some pretty awful stuff till you realize what works for you and what doesn't. It's a process after you've been buying things just because they fit rather than whether or not they are flattering. But once you start to know what you like, and what looks good on you, it's a marvelous part of the journey back to the land of the living.

Have fun!

[needtorecover 574]

I'm actually just looking forward to being able to buy more affordable clothes. It's like there's a "fat lady tax" on the nice clothes available in my current size (22-24). If you look online, when you have to jump to the plus size on the scroll button, the price jumps too! It's so unfair. I've complained a LOT about plus size clothing. The stupid euphemisms when you go shopping at a department store and you can't find the clothing you're looking for... is it misses this time? Or women's? Or plus? I end up wandering around searching and then when I find the plus size section it's a tiny, dusty corner of the store with humiliating floral patterned shirts or elastic banded jeans. I hate shopping. I end up ordering everything online at retailers where I know my exact size.

I just want to be able to go to a regular department store and shop in the regular sized section and pick out what I want, rather than be forced to shop in a 50 square foot space with 5 shirt varieties and a few pant options.

Oh, and I want to be able to wear necklaces again! I miss jewelry. I know I can use extenders but it's a pain and I keep losing mine. I just want to pick up a necklace and not worry about it being too tight on my neck.

Last thing: I hope my chub rub goes away. You know, when you're wearing a skirt and your thighs create friction and it becomes uncomfortable. Spanx solve that problem somewhat but I'd just love to wear a skirt without restrictive undergarments!

Fun topic It's making me look forward to the future!

[Miss Mac 6,261]

I'm 64 and retired, so all I want is to be less Cathy Bates and more Rita Moreno.

[gowalking 10,790]

Last thing: I hope my chub rub goes away. You know, when you're wearing a skirt and your thighs create friction and it becomes uncomfortable. Spanx solve that problem somewhat but I'd just love to wear a skirt without restrictive undergarments!

Fun topic It's making me look forward to the future!

It does!! That's one of the reasons dresses and skirts are OK now. No more chub rub. No more chafing or sweaty inner thighs. Pantyhose goes on without fighting, and I don't have to worry I'll cause a run trying to pull them up and stuff myself into them.

Oh the pleasures of being normal sized. It's wonderful...you newbies have no idea the marvelous things coming your way.

[Healthy_life2 8,319]

I am a girly girl with a serious shoe collection. I was amazed to find that I am an adrenaline junkie and a competitive bad ass. Who knew I would have an addiction to athletic clothing. I have a row in my closet dedicated to compression running shirts. I have a drawer full of yoga pants and shorts. My winter find was a pair of Betty Rides snowboarding pants.

[Postop 405]

I wanted to wear shirts tucked in. I do.

I wanted to wear tons of bright colors and vertical stripes. I do.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Postop

[needtorecover 574]

I am a girly girl with a serious shoe collection. I was amazed to find that I am an adrenaline junkie and a competitive bad ass. Who knew I would have an addiction to athletic clothing. I have a row in my closet dedicated to compression running shirts. I have a drawer full of yoga pants and shorts. My winter find was a pair of Betty Rides snowboarding pants.

I was always a chubby kid, but there was a brief time in my life when I was slim and fit - between the ages of 17 and 22 when I took Metabolife. Don't know if you all remember it, but I basically took speed to lose weight. It went off the market and I gained all the weight back. Which is all good I suppose since Metabolife turns out to be profoundly unhealthy.

In any case, reading this post reminded me of something I miss much more than cute, affordable clothes: the ability to move. Run. Climb. Carry. Play. I deeply miss having a body that could do more than lounge on the couch and lift a fork to mouth. I used to be able to run and jump and participate in sports. Now I'm the woman sitting in a chair drinking a beer watching everyone else play because it hurts too much or I run out of breath too quickly. It's so depressing. I got my membership to the Y and I can't wait to get my butt back into shape.

[Babbs 14,680]

The only downside? The cost of shopping

Also, I used to have trouble finding my size on a rack. I'm finding that's still the case. What's the deal with the lack of smalls on a rack??

[gowalking 10,790]

I am a girly girl with a serious shoe collection. I was amazed to find that I am an adrenaline junkie and a competitive bad ass. Who knew I would have an addiction to athletic clothing. I have a row in my closet dedicated to compression running shirts. I have a drawer full of yoga pants and shorts. My winter find was a pair of Betty Rides snowboarding pants.

I was always a chubby kid, but there was a brief time in my life when I was slim and fit - between the ages of 17 and 22 when I took Metabolife. Don't know if you all remember it, but I basically took speed to lose weight. It went off the market and I gained all the weight back. Which is all good I suppose since Metabolife turns out to be profoundly unhealthy.

In any case, reading this post reminded me of something I miss much more than cute, affordable clothes: the ability to move. Run. Climb. Carry. Play. I deeply miss having a body that could do more than lounge on the couch and lift a fork to mouth. I used to be able to run and jump and participate in sports. Now I'm the woman sitting in a chair drinking a beer watching everyone else play because it hurts too much or I run out of breath too quickly. It's so depressing. I got my membership to the Y and I can't wait to get my butt back into shape.

I joined the Y even before my WLS. All I could do was paddle around in the pool, but at least I did something. Now I do laps, Water exercises, core strength training, biking and the treadmill. No...I'm not ready for the Olympics...not by a longshot. But I am mobile again and it's a beautiful thing. You will be as well...

[AvaFern 3,516]

I wanted to be someone who could wear anything and not feel fat. I wanted to be able to put on makeup and not feel like it was lipstick on a pig, to be able to wear tall heels and not feel like it made me look even more enormous, and to be able to wear pretty clothing and not have people think that I should be spending my money on a gym membership and not clothing that ultimately just made fat look slightly more colorful.

I recently traveled and when I got there I realized I had over a dozen dresses with me, just as many heels, and only two pair of jeans. The other day I ordered a dress that would have made me look like I was pregnant when I was fat, however because now I am small, even though it poofs a little bit, no one would ever think I was fat even if the dress isn't super flattering. I wear tight clothes and I never worry about my stomach pooch (to be fair that is because I had extensive plastic surgery and had all the extra pooch part cut off). I like a few of my dresses because you can see that I have those hip angle ab things through the material.

I wanted to be a person who could dress well and have people think she looked fabulous....not fabulous for being fat, not someone with "such a pretty face", but fabulous with no qualifications. I wouldn't say I'm fabulous now, but I feel like physically I am someone who has no need to any longer be ashamed of myself and in fact, there are certain times when my hair cooperates and my makeup works out right that I get dressed and I think, damn, I look almost hot!

That is the type of clothes person I wanted to be.