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Where to shop after you won't fit in plus size anymore?



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I have been plus sized basically my whole life and have done almost all my clothing shopping at Torrid. I LOVE Torrid, but I am now in a size 14 and the smallest they go down to is a 12, but even that's kinda rare. I am about to turn 28 years old in a week, so I don't feel I'm ready for the more mature stores yet. I'd like to find a store that is trendy but still tasteful. I've spent my whole life hating the "skinny/preppy" stores, and I still really don't want to shop at them still. I still feel like I do not belong in them. This is kinda difficult for me cause I'm right between being plus size and misses sizes. I kinda feel like I'm being judged at both the store types. I've looked at Forever 21 and Charlotte Ruse and their plus size section is nice but I won't fit in them much longer, and the normal sizes have way too much skin showing. I would just like to find a store that is trendy, tasteful, and affordable. Any suggestions?

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I love Old Navy and Kohls. I like Forever 21 too. Those are my regular everyday clothing store choices. I occasionally do Nordstrom and Macy's as well. I'm sure you will find a place you like.

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I am not young and trendy, but I am looking forward to shopping at regular stores, too.

I stopped at our local JC Penny right before Christmas and bought three sweaters off the sale rack and was thrilled.

I like more classic clothes so I want to shop at places like Talbot's and J. Jill when I get smaller. I also want to invest in at least one "designer" dress.

I agree that a lot of the clothes marketed at young women are too short, tight, and revealing. I want to buy what flatters ME!

What department stores do you have near you? You might have better luck exploring different styles at a larger department store that has a broad selection.

You might also want to try some thrift stores and resale shops for inexpensive options. They would be great places to just experiment.

When I get to goal I plan to use a personal shopper at a nice store to help me build a good work wardrobe.

I read a book last year that I gave all of my nieces for Christmas called Lessons from Madame Chic. It talks about finding your personal style. You might find it helpful.

Best of luck and have fun!

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Do you have a New York & Company, The Limited or H& M near you? I have yo-yo dieted for my entire adult life and whenever I got below plus size those were my stores of choice. They have cute, trendy clothes that are mature without being matronly and they always have great clearances too! It will be a very happy day for me when I can shop at New York & Company again! Great job and good luck on your continued loss!

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I love NY&Co. - and what about Express? Wet Seal may be too trendy - but you can find some stuff there.

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While losing weight I've been doing Gap and Old Navy because of cost. But I like JCrew, Talbots, and some others.

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I REALLY appreciated this thread. Here's my shopping experience.

I has bypass on 9/30/15. So less than 4 months ago. I was 257 at my highest. I LOVED Torrid. My go to store for sure. I was in sizes 22/24 and 3x.

I lost 22 pounds as a preop so I was 235 on surgery day.

Today I'm 173. So after losing over 85 pounds I've found shopping to be EXTREMELY overwhelming. I think it's cuz I lost weight SO fast that I wasn't prepared to be thrown into "normal" clothes THAT fast. In a matter of weeks. When u go from not fitting into anything and being limited to what you can wear to having SO many options I found that I stuck to what was comfortable. I definitely don't fit in Torrid anymore so I pretty much cling to Maurices.

The only time I've ventured into other stores was Victoria's Secret lol.

So I really appreciate the recommendations cuz I need ideas too. Especially cuz plus size is not even close to an option for me anymore. I'm pretty much in smalls in shirts and 9/10 in pants.

Here's what I got at Maurices the other day :) and Victoria's Secret. post-262421-14522819269086_thumb.jpg post-262421-14522819494355_thumb.jpg post-262421-14522819674041_thumb.jpg

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Thank you! I'm not very good at shopping so I was pretty proud that I found some stuff

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I've always bought a lot of my basics at Kohls and Target. I really like Loft and was excited when I was able to shop there again.

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Ok, someone needs to cut up my VS card. Lol

But apart from places like Old Navy, and random places at the mall, no favorites yet. Some good ideas here I'll be checking out.

I've been below my goal almost 6 months and still feel a bit out of place in "normal" stores. Weird.

One thing I thought was funny was that while I was dropping weight and hitting the pool frequently, I'd buy swimsuits on line from "swimsuitsforall". They need to change their name... They don't have my size. Nothing below a 6...thought it was ironic.

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I am So Cal there is a store called 'Tillys' take 16 yr old grandson clothes look cute for young adult even husband likes it for shirts

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Thrift stores! Those clothes won't fit for long anyway. Might as well waste as little money as possible. Plus you can get name brand stuff for a lot less.

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@@Vad1988 I wonder if you have a store called Alter'd State near you? Their clothes are very trendy, but are more modest. They have a lot of the bohemian styles that are current right now. My daughter loves their clothes. I am 44- way older than you, but I have gotten a few shirts,shoes, and jeans from there myself.

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Venturing into the non plus sized world had been overwhelming at times... I keep waiting for someone to point me over to plus sizes.

I shop at the thrift store quiet a bit.

My all time favorite is Macy's. I also like Burlington Coat Factory. I always hesitate with Kohl's, JC penny etc because I hated their plus size sections... I have to remind myself I'm not plus size any more.

I do old navy for some pieces, but hate the quality of their tops. Eventually I'd like to venture into express, gap and Ann Taylor.

H&M is not my cup of tea.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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