For the last 15 years or so, the only store I could shop in, in my city was Penningtons...this was the only store that went up to the size I wore.

It always frustrated me that I only had that one option to get clothes as they are VERY expensive and over priced for what you get.

I realize that yes, they need more material for a 5x shirt, but it's not like its high quality material or anything.

I recently went to Walmart cuz I had to break down and get some new clothes, and was beyond happy that I easily fit into the plus size section there.

I was blown away....a 5 pack of panties for $10??? I was paying $40 for that many panties.

I bought a bra for $12.95....whaaaaa!!! Used to pay $50 for those.

Tshirts for $8....same thing at penningtons would have been $30.

This is the kicker...a bathing suit from Walmart $30....I've payed well over $100 at penningtons.

Anyway, you guys get my point. So I basically feel like I've been ripped off and taken advantage of all these years and it pisses me off.

Now that I can shop other places for clothes, I vow NEVER to set foot in penningtons again....and that makes me very happy and proud of myself

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It really isn't fair or logical to compare specality stores to big box stores. The prices at Lane Bryant are no worse than the prices at the limite. All the plus size stores have tons of sales and coupons all the time. I never pay full price.

I really don't like ragging on Lane Bryant and these other plus size stores. When I was a size 28, they were there for me and provided me goods and services when I had no other options. I could buy racy kingerie, pretty matching bras and panties and still feel like a sexy young woman. When I needed suits for work, I could go there.

Just because I don't have to shop there anymore doesn't mean I am going to look down on them. They are providing important goods and services to a lot of women that wouldn't have other options.

Just because you aren't fat anymore, doesn't mean you get to look down on fat people and their issues and needs. Compassion is free.

not looking down, just stating a fact. I chose not to shop there because their prices were too high for me. And NOBODY here is looking down on fat people

the fact of the matter is that plus size clothes ARE much more expensive

Agree. I would never buy bras at Walmart because the girls would only revolt against me by dropping lower than they already are. Underwear is OK, but really, I could buy much better quality if I looked for sales at Lane Bryant for only a few dollars more.

Workout wear at Walmart is great, though. My kids are not label hogs, but are typical teens and even they will say that the leggings at Walsuck are as good if not better than more expensive work out clothes. We like those at Old Navy, too, for the record.

The Danskin workout clothes at Walmart (not the sports bras but the other stuff) are just as good as some of the workout clothes I have spent 10X as much on. There are lots of things I won't buy there, but I'd rather spend $12 on compression leggings than $85. Something that close to your body with all the heat is going to break down at the same rate.

Plus, most of this stuff is all made in the same factories with the same materials, the only difference is the labels and the marketing.

Just bought a bunch of bras off the clearance rack at walmart and they are GREAT. The quality is just as good as ones I paid more than triple

They aren't more expensive. The plus sizes at Walmart and Target are the same or only $2 more.

The clothes at Lane Bryant are cheap compared to the plus size clothes at Nordstrom, Macy's and Neimans.


People are comparing Kias to Toyotas, and Toyotas to Bentley.

In the same store, plus sizes barely cost more than regular sizes. That is a fact.

Edited May 4, 201610 yr by OutsideMatchInside

Pennington's is a plus sized fashion retailer that has been around for over 30 years. They sell reasonably priced, well made clothing; I know I shopped there for years. You can't compare apples to oranges; Pennington's quality can not be compared to walmarts inexpensive junk. And for the record I don't think that plus sized quality clothing costs more, I am spending the same now as I did fat, maybe even a bit more.

To each their own, I just refuse to spend that much money on clothes.

I literally just ordered 5 blouses and a pair of jeans from Walmart haha

Clearly everyone has their own internal definition of what is affordable. I'm fortunate that I can spend $100 on a pair of pants if I like, though most of the time I work to find that $100 pair of pants on sale/consignment/Nordstrom Rack for $30 or so. I know this isn't true for everyone.

Back in January, I did some trolling of online end-of-season sales. I scored two pair of high-end jeans and two of the same brand of dress slacks for work in two consecutively smaller sizes. Four pair of pants that at full retail would have cost me about $500. I got all four for a little over $100. I've been wearing the larger size and in the next month will graduate to the smaller of those. I got Talbots long-sleeve T's for under $20 apiece including shipping, also in consecutively smaller sizes. They wear like Iron, wash like a dream, don't pill, and my favorite feature - the necklines dont get all wavy. I went consignment shopping with a friend on Saturday, and found two Talbots 3/4 sleeve T's in the next size down from what I'm wearing now, brand-new, for $20 each. Sold!

I'd loved the Target LS T's, but the fabric doesn't hang as well, and the necklines do get wonky after being through the wash a few times.

And my very favorite pair of yoga pants are Danskins. I bought them at the Hanes outlet more than 10 years ago and they're still going strong. I couldn't wear them for a couple years. If it weren't for the elastic waist, they'd be miles too big now, but I still wear them a couple times a week.

My current favorite pair of jeans I bought on clearance at Kohls for under $4. Unfortunately...or fortunately they are starting to look too big on me and I have to buy new ones

this is the frustrating thing. I lost my job just before my surgery so while I was rapidly loosing weight I didn't have to leave the house much so I kept on wearing the clothes that were becoming very large on me. Then when I got a job 6 months later I had to run out and buy practically a whole new wardrobe. I didn't want to spend a lot of money because I'm still loosing weight, but I need something to wear. So Walmart it is

I got used to buying cheap when I was losing weight because I only wore some outfits once or twice before they got too big.

Now that I'm in maintenance for a couple of years, I went out last year and picked up a handful of 'better' dresses at Lord & Taylor that were far from the $59 dresses at Steinmart. Don't get me wrong...I love my Steinmart dresses, but I can sooo tell the difference between them and the Ann Taylor or Elie Tahari dresses I own.

All I know is that shopping for clothes has gone from an ordeal to a pleasure and that's the most important thing of all.

I love Goodwill, love it. I am a stalker at Goodwill:-) I get lucky just about every time I go. I have found barely used clothes from so many name brands. I am a big fan of Denim & Co. on QVC. I feel like I hit the lottery when I find Denim & Co jeans at Goodwill! My latest purchase was an adorable Kate Spade purse for $4.95!!

So, with my 15-20 year experience with buying clothes at penningtons, in my opinion of course, I have found that their clothes did not fit me well, and were pretty poor quality for the price.

I hated that pretty much every top had a huge scoopy neck....and I don't have a big bust, so I always felt like every time I bent over I was giving a free peep show .

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that I had one store I could get clothes, but it's nice that while I'm still in weight loss mode, I can get something cheap that I probably won't be able to wear very long anyway.

Actually, the stuff I bought at Walmart 3 weeks ago is already getting big...and I'm ok with that

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Just bought a bunch of bras off the clearance rack at walmart and they are GREAT. The quality is just as good as ones I paid more than triple

Agree. I would never buy bras at Walmart because the girls would only revolt against me by dropping lower than they already are. Underwear is OK, but really, I could buy much better quality if I looked for sales at Lane Bryant for only a few dollars more.

Workout wear at Walmart is great, though. My kids are not label hogs, but are typical teens and even they will say that the leggings at Walsuck are as good if not better than more expensive work out clothes. We like those at Old Navy, too, for the record.

The Danskin workout clothes at Walmart (not the sports bras but the other stuff) are just as good as some of the workout clothes I have spent 10X as much on. There are lots of things I won't buy there, but I'd rather spend $12 on compression leggings than $85. Something that close to your body with all the heat is going to break down at the same rate.

Plus, most of this stuff is all made in the same factories with the same materials, the only difference is the labels and the marketing.

I'm glad you found something that worked for you. I can tell you that they had NOTHING that was heavy duty enough for the work load I was putting 'em through.

I'm a Lane Bryant shopper myself, and I do adore most of their clothing. I have things I've bought from Lane Bryant for many years, and they all still look pretty darn good. Luckily I saved probably the last 2 sizes I grew out of so I have work clothes and summer clothes this year. I will not have to get new clothes until the end of this year, or early next year. I prefer to shop at a bit of a higher end store than Walmart, only because a cheaper type of cloth shrinks up pretty badly from Walmart, Kmart, etc. I've never had luck with clothing bought at the lower cost department stores.

I also like buying plus-size clothing from Macy's. When Macy's has a sale, and then coupons on top of it, you can really get a great deal of clothing for a low cost. Same goes for Lane Bryant. I've gone into Lane Bryant and spent $150.00 and got pretty much a new wardrobe!! You just have to watch the prices, keep your coupons and reward certificates, and shop the clearance racks!

I have to slightly agree that they rip us off for plus sizes. I'll take Old Navy for example because they sell EVERYTHING.

The misses xxl might cost $20, but the plus 1x or 2x costs $40... same amount of material in my humble opinion. And in the mens, there is NO difference in price between the regular and the big and tall.

The maternity clothes cost more than the plus and the misses on old navy.com

I don't get shopping at Old Navy, I looked at the stuff they had, especially the mens, and the price variations and stuff make zero sense. It looks like a huge price structure cluster ****, not to mention the fabrics all feel terrible.

not to mention the fabrics all feel terrible.

how fabric feels is the most important thing to me!

I can't wait to get to a sustainable size so I can invest in making my own clothes again and have things *exactly* how I want them.