I was at Gap the other day and they had IMO cute cable knit sweater vests in a variety of colors. Not sure if that’s what you’re going for. Can’t link because gap.com hates Safari, but I’m sure you could find them easily on the site.
New Balance makes a plain black sneaker. My dad has a pair, though I don’t know exactly what style they are.
A couple things I keep searching for:
A lightweight (think Cuddleduds) thermal top to wear under my dress clothes at work…but the catch is it has to have a scoop neck or v-neck, and three quarter length sleeves. I want to be able to wear it with a variety of other items, so I don’t want a crewneck that will show, or long sleeves that will stick out from under my dress or shirt. I can find long sleeves and crew necks, but if I’m covering up that much I can just add a layer…I need something to wear under dressy clothes!
A pair of flat pumps that look like dress flats, but feel like tennis shoes. Payless has come close this season with a tan pair of shoes I can’t link to right now, but the soles still are orangey and white, and the fabric is a bit too casual…but boy are they comfy! Now if they came in black leather, and tan, and Navy, and gray, and didn’t make my feet stink (like so many Payless shoes do) I’d buy several pairs of each color. I’m on my feet for 8-10 hours a day…I need comfy, but I’m also poor and can’t spend much more than $20 on a pair of shoes.
Oh, and I want a denim vest so I can knit sleeves in self-striping yarn and attach them. I can buy one from a knitting place, but they cost $40 plus shipping, and that’s beyond my budget for a single item of clothing (ciz I have to buy the yarn, too!) I’ve been haunting the resale shops, but no luck yet.
A black knit dress I tried on at TJMaxx one day…no price tag, and I was too much in a rush to ask for the price, plus I was broke…when I came back on payday it was gone, except for one three sizes too small…and it was in my price range. V neck front and back, 3/4 length sleeves, slighty off the shoulder, fitted through the waist, princess seams, flared skirt, heavier weight knit. I’ve searched on ebay, and for the manufacturer (Arianne) and have tried to find a sewing pattern, but so far no luck. It was a size 16, and it haunts me to this day. It was the first dress I tried on after weight loss surgery, and I never knew that style could look good on me. I want it. I need it.
Thank you. I’ll check it out. If someone’s selling sweater vests, then maybe there’s hope for the kind that open down the front. I used to love those long things that Maude wore – they went past her knees! Totally hides a big butt!
When I win the lottery, I’ve always sworn I’d open a store for plus sized women that carried “the basics”. Flattering black dresses. Crisp fitted cotton shirts. Wool, linen & silk blend pants. Classic turtle necks. Things that could be very well worn by larger women as well as their smaller counterparts. In other words - nothing with appliques, sequined kittens, flounces, or belly-baring cuts.
VCNJ~
I was cursed with the narrow feet when I was younger. Age and childbirth have helped immensely. Take a look on Zappos.com. They have a gazillion pairs of shoes. There might be something there that will fit you. Take a look at these: http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/216274/c/2752/g/women/s/10/w/6.html
There are 11 pages of narrow casual shoes. Good luck!!
Well, it sounds like you have taste, and even class, which doesn’t make you weird, but it is rather rare nowadays.
Turtle necks? Most of the plus sized women I know don’t wear turtle necks for the simple reason that the turtle neck looks far too much like a foreskin trying to conver the glans. Other than that your plan sounds perfect. Can you make sure some of the slacks are black? Oooh, and keep a good stock of unembellished black trouser socks that stay up? The places I bought trousersocks, the soles now have ribbing that gives me blisters. Lane Bryant’s are made for a woman with much bigger calves than me.
I’m pretty burned out on black, too. How 'bout something like this? http://www.fields.com/gifts/OnlineShopping/FL?DSP=4&PCR=7:101086:102507:102509:102525&IID=1018810&c=1
How funny, I was just bemoaning this exact situation to my Hub last weekend. He suggested I check Mervyns, but they had no plain hooded sweatshirts in the women’s or men’s depts. Since I’m a petite female I scored in the boys department with a large sweat jacket and it was cheap too. You’re probably bigger than a 14-16 in boys sizes though. Good luck.
Once you find a pair you like just keep ordering that same shoe. If you do run a lot, you will be replacing them every 400mi or so, so it’s pretty easy to just keep ordering the same shoe.
I wear a 14 and run, so I know what it’s like. I do have a slight advantage over your situation in that sporting goods stores sometimes have a 14 here or there, while they never have 15s. My favorite shoe is Nike Air Pegasus, and I simply order a new pair from the lowest bidder every few months. Works for me.
I have found these hoodies in women’s sizes at Penney’s and Kohl’s. Lately, though, they have been a lot more trussed up with giant letters saying “Ireland” or some shit like that. It’s getting harder to find something suitable. Like every person who’s persnickety about clothes, I have a bunch of suitable hoodies in stock (including like four nearly identical black ones), but who KNOWS how long they will last…
My dilemma: plain black or blue denim skirts, knee length, solid color, no crap on them. Sounds easy, right? Well, I haven’t been able to find something like that in years, and all my old stockpiled skirts are totally worn through, and plus I’ve dropped a few sizes since then so they barely fit anyway. All the skirts today have a “flounce” to them, or they are too short or too long, or they have white patches over them that I guess are supposed to be stylish but just look like ejaculate to me. At Kohl’s the other day I found a skirt that looked perfect until I turned it around and there were giant flowers all over the ass. Why, Santa, why?
That “basics” store totally needs to have smaller sizes too, it’s not just big women who have problems finding boring, conservative (yet casual) clothes. Grr.
A friend of mine has these sweater-knit elbow-length fingerless gloves that I really like. I have no idea what they’re called and can’t find them anywhere. She got them years ago, so maybe they’re not made by anyone anymore?
It sounds like a weird clothing item, but I like to wear short sleeves under a coat, so they would be warm, and my fingertips would be free to do things like use my subway pass, turn pages of a book, and press buttons on my iPod.
Do you knit or know someone that does? I know tons of patterns for something like that.
Hoodies- this leads to a rant. DUDES- Hoodies are not raincoats. Not only are they of little use in rain, if they are cotton (most are) they are worse than useless. :mad:
What I’d like to find is Coolmax breifs, in XXL. Yes, I can find them on-line and in specialty catalogs. But almost never in store.
Millit the Frail, I think you’re looking for arm warmers.
I used to have the perfect fleece (purchased from Target for less than $20). It was a 3/4 zip front with a collar, slightly fitted but not tight and super lightweight so it was the perfect thing to throw on for both workouts and if I felt chilly at a movie in the middle of summer. And then, after probably five years, I lost it somewhere. 
All the cheap fleeces I’ve been able to find are too thick or too voluminous. Patagonia has some interesting ones but they’re expensive technical fabrics and I’m loath to buy without being able to feel them.
I am also on the hunt for the perfect black pencil skirt. My old one from the Gap looks tired and if you look closely you’ll see the back vent repaired with safety pins. I’ve tried ones from J.Crew and Banana Republic but they’ve all lacked something. And everything in the stores right now is still that horrible flowy Boho crap…
Sweatshop-free dressy clothes!
I’m trying to be all socially conscious, and I’ve found all the casual stuff I need (well, except jeans) thanks to American Apparel and No Sweat. But I can’t find anywhere that makes fair-trade professional looking stuff for women! Especially shoes.
Oh yes. Cross out the denim part, and I’ve had the same problem. I want a black skirt, knee length or longer, preferably made of wool, but other natural fibers would be okay, too.
I finally found it at Field’s awhile ago, and it was $250. Yeah, I don’t think so. I don’t like sequins, logos, or cutesy embroidery!
MsMitey, let me know when you find the sweatshop free professional attire. I wear my American Apparel long-sleeved tops to work, but nothing else they have is “business casual”.
Plus-size formal wear that isn’t sleeveless and isn’t “mother of the bride”-ish … apparently, never the twain shall meet. Really, though, the biggest challenge is finding formal (or even just fancy) dresses that aren’t sleeveless, no matter what the season. I’m not self-conscious about my arms, it’s just that the wolf tattoo kind of ruins the formal look. 