There’s a lovely store called Harper Greer that makes ONLY plus-sized stuff. They start at a size 16 and label it “extra small”. Love it. It’s a bit on the pricey side but everything is made of fabrics that look and feel beautiful and every outfit is work-appropriate.
They ususally have a website, but it’s down at the moment. Too bad. They’re worth the trip if you are near SF.
mischievous
My son wants to know why mommy is laughing so hard.
I mean, really, why bother to sell low riders and tummy shirts in anything bigger than a size four. Does anyone who is not at least five pounds underweight look good in them? Or anyone over 30 (ok, maybe if you are thirty and still pass for twenty two, and are a size four). Or anyone who has EVER given birth.
I had the pleasure of traveling in the Far East ten years ago and having some clothes tailored. Yosemitebabe is right. Having clothes made for you (whether you make them yourself or have a friend make them or pay someone to make them) is a spectacular treat. The only problem is how fast you can outgrow something made for you.
Yeah, I have a hard time shopping, too. In the past two years, I have been anywhere from a size 4 to a size 14. And at EVERY size, nothing fits right! I have big hips. I have a small waist. And I have larger-than-average boobs. I’m also 5’1. Try finding clothes that fit THAT body shape well! If it fits in the hips, it’s too big in the waist. If it fits in the waist, it’s either too tight or too loose in the boobs.
Surprisingly, I’ve found Old Navy has the best-fitting clothes when it comes to nice clothes for the office. Their stuff fits pretty well. And they’ve really started making some really nice professional stuff, too.
Ava
Lane Bryant stores and Lane Bryant catalogs are two different critters. Lane Bryant catalogs and Roaman’s are owned by the same company.
I’ve heard from a buyer in the plus-sized women’s wear industry that clothes modelled by thinner women sell better. She was plus-size herself, and the owner of the shop I worked for, and I have no reason to doubt her.
Personally, I LIKE muumuus, and seldom wear anything else. However, I realize that not everybody wants or needs my preferences. I do think, however, that there are very, very few larger women who would look good in low rider jeans and/or a belly shirt.
If you ever figure it out, please let me know. Lop off the outer ends of that size range, and you’ve described me to a T.
Stretch fabrics, knits, and ribbed sweaters are your friends, however.
I wish clothing manufacturers would realize that just because I have large hips does not mean that I share Queen Latifah’s cup size. It’s time for a new clothing system to be devised, one that doesn’t expect the world to well-proportioned or skinny. People will bitch and moan that a system like that will be too expensive for the clothing companies, but I call bullshit on that. I hate buying clothes, mainly because the few things I like don’t fit right. If there was a sizing system where I could buy a shirt that is tighter around my chest and looser around my tummy, or dresses with reasonable-lengthed straps, I’d buy dozens! Dozens, I tell ya!
:eek: No! Stretch and knits…cling! 
Cling is GOOOOD sometimes. At least strategic cling. If it weren’t for strategic cling, people would think I weigh a good 40 lbs. more than I do, because the shirts would hang straight down off my boobs, obscuring the fact that I do actually have a waist.
Before I had my breast reduction surgery, I used to wear shirts that were about three sizes too big because I hated my large breasts (WAY too big for a 19-year-old girl). After I had my reduction, I actually started wearing form-fitting clothes, and it looked like I had lost a good fifty lbs because I wasn’t obscuring my body under huge baggy clothes.
By the way, another store I like is Express - sounds weird, but they actually do have some well-fitting pants and skirts in there.
Ava
22 here and a size 4 or 6, depending on the brand. However, I’m built like an actual woman with boobs and a butt and not a 12-year old boy, so hip huggers make my lower half seem huge. Most size 6 pants fit in the hips and thighs but are loose around the waist and baggy around my lower legs. Are any jeans made with normal waists these days? At 5’3" I’m also between Petite and Misses sizes.
Couple of things I have found: Nordstrom will alter your clothing FOR FREE – even if you’re female.
Lands End has an option on pants whereby you send them your measurements and they will custom fit them.
Preach it. I have a little girly-sized waist, topped with a typical man’s chest and shoulders. It’s nearly impossible to find a long-sleeved button-up shirt that doesn’t flap around my waist like a short hula skirt.
I’ve spent a half hour going through every pair of pants on the rack to find a 28 inch waist that wasn’t made for someone 4 inches shorter than I am. Granted, in my case it’d be easier for me if I just wore women’s clothing. But then I’d be complaining about low rise jeans and cropped shirts instead. 
And while they’re at it, could they take into account those of us who have no hips? Of course I love buying tight tops and baggy clown pants, that’s just what I want to wear all the time!
Well, back to pastel flowered muumuus.
:eek:
My waist is bigger than yours by at least 20 inches. And I ain’t fat. Well, not really, anyway.
This thread speaks to the misery that has been clothes shopping for years for me! It’s so hard to find pants that fit me that I usually have to wear skirts most of the time. I have about a size 10-12 waist, but have huge hips and my upper thighs aren’t all that thin either, so pants NEVER fit me. They make them for skinny-hipped, skinny-legged people. Pants that fit me in the waist are always to tight in the thigh…pants that fit me in the thighs are gigantic in the waist. And WTF is up with all these super-low waists?? I don’t want to have a plumber’s crack when I sit down!
Oh, not to mention that while I am about a 12 on my lower half, I am like an 8 on my upper half, which means I cannot wear dresses (except with one exception, any dress that is bias-cut). UGH. I feel like such a freak when I go clothes shopping. I see so many things that I like, but don’t even bother trying on because I know it won’t fit. Yes, it would have fit me wonderfully when I was 16 or 17, but the past 10 years has given me a more womanly body!
It drives me CRAZY! I’m glad there are others out there who feel my pain…
I have an unusual problem, my boobs are wider than my shoulders. So if a blouse fits my boobs, it hangs off my shoulders. Bra straps never stay up.
And I hate when clothing manufacturers don’t say that their stuff is for juniors.
We’re in the same situation. (8/12) I’m pretty much straight up and down regardless of what I weigh, so if a top fits my shoulders and chest, it’s too tight on the waist/hips and vice versa. And the pants–same situation here. When I do find something that fits nicely, I grab it!
I’ve given up on pants entirely. I’ve recently put on some weight and my good pants no longer fit. I am not going to shop for new pants. I’ve just been wearing dresses and skirts instead. With winter coming, it’s going to suck (because I walk everywhere), but screw it. I’ve given up!
Seriously. If you are a guy with a small waist you may as well just forget about shopping in stores. I’ve never even seen a 27 inch waist pair of pants in a store. I did get some good pairs of pants from Bluefly.com a while ago, but now they don’t have them. I wish I had gotten more.
And even if you find a shirt that hangs right, the sleeves are probably way too short.
Wish that some of the stores you people mention are around here. I’d go take a look (I never order from a catalogue because I have to try everything on, it can say XL but it’s STILL a size too small on me and plus sizes… well I usually try something on too big and have to find a smaller size.)
I would make my own clothes except I can’t afford to buy patterns and cloth, and I’m not really good at it. I can patch and do some basic stuff (I made my big housecoat that slips right on and is oh so comfy) but I’d have to experiment a bit with fitting. I’m not too bad at that though at least last time I made clothes. It will take a little trial and error though.
All my clothes are an amalgamation of mens and womens clothing from various stores. For myself, being so tall I actually prefer mens pants simply because with a 38 waist it’s damn impossible to find in womens. Usually by the time I get to them they’ve got 36w as the largest size in womens jeans, and plus sized jeans are pretty much always too short. I still own some dress pants that are about 3 inches too short because it was all I could find in my price range at the time and I figured I could manage with them until I could get better stuff.