It sucks.
Nylons were not made for fat chicks, even if they say they are.
Heels that fit when you were 50 pounds lighter are going to get more uncomfortably tight as you get fatter.
Heels that you used to love wearing become painful to wear when excessive weight makes your bad knee flare up.
Damn, I clean up good. 
Ow. 
As someone who’s put on 70 lbs since high school, I knw where you’re coming from.
I strongly suspect that our national trend away from dressing up is due mostly to how bulgy, blobby, sweaty, and chafed we feel when doing it.
I feel a rant coming on…
I don’t like nylons either. Never did. I go bare legged until fall and then wear thigh highs. I buy the No Nonsense ones and they stay put at mid thigh. Leggings are in again for fall and they would not involve your heels. The new ones stretch and don’t have stirrups for your feet. The good news is flats are back. I never liked high heels and think the designers caught on that the 3 'colliseum heels were out.
I think the fall look is awful on all body types. Skin tight jeans and leggings. Big shirts with wide belts and ankle boots. It’s like a flashback of the movie Flash Dance.
One tight shirt under another shorter tight shirt so it looks wrong? Come on designers! Some old looks should be left in the past, locked in a time capsule. Some new looks are just sloppy. The colors too are so bright as to hurt the eyes. LL Bean is the biggest offender in this area. I tried to order something for my Mother and the colors offered were white, black or garish!
I am sick of the “new old” styles and the “old new”. I am just hoping for something inspiring next season.
Perhaps. But, seriously, “dressing up” for women now, is nothing like what women used to have to wear, say 1940s to the early 60s. Pantyhose don’t really bother me (and as a fat chick, I think black hose are far more flattering than pale, naked legs). At least it’s pantyhose–not stockings with a garter belt (and the everyday ones were much more utilitarian than the “sexy” ones you see). No girdle. No full slip. I wear dressy flats, not heels. I don’t have to run around and find my gloves and hat.
Good god, if I had to put on panties, stockings, garter belt, girdle, slip, and then a fitted dress (remember all those darts in vintage clothing? You gained/lost 5 pounds, and nothing fit properly) I’d be exhausted before I left the house!
I can’t remember what brand of pantyhose I get, but it’s a common kind, and it comes in my size, so I don’t find them uncomfortable at all.
I do like “dressing nicely”, for the most part, as I have an office job. But then, despite my size, I enjoy clothes.
I’ve been a hippie chick for 10 years. Next week, I have to dress “professionally” for my OB rotation, and after that, for Psych. 10 weeks of “professional clothes” :eek:
Feels like a friggin’ costume, it does.
Have to make a conscious effort to change into “outside clothes” from my “house clothes”. I keep a public outfit ready at all times so I don’t have to go to the bank drive-through in a muu-muu, or go grocery shopping in my stretched out old pajama bottoms. As for actually dressing up, hose and uplift bra, heels, accessories? The Iron Maiden couldn’t be more uncomfortable now, and I used to LOVE dressing up for work every day!
This is true to a lesser degree for men, too. Suits and jackets used to be cut much closer under the arms, which let you reach up and grab things in stockrooms and supply closets, but made them hot and confining. The vest, which was never kind to any man with a little bread in the basket, is gone except as a fashion twist. And there’s much less use for ties and lace-up shoes than there once was.
I miss these things, too. It was worth being hot under the collar if you knew you were well and appropriately dressed. Sadly, there are fewer situations where dressing as if one enjoys one’s clothes is appropriate. For men especially, doing so is a real statement nowadays. Our acceptable formal clothes now are a kind of dull and poorly fitted uniform.
Good thing we’re no longer into things like corsets, girdles, bustles and hoop skirts.
Oh, sure we are. They’re just made of space age polymers now, and most of them, you don’t need a lady’s maid to don.
See: Spanx.
There are times when I could have used a lady’s maid to put those things on, though. Urgh. I have given up on anything fitted below the waist.
Please don’t take this the wrong way, ladies, but was my posting to this thread an intrusion? Is this essentially a woman’s issue in some way I’m not aware of?
I don’t mind, Doug. Can’t speak for everyone else, of course.
Hey y’all, I need some advice on Dressing Like a Grownup. Partly as a result of this thread, but mostly to put off studying, I went and dug around in my closet. Turns out I do have some non hippie chick clothing, but most of it tends to be dresses in a wrap or faux-wrap style. Problem is, I’m Busty McBusterson, and these dresses were bought to advertise the assets, not minimize them. There’s quite of bit of cleavage and/or side boob showing, depending on the bra I wear. Can I get away with wearing a shirt or camisole underneath and have it come off looking fairly “professional”? If so, what sort of neckline should it have? Scooped, V, or something else?
My sister is addicted to too small/too young fashions and she has a large bust. She gets around it by wearing camisoles under all her clothes. I think a straight neckline or a slight V on the cami looks nicest with a low neckline.
On the subject of heels: While at a conference a few years ago I noticed quite a few women who clearly didn’t wear heels often, based on their walk; they sort of teetered at times, and just didn’t look comfortable in them (can’t say I blame them). Mostly grad students like me who have few excuses to get dressed up. It was subtle but I figured if I could see it, anyone probably could. I’ve since noticed the same thing at weddings, etc. I assumed if these ladies have such a visible “tell” when they dress up, I probably did as well: maybe fidgeting with my jacket, sporting a sloppily tied tie, etc. To this end I started randomly wearing a tie and jacket to the lab (which is not at all required, I used to rock my PJ’s to work occasionally) maybe every two weeks, with the hope that I might look more comfortable/natural when I do get dressed up for a formal/professional type event. Aside from everyone at work asking me if I had an interview or court date coming up, I’m not sure if it’s worked or not…
You can absolutely wear a camisole under the above-mentioned clothing, and should, if the necklines are low. I’m not especially busty, but most V necklines tend to hang a little low on me, so I wear a scoopnecked cami underneath. I actually really like the ones from Old Navy – they are fitted, cheap, and they don’t have the annoying built in bra. I also have a camisole bra that I love.
If I lost 30 pounds or so, I’d totally get into wearing vintage 50’s styles. I’m pretty hourglassy and I bet I’d look great. Meanwhile I don’t, but I do wear pantyhose fairly frequently.
I wear these to work in a corporate job all the time. Definitely need a camisole though - I tend to wear the crew neck/straight across variety (still lowish, but nothing that shows off the goodies). Depending on the dress and the weather a skivvy works well too.
(ETA a skivvy is I think what you call a roll neck or turtle neck?)
I have no problem with men chiming in here because I know that everyone has things they have to wear that they hate wearing.
I wasn’t super dolled up today. I had on a purple low cut dress. The dress (with my chest size) is too low cut for me even if I were going to a bar but today I was going to church. I wore a black tank top underneath and it looked very nice. The dress stopped just above my knees. I only go barelegged when I’m wearing shorts because I have typical redhead skin and no one wants to see that many veins in one place. I used to love wearing heels but since I left the office life and got fatter, not so much.
My problems with nylons involve the pain in getting them on. Since I’m only 5’2" but weight over 200 lbs, I have to get the Q-plus size. I figured they might be a little wider than the normal nylons and not as painful to pull up over my thighs and butt. I was wrong. They’re just as slender as ever but they’re really really long. So, not only do I have the horrible pain of the control top pressing into my leg fat as I pull them up, once they’re up I end up with all that extra nylon bunched into the crease where my legs meet my crotch.
But, I looked nice and I managed to keep the nylons on through the christening and for about 3 hours at the party after. When most of the guests had left, I took them off.
Cool, thanks, Ladies! A turtle neck would be absolutely perfect, to hide the tattoo on my chest at the same time. I just wasn’t sure if it would look weird with a plunging wrap neckline. Necklines are my nemesis…I never know what jewelry to wear with what shape neckline either. I shall experiment…
Absolutely wear camis- I do it under most of my work clothes, as I’m busty and want to maintain some level of professionalism. I don’t know if I’d wear a turtle neck, though-- that might mess up the line of the dress. That said, if there’s any side boob . . . that dress don’t fit, homie. 
There should never, ever be side boob visible.
With that out of the way- I’m of the younger generation that doesn’t wear pantyhose. Heck, lack of trendiness aside, I don’t even see the point- my legs are nice, why cover them up and make my crotch sweaty? The few times I have worn pantyhose (or tights in the winter), they fit fine. If yours don’t you probably need to try a different brand-- though that’s the Captain Obvious statement of the thread, no? They shouldn’t be creasing or causing you physical pain or drooping. Fat Girls all over the WWW rave about these tights, so those might be worth trying. As someone who is 5’3’’, I really like the ones from Avenue, so maybe try those?
I will speak as the voice of dissent here and say that I love the fall leggings trend. SoOOOOoo comfy. So, so, so comfy. Do I wear leggings to work? No, of course not, but I wear them when I’m running errands or going out with friends. I’m also fat (size 18-20). I get plenty of compliments, hit on by plenty of men, etc- so I suppose fat girls can, indeed, wear the leggings look and not be totally ridiculous. 
Really though: unless your legs are super unpleasant looking due to huge scars, bruising, or veins- why wear pantyhose at all? They make spray foundation now you can spray on your legs even! That stuff is great.