That’s true, but shopping at a Barn carries the (unintentional, you hope) implication that you’re a barnyard animal, so it seems vaguely insulting.
I love the clothes at Coldwater Creek, and now that I’m losing weight at a rapid pace, I can’t wait for their store to open up a half-mile away from me, except for two problems: My weight is more in my tummy, and their clothes fit snugly through that area; and they are mostly out of my price range, unless I buy off ebay.
I have had a lot of luck buying Sag Harbor skirts and tops at Kohls, Penneys and other department stores (though I hate the name!) and only buy basic solid tops at Lane Bryant.
What bothers me the most is this: I walk through the misses department on the way to Women’s, and spot a cute dress in a great print. Nice neckline, great sleeves, nice details. I get to the Women’s dept., and spot the same fabric from a distance on the dress rack. I get excited, and pull the dress out, to see that instead of a scoop neck, this one has a high round neck. (Note to designers: large women have cleavage and would like to show it.) Instead of the detailed stitching on the bodice, this one is plain. Why, oh why can’t they use the same details as the misses dress? They take a cute dress and make it dowdy, and I don’t buy it.
And the embroidery thing bugs me, too. Especially Wal-Mart, which is famous for ugly colors in the Women’s sizes and great colors everywhere else. When all I want is a nice, solid color shirt, or vest, I can only find stuff with pumpkins or animals or cartoons emblazoned on the front. I need clothes for work, not playtime in the elementary school! I need to find the time to return to sewing, too.
(hijack)
Hi, local person!
Try these Boots
I’m not trying to promote Newport-News or anything, but I bought some similar boots last year and they have built in stretch areas and fit wonderfully. I will also say that their clothing is pretty well made and their stretch jeans fit great and even come in Tall and slim sizes.
Yep, that’s what I’ve been doing. I don’t have much luck with pants (I’m 5’4" and rather long-waisted - pants are nightmare to find), but I love hunting through sweaters and blouses and skirts and dresses. My Goodwill is pretty big, and you do have to sort through lots of stained and torn and out-of-style crap, but I’ve found some really great stuff.
I found a great khaki skirt, like new, and a denim skirt, very slightly worn, each $4. Both are very simple styles, and will be staples for work.
I got a basic black cardigan, silk and cotton, for $2 or $3, and a bunch of sweaters last spring for a dollar each. One’s a Talbot’s, one’s an Anne Klein, one’s a Land’s End, all just basic simple-cut pullover styles. I can’t wait till it gets cold!
[QUOTE=kittenblue]
I have had a lot of luck buying Sag Harbor skirts and tops at Kohls, Penneys and other department stores (though I hate the name!) and only buy basic solid tops at Lane Bryant.
[QUOTE]
I adore Sag Harbor clothes. I’m not heavy, but solidly built (lowest size 12/14) with a perma-belly, and their professional line is beautiful on my body type. If only I could find good boots without paying a mint for them now…
Jcrew.com does extended calf boots. They are a bit pricy, but if you wait for their clearance sales, and also look around on the web for coupons, you can get them for a decent price. It’s Italian leather, people!
I just discovered CJ Banks. Unfortunately, they aren’t nationwide, but if there is one in your area, it is worth checking out. Casual Corner Woman usually has nice clothes, too.
This link points to dozens of online stores that carry plus-size clothes.
After a recommendation on Opalcat’s site, I checked out Size-Appeal. Size-appeal actually carries sexy, elegant, yet non-tacky clothing for apple-shaped women. Being a pear-girl myself, (AerynSun, fellow puppy-smuggler here!) their clothes aren’t for me, but I really liked them, and that’s rare for a plus size store.
I like CJ Banks, too. The prices are slightly high at full price but they seem to mark things down pretty quickly. I just hate it when I see something I must have and pay full price because I’m afraid it’ll be gone before it gets marked down. Sometimes they have some wonky colors but, for the most part, everything’s pretty normal.
I also wish clothing manufacturers would figure out that all heavy women are not short. I have the hardest time finding slacks that are long enough. Penney’s St. John’s Bay pants are about the only ones I ever see in long lengths but they’re hardly ever in stock. This fall they have some Lee twills in longs but the only color in stock is brown. The one thing I go to Fashion Bug for is their L.A. Blues jeans. The cut works for me and they come in longs. I tried Land’s End where they hem them to order but the cut of their pants just doesn’t work for me.
I’ll echo what everyone else said about Lane Bryant. They have the fugliest colors and styles on the planet but I can find a decent bra there. What’s the deal with bra sizes elsewhere? Does it not occur to these people that women who take a D cup just might have a chest measurement larger than 32?
Do you make up a muslin first? Always make a mock up of any new pattern in plain white muslin or gauze (I think you can buy it cheap, by the bolt), to work out any problems or alterations you may need.
That’s a good idea too.
I sometimes used “clearance” fabrics as a sort of muslin. That way, if the thing fit, I could wear it (even if it was just around the house). I remember buying some clearance calico (I’m a big fan of calico, did you notice? It’s because it’s cheap) for $1 a yard. And it was good quality calico. I tried out several pants patterns with this stuff. They fit well enough that I wore the pants and kept wearing them for years. Each pair probably cost me $3.50 to make.
When I worked at the fabric store I was quite the fabric geek and knew about the other stores in town that had fabric sales. I often got things on sale (still have way too much fabric) and sometimes went to the garment district in downtown L.A. to pick up fabric. Those people had scary good deals. They’d quote you a price that sounded pretty good, and you’d say, “Can you do better than that?” and they’d go even lower. And this was for good stuff, too.
I’d buy my notions in bulk during “40% off all notions!” sales and save big time that way. I’d buy thread in bulk, choosing neutral or popular (for me) colors, also shoulder pads (if required), zippers, interfacing, etc., etc. Another thing I’d do as much as possible was use bias tape for necklines of the shell tops. The bias tape doesn’t have to be the exact same color as the top (because it’s hidden in the wrong side of the garment), and it works just fine. I save about 1/8 of a yard of fabric (and time) by doing the bias tape thing. Sometimes would do it with the elastic casing in waistbands. If the fabric was a little on the pricey side (or if I simply didn’t have enough yardage), I’d save that extra 1/8 yard by using wide bias tape for the elastic casing.
Let me tell you, I figured out a lot of penny-pinching and yardage-saving tricks. Bear in mind, this wouldn’t work with nicer, more tailored stuff (which I also did on occasion), but it was great for cranking out a simple skirt, top or pair of pants. And I found that if the fabric was pretty enough, it didn’t matter that the style was simple. It “looked” dressy and classic. Also, these pieces would be great with an expensive jacket or tailored pair of pants or skirt—you could really extend your wardrobe by making umpteen simple skirts or shell tops. (I did a count once, and it looked like I could go for a whole month without wearing the same top twice. Scary? Yes! But it got to be so quick and easy to do, and I was finding these $4 remants, and … well, I just got carried away, what can I say?)
Oh dear. See what’s happened? I got on a roll. I’ll shut up now. I am revving up to resume sewing again (digging through my patterns). Oh dear! :eek:
Snort!!! You can say that again. Oh look - there’s a nice blouse - wait, it’s got Scooby Doo on the front. Or Christmas trees. Or enormous snowflakes. Or gigantic palm trees. Oh! Darts down the midsection - yes I wear a size 22 because I’ve got such a slim midsection that I want to accentuate it for sure! Who designs those loud fluorescent prints? Do they have a volume control? They need one!
Being Canadian, all I have is Penningtons - once in awhile they have decent clothes for teens that don’t want to wear those stupid trendy shirts with palm trees and girly slogans, but they run about $30-40 Canadian - I could buy so much friggin’ stuff with that!
good bras- check out http://www.decentexposures.com/. Mad in USA, not too horrendous a price and you can control the amount of support you want/need.
Love Coldwater Creek clothes. don’t want to spend the money on them.
Consignemnt stores for large sizes are good as well. I found some really nice very expensive designer jeans for about $20.00. As well as other very nice stuff for very little. (I bought 3 tops with the midriff darts cause it actully makes that part look smaller)
If you want to learn how to sew check out local continuing ed classes or ask at the local fabric store if they have classes. Basic sewing machines are pretty cheap and reconditioned ones even cheaper. You can buy really nice fabric and sew it yourself much cheaper than the nasty polyester stuff in stores. Start simple and work your way up. A simple pair of shorts or a basic skirt with elastic waist and no pockets are dead easy to start with. You can make them to exactly the way you want. I for one have never understood why manufacturers think that fat chicks want shorts that come down to their knees. It is unflattering on skinny chicks at that length. I much prefer several inches above my knee but it is rare I can find ones like that. I can make them though. I really nedd to make more of my clothes.
I found some really nice t-shirts at an outlet store, fit nice with a square neckline. looked great and were at a great price. Looked good enough on me, my skinny mom was trying to find one she could wear.
I am not a classic apple or pear, I am very top heavy, broad shoulders and generous chest, never had much waist but propotionally smaller hips and legs. I tried on some of those “relaxed fit” jeans one time, it looked like I had on clown pants. I could gather handfuls of fabric at the hips.
No, I should. And I know I should.
Every so often, I hit fabric stores, buy a few patterns - get completely blown away by the cost of the fabric, and think “let me take it home, see if I can figure out how to alter the thing, and then come back for fabric.” And then I don’t come back. Until the next pattern buying kick.
maybe if I just bit the bullet and bought the muslin, I"d be ok…
I also think the next thing I’ll want is a good sloper, so that I can just know. (I have freakishly long legs, slightly long arms, and a very short torso. I would love to wear tailored clothes and there’s no way I can get them off the rack)
Last week Izzybella and I got to go to San Antonio for a business trip. On the way down (I drove), we stopped at the San Marcos Outlets, where they have a Coldwater Creek Outlet store. Talk about hitting solid gold! I picked up 7 things to try on. Of the 7, 5 not only fit, but looked spectacular. I walked out of there having spent only $96. I currently wear a size 20ish (could be a little larger or smaller, depending on the manufacturer).
I find many of my clothes at Ross and, less often, TJ Maxx. I can usually find some Elizabeth (by Liz Claiborne) for not too much money. I also love Torrid for tee-shirts, if nothing else. I am a little old for much of what they have.
Walmart is hit or miss, but I occasionally do well there. Target has fairly good quality, but a piss poor selection in the plus sizes. JC Penney and Sears also are hit or miss. August Max Woman used to be a great resource, but they have recently revamped their sizes. Instead of being a plus-size store, they now start at around a normal size 10 and end at a normal size 20. Because of that, I’m now boycotting them. I think there are plenty of stores around for the non-plus sizes, and it disturbs me that Casual Corner is so willing to discard their customers who do wear larger sizes.
As far as the OP’s question goes, my only guess is that the majority of people who make plus size clothing feel that women who wear those sizes are not only lazy slobs, but also have no sense of taste whatsoever. We’re also blind and deaf. :rolleyes: I think I have very good taste in clothing–I have an identifiable style, and with the lucky finds at Goodwill and Thrift Town, manage to put together a wardrobe that is pleasing to the eye even if I do have a few bulges more than people like to see. Screw 'em! I’m sorry–I didn’t mean to go off on a rant there.
I just found this on the Lane Bryant site: http://lanebryant.charmingshoppes.com/Shopping/product.asp?product_id=L1004611
This is “in” in all sizes this season, but it certainly doesn’t make it OK. It looks like her seams are coming undone. There are some nice things out there. My sister gets stuff from August Max from my dad, and they all look very nice.
And the failure of fashion designers to understand proportion goes into the petite sizes as well. Big lapels, large buttons, etc. It’s an industry that’s obviously operated by blind people.
[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
I just found this on the Lane Bryant site: http://lanebryant.charmingshoppes.com/Shopping/product.asp?product_id=L1004611
Kalhoun, I tried that jacket on the other day when I was in Lane Bryant buying some really cute pants. I knew it would be awful, and only tried it on out of curiosity. It was utterly ghastly!
That looks so bad! Like something even a hobo would refuse.