When to start buying new clothes

raindrop556

Hi everyone,

So I've lost around 40 lbs and haven't felt this great in a long time. All my clothes are getting pretty baggy. Luckily my pants were originally tight so they aren't incredibly loose but they still need a tight belt. So I was wondering when should I start to buy new clothes? I don't really have the budget to buy much and if I continue losing weight than I'll just be in the same boat with my new clothes. What is everyone's experience with clothes and weight loss, like when do you decide to start buying new clothes, etc?

Thanks!

metcastillon

I feel similar, I can't spend money on any new clothes. But, I've read here on MFP that many people head to thrift stores and will buy clothes from there. The clothes are affordable and you can go back in a few months and donate your old clothes and replenish your own!

On a personal note, I intend to head to my local thrift store to get an outfit as a reward when I reach a certain milestone with my weight loss.

Congratulations on the 40 pound weight loss!!!

Kalikel

I am constantly going through clothes. I don't get people who say, "Just wear a belt!" and wonder if they've actually tried that. When the clothes are too big, they slip and the belt is above them. If you have something tucked in, you'll just look stupid, but if you're untucked, the belt rubs on your abdomen. The belt thing is only good through like one size down. For me, anyway.

It gets very expensive replacing all the shirts, shorts, pants, jackets, bras, underwear and sometimes shoes. Very expensive.

I try to buy a lot at Wal-Mart and on eBay. I sell on eBay, too. It just sucks buying things, wearing them a handful of times and then getting rid of them, especially if you LIKE the stuff. I've started buying things I like in several sizes so I don't have to get rid of them when I lose weight. When I ordered size 14 shorts, I bought 12s and 10s, too. That's helpful.

I no longer buy used clothes from people on eBay who sell tons of them. They lie about the condition and frequently starch nylon shorts to make them look better in pics and then the shorts suck. If I see "EUC" in the title, I skip it, lol. Be careful when you buy on eBay. Use some sense. If all their clothes say that the item is in excellent condition and they have bunches of men's, women's and children's sizes, be double careful.

I get a lot of great things on eBay, but I've been screwed, too.

The Wal-mart clothes fit surprisingly well! They hold up better than Kohl's, which started falling apart after one washing. I think I'll always buy some tops at Wal-Mart, though. I'm glad I started buying tops there.

queenliz99

When your belt runs out of holes and your pants fall off your butt:) I shopped at thrift stores because buying new clothing every time gets pretty expensive. Congrats on the weight loss!!

moxie1962

Oh..go to the thrift stores! I just lost 55 pounds, and have made a third trip for smaller clothes. Why spend retail $$ if they are just temporary clothing?

ColinsMommaOC

I find that I feel more confident when my clothes fit better, and that the expense of smaller clothes was worth it. I think metcastillon makes a good point on trading in your old clothes. It can be extra motivation to stay on track if you know you will have to go out and get new ones again should you gain

dubird

If you need a belt, you could probably stand to get some new pants. What I did is buy a couple at a time and slowly phase out the larger size. If you have a lot more to lose and anticipate going down to smaller sizes, thrift stores are probably a good place to get some in-between clothes. Having clothes that fit, even if they're used, will make a vast difference in how you see yourself. I couldn't see my weight loss in my larger clothes because the bagginess covered it up. Putting on some pants and a shirt that actually fit gave me a pleasant surprise in the mirror!

dahhhhhling

raindrop556 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

So I've lost around 40 lbs and haven't felt this great in a long time. All my clothes are getting pretty baggy. Luckily my pants were originally tight so they aren't incredibly loose but they still need a tight belt. So I was wondering when should I start to buy new clothes? I don't really have the budget to buy much and if I continue losing weight than I'll just be in the same boat with my new clothes. What is everyone's experience with clothes and weight loss, like when do you decide to start buying new clothes, etc?

Thanks!

Goodwill, and other thrift stores, are your friends. Especially if you plan on losing more, I would hate to spend major $$ on a new wardrobe to have it all be too big in another couple of months or so.

dahhhhhling

dahhhhhling wrote: »

raindrop556 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

So I've lost around 40 lbs and haven't felt this great in a long time. All my clothes are getting pretty baggy. Luckily my pants were originally tight so they aren't incredibly loose but they still need a tight belt. So I was wondering when should I start to buy new clothes? I don't really have the budget to buy much and if I continue losing weight than I'll just be in the same boat with my new clothes. What is everyone's experience with clothes and weight loss, like when do you decide to start buying new clothes, etc?

Thanks!

Goodwill, and other thrift stores, are your friends. Especially if you plan on losing more, I would hate to spend major $$ on a new wardrobe to have it all be too big in another couple of months or so.

Just wanted to add, when you lose weight and buy clothes that fit and aren't too loose, you and others will notice and it will encourage you on your journey. So yes, buy some new clothes now.

GeddesFit

I'm saving my money up to go on a big spree once I hit my goal weight. Until then I plan to buy no more clothing. Not sure how I'm going to manage as the sizes come off but I work from home so I mostly currently wear lounge pants that can easily be made tighter and I have maxi skirts etc for the weekends

MissJay75

Definitely head to a thrift store, and grab a few basics. Get on a mailing list so you get coupons & know when their sales are. Don't feel like you need to replace your entire wardrobe, just a few outfits you can live in until they outgrow you. I had to buy (mostly jeans) in 2 different sizes before I hit goal. When you hit goal, you can start slowly replacing your wardrobe. I suggest slowly, because you might discover new tastes and styles along with your new body!

snowflakesav

skirts and dresses.

dfranch

40 lbs is about when I finally had to buy new clothes. Depending on how much more you plan to lose, I second the thrift store idea. I bought way too many clothes when I lost 40 lbs. I initially only wanted to get under 200, so I was only 20 lbs away. Then I continued to lose until I hit 165. Needless to say I have a bunch of new clothes that don't fit.

victoria_1024

I got a bunch of cheap stuff from thred up .com, I think that was the name. Cheap name brand stuff that may have slight defects like fading, but nothing noticeable I could find. I got 40% off as a first time buyer so super cheap. I also have had success on our local Facebook garage sale group.

jemhh

I get new clothes as the old ones don't fit. I refuse to look sloppy and simply can't afford to look sloppy as I have a job where I'm expected to look presentable.

If budget is a problem, I will echo the call to go to thrift shops. Also, keeping your wardrobe super simple helps as well. Plain t-shirts can be worn to work with a jacket or thin twinset-type cardigan over top. Then you can wear them in off hours with jeans/shorts and no jacket/sweater. As you head into colder weather the jacket/sweater will cover up some of the bagginess and extend their wear time despite you losing more weight.

SingRunTing

I was ok for a while because my sister gave me a ton of hand me downs. But none of those fit anymore!

Lately, I've been going to Goodwill when I feel like I need to replace something. My last trip I got: 3 pairs of dress pants, 4 blouses, 2 sweaters, and a pair of jeans for $50. And a lot of them are name brand stuff. The pants I'm wearing today I got from Goodwill and are from Banana Republic. These are clothes I wouldn't buy on my normal budget.

It's so worth it. Spending a little bit of money to keep you looking good will help you keep going. I just so many "you've lost weight!" comments when I start wearing clothes that fit correctly. It's a motivation booster.

jaga13

I've lost 31 lbs and went down about 3 sizes (I'm also very short).

I recently went through my closet and found pants I haven't worn in years...and now they fit. So I'm wearing those for now. Unfortunately, it appears I got rid of the next size down, so I guess when these are too big, I'll start shopping.

Also, I am about to end my corporate gig and will be wearing completely casual clothes in a few weeks, so I've let my work attire get way too big, but I was not about to spend more since I only have a few weeks left. If I wasn't leaving, I would definitely buy something now. The good thing about casual clothes is that I can get away with yoga/stretchy pants!

Lounmoun

I'm down 24.5 lbs now. I have bought new underwear and 1 pair of leggings. My shirts are getting too big but I still wear them. My pants and shorts all fit okay still because they were stretchy. I will probably buy some new clothes in a month or two.
If my pants were falling off without a belt then I would get stuff that fit or get them altered.

dakotababy

For the most part, when I could feel my clothes starting to get too big, I would purchase a new pair, smaller size. For a few months I would wear some baggier pants and smaller pants. I would eventually grow out of the old stuff and fit the originally smaller pants and then those would become too big, repeat.

Basically, whenever I went shopping - I would by a few items I liked always in smaller sizes. Like someone mentioned above, if I really liked the item, I would buy in a few different sizes. I really liked my black pants and they were on a fall sale for 10$ a piece, so of course I bought a size 12, 10 and 8. I eventually grew out of all of them.

Now I just wear leggings and tunics/dresses with boots. I will buy more pants when I reach my goal weight.

kshama2001

Another vote for Goodwill. I'd also get favorites/expensive/good quality clothes taken in.

Another option is clothing swaps with friends - I've given clothes that no longer fit me away and received clothes from other people.

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lorrpb

Goodwill seems to have a variety of clothes and many are new (leftover clearance itms from retail stores), almost new, or very good condition. I've gone from 3x to 14/16 in the past year. I go to GW every 1-2 weeks and almost always find something. Most stores have a separate section for active wear where you can get workout clothes including those made of the nice quick dry fabric. Prices are so low that I don't feel bad when I have to go retail to get a specific item that I can't find at GW, such as recently I needed a black skirt & couldn't find what I wanted.

Domicinator

40 seems to be the magic number--I recently hit 40 lost and had to buy new belts and shorts. I had PLENTY of barely worn or never worn T shirts in the closet that never fit me to begin with, so I was covered there, but I'm definitely in need of more bottoms, belts, even underwear. Everything is falling off of me, and the person who commented that just wearing a tighter belt looks stupid is 100% correct. Everything just falls off of you anyway.

With fall and winter months coming up, I'm probably going to need new jeans, hoodies, etc. because I will be drowning in all that fabric if I stick with my old clothes. I even had to get my wedding ring resized because it was literally falling off my finger randomly.

DansLeSucre

A great seamstress can be an awesome friend. Taking in your old clothes systematically can save a lot of money. I had all of my bottoms taken in and then bought a few coordinating cheap tops until I could go out and buy new things.

bunsen_honeydew

Each size down, get new clothes. Unless you have a job/lifestyle where you can look like a slob in ill fitting clothes.

jkal1979

If the clothes you are currently wearing are still in good condition, you could also make a few bucks by selling them. Look for local yard sale groups on FB, a local consignment store, or put them on ebay. That will help offset some of the cost of purchasing new clothes.

Shells918

I buy cheap, sales at old navy till I get to my goal. Everything looks better when it was on sale

callsitlikeiseeit

thrift stores are your friend.

i refuse to look like a slob and buy clothes CONSTANTLY. but its mostly all from thrift stores

i did recently purchase some new items (mostly tops and a couple of dresses) as I can wear them longer than pants (in terms of weight loss)

raindrop556

Thanks for everyone's answers! I will definitely check out my local goodwill and other thrift stores.

BrianaDuBois

Even after I gained a ton of weight, I wouldn't come to terms with buying larger sized pants, so I was squeezing into my size 8's. Now, 30 lb down, I comfortably fit back into the 8's and they're starting to get roomy.
To be honest, I prefer to wear somewhat expensive jeans and can't get on board with buying them only for them to sit in the closet in a few short months. As for shorts, I wear my gym shorts fairly often. I have a handful of dresses that are loose but I can still get away with it. I won't buy summer clothes at this point in the year, because it's almost over (at least in NY). Other than that, I wear strictly scrubs to work and thankfully those are supplied by my job, so I got new, smaller, ones.
I have about 25 lb left to go. At that point, I plan on doing a recomp and getting a better shape which I'm sure will drop a size or 2. I'll definitely buy new clothes then and perhaps a few to get by before then.

Francl27

I bought new jeans/shorts at the start of a new season because the old ones were falling off. Just a couple pairs to last me through the season (and cheap ones). Shirts I went pretty much from size 18 to size M, But I should have waited longer as they eventually got baggy too and I had to buy some size S.

Underwear I pretty much went from size 18 to the smallest size available in Hanes underwear LOL.