Tips on how to not buy all the clothes when you've dropped a size? (but still have more to go)

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  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    edited July 2018
    I just bought a couple of new pairs of jeans after losing 32kg (70.5lb).

    I left it as long as I possibly could because I still have a long way to go and the clothes I'm buying now are really just a stopgap. I'm still refusing to buy new shirts even though my old ones are getting very tent-like but I'm not sure how much longer I can put that off now.

    I work in a corporate environment but, luckily I have a great boss who's told me that I can just wear casual clothes to work until I get to my goal weight, which will save me spending thousands on new suits that will probably have to be replaced in a 12 months time.
  • WJS_jeepster
    WJS_jeepster Posts: 224 Member
    Also with the running shoes - sometimes if you bring in your old pair, they can look at the pattern of wear and you can discuss what you liked/didn't like about the shoe and that will help them find a good shoe for you to try.
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    I don't do thrift or consignment stores, but if that works for you - great! What I suggest is that you buy a couple of pairs of black pants, and 4-5 tops that are not formfitting, which will be great for work and for outside life. As you lose weight, you can belt the tops with a belt or a scarf. Splurge on sizeless accessories when you feel like you need something new. Pull on pants in a knit or wide legged pants can be a great help. Remember you are not at your goal weight, so buying a lot of clothes just doesn't make sense. (as for me, I have a 3 size wardrobe, so that is how I expect to manage).
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    Personally, I fine that the horrible clothing styles right now is keeping me from spending too much on clothing.

    What the hell's the deal with all the awful polyester? It's not the 1970's and I refuse to dress like it is.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    Personally, I fine that the horrible clothing styles right now is keeping me from spending too much on clothing.

    What the hell's the deal with all the awful polyester? It's not the 1970's and I refuse to dress like it is.

    I shrank into juniors sizes on top....midriff tops everywhere!!!! Why????? Can't I just have a cute t-shirt that fits to my waist?
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    Personally, I fine that the horrible clothing styles right now is keeping me from spending too much on clothing.

    What the hell's the deal with all the awful polyester? It's not the 1970's and I refuse to dress like it is.

    Yeah my mom inspected all the materials for what I bought and it’s mostly polyester + spandex + elastethine + viscose which are all synthetic. But all the cotton stuff I’ve bought in recent years is itchy as death. So idk. She’s warned me it all may not wash well.
  • yweight2020
    yweight2020 Posts: 591 Member
    Lots of great tips already, but when money is tight I take to a needle and thread and take the clothes in or use a belt as suggested and when that fails shop at the lower budget stores for only a few items depends on how fast your losing or not, I lost quickly the first couple of months now it's moving slower. Also buy items that are adjustable such as a wrap dress or skirt and pants that have a giving (stretch) material that can be worn between sizes. Good job everyone :):):)
  • bertabugg
    bertabugg Posts: 28 Member
    I have an extensive range of clothing sizes, I have always bought traditional work clothing with a here or there fad item. My sizes range from 12-18 regular and 14-18 woman's, I just wore something this weekend that I bought 10 plus years ago and I kept getting, "I love that where did you get it"? I sale shop at Macy's and pay less for designer cloths than shopping at a target, etc. I just bought 6 new tank tops from Macy's and after coupons they came out to $2.99 a piece, same for the shorts and Capri's that ranged from $39-89, I ended up spending $7.99 for the shorts and &14.99 for the capris (Michael Kors). I also joined ebates and get money back when I do shop.
  • no1racefan1
    no1racefan1 Posts: 277 Member
    Truth is...I buy the clothes :) I rarely buy new clothes throughout the year, so I try to save up and then once or twice a year do a major shopping trip. I LOVE buying smaller size clothes even though I'm not at my goal weight. Dressing in clothes that fit and look good on my slightly smaller figure motivate me to keep going. I've been losing very slowly so I don't think I'll have to worry about replacing them in a short amount of time.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    Truth is...I buy the clothes :) I rarely buy new clothes throughout the year, so I try to save up and then once or twice a year do a major shopping trip. I LOVE buying smaller size clothes even though I'm not at my goal weight. Dressing in clothes that fit and look good on my slightly smaller figure motivate me to keep going. I've been losing very slowly so I don't think I'll have to worry about replacing them in a short amount of time.

    :smile: Yes I too normally rarely buy clothes. It's been so nice to have clothes that fit. I've had so much fun in it! I actually returned a few items that I had bought online and wasn't happy with, and picked up another new dress. It really lifts my spirits to see a shape again. It's not goal but it's so much better than it was in my eyes. I think I'm done for now. :smile:

    I really, really, really appreciate all the advice and perspectives that everyone's offered here! Things like watching for belt loops, planning to take things in, styles that will look good a bit baggy or cinched. I think I have some things that will last me as I go down a bit, and I don't think I'll need to replace everything very quickly.

    The new dress I found was a size smaller than I expected to try on and it looks really nice. It's loose and flowy (why it fits) and has an elastic cinched empire waist so it doesn't cling to my stomach but it will definitely still hang nicely on a smaller body too! I've been wearing my new clothes. I've found that in mixing new and old, the new shirts can go with older shorts/pants (that were too small and have been rescued from the closet, so they fit nicely and aren't worn out), but a lot of my older shirts are not nice enough to wear with my new pants.

    And maybe if I make a full size down I'd actually find things in my size at places like thrift stores. They will be places to explore. Not for work clothes, but maybe dresses and T-shirts/jeans. I also have old things to donate or sell so I'll need to look into that too.

    Thank you everyone again :smiley: It's been great reading through everyone's experiences!
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    VUA21 wrote: »
    Personally, I fine that the horrible clothing styles right now is keeping me from spending too much on clothing.

    What the hell's the deal with all the awful polyester? It's not the 1970's and I refuse to dress like it is.

    I shrank into juniors sizes on top....midriff tops everywhere!!!! Why????? Can't I just have a cute t-shirt that fits to my waist?

    Try buying shorts that barely cover your butt cheeks in the smaller sizes. It took me days and many shopping centres to find some mid thigh length.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    Lillymoo01 wrote: »
    VUA21 wrote: »
    Personally, I fine that the horrible clothing styles right now is keeping me from spending too much on clothing.

    What the hell's the deal with all the awful polyester? It's not the 1970's and I refuse to dress like it is.

    I shrank into juniors sizes on top....midriff tops everywhere!!!! Why????? Can't I just have a cute t-shirt that fits to my waist?

    Try buying shorts that barely cover your butt cheeks in the smaller sizes. It took me days and many shopping centres to find some mid thigh length.

    OMG!!!! Yes, seriously!!! I have underwear that cover more than a lot of shorts I see. It's even worse as I have a "Latin" build - tiny waist, big butt, so yeah.....that's a hunt that could put 18th century artic expeditions to shame for lack of effort.
  • amh927
    amh927 Posts: 33 Member
    amazon! I buy shirts for less than $10. And to be honest, I've been buying a lot of dresses. Normally I don't like dresses, but you can lose quite a bit of weight (I've been wearing the same ones while I've dropped almost 30 lbs) and they still look nice. I aim for a flowy empire waist and outside of the armholes getting a bit too big, they still look pretty good.
  • Frappleberry
    Frappleberry Posts: 251 Member
    This is such a good thread! I had a dry cleaners near me who had a really good tailed. She did alterations of some of my clothes down either one or two sizes max, it was a much cheaper way of managing the transition and meant I could buy some new clothes too!
  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    I got a lot of ideas out of this thread!
  • ITUSGirl51
    ITUSGirl51 Posts: 192 Member
    kiela64 wrote: »
    DebTavares wrote: »
    I have lost a total of 32 lbs and did buy quite a bit of new clothes but I recently went shopping in my closet and to my surprise so many clothes that hadn't fit me for over 3 years now fit again. So yay a whole new wardrobe for free! I can understand OP however wanting to buy new clothes that look good. Plus clothes are fun, at least for me anyway.

    Yes, I can't wait until my saved 2 pairs of pants and a small heap of tops are wearable again! The pants will be sooner than the tops. So glad I kept them! I kinda wish I'd saved more but it wasn't until I was edging out of size 16 that I thought "this isn't good I need to fix this". They are fun! I definitely feel more confident and cute in clothes that fit and are more interesting than my boring old stretched out stuff.

    Also - hey I'm just at 32lbs lost as well :smiley: twinsies! XD
    ITUSGirl51 wrote: »
    I’ve lost 75 lbs. I couldn’t wait until I was done to buy new clothes. It took over a year to lose the weight. I went from 16/18 pant to a 6/8 and size 18 dress to a size 10. I bought some essentials on sale, but didn’t buy a whole new wardrobe. I looked at it as a reward for my hard work. I also think buying new clothes that fit great will give you the motivation to keep going. You just can’t go out buying everything because in a couple of months they will be too baggy again. Some of my favorite new purchases are too big now, but it felt great to wear them while I could.

    Yes, this is a long haul for me too. I started at size 18 too!! I found it really interesting, I'm at a 14 in my new clothes but my old size 16 pants don't fit yet, and I've lost ~30lbs. I thought maybe another 20-30 before I'm a full size down, but maybe not? You sped down really fast!!

    We all lose in different locations. I lose fast on the pant size and have no butt now. I shrunk a lot slower on my top. I was wearing XL and still wear a lot of L after 70 lbs. The last 5 lbs have made a difference in my top/dress size. The larges are finally getting loser and I probably could wear a medium. I was having a hard time finding dresses before that last 5 lbs that fit on top but weren’t too big in the hips.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    ITUSGirl51 wrote: »
    kiela64 wrote: »
    DebTavares wrote: »
    I have lost a total of 32 lbs and did buy quite a bit of new clothes but I recently went shopping in my closet and to my surprise so many clothes that hadn't fit me for over 3 years now fit again. So yay a whole new wardrobe for free! I can understand OP however wanting to buy new clothes that look good. Plus clothes are fun, at least for me anyway.

    Yes, I can't wait until my saved 2 pairs of pants and a small heap of tops are wearable again! The pants will be sooner than the tops. So glad I kept them! I kinda wish I'd saved more but it wasn't until I was edging out of size 16 that I thought "this isn't good I need to fix this". They are fun! I definitely feel more confident and cute in clothes that fit and are more interesting than my boring old stretched out stuff.

    Also - hey I'm just at 32lbs lost as well :smiley: twinsies! XD
    ITUSGirl51 wrote: »
    I’ve lost 75 lbs. I couldn’t wait until I was done to buy new clothes. It took over a year to lose the weight. I went from 16/18 pant to a 6/8 and size 18 dress to a size 10. I bought some essentials on sale, but didn’t buy a whole new wardrobe. I looked at it as a reward for my hard work. I also think buying new clothes that fit great will give you the motivation to keep going. You just can’t go out buying everything because in a couple of months they will be too baggy again. Some of my favorite new purchases are too big now, but it felt great to wear them while I could.

    Yes, this is a long haul for me too. I started at size 18 too!! I found it really interesting, I'm at a 14 in my new clothes but my old size 16 pants don't fit yet, and I've lost ~30lbs. I thought maybe another 20-30 before I'm a full size down, but maybe not? You sped down really fast!!

    We all lose in different locations. I lose fast on the pant size and have no butt now. I shrunk a lot slower on my top. I was wearing XL and still wear a lot of L after 70 lbs. The last 5 lbs have made a difference in my top/dress size. The larges are finally getting loser and I probably could wear a medium. I was having a hard time finding dresses before that last 5 lbs that fit on top but weren’t too big in the hips.

    Definitely!!

    I must have been terrible at taking measurements because it seems like I’m exactly the same size if I go by the tape measure. 🙄 But I seem to have lost most noticeably in my thighs, by the fit of pants. Like to the point my mother (who doesn’t see well) said they were looking thinner. Hips and butt are still prominent and are pretty much what stands between me and my old smaller clothes.

    I really dislike the bagginess in the upper thigh and how that folds weirdly in the crotch 😐 so even though some of my big pants still “fit” I might pass them on. It just looks so weird imo. I wore a pair today and my legs were rubbing together above the inseam and that was a Bad Time. All the chub rub of wearing a skirt with none of the cuteness 😶

    I’m also definitely a large in tops now. Although tops I feel are easier to mess with because they’re so stretchy and the fit can make more difference than the size. And I have such small shoulders to begin with, wearing XL even when it was more flattering for my large stomach was always noticeably incorrect if you looked at shoulder seams.
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
    To the OP:

    Oh definitely don't feel any guilt for treating yourself. You have worked hard and deserve nice things too. And for sure dress to fit your new body size as it changes. I was taken aside by a close friend who said my clothes were becoming unflattering the way they were sagging. I bought better fitting clothes and suddenly everyone noticed. It boosted my confidence a lot.

    You go girl!

    Did not read all 6 pages of this thread, but I agree with this. When I lost 30 pounds, a few people made comments about how I was losing weight, and I mentioned the number to one of my good friends. One day she saw me leaving work in my fitted gym clothes and said, "Wow, you really have lost 30 pounds! I can tell now that you're not in your baggy clothes." That right there motivated me to go out and get new clothes, and then I got tons of compliments.

    Unless my budget was so tight that the choice was between new clothes and buying food for the week, I'd spend the money on new clothes. Doesn't have to be expensive stuff, but I'd enjoy wearing stuff that fits. I'm losing slowly, so I don't think I will size myself out of anything until the next season anyway. If your budget is really tight, IMO dresses and skirts are more forgiving with size changes, so you'll get longer uses out of those- especially something like a wrap dress or something that ties in the middle. You can always just tie it tighter.
  • ACanadian22
    ACanadian22 Posts: 377 Member
    In Canada, we have a few stores that have extreme sales 99% of the time(as they do in other Countries). I buy from them at a min. of 80% off. I never pay more than $10(reg up to $199) for jeans and usually buy one size too small for me at least unless it is jeans I have been dreaming of and if I can't get them on size down, I might even get them the size I am now...I can resell for what I pay anyhow :wink: