How do you ensure that you always have clothes that fit?

kassandra81

How do you go about always having clothes to wear?
I'm not a millionaire where I can buy a whole new wardrobe at every size change.

So far I've gone from a size 18 to a size 8-10, so there's been a lot of sizes in between there. I had clothes to last me up until size 14 but since then I've had to buy more in those other sizes. Now it seems like my size 10's are no longer a go and I just bought them recently. I told myself at the begining that I would just live in my workout pants, lol, but that's not so realistic and when jeans are $50 a pop easily - wowie! Shirts aren't as much of a big deal to wear a size larger but pants need to fit.

What do you do?

Ps. I did something crazy and donated all my size 12 and up clothes last week. Even when I've lost weight before, I've always kept the 'fat clothes' ... Can't believe I did it!

toddlyons

For most of our marriage, my wife has shopped at Value Village, Salvation Army Stores, and other non-chain gently-used clothing stores to outfit the whole family. My only new clothes for the last decade have been socks and undies.

I have a mile of dress clothes and casual clothes, half a dozen leather and suede jackets, and shoes and boots until the cows come home.

Google all the second-hand stores you can find and add a weekly hunt to your fun time. It's amazing what you can find.

zml_mom

a friend gave me all her 18's and 20's and when those were too big I had to go buy some 16's and then I still had 13's from years ago so I had transition clothes.
I just started buying a new wardrobe a few months ago and I got me 2 pairs of jeans and now they are getting too big so I know how ya feel.
now I am avoiding buying clothes until I get toned up the way I want.

fitnatic67

Good question.....I shop often.

Faintgreeneyes

This time of year there are lots of sales at most places where you can score pants cheaper. I know for me, I have only found one "brand" of pants that fit me well (which is the Gap) so I shop when they are having a sale. Like today select jeans and pants are 50% off- so getting a pair of $60 pants for $30 is great!

Otherwise I just shop clearance racks, go and find coupons to use, and do some bargin shopping. Stores like Marshalls (I don't know where you live, so you may not have these) or TJ Max, where you can get great deals on pants for cheap are great too!

Good luck!

mhotch

Someone suggested to me to shop in a resale/thrift shop until I reach goal. New clothes was my reward to reaching goal.

TundraTed

Do you have a Savers locally? I have bought a couple of things there. For jeans I just go with cheap ones and watch for sales- I still have a ways till my goal so this is going to a "transition" size. Shirts the same thing. I buy a few, rotate and do laundry often. I am at this point as well, most of my clothes really don't fit so I am searching for good deals.

fteale

Ebay

lormc

I have to agree there - I have shopped about the charity shops for clothes the 'next size down' and sometimes even smaller if they were a total bargain. Also did the same in the sales..and have a couple of pairs of trousers I got for £4 each in a sale over the summer, that I can very nearly get into! Saves money and its a great incentive!!

andrialindsay

thrift type stores for sure! I love places like platos closet or the buffalo exchange... goodwill and the others can also be great.

Also, every few months I do a clothes swap with my friends and family and whoever else wants to come. its really fun cause you get to be with your friends, try on clothes, and get new clothes

wendyannvantiem

I pretty much shop at salvation army

PatasDeGallina

I pick on my husband by telling him he is "renting" clothes from the Goodwill. He'll buy a pair of jeans in his size and after losing weight he has to donate them back and buy another pair, etc., etc. It's ok tho, because he's buying them at $5 a pop. And shirts, the t-shirts are $1 a piece. In a pinch, it can help flesh out your wardrobe.

Tops I'll wear longer than I should, jeans I have in several sizes, but when these outgrow me (haha) I'll hit the Goodwill. Now the bras I'm investing in every 15 lbs lost because a bra that's too big is a crime.

But other than that, I'm asking family for money for xmas and birthdays so that I can throw that into my clothes budget. Luckily your shoes usually keep fitting.

You've reminded me that I need to have the does-it-still-fit-me closet fashion show to donate the next pile of clothes. Congratulations on all your hard work and success. Seeing other people do well is what keeps me motivated because we're all just ordinary people making extraordinary changes. If so many others can succeed, I can too.

Or as they say, 50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong!

MummyOfSeven

I can't afford to shop every time I drop a dress size.
So far, I've bought my gym clothes, a few vest tops, a couple of sweaters, a pair of jeans and some 'loungewear'.
That's all I'm buying at each size drop (maximum) til I hit my goal weight. THEN I'm going to splurge on a whole new wardrobe

savlyon

I shop at thrift stores and buy just a few clothes here and there in different sizes. I have clothes in my closet that are just a tad too small to too big. I also shop sales at the end of the season for the next year.

I really like having clothes that fit though...shopping too small gives me the boost to lose just a few more pounds so they fit!

ljholmann

Planet Exchange is a chain of second hand clothing, they are now located in various states. They accept only name brand clothing, and they are geared towards a younger crowd than most second hand shops. I usually go and buy a couple of pair of jeans to get me through until I am ready for a new size. I can purchase 50$ Ambercrombie, American Eagle, etc for about 8$.

Alexagetsfit

You could sell your clothes instead of giving them away. There are second hand shops that buy and sell name-brand clothing like Plato's Closet or Buffalo Exchange. Or yes, check ebay.

khotch1

I buy at the thrift stores as well and when "certain" things are on sale in the retail stores I'll pick it up! I shop for a teenage girl though and she keeps me broke!!!

I am also going to get myself a nice new wardrobe when i get to goal weight!!! I still have things that would fit me when I get there that are not really out of style.

Natty0506

Like everyone else has said, thrift stores are your friend right now. I'd also suggest buying leggings and adjustable dresses (like wrap dresses) so that you can just tie the dresses tighter and the leggings stretch well.

QueenStromba

Skirts are the way to go. I lost about 6 inches from my waist before I had to stop wearing my last skirt. When I bought it it was a bit tight even when I wore it quite high and as I lost weight it just sat lower and lower and I stopped wearing it when it was in danger of falling off. I'm sure I would have had to buy 2-3 new pairs of trousers in the time I wore that skirt which justifies the money for a pair of boots to go with a skirt in this weather

juscallmeb

the hard part for me was clothes for work.
the pants part mainly. things were just to big - even with a belt on it looked silly. so I slowly incorporated sizes that fit and when those didn't fit i'd get them taken in as much as I could, but if the pockets got to close together it was time for a new pair.
it was too much to buy a whole new set of pants. so i did it in stages.
and I actually donated all my bigger size pants because I didn't want them. I had to tell myself I wont get back to that again.

Dtrmnd86

I give away all my fat clothes. I also shop at goodwill and salvation army for my "in-between" clothes. I'm going to spend more when I hit my goal, but until then, I can't fathom buying anything brand new when I know it won't fit much longer. I also started buying say 2 pants that fit now, and 2 pants that are a size or 2 smaller- so when I do shrink out of more clothes, I'll have a couple pairs I can fit into. I'm also glad it's winter. I can get away with wearing shirts that may be a little too big or a little too snug and just throw a sweatshirt over them.

ottersln

I shop at Goodwill, garage sales, and other consignment shops and buy a few good pieces to get me through to the next size. I am donating all my fat clothes so I am not tempted to just gain it all back... It's the right thing to do but it hurts to give away the clothes that I adore. As someone else said its fun to shop at the 2nd hand stores to see what deals you can find for yourself. I refuse to buy anything new until I hit my goal weight/size.

AmyEm3

I've been hitting the thrift stores. When I am done losing (hopefully by the spring) I am planning to go shopping for some new clothes.

jrditt

So far I am just wearing the bigger clothes with belts. I know it's not that flattering but, like you, I can't affoard a new wardrome at every loss. I am going to try to keep doing this for as long as possible and then go look at marshal's and ross.

I also hear from a friend that worked at American eagle that if you bought a pair of jeans there, they are for a lifetime so you can exchange them out for different sizes. I would ask about it before buying but if that's true, it's AWESOME

p.s. I am seriously so excited for a new wardrobe when I get to my goal

thecrossfitter

Leggings! The super thick nice ones - they're totally worth it, and will fit for a long time at many sizes.

Also, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Nordstrom Rack

MinnieInMaine

Thrift stores - Goodwill & Salvation Army (we call it Sally's Boutique LOL)
TJ Maxx & Marshalls
Watch for sales - maybe even sign up for emails from your favorite stores if you don't get mailings from them (or fliers in a newspaper)

ETA: consignment shops

lthomas42

I like shopping at winners. Not as cheap as value village, but if you like new stuff for a fraction of the price, it's a good place to shop.

lthomas42

I like shopping at winners. Not as cheap as value village, but if you like new stuff for a fraction of the price, it's a good place to shop.

kat_renee

In my case, I was a 7 then went up to 9, 10, 12, 14, and 16's.....lol. I kept all my clothes after gaining weight with hopes to wear them again some day. Now I am getting to my 14's, I plan on keeping one pair of 16's, not so I'll have them if I gain again but to remind me where I don't want to be again and put them on and be like.....dang I used to wear those?!?! What!?! I'll get rid of my 14's and 12's once I've past those. So, for me I already have jeans ranging from 7 to 16 and shirts ranging from M to XL. I love my clothes that I wore when I was thinner and refuse to get rid of them because I want to wear them again! Luckily I don't have to do much shopping but try second hand stores or Wal Mart brand to get you through.

RBXChas

Dresses are a great way to go for clothing that spans several sizes, though my "regular" size dresses that were good to keep me from having to buy stuff in bigger sizes are now too big

My sister and I are working out, eating well, and losing weight together. (It wasn't planned that way - the timing just worked out well.) She is about 25 pounds behind me, weight-wise, and so basically I pass all my clothes along to her as they get too big for me. However, I am hitting the point where I'm not going to be dipping into many more smaller sizes. My tops are already size S, and since I have boobs I can't imagine I'm going to hit XS in much. I am in size 8 jeans, but I still have another 30 pounds or so to lose, so I imagine I'll need to pass those on as well! My sister also has a co-worker who has given her some clothes that are too small for her, and she has sold basically all of her old clothes to another co-worker.

So that's one way to do it - find someone who needs to get rid of smaller clothes because they're either too big or too small. Otherwise she and I will pick up pieces here and there at Goodwill or at places like TJ Maxx or Marshalls. I don't have the income to be able to do often that right now, but basically if I can find something for less than $10 that is well-made and versatile enough, I'll snag it. (I also am lucky in that I've been on the smaller side before, so I have a fair amount of clothes left over from then.)

A few months ago I purchased an awesome pair of Levi's jeans at Belk on clearance ($50 jeans for $11) in a size 16. I think I got to wear them 3x before I passed them on to my sister, and thankfully she got more wear out of them than I did. She and I both loved the style so much (since we have similar builds) that we scoured the internet for smaller sizes of the same jeans. She and I both ended up buying two pairs each off of eBay. (Just a note on Levi's - they tend to run small compared to other brands. For example, my Levi's 10s are slightly tighter on me now than my NY&Co 8s. I basically consider my Levi's 8s as a 6.)

My sister also found some people on craigslist who were selling clothes and has sold some clothes that way. She bought a new winter coat on clearance at Banana Republic, but she sold her old coat on craigslist to fund the new coat. I think all in all she ended up spending $15 on the new coat when you take into account what she sold her old coat for.

To sum up my little novel here - trading or purchasing from people you know, craiglist, eBay, Goodwill and the like, TJ Maxx and the like, and clearance sales at other stores. You should have a lot of luck with sales once Christmas passes, but you can also sell your bigger clothes, even if it's just as a lot on craiglist, to fund some new clothing purchases.

dorisholaway

I get mine from thrift stores or from my daughter. My daughter and I are both losing weight and I get her hand me downs since she has lost more then I have. ( Isn't this a little backwards, she should be wearing my hand me downs LOL)