While getting fit & clothes shopping

kb_CG_wife

During weight loss and becoming more physically fit, how do you shop for clothes? Do you buy for how your body right now, or for when you look a little bit more fit?

Here's my dilemma: I just got a super cute dress from VS online. It fits really well in my hips, butt, and thigh area; however, it's about an inch too big on top. Should I exchange it for one size smaller? I know by summer time, more fat will be gone around my hips, butt, and thighs, because that's where I'm losing inches.

teachmom32

Struggle with this, too, especially with clothes that are expensive. You want to look nice at the time, but you don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes that may not fit you in a month. I just wear baggy clothes for as long as I can...

LoveMy3Boys

I buy what looks good for now. I am just trying to be really cheap and buy clothes that flatter or look ok on my right now.

Colbyandsage

I bought clothes to fit at that time if I was going to be wearing them alot.

Honestly, I wouldn't buy the dress if you don't think you will wear it until summer. I made that mistake a few times and shrunk right through those. I only lost 30 lbs but it was 2 sizes for me. I have been on maintenence for about 6 months now and I just cleaned out my closet to start buying new stuff.

Camille0502

As I've been going through this journey, I've bought clothes as I needed them. So I buy my current size. I have regretted that a couple of times when I only got two months out of a pair of pants. Now I buy clothes on the snug side - since I am feeling confident that I will continue to lose. The only exception is that I recently bought two short sleeved cardigans for the summer in a size smaller than I wear now. They were only $20 each, so it wasn't too much of a gamble!

Throughout my 20s, I bought clothes a size smaller because "I would be there soon." The only thing I was left with was a closet full of clothes that didn't fit! So I try to be careful!!

ReaGaladriel

I say you should buy smaller number

I'm wearing my "old" clothes and I won't buy anything new until I reach my goal weight. But on the other hand I had to lose 18 pounds and that is not very big difference in clothing sizes (maybe one size)

88meli88

When I started in January, I made a deal w myself that I wont be buying any clothes until I lose a lot of weight (unspecified), as 14 pounds went by, I felt so good about myself, and my clothes were hanging off of me, and I realized a couple of things: (i) it really demotivates me to wear these baggy clothes and I need at least a couple of new nice things to feel good about the work I have done. (ii) Im in this for a while like until the end of this year, so it is totally not practical not to buy anything. And I braved it and ordered some clothes in a size smaller and they fit very nicely by the time they arrived and I feel so much better. They will make me feel good for the coming few months. I am still careful and try not to go overboard bc hopefully, they will be one season clothes.

Sorashi

I hate this, and I love shopping. Luckily I had a lot of stuff that didn't fit me from the years I was around this weight so I only bought two or three pair of jeans which were on sale and pretty. I tend to shop things that are not really expensive so I don't feel bad when they are baggy, but since I'm losing weight slowly It does not matter that much because I get to wear them for a long time until they don't fit anymore. The hardest part is when you find a gorgeous thing you cannot hold yourself back from buying. It happened to me with some shorts and bikinis so I bought a smaller size, and I will fit in them for summer (also they were cheap ).

You have to find a balance where you don't waste your money and you still feel you look good on your clothes because that's a self steem boost

cindygretz

I just had a wonderful evening with a good friend last night. She came over and hung out in my bedroom with me while I went through my closet and drawers and got rid of things that will NEVER EVER!! fit me again, figured out what I could still use, and what I could use in the future. (I've kept a lot of pieces I loved from when I was thinner)

Right now I'm doing a lot of clearance rack shopping. Most everything is 'in season' and fairly cheap. I try to buy pieces that are good for a 'mix and match' wardrobe in basic colors so if I shrink out of one piece the rest can still be used with another.

Also, even though I hate it because I've had to rely on it for so long, I try to buy a lot of elastic waist pants and skirts that are made to fit loose. They'll be wearable a little longer than things that are fitted.

With tops I buy things that are made to fit loose so that they don't look too big too quickly, and even when they are a bit snug yet they still don't look bad. Tops with elastic and drawstring bottoms are great!

Goodwill and second hand stores are a blessing.

Yard sales are about to be back in season and I'll be hitting those up as much as possible.

I'm also shopping cheap these days. Discount stores instead of higher end department stores. I've picked up several discount store pieces for 3 or 4 dollars off their clearance racks. They won't last long, the quality isn't great, but they were cheap, and they won't fit me long anyway.

majope

I buy what fits. To save money, I'll hit the thrift stores first, especially for jeans. Then I donate them back when they get too big.

tootoop224

I am trying to figure this out too. I am pretty close to the weight I want to be, but am going to start working on body composition with some weight training. Not sure if measurements are going to get smaller, or larger after weight training. I put it off for as long as I could, but now, my 36” waist pants are so baggy, I am starting to look like a homeless person (already donated my 38's!!!). So I decided to get at least one pair of pants for work, and a pair of jeans. That way, I could at least have a pair of pants for any occasion. I got a pair of 32” waist (yay me!!!) dress pants for work. They are a little snug, but OK for now, and will hopefully become my comfy “big” pants when I get to where I want to be. For the jeans, I decided to buy a pair, that I could wear now, albeit a little tighter than I would like, but are still wearable. These will become motivation to lose the last few pounds, and tone up my body so they'll fit, hopefully, perfectly. So I bought a pair of 30” waist that I could “shrink” into. I am thinking that over time, I will add to these with appropriate size pants as the picture of where I am going to end up for maintenance becomes clearer. Never knew this could be so hard!!! DEFINITELY a good problem to have!!! Good luck.

Athena53

This has been the only downside to weight loss for me. I have a really expensive business wardrobe and have been getting the pants taken in, but they still don't look/feel the way they would have if I'd had them made for me in the size I am now. I waited a long time to have them taken in to make sure the weight would stay off; they took in the waist in one pair a few months ago but they still feel baggy. I brought in another pair and he's going to take in the waist and do a sort of butt-lift because they're baggy in the seat. And then there are the pants that go with suit jackets. (Sigh.)

It's easier with my casual wardrobe. Most of my excess weight was on the bottom, and I buy a new pair of jeans or shorts every once in awhile at Marshall's or factory outlets, so not a major investment. In fact, I need to treat myself to a skinnier pair of jeans one of these days.

sevsmom

I kept on wearing my size 12 pants and Large shirts until I couldn't take it any more. . .like I just undid my belt and could slide my pants right off. . .turns out I needed size 6. So, I guess I went the ultra cheap route. I didn't buy anything until I absolutely had to! If I had an event or something, I would've bought the clothing to fit at the time of the event. Being as cheap as I tend to be, I just couldn't see buying a full wardrobe "in between".

mfpseven

I always buy for what I want to be not what I am, I have minimal clothes for transitioning. It helps motivate me and I have physical progress when the get closer to fitting

sindikumva

I have dropped at least 1 jean size (maybe 2) and I have invested temporarily in a line of belts ). Hoping to go down another full size before I start buying new jeans.

danimalkeys

I started shopping for new clothes when my old ones were hanging off of me. Shoulder seams halfway down my shoulder, pants wouldn't stay up, stuff like that. What was funny is I had to start using a belt, I hate wearing them and rarely do, and when I went to use it, had to punch new holes, which was nice! Now my belt has a foot of excess flapping off the end.

Since then, I go to the Goodwill store for "interim" clothes. I can get shirts and jeans that are in good shape for $3.75, wear them until they are too big, and then redonate them. I donated all my old big man 2x/3x and 42 waist clothes a couple months ago. Luckily I work from home and don't need suits or other nice work clothes. I do have to wear nice stuff for my band at certain venues, but again, Goodwill came thru for me. Dress pants that looked brand new, sport coats that are in great condition. Even a tux jacket!

I did buy 2 pairs of jeans from the regular store, but they were not real expensive.

My biggest expense was new riding gear for my motorcycle. My old stuff was literally flapping in the wind. I had to use heavy duty suspenders to hold the protective pants up or they'd fall right off of me. So when I lost my 1st 50lbs, I rewarded myself with new gear. Down 6" in the waist size and went from a 2x or 3x jacket down to 1X. $290 for the jacket and $190 for the pants! But it's good stuff that will last and protect me in the event of an unintentional dismount from the bike.

iecreamheadaches

I'm not quite at the point where my clothes are getting too big, they are starting to fit better though! I'm holding off buying new clothes until I absolutely have to mostly cause I don't have money to go buy a new wardrobe for every 10-15 pounds I lose lol.

Okapi42

I'm trying to get by with my old clothes for the moment, though I'll buy the odd thing in a charity shop. I plan to move jobs/countries again soon, so I'll pretty much donate everything except the favourites I want to have altered, and then start over in the new place.

crazylucky

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet - but I go to the tailor all the time. I LOVE some of my "bigger" clothes that I have had taken in. Now they fit perfectly - in fact better than when I originally bought them. I have had a couple of dresses altered 2 - 3 times because of this.

Also, I'm very small around my chest size (I'm a 32D)... 32 is small - most dresses or tops do not fit me well. So i get a lot of shirts taken in under the armpit area. I would keep the VS that you bought, but get it altered for an additional $10. If you need to get it altered again - GREAT! If you get your wear out of it until then - that's GREAT too!

Keep shopping (obviously within your limits) - it makes the weight loss trip feel better because you feel better in clothes that fit.

SJackson50

I realized a couple of things: (i) it really demotivates me to wear these baggy clothes and I need at least a couple of new nice things to feel good about the work I have done.

^^This for sure. I tried to hold onto a few things, but I related them to my "heavier" days and it almost made me feel like I had not progressed. So, whenever I can, I buy a top or new pair of pants to remind me of how far I've come.
Good luck and get something nice for yourself!

Car0lynnM

Couple of options: buy a padded bra to make it fit up top right now; if you're handy with a needle fix the top to make it fit; if you can afford it, take it to a tailor. You could buy one size smaller, but then would you be able to wear it now?

lioness803

I also plan on going to a tailor for some of the bigger clothes I really love, once I'm close to the size I'd like to stay at. I haven't had to buy anything new yet, so far all my clothes look ok being a little looser on me, and I've got smaller pieces that I can grow into. Once I do need new things, I plan on hitting up Goodwill for those in between pieces. I do have to dress up/dress trendy for work though, so thank god for leggings because they are way more forgiving than pants, and I can wear cute skirts an dresses!

cindygretz

I know my ticker says I've only lost 14lbs, but there were 60 before I joined MFP.

One thing I've done to encourage myself is buy "10lbs" outfits. If I try it on and It's a bit snug I buy it anyway. I know it will look great in 10lbs! But I also know I'm going to lose a lot more than another 10lbs, so I never pay much for them. 20 bucks for a two or three pieces off of clearance racks is my limit.

gabegrammy

thrift store and 2nd hand shops

zillah73

I bought what fit at the time but I bought at thrift shops. But if I found something really nice in a store that was a little snug but I loved it I would buy it snug and make getting into it comfortably a good goal.

JeanDescole

I lost quite a bit of weight before even joining mfp. I used to dislike clothes shopping because for every one item that suited or even remotely flattered me there were about 50 that I knew just by looking at them would do me no favours, even if I was lucky enough to find them in my size! Its like I didnt even have a choice I couldnt wear anything sleeveless or any skirts or khakis cut above my knees. But I'm glad thats all over now!

collectingblues

I buy clothes that fit me now. But, I'm fortunate in that since college -- so 15 years -- my bust size has remained the same, despite a wide range of weights -- and so have my hips, for the most part. So if clothes suddenly become looser, and I like them enough to want to keep them, it just requires taking them to a tailor and having them altered.

I don't spend money on clothes that don't flatter, so I buy what looks right when I try it on. I also don't see the sense in buying clothes purposely small in hopes that they'll magically fit perfectly by the time it's time to wear them.

AMBlass

Most of my clothes are from Target, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Marshalls! I only have one pair of jeans because those are expensive, so I don't want to spend a lot of money on lots of pairs. Most shirts will work for many months, they'll just continue to look better on me. Pants and skirts, I try to buy some with elastic bands so it'll fit my body for awhile. Definitely don't buy expensive clothes. Save your money!

kb_CG_wife

First, and foremost, thank you everyone for your opinions on the topic. Second, congrats on everyone's hard work they are putting into this journey everyday. Keep on keeping on! Lastly... I caved a purchased the same dress in a size smaller. When it arrives, I will try them both on back to back and see which one is more flattering. I will then return the other one for a full refund. I'd like to add that thrifting is a brilliant idea while being on a weight loss/ fitness journey.

You all rock!