Help! No $ to buy new clothes!

z149189
z149189 Posts: 57
in Health and Weight Loss
Lately my work clothes have been getting too big for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining about that. It is to the point, though, where the clothes are starting to look kinda silly on me. The bad part is that right now I have no $ to go out and buy smaller sizes. Besides that, I don't know how much I want to invest in clothes when I'm still so far from my goal. Also, I suck at sewing. Any ideas?
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Replies

  • strippedandvital
    strippedandvital Posts: 32 Member
    Thrift stores & eBay.
  • AmandaMarie916
    AmandaMarie916 Posts: 75 Member
    Do you know anyone that can take them in? like a seamstress?
  • iBreatheMusic88
    iBreatheMusic88 Posts: 115
    You may have to... Seeing as Im in the same boat I totally get it. I literally had someone say to me at work that it looked like I was wearing a potatoe sack for dress pants... I mean I knew they were more loose on me but I had no idea I looked that terrible. lol Its a good thing but aproblem at the same time. Talk about your Catch 22 lol
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    Thrift shops, second hand shops, whatever you want to call them. Often brand-name products still with the tags attached at a fraction of the retail price. $2-5 instead of $50..

    the stuff is often lightly used and can be a great 'bridge" between your baggy clothes and ultimate wardrobe revival when you get to your goal.
  • CrisAlex
    CrisAlex Posts: 236 Member
    I second the idea of thrift stores. Do you have any sisters or close friends that you can trade clothes with? Whatever you do, congrats on your progress so far!
  • luvriden
    luvriden Posts: 52
    Thrift stores, goodwill, ebay, friends. You can get smaller clothes for very little if you don't need to have the latest and greatest :-) Since you would be buying interim clothes, it may do the trick for you.
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
    Goodwill and thrift shops are best for that sort of thing.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,960 Member
    For expensive stuff, like the suits I need to wear to work I took my old things to a tailor to have them taken in. Luckily I kept some of my old skinny clothes that I was fond of, so am wearing some stuff I bought 5-7 years ago.
  • sriley721
    sriley721 Posts: 68 Member
    most dry cleaners have a tailor on site. I pay about $12 to have pants taken in. I need a clothing exchange where we list our current size and zipcode!
  • Mock_Turtle
    Mock_Turtle Posts: 354 Member
    meh
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    What size do you need? Theres a ton of people on MFP that would probably love to pass on their too big clothes.
  • tatd_820
    tatd_820 Posts: 573 Member
    Learn to sew! I have taken in many shirts that got too big. Shirts that I still like, but were just overly big. Thrift stores is another great option. You can find some great items for cheap! Go pop you some TAGS!
  • FranksRumHam
    FranksRumHam Posts: 198 Member
    most dry cleaners have a tailor on site. I pay about $12 to have pants taken in.

    should be able to get a new pair of pants at tjmaxx or marshalls for that.
  • ratellcm
    ratellcm Posts: 164 Member
    Is there a Freecycle group in your city??

    http://www.freecycle.org/

    It's like craigslist or Kijiji, except everything is FREE.

    So you could sign up, and post a wanted ad that you are looking for clothes in whatever size. And then you can also give away your too-big clothes on the site. That's what I did with the bags of clothes that didn't fit anymore.
  • iBreatheMusic88
    iBreatheMusic88 Posts: 115
    You may have to... Seeing as Im in the same boat I totally get it. I literally had someone say to me at work that it looked like I was wearing a potatoe sack for dress pants... I mean I knew they were more loose on me but I had no idea I looked that terrible. lol Its a good thing but aproblem at the same time. Talk about your Catch 22 lol
  • Kandace_Riopel
    Kandace_Riopel Posts: 80 Member
    i gave all my bigger clothes to my step daughter ( who is getting to small for them YAY!) and replaced them with second hand thrift store clothes or clothes from my friends that are either my size or a bit smaller than me and have clothes that are too big!
  • cathibme
    cathibme Posts: 3 Member
    Take your old clothes (that are toooooo big for you now-WHOO HOO!!!)- and have a yard sale. Use all that money and go buy some new ones. Have fun! I would go to the thrift store- especially if you still want to lose more. Congrats on your weight loss!
  • lizlkbg
    lizlkbg Posts: 566
    Go all Macklemore on it.

    (ya, thrift shop)
  • MichelleZannone
    MichelleZannone Posts: 121
    Maybe try posting an ad on your local Craigslist page seeing if anyone would be willing to donate clothes to you. Of course practice caution when meeting up with people.
  • Valera0466
    Valera0466 Posts: 319 Member
    Thrift stores are great. Do you have a Ross or TJ Max in your area. They are very reasonable and you could try to just buy 1 or two outfits per payday.
  • Jersey_Devil
    Jersey_Devil Posts: 4,142 Member
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  • themedalist
    themedalist Posts: 3,218 Member
    Yes! Second hand shops. I had never shopped in a second hand shop until the year I spent losing weight. I spent most of the year between sizes and frustrated that nothing fit. A friend of mine suggested I explore seconds shops. I didn't have pre-conceived ideas of what I'd find or what to expect. After a couple of times I was hooked! People throw name brand and designer clothing away and often it is new or nearly new! It can be hit or miss, but my hits are so worth it. I will never pay $40 for a pair of pants again when I can spend $4. I'm pocketing the savings as a vacation fund.

    Something like 80% of clothes end up in a landfill. Second hand shopping promotes "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" and that's important to me.
  • AmyMgetsfit
    AmyMgetsfit Posts: 636 Member
    I would hit the spring and summer garage sales and shop thrift stores. Maybe go to the thrift stores closer to the ritzier neighborhoods if you live in a metro area. My sister in law has found some awesome deals doing that.
  • hairsprayhon
    hairsprayhon Posts: 334 Member
    Consignment shops allowed me to go through the sizes and have temporary clothes that fit. You may need to check some out to find the one that has your size and style. Now that I am a size 14 and will be staying this size at goal, I am willing to get some things altered. I didn't want to pay that for a temporary size. I also have found wonderful things at the Goodwill stores. Another source, the hospitals around here have fundraising sales of donated clothes and they can also have great finds. eBay is usually a bit more expensive, but if you only search your size and pre owned you can find some nice things, still cheaper than new.
    Getting too small for your clothes is great!!! But it is important to find things that fit during your progress, it is mentally not good to be wearing clothes that are too big.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    Goodwill and thrift shops are best for that sort of thing.

    This! I replaced my clothes each time I entered a new size. Kept me moving forward, you don't wanna let yourself slide backwards, and it's easier to do if you have bigger sized clothing to wear.
  • CupcakeConnection
    CupcakeConnection Posts: 42
    Not sure where you are located... However, I am in California and on Meet Up .com you can join a clothes exchange. It's where girls around the same age meet up once a month and bring clothes from their closet and have an exchange party. The clothes are usually things like work clothes. It specifies the clothing types / rules on the website. If you can't find a group in your area you could start one! Good Luck!
  • MyM0wM0w
    MyM0wM0w Posts: 2,008 Member
    most dry cleaners have a tailor on site. I pay about $12 to have pants taken in.

    should be able to get a new pair of pants at tjmaxx or marshalls for that.

    This. Ross, TJMaxx, and Marshalls have been a lifesaver. Kohl's is pretty cheap if you get a great sale or a coupon. My Mom is pretty awesome too. She's been having a blast buying me clothes in smaller sizes. Yeah, they aren't exactly my taste but I appreciate the support and each box I get in the mail has stuff that's useful.
  • angelique_redhead
    angelique_redhead Posts: 782 Member
    I bought a belt. Luckily most of my shirts are not yet too big. I've always had big tatas. The pants on the other hand were starting to look like hip hop saggy pants before the belt. Good luck! I normally buy my pants at Sam's Club so they're only around $14 but I didn't want to be spending $60 every few months on clothes since I prefer to spend my money on other things.
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
    Thrift shops!! I mean come on by the time you turn around after buy new clothes your going to need new clothes again because your burning that fat away!! :), so easy and they wash everything too before they sell them, so nothing nasty or WAY used will ever be seen. So just have fun and carry on loosing!!
  • mumtoonegirl
    mumtoonegirl Posts: 586 Member
    I was in the same boat not that long ago, I entered a weight loss challenge with the hope of working my *kitten* off to win (which I did) so I could pay for new clothes. We are going on a trip in 5 weeks (gift from my inlaws) and I had not a single piece of clothing that fit.

    So I hit of the thrift stores, local for sale sites (kijiji) and hit the sales. I got a ton of clothes from Old Navy two weeks ago because they had an amazing sale for very little (tank tops for $5 and dresses for under $20). All in all for well under $150 I got a ton of new clothes, that and I am getting a friend of mine to take in one dress and two skirts so I can make my clothes stretch.

    I love that I need all new clothes, and would love to be able to go get them because hey its fun now but I cannot afford it.

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