Buying a smaller dress for motivation

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miaelissa
miaelissa Posts: 30 Member
I am 5'6 and my size 20s are getting loose but my 18s are still tight. Buying a dress for a cousins wedding in June. Estimate to be down to 200 or lower by then including the weight I lost since the end of December. Dress will serve as extra motivation. Do you think a size 14 will work on a 5'6 female at 198-200 pounds?
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Replies

  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Who knows? There are a lot of variations of the human female body, just as there are a lot of variations in the size of a size 14 dress.
    What are the measurements needed to fit that dress? Do you think you will get to those measurements by June?
    I
  • maddyk91
    maddyk91 Posts: 193 Member
    edited January 2015
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    if I was you, i would hold out on buying a dress. the time between now in june is pretty long, and you never know what extenuating circumstances will come up between now and then that could halt or increase your weight loss. what if you are smaller than the dress?? i'd say save yourself the dress and go shopping when you're feeling foxy and can try everything on!! :)

    if you want to get yourself motivation, i'd say buy a pair of jeans/pants--they're a lot kinder to the pocketbook and less threatening than finding a dress to fit a future body type!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i wouldn't do it. just wait until closer.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    Wait until nearer the time. Body shape can change with weight loss and something you choose now might not be the right style/shape for you once you've lost weight.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    miaelissa wrote: »
    I am 5'6 and my size 20s are getting loose but my 18s are still tight. Buying a dress for a cousins wedding in June. Estimate to be down to 200 or lower by then including the weight I lost since the end of December. Dress will serve as extra motivation. Do you think a size 14 will work on a 5'6 female at 198-200 pounds?

    the problem with that is that it just might not fit right regardless of whether its the right size... it might be too big across the shoulders or tight round the hips.

    why not put some money in a jar for every pound you lose, and then you can treat yourself to a nice dress in May when you know what size you are?
  • Revolutionwithin
    Revolutionwithin Posts: 47 Member
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    Yeah that is a really hard call. Everyone stacks their weight in different areas, so it is hard to tell where you are holding it, or losing it. I have a friend that is the same weight as me and is a size 14 and I am no where near that size.
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
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    I wouldn't buy a dress that far out in advance. There's no way of knowing exactly how your body is going to lose weight, and what your body shape will be. The same dress that might be flattering on you in your size now might not be flattering to your new body even if the size is right. Some people lose more from their chest, or hips, or waist... it's not just a uniform shrinkage. ;) Plus, there's no real standard on what a size means from one garment to the next. There's been times I've gone shopping and tried on the exact same brand, style and size that I wore into the store, and not had it fit the same.

    If it's a bridesmaid dress that you need to order in advance, ask the shop about returns and tailoring options. I'm sure that's something they deal with regularly.
  • bethouiseevans
    bethouiseevans Posts: 41 Member
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    Im 5ft 7 and 194lbs and a 14 uk size would fit me... I'd still wait though because your body proportions can change dramatically in that time and that style may not suit you any more! For example at 145lbs, shift dresses look ridiculous on me because of my waist/shoulder/hip size i look alot larger than i am,, but at 190lbs shift dresses are great because i fill out the middle a bit more so they're actually kinda slimming if that makes sense?

    Wait till your slimmer and reward yourself with a shop :) I have goal jeans which I'm slimming into :)
  • Victoriamrs
    Victoriamrs Posts: 99 Member
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    I can understand wanting to buy a dress a smaller size to help with motivation. If I see a dress in a shop I really like I would buy it but only one size smaller if I buy it two sizes or more I think I would end up upset and frustrated feeling a failure if I never got to that size to wear it. Why set yourself up to fail? Important to be realistic and not put yourself under so much pressure to fit in a dress? (Weight loss is also about being healthier and fitter) So if you want, buy a dress in a smaller size to help you stay motivated, just maybe not for the wedding, wait till nearer the time and get one that will fit you perfectly and make you feel fab!

    :smiley:
  • DarbiB
    DarbiB Posts: 88 Member
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    Well, if this helps I'm 5'6, and I did not get to a size 14 until I was in the 180s, weight-wise. For me at least, a size 14 took FOREVER, like I was captain Ahab and it was my white whale.

    Here's my ideas, fwiw, you should a) buy a kickass dress that fits you now, as a present to yourself for all that you've already accomplished. And then plan on getting it tailored to fit your new smaller self in May! You'll have a dress that fits you even better than it did when you were the orginal size!

    My other idea is going on etsy or look around for local designers and get a dress custom to your measurements closer to the time. Either way: perfectly fitting dress for a new you!
  • sssgilber
    sssgilber Posts: 90 Member
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    As you move down in size, you'll find a bigger variety of dresses to choose from. Why don't try on dresses every few weeks just to get used to the way your body looks as you lose weight? Then when you're ready to buy, you'll know the colors, cut, style that are most flattering.
  • debneeds2beskinny
    debneeds2beskinny Posts: 227 Member
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    I would wait. sizes of different mfgs. vary, nothing seems to be consistent. Wait until you are a little closer.
  • VryIrishGirl76
    VryIrishGirl76 Posts: 1,167 Member
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    WAIT!
    You will be sooo pissed if it doesnt fit right.
    Voice of experience here....
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    There's nothing wrong with buying an "inspiration piece" in the next size down if that helps you focus. But I wouldn't do it for something you need to wear by a certain date.

    Like others have said, even if its the right size, it might not fit right. I would wait to buy that particular dress.

    I just bought a pair of pants that don't fit me in the next size down. I don't typically do this, but they were clearanced and are the same style as other pants I was buying in the size that fits me now, so I think they'll fit right. BUT, I don't have a specific date that they need to fit by. That's the main point that everyone's trying to make.
  • CaitlinW19
    CaitlinW19 Posts: 431 Member
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    I agree I would wait. As to all the variations in size and body types, I am a 5' 6" female. I don't think there is any way a size 14 would fit me at about 200...probably more like 175 for me. You are likely different, but I would still be surprised if that would be the right size at that weight. I would wait on something so important. Even if the dress "fits" when you lose the weight you are aiming to, it doesn't mean the dress will fit correctly and flatter the new you. It'll be fun to shop for something new as a reward later too!
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    Wait until the wedding. You might even find a style that suits you better at that weight than where you are right now.
  • EmmieBaby
    EmmieBaby Posts: 1,235 Member
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    I'm currently 182lbs and I'm 5'5'' and I fit in a size 14-18 depending on the dress/pants

    weight does not equal dress sizes. I have been a double digit size since my teens. when I was at my lowest weight (120lbs) i was a size 10.

    I would honestly wait at least until may before buying the dress.
  • LifeInTheBikeLane
    LifeInTheBikeLane Posts: 345 Member
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    EmmieBaby wrote: »
    weight does not equal dress sizes. I have been a double digit size since my teens. when I was at my lowest weight (120lbs) i was a size 10.
    quote]

    This.

    I don't recommend purchasing a dress for a big occasion in the hopes of being down to that size in time. Things can happen, things can go wrong, or you can get to the correct weight and still not have lost the correct inches or lost too many inches. I purchase dresses that I know I will wear one day in a smaller size but not big occasion dresses. Two years ago I bought a gorgeous red dress that was far too small for me. I had nothing to wear it for/to when I bought it and I couldn't fit in it anyways but I knew one day I would want/need it (plus it was on sale, originally $48.00, got for $9.00!). Valentines Day last year, it fit me perfectly.

    Wait to purchase the dress until closer to the date!
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    I would wait to purchase until you have to. (Ask the place where you are ordering from what is the latest you can order.) When you do order, order it for the size you are at that time. Dresses can normally be taken in by up to 3 sizes without losing their form/look.
  • Mamahana82
    Mamahana82 Posts: 64
    edited January 2015
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    5'6" here too. When I was 200 pounds, I was a size 14 but I pack a lot of muscle and always track about 20 pounds heavier than most women who are our height.

    That said, buying a dress more than one size smaller that far out won't be extra motivation, it'll be extra stress. You'll feel more pressure to get to that weight and every time you put it on and it doesn't fit, you will be discouraged and be MORE likely to just forget it. I speak from experience and I have had several friends who would go through the same things.

    When you lose weight, even if you can predict where the weight will come off, you won't know how color and cut will fall on your slimmer figure so far in advance. You might find colors or cuts or fabrics you never touched before look far better than the stuff you gravitated towards at your larger size.

    Do the work. Buying the dress is a form of impatience. Don't feed the impatience!
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