I have nothing to wear - tailor or replace?

It will be cheaper to get new clothes than getting them tailored.

While I lost, I just bought bottoms when they were starting to fall off (or at the change of season, as the old ones were falling off then). I waited until I was 10 lbs from my goal to get new tops, figured they'd still fit... ended up getting rid of them anyway because they were just too loose and didn't fit well. Should have waited. Oh well.

Thrift shops are a great options if they're not overpriced like mine. I basically got my clothes on sale at Target or Old Navy or at Kohls with a 30% off coupon. I'm cheap!

I like to treat myself every time I reach a weight loss/ anything goal...There are loads of little sales and deals at the outlet malls, or if you're in Canada, you could easily spend 30 dollars at Giant Tiger and end up with 2 new tops and a pretty pair of capris! There is something about a pretty new outfit that fits right, that makes me feel even more determined to succeed! (And btw, YOU are financially worth it!

I wore some of my clothes until they started to completely fall off of me. Then I was lucky enough to have people donate their old clothes to me. I didn't want to buy new things because I knew I wouldn't be in them very long. How did I handle my clothes while losing? I wore belts & safety pins. lol. Lots of them. My advice would be to see how much it would be to have your clothes tailored. If it's expensive, only tailor pieces that you absolutely love. Just a note on alterations, If a garment needs to be taken up 4 inches it would NOT be worth it. The garment won't look right. Good luck on the rest of your journey!

jlj9287 wrote: »

How did you all handle making clothes fit while in the process of losing weight, especially for work? Any tips or tricks?

If you can sew there are tutorials on pinterest and you tube about altering clothes yourself.
Add a belt to loose tops or dresses.

When you buy new things-
Dresses might be more forgiving as you lose weight than pants.
Skirts and pants of a stretchy material/waistband might last longer.
Check places like thrift stores, yard sales, ebay, thredUP for clothes.
Donate or sell your old stuff. See if other people you know would like to do a clothing exchange.

Your weight loss is going to slow down as you get closer to a healthy weight. You may not need to replace clothes as often as you think.
I found that I could get by buying new tops but still wearing the same sweaters, pants and skirts for a lot longer.

Francl27 wrote: »

It will be cheaper to get new clothes than getting them tailored.

While I lost, I just bought bottoms when they were starting to fall off (or at the change of season, as the old ones were falling off then). I waited until I was 10 lbs from my goal to get new tops, figured they'd still fit... ended up getting rid of them anyway because they were just too loose and didn't fit well. Should have waited. Oh well.

Thrift shops are a great options if they're not overpriced like mine. I basically got my clothes on sale at Target or Old Navy or at Kohls with a 30% off coupon. I'm cheap!

I agree with you that thrift shops and resale boutiques have gotten expensive as they are getting very popular. I do shop Goodwill and look for the 50% off color of the week items. Designer jeans are a good buy there as are dresses. I got a Talbot dress and hat recently. The dress was $8 and the hat was $4.

I have found Kohls with the 30% off coupon to be a great option. Plus they do carry nice quality clothing. JC Penney has $15 off $25 coupons and sometimes $10 off $10 reward coupons.

I often donate clothes that don't fit anymore and get the tax writeoff. If they are really nice consignment shops will give you 50% of what they get which is often 50% off retail. But that only nets you 25% of the total value. Often doing the tax writeoff gives a better yield depending on your tax bracket and if you itemize.

Go Team Thrift Shopping! (It will be more expensive to have it tailored...at least until you reach goal.)

I buy new. The thrift stores I've been to have nothing I wanted to buy and/or weren't that much less expensive than strategically purchased clothing from Target and Kohl's.

For women, I suggest: solid color t-shirts, twinset-style cardigans, (I prefer black and grey) dress pants, a skirt if you can find one that fits, and a dress or two. As you shrink out of t-shirts, you can start wearing the cardigans over them (especially if your shrinking out phase lines up with cooler fall weather.) The cardigans can also go over dresses that are slightly large. It's not the time to invest in something like a new suit or blazer/jacket unless you absolutely have to have one. Keep your wardrobe really simple and you can continue to look well put together but still not lay out a lot of cash.

If you are still size 12w and up, woman within and Jessica London online have great sales and clearance. I just bought a whole new spring/summer wardrobe there last April. Office and play clothes.

Yep thrift stores are great for things like jeans and skirts. I sometimes find high quality things in new or almost new shape and you can't beat the 4 or 5 dollar price - sometimes even cheaper on deal days. Jeans are a definite thrift store thing since you'll probably go down some more sizes and they can be pricey new.

Find a home seamstress that won't charge much that can put some darts in some of the clothes you have.

It's not an option for all clothes, but an experienced seamstress will know what can have a quick 1 to 5 minute alteration and still look stylish. I sew so this is something I do for myself.

I've recently pretty much replaced my entire wardrobe and looked for pieces that will either look great loosely hanging on me or have seams (nothing complicated ) that are easily altered. Very flowy looser but still somewhat fitted and figure flattering almost bohemian type of clothing is very much in style right now. It's everywhere.

I have multiple pairs of $6 Goodwill jeans that I've bought to bridge my decreasing size. I hate to say it, but I'm really gonna hate getting too small for some of them. I've found some awesome items. Hehe. But yeah, Goodwill/thrift stores are a weight loss wallet savior.

Unless you absolutely love a particular clothing item, replace. Goodwill is a good stop gap until you get to your goal, then buy a new wardrobe. I recommend starting to save for that wardrobe now and buy higher quality. I have found higher quality items tend to last much longer and also seem to be timeless. I have items over ten years old and people constantly ask me where I've gotten them.