Business attire while in loss mode?

DX2JX2
DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I've lost a good amount of weight since beginning my weight loss efforts and I'm to the point where it's impossible to miss the results from my physical appearance (yay!) and where it's getting tough to get by with the clothes I used to wear. I literally look like a little kid wearing his dad's clothes. That said, I still have another 15-20 pounds or so in order to get to my maintenance goal.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do about clothes. Casual/business casual wear is easy enough since I can always find jeans, etc. somewhere on sale and it's not an issue to buy something cheap to hold me over until I know what my final size will be.

My main issue is what to do about business attire since I do have to occasionally wear a suit to work (or at least well coordinated separates). Obviously, when the goal is to look business formal there's not a whole lot of leeway with fit. My current suits are ill fitting enough as to be pretty embarrassing and I think I'm well beyond the point where a tailor would be able to take them in. I'm currently down from a 38 waist to 34.

The problem is that even cheap suiting isn't all that cheap and the really cheap stuff tends to look obviously cheap.

What have any of you done to get by in this circumstance? Would it be feasible to buy a decent suit/separates one size below my current size and to see if the tailor can let them out now and take them in later when i get to my final size? What's the limit for how much a tailor can realistically adjust sizing? I'm not quite sure what the remaining 15-20 pounds to target will do to my suit sizing, but I'm guessing that it could potentially translate to 2 inches in the waist and two jacket sizes (for example, 42 to 40).

Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Replies

  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    Thrift shops/Ebay maybe for the short in-between period? I guess it's probably harder for guys, I had the same problem but can get around it by wearing some of my older looser dresses with a belt and we are kind of business casual at work.
  • Fitnessgirl0913
    Fitnessgirl0913 Posts: 481 Member
    I know where I live there are stores that buy and sell lightly used business clothes. That was my favorite place when I was dropping weight since I could get pretty nice stuff for cheap then when I lost weight and it didn't fit I could sell it to the store, not for what I paid obviously but it was better than getting nothing.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    ditto on thrift stores.

    I would also try some of the larger online stores that have free return shipping on clothes, especially if your time is limited (I find that most non-food items are much cheaper on Amazon (and in stock), with free shipping both ways, and I don't have to spend days visiting store after store to find a decent item - it does require coughing up a fair bit of money up front to get items in various cuts and sizes though before later returning most of them).
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Consignment stores usually have better stuff than thrift stores, when looking for a nice suit. I have one suit, and the pants are almost hanging off me. I agree that going cheap looks cheap. But it gets really spendy to buy new suits. Jackets seem to last longer than pants on me. Can you do a couple of nicer sports coats, and cheaper pants?
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    Thrift shops/Ebay maybe for the short in-between period? I guess it's probably harder for guys, I had the same problem but can get around it by wearing some of my older looser dresses with a belt and we are kind of business casual at work.

    Unfortunately, also not really useful to the male OP, but I often use clips similar to these on the back of my looser dresses, shirts, vests, jackets: https://www.amazon.com/PURE-STYLE-Girlfriends-Womens-Mitten/dp/B00YWNPCN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1502289117&sr=8-4&keywords=mitten+clips
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    Thrift shops/Ebay maybe for the short in-between period? I guess it's probably harder for guys, I had the same problem but can get around it by wearing some of my older looser dresses with a belt and we are kind of business casual at work.

    Unfortunately, also not really useful to the male OP, but I often use clips similar to these on the back of my looser dresses, shirts, vests, jackets: https://www.amazon.com/PURE-STYLE-Girlfriends-Womens-Mitten/dp/B00YWNPCN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1502289117&sr=8-4&keywords=mitten+clips

    I use those to keep my bed sheets on lol
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    I'm fortunate that I don't have to wear a suit, despite being an accountant. But I'd go for thrift stores. There is a Value Village near me that seems to have decent jackets and shirts. I might be a bit leery about used pants and may look for sales on those.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    Thrift shops/Ebay maybe for the short in-between period? I guess it's probably harder for guys, I had the same problem but can get around it by wearing some of my older looser dresses with a belt and we are kind of business casual at work.

    Unfortunately, also not really useful to the male OP, but I often use clips similar to these on the back of my looser dresses, shirts, vests, jackets: https://www.amazon.com/PURE-STYLE-Girlfriends-Womens-Mitten/dp/B00YWNPCN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1502289117&sr=8-4&keywords=mitten+clips

    speaking of, here is one marketed as such:
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AF8Q4ES/ref=pd_luc_rh_bxgy_02_01_t_img_lh?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

    and a decorative (non-stretch) one (intended use as basically a cloak-pin for cardigans/bolero jackets):
    https://www.amazon.com/Evelots-Antique-Crystals-Sweater-Cardigan/dp/B017O3XP7A/ref=pd_bxgy_201_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F3AW5TCBW87112E6Q66E
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Since you only have to do this "occasionally", I'd say suck it up and buy the smallest outfit you can comfortably fit into. Try thrift shops/ebay you might be surprised what you can find. It is harder for a tailor to let out than take in, so I'm not sure that approach would work.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    How "occasionally?" Is it more frugal to rent? You'd get quality stuff that actually fits. If "occasionally" means twice a week, then that's not the way to go. But if scouting thrift shops isn't your thing, and "occasionally" is not all that often, renting might be an option.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    When I didn't really want to invest in a new suit I went over to one of the wealthier areas and checked out their thrift stores. Unreal some of the clothes you can find. Picked up a brand new sport coat (still had Nordstroms tags in the pocket) for $20 while the original tag said $275.
  • yow_katherine
    yow_katherine Posts: 16 Member
    Find a tailor, a good one should have no problems adjusting from a 38 waist to 34.
  • Treece68
    Treece68 Posts: 780 Member
    I would not think it would be that much to get it tailored $15-20
  • guacamole17
    guacamole17 Posts: 109 Member
    Agree with the folks who said try a tailor, they should be able to do handle it.

    Otherwise places like JC Penney's has moderately decent, cheapish suiting you could probably get away with. Its obviously not tailor-made suiting, but it might work.

    Doesn't Jos.A.Banks have a ton of sales all the time? BOGO and such?
  • JLG1986
    JLG1986 Posts: 212 Member
    Go to a tailor! If your old suits are good quality a tailor will be a fraction of the cost of replacement and bonus they'll now be custom fitted to you.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Too late in the year, but after new years, Macy's/Belk had "last years styles" deeply discounted... and yes I know everything there is always deeply discounted, but I bought slacks for under $15 and Jackets for under $30.

    It's worth checking online and in the store to see what's left.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    If you can stick to well-coordinated separates I'd do that. I have a lot of luck finding separates in thrift stores, but that might be harder for men. I would not expect that a tailor could let a suit out enough to go a full size up, however, but I suppose that would depend on the suit and the tailor.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    is there anything like a TJMaxx, Ross, Marshalls near you - they have business wear sometimes that is decently marked down - you'll have better luck with coordinated separates - but I buy lots of clothes from there in general because they are often 50% off retail price)
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    if you only occasionally wear a suit to work - buy one for a decent price and then when you lose the next weight - sell it at a consignment store to get a smaller size
  • enyagoboom
    enyagoboom Posts: 377 Member
    echoing the tailor - take them to a reputable tailor before writing that off as an option.
  • DananaNanas
    DananaNanas Posts: 665 Member
    I buy all of my work clothes at Goodwill (thrift shop) simply because I don't like spending money on them :P
  • puzzledstill
    puzzledstill Posts: 67 Member
    Charity shops (that's what we call them in uk ).
    Found good quality separates. So smart and individual.
    Worked in 'the city ' in London so needed serious business wear. Found that could get really good jackets (which if I'm honest spent most of the time on the back of a chair).
    If you can get good quaility suit - make it special / 'you' with tie or shirt. (I'm guessing you are male).
    Let us know how it goes.
  • VeronicaA76
    VeronicaA76 Posts: 1,116 Member
    Good luck with that hellhole of a dilemma. I went from wearing a 3X pants to now a size 10/12 (US) 31 in juniors . I'm still losing fat, so it's really frustrating when I really should be wearing smaller clothes, but I know that whatever I buy will be too big for me in a few months.

    Someone suggested to me to shop at thrift stores, that way I'm not spending too much money on clothes that I'm going to shrink out of soon enough anyways.
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