End of an Era: Au Revoir Lane Bryant and Department Store Pl

End of an Era: Au Revoir Lane Bryant and Department Store Plus Size Section



Even though I've known for a few weeks that this day was coming, I'm still in a state of shock.

I went to the mall today to get fitted for my new glasses and decided to get a jump on Fall wardrobe shopping while I was there. As has been my usual routine since forever, my first stop was Lane Bryant. I had a feeling that this may be my last trip there because the summer tops and pants I bought there in June were size 14/16 (the smallest size LB carries), and just a couple of months later they are quite baggy. I grabbed 2 pairs of the same pants in sizes 16 and 14, respectively. The size 16 I could slip on and off without even unfastening them. The size 14 I did have to unfasten to get into, but they immediately slid down to my hips because there wasn't enough left on my waist to keep the pants up. The next 2 minutes I spent in the dressing room muttering "Omigod, Omigod" over and over like a crazy person because it dawned on me what this meant: I am now officially too small for Lane Bryant, my go to store since the late '80s.

That also made me come to the realization that if I was too small for Lane Bryant, I was probably too small for the Women's Plus Size section of the department store as well. My next stop in the mall was Macy's. Even though I was a little scared, I took a deep breath and made my way over to the Misses' Size section. After taking a couple of dozen pants and tops back and forth to the fitting room I can report that I am a solid Misses' Size 14. I went a little crazy and bought 5 pairs of pants and 7 tops, but I deserve it because I have been working really hard to get to this point.

Now that I'm a Misses it's like a whole new world has opened up for me. I can go into any store I want, knowing that I can find any outfit and be able to fit it with no problem. This is huge because I haven't been in Misses' sizes since I was a college student 25 years ago. For a long time I had resigned myself to the prospect of being a Plus Size woman for the rest of my life, but now I know it doesn't have to be this way. This has made me even more determined to stay on track so I can reach my goal. Who knows maybe now I can be ambitious and shoot for a size 12, or even a 10. It's an end of one era, and the start of a much more confident and healthier one.