Bumping this for the newbies, and one to add, a site that sells `40 tights in 40 colors.' I want to get some of the splash! colors for teaching---or I can picture myself in a black dress, with black shoes, and bright red tights.

Haven't purchased anything here, so can't speak to quality/service. Sizes go up to 4X in tights. Fun eye candy. Caveat emptor.

Here's the size chart for the ladies: Plus Size Tights 2X fits 5'3" to 5'9", hips 40" to 48", weight to 220 lbs.(40 denier) ~ 3X fits 5'7" to over 6'0", hips 40" to 50", weight to 260 lbs. 4X fits 5'6" to over 6'0", hips over 50", weight to 330 lbs.


http://www.welovecolors.com/hosiery.asp

And to be fair, they also offer men's tights--but guys, you're on your own looking around the site for that, cuz there're some things I don't WANT to know. You're entitled to your secrets. So who out there is confident enought in his masculinity to be the first to appear in public in a nice warm cozy pair of earth green splash tights? ProfGumby? Griz-Man? RDW? Mr. E? No?

Thank you all soooo much. I book marked all these sites to check out!

One of my favorite stores has always been Casual Corner Annex Woman. They always had a wonderful array of casual and professional clothes. Plus, they are a little more conservative (e.g. Talbots) and I like that style. Some of the "trendier" clothes are soo not me. Anyway, I went to their website to try and find out more information like the range of sizes and they barely, if at all, mention this part of their line.

If you are looking for one of these stores, I think they tend to be at outlet malls. Other than Casual Corner, Talbots is my next favorite (I think Liz already said this one).

Thanks for all of the great sites everyone! I love this thread!

Great thread ... I still like Lne Bryant though. Much nicer clothes than I can get easily in Canada!

this is a great thread!

Too bad we couldn't make it a sticky!

Well, if we can't sticky it, let's just keep it alive by adding to it. I'll go! [raises hand and waves it madly about]

Considering that I've posted on this thread umpty-gazillion times already, one might deduce that I have kind of a thing for clothes. . . one would be correct. . .

I just got back to my winter digs yesterday, and I spent some time in the evening trying on the clothes I had here--the ones hanging in the closet, and the ones packed away in the duffle bag waiting for me to get small enough to wear.

I packed it away with the smallest stuff on the bottom, thinking I could skim off the top as I found things fit me. So I started working my way through, and as I tried on clothes, and found they fit, I'd hanger them with the other stuff in the closet.

And I kept going, and going, and going.

And I kept thinking, no, I'm not ready for that, while I kept working my way right down to the size M turquoise silk blouse on the bottom of the duff.

Bag is empty. Everything fit.

Some stuff is even too big.

And I stood in front of the mirror, looked me in the eye, and said,"Thank you."

Thanks for all the effort put forth, the times I went and exercised when I really didn't feel like it, the times I passed on the high carb treats and stayed on program, but mostly, thanks for the courage to begin when I had no real hope, only a dream.

Today was my first day back at work, and I heard so many compliments--even from people I didn't know even knew me. One friend quietly said, "Kathleen, you look wonderful." Wow. I've never heard that before in my life. Walking on air? I think so.

I digress.

Anyway, I counted my dresses yesterday--felt a little funny, like a miser and her gold, gloating. I found I had (ahem) 30 dresses (I like dresses) and a dozen jumpers, 3 blazers, half-a-dozen warm and wooly cardigans, another handful of cotton knit ones, and shirts. Plenty of shirts. Lots of 'em.

And * they * all * fit.

That probably is befuddling to people who don't save clothes, but I believe that many of you know exactly what I'm talking about. I've kept some of these clothes for years, hoping that they'd fit again some day. They've lived in boxes, or the duff, waiting their day in the sun. And yesterday I was looking at me in them, and they were LOSE--clothes that haven't fit for years.

Now I want to take them all out to play. . .

One leetle problem: I have five (does that sound right? It can't be but yeah I think it is) more boxes of clothes on the way in the mail. Yeesh.

Did I happen to mention that I like dresses?

It feels a little like hoarding, actually. I think that part of it is a kind of fear, fear of not having.

Last winter I was down to four dresses that fit me, and one more that was getting pretty tight. And getting dressed in the morning was an exercise in delusion and despair.

It's fun to get dressed now. . .

I told a friend this winter that I had been shopping (again) (btw, I get almost all of my dresses at a thrift shop so I'm not breaking the bank with this) and she laughed, and said, "It's a sickness with you."

I said, "No, it's a wellness."

Now some of these clothes that are on the way will not fit me at this time, not for another 20 or 30 pounds. I figure to get to that weight/size some time this winter--so I packed and mailed the clothes to have them later when I need them. But until they arrive, it's so strange that right now, all the clothing in the place that I live fits me.

I guess this is how nermals live.

You know what occurred to me yesterday? I realized that some people get rid of clothes for reasons that have nothing to do with the fact that they're too small, or too big, or worn to shreds because, let's face it, a lot of the time we're hard on clothes. And I pictured myself someday, when I'm ready, just giving up some of these clothes because it's just time to let go and let someone else enjoy them. Poof! just open my hand and let my butterfly dresses float away.

One more clothes story, if anyone is still awake <g> and then I will hop off of here and let someone else get a word in edgewise--I had one more bag in the closet, clothes that were too big, and that I had packaged up to give away. I peeked in there and saw a thick warm wooly cardigan. I decided to try it on, even though I remembered it not being very flattering. And I did, and it LOOKED great! And I realized for the first time that clothes that don't look so great on me big (even when they fit) can still look nice on me when I'm smaller. I didn't know they could do that. But they did. (How do they do that?)

Okay, I'll shut up now. Your turn.

As usual, dear Kathleen, you put a smile on my heart. You are quite an inspiration - I dream of the day when I'm where you are. Yep, yep, I wanna be like Kathleen when I grow up. What an amazing feeling that must have been!! I've got so many clothes in my closet that are too small. I haven't been brave enough to try any on yet, but soon. Soon I will.

Kathleen .... that was a great read. (from one packrat to another)

Susan,
Can't wait to hear about your closet adventures--those clothes will start to fit sooner than you believe. It's an amazing process--but you will see this for yourself.
Hi WIP, love your little hamster avatar. Glad you enjoyed.

Hey guys,
I had a friend come over tonight, one of my LC buddies. I'm going somewhere with all this, but first I have to tell you about this lady.

I met her about a year ago, when she was carrying about 275# on a 5'1" frame. She started putting on weight as a teenager, and has been overweight her whole life--never in her adult life lost weight. She started coming to the swimming pool, and we'd swim together and chat, and then she started coming to water aerobics. I talked to her about my decision to go back to LCing. She watched me losing for awhile, and then she started asking questions about LC, then told me one day that she decided to start--and she did. After a rough start, she's never looked back. SHE"S DROPPED ALMOST 50 POUNDS in this last year. But wait--there's more!

She was telling me last year that she wanted to marry, wanted children, but that she'd never dated a man. As in never not ever. Furthermore, she really wanted to marry in her church. I asked her what she was doing to meet guys, and she said nothing--there was no church of her denomination in the area we lived in. She's 38, so it was time to be about this business, if she was going for it. I suggested that she look for a website for singles for her church, and we went on to talk of other things. Well, a month or 3 later we were having a similar conversation, and I asked about the website, she said she'd looked, and didn't find one. I rolled my eyes, said for heaven's sake, got on the internet and found one in five minutes. She said she'd think about it, and I rolled my eyes again, took out my credit card, got her an introductory account, and she wrote out a profile. (So I'm a meddler--sue me.)

Well, a few months went by, and I'd hear about this guy or that that she had corresponded with, and there was one that she kept saying was impossible, but he kept coming back. And they had their differences, and even a spat or two, and he lives waaaaaaay far away, but this summer, he flew out to meet her, and they spent ten days together, and yeah, ladies, (but you knew this was coming, right?) they are engaged to be married next summer.

How.cool.is.that?

I asked her how this fella felt about her WOE, and she said, "I think he understands that this is non-negotiable. I am an obese person, and I have to eat this way for the rest of my life, or I go back to being obese, and I don't ever want to be fat again." She's GOT IT. She doesn't ever have to go through that cycle of losing, being cured, and regaining all the weight again that some of us hard-learners have to.

My friend is hoping that by Christmas she'll be under 200 pounds, which she hasn't been for about 25 years.

She's about halfway through the transition of changing her life forever. I think a year ago that if someone said--in two years, you'll be 130 pounds, married, and pregnant--it would have seemed impossible. Right now, it is more than possible, it's the logical outcome if she just keeps putting one foot in front of another. The entire course of her life has changed, because she had the courage to make a choice, and follow through.

But I digress.

All this a lengthy preamble to the where I was going with this story:

My boxes arrived tonight--I was wrong, there were actually 7 of them--but they're not real big boxes.

DF came by while I was unpacking them, and I started showing off the new clothes, and ended up going through all the clothes in my closet with her input, and have winnowed out a few dozen dresses and jumpers and sweaters. She kept saying, "YOu have to get rid of it, it's too big," and I kept doubting, but I knew she was right, and I pitched 'em. (Don't worry, the count is still absurd--I was up to 57 dresses and 17 jumpers, 14 skirts, 8 suit coats, and assorted stuff. Don't ask me why I count these---I'm not sure--I think I wanted to have a better handle on it than just to say `a lot of clothes.')

Some of them she had to practically drag out of my clutches, saying, "The fat gods say you have to give that dress back--you're not fat anymore, and you have to give that dress back to them." She'd laugh and laugh at some of these things--we had fun, even though part of it was Oooooh painful.

But at least I have room in my closet for the new clothes. And deep inside, I knew some of those had to go, I just didn't have the guts to do it on my own.

What's the old saying? A friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body. I guess this was sort of halfway in between. A special friend will help you move on.

And tomorrow, we're hitting her closets. . .

<bump> Love this tread

This is not an online store but a drugstore chain called Walgreens carries knee high hose in queen sizes that are actually queen-sized. It's their store brand and they don't bind or pinch, which is nice.

Kathleen
That was a great story! So inspirational. Thanks for taking the time to share it.
Susan

One thing I did not see mentioned was that Lane Bryant the store and Lane Bryant the catalog are two completely different entities.

The catalog uses the stick skinny models. In my opinion, the clothes are cheap and look horrible.

The store uses model's from Ford and Wilhelmina plus size divisions, like Kate Dillon and Mia Tyler. While not exactly zaftig proportions, at least we aren't looking at bone. The clothes there are fun, sexy and hip.

I mostly shop at Lanie's (Lane Bryant) Avenue, Torrid, and Junonia (not for clothes, but I LOVE their swimsuits) I'm an apple shape and it's so hard to find a suit that doesn't look terrible. I wear a long tankini top and the bike short type bottoms.. total confidence.

bumping this for dogbert's DF. . . .

Thanks, Kathleen....read a few pages back, and those were some GREAT stories.