i want in on this...i'm not in the fashion industry but i do live just outside NYC and I do read fashion mags religiously...i love to mix highs n lows, that is, $200 pants from Eileen Fisher + some interesting top from the thrift store.
one suggestion that Pen left out is, always mix your extremes. that is, if you're wearing a flowy top, wear leggins or slim-fit jeans...clothes that are loose all over will make you look bigger than you are. And most of us here prolly wouldn't DARE wear tight all over, but that's also a no-no.
I'm not crazy about Clint & Stacey, i think they try to cram people into a mold but there are definitely ways that one can use fashion to develop their own style.

What sort of long chain? Do you mean to my waist? What are resin clear beads?

It's funny I've always found empire waisted dresses make me look pregnant! And I can never find a dress anyway with my 32H boobs and size 8/10 waist. If I find something to fit my boobs it won't fit my waist and vice versa. Very frustrating indeed!

I'd die to have even an E cup! If only we could all share, I could donate some of my breasts

If it's of any interest, when my daughter started working out at her local fitness center and toned up, her cup size went from a C-D to a B!

OK, so this is probably the least important question on this thread. (way more important are global issues like what fits our bodies, makes us look good).

But I'm curious. Pennink, the big fat magazines (Vogue, Elle) are showing tons of hats and gloves and even some fur.

Is anyone actually going to wear those? Will gloves make me look thinner?

Hi!
Pennink,
I LOVE this thread, and would really like to continue this as a place to talk about all things related to covering our bums.
I ordered some leggings online this week, and was very careful to measure and order what I thought should be snug on me, you know, so I could shrink into them . When I got them they were HUGE! Nice little ego biscuit, but an inconvenience I wish to avoid in the future. Any suggestions for getting it right the first time?

Also, has anyone ever ordered anything from the Shape FX line that they carry at Newport News and Spiegel? It's supposed to be very slimming. Is it well made?

I have a confession~
I'm a fashion DON'T! Seriously, I wore sweatpants out in public all the time last year. I am in desperate need of any and all pearls of fashion wisdom. I don't follow trends.... I like the classics. Sweatpants are classic, right!!!!!

New gloves and shoes every year. The only thing I bought while hiding myself in big shirts and big pants.

Yes ladies, please keep it coming. I LOVE THIS THREAD

I love talking clothes, too.
I just ordered this dress
http://www.spiegel.com/shop/product...ategory_id=8394
for dh's christmas party. I have high hopes for it. I know shirring in the waist helps hide the buldge. i wish they made it in stretch velour!

Has anyone else been cyber shopping, or ordered anything lately? I'd really love to see what is working for women of all different sizes.
Has anyone else found any interesting dresses for an upcoming holiday party?

Hi!

The only suggestion about ordering tights is to get them ordered to height and size. I'd buy them at a dept store that would let you try them on if they're expensive. Also, look at the amount of cotton in them. A lot and they'll stretch out.

LONG gloves are in this year to go with the coats that have 3/4 sleeves (very 50s and cute!).

No, with my changing shape, I don't trust shopping on line. I need to try on stuff. Not only that so many things are cut differently. I like to look online to see what I like, but then I go instore to make sure it doesn't look weird. So many things do right now!

I've always like shopping online because I like things better when I get them in the mail and it's a pain to return them! I could never figure out why I didn't like things in the dressing room. I think I've figured it out....

In a dressing room, I know what it really looks like on me! I was trying on the wrong shapes in the wrong sizes (because I was focused on the number, not the fit). If it came in the mail (or out of my closet!), I put it on and looked in my dresser mirror or just looked down and liked it. Since watching "What Not to Wear" I've gotten better about going to dd's full length mirror and I can see that what I thought looked good, doesn't!

Just the other day, I though I looked perfectly cute in jeans/skechers/a top and I looked in DD's mirror. Ew! It was not flattering at all, so I put on a more flattering top and shoes with a little heel and it made a dramatic change.

So, I'm resolved to use the full-length mirror more often and buy less online (unless maybe it's shoes and gloves).

Just a little tip from another "fashion don't"!

I just got a raincoat from a catalog- and I called in to verify the measurements. I was a 'small'- until I tried it on! No measurements for shoulder width- and that was where the coat was too small! So I had to pay the return shipping to get the medium. But it is a great raincoat!
I really like to try things on, but I will only buy stuff that I can return.
I will take it home and try it on again- in my own room with my clothes and my mirror. If I still love it and it fits and looks good- keeper.
Got a Dana Buchman shirt at Marshall's last week- the Dana tag said $200 but the Marshall's price was $39. I loves it there, but didn't realy decide to keep it until I tried it on at home with a few different outfits. KEEP!
Paleogal- Love the dress, but again I have to try on. If the neckline is too low I just don't feel comfortable- I guess that is one of the wonderful things about fashion- we not only all look different but like different looks!
E

I take offense about the over 30's not shopping in the Juniors area at the stores!! I love the capri jeans, they hide all of the "lumps and bumps" that are on my thighs, and I still feel like I am almost wearing shorts when I go to work. There are also some really cute tops there. Everyone tells me that I look great in the color pink. You really can't find many pink clothes in the women's or misses dept. I am 43 years young, and don't look old because I use tons of lotion, am in good shape, and dress young. If you look good in it, and feel good in it, any kind of clothes should make you feel confident wearing them.

Ooo I can't wait to shop in the juniors! I didn't know that's where they were hiding the pink clothes!

I'm blonde, blue eyes, pale - pink is great for me! And all I've been able to find for years is salmon. ugh... that orangeish color is not so good for me!

Talking about color - I have a question. Is there anyone who thinks I shouldn't wear sky blue this time of year? I bought a sky blue trenchcoat from Macy's a year or two ago - it didn't really fit, but I thought it would fit soon. Hah! No. It fits now!

It looks more like a spring color to me... but I probably won't be able to wear it by spring. I've worn it out twice and gotten tons of compliments (by "out" I mean I went to Barnes & Noble, and to the grocery store) (by compliments I mean the checkout girls at both places have said, "wow, where can I get that color?")

So can I wear it? Anyone think I can't?

BTW, the color is most like the color blue in the far left middle block of this image:


The fabric looks like a heavy cotton, it's lined, and it's water resistant not water proof.

It'd be nice if the online merchants had a system much like Netflix - where you could order whatever you wanted to try on and then send it back if it didn't fit you or if you didn't like the item as much as you thought you might.

Wouldn't that be a great idea?

Then, people could try on stuff with the clothes they already have too.

At the same time though, it's still nice to go into the stores and see the outfits all put together and so on.

Not having much luck on the shopping front these days myself. I'm just going to get what I can to sort of 'get by' while I lose the last 20+ pounds and then maybe once I get into a better shape and exercise off some of the flab, I'll fit into some things a bit better than I do right now.

That said, I still haven't gone into some of the better stores yet.

Wanted to ask - is the US Thanksgiving weekend that great a deal for shopping? I'm from Canada, where Boxing Day is the big sale day (or week even), and it's not the same here - seems to me that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the crazy sale day...is it worth battling the crowds?

Shewolf,
You are lucky to have found your own sense of style, and to have what it takes to pull it off with confidence~
You go, Girl!

Eno,
Congrats on the major score at Marshall's! I do love a bargain! Marshall's/ross/tjmaxx are also great places to go try on a bunch of stuff to get a better idea of what size you are and what styles look best on you....as well as sizing differences between various manufacturers~

Sara,
"use the full-length mirror more often and buy less online "
Thanks for sage advice. I got to spend two hours at a mall yesterday all by myself for the first time in 10 years. It was lovely. Next time my kids all go to grandma's house, I am going to go trying on clothes instead of cleaning my house!

Pen,
So many things are looking funny on me right now, too! WAY better than they did 38 pounds ago, though!!!!!!!!!!!
Who are your favorite designer's/manufacturers right now for the fuller-figured woman? What styles make you feel like a zillion bucks?