how to buy clothes
 

I need some advice. I work 5 days a week in a restaurant where I wear a uniform, so I only need clothes for the two days a week that I don't work. Well, today I put on my same old jeans and a shirt... and they didn't fit. The shirt was alright, but the pants just hung off of me... now I know this is good and it means I am losing weight, but how would you recommend buying clothes without spending too much??? I couldn't even save the pants with a belt because the material just bunches up around my waist. I just went out tonight and spend about (well, I won't tell you how much I spent because it is insane) on clothes so that I wouldn't have to be naked!!! :p I bought a lot of them a little bit tight so that I could lose another 10 pounds or so and they will still fit. Others are stretch material that will be good for about another 20 pounds. What do I do so that I don't spend too much on my changing body?? Any help will be appreciated!!! P.S. The scale says I only lost 9 pounds, but I thinned out a lot more than that.

Congratulations! You are on your way! It does seem silly to spend alot on interim clothes, especially if finances are tight, but I usually splurge on one outfit or two and look for things at the resale shop some have amazing finds. They arent my forever clothes so I try not to make them investments! You could pick some goal or size markers so you have an outfit to look forward to! Then send those clothes to resale or donate to a worthy cause, like a homeless or womens shelter when you pass those sizes in your downward spiral and dont look back! WTG!

have you tried looking on ebay? I buy and sell on there its a great place!

Congratulations! And it's normal on Atkins to lose a lot more size than weight, LOL. Makes ya feel great, doesn't it? :)

I haven't lost as much as I would like by this point, but one good thing about it is I'm getting more wear out of my new interim clothes, LOL.

I picked up one pair of pants to wear to town, and two or three pairs of sweats to wear at home. Problem is, though, the newest sweats now bag off my rear after just a couple of hours of wearing them and I don't want to buy any more just yet, LOL. I can dress pretty sloppily here at home and no one minds. Since so many of us in our home are following Atkins and losing weight, everyone's pretty much in the same boat. My oldest daughter went from a sized 12 to 8 and is still losing. She has a few pair of jeans that fit her now but some days she still wears her 12s (I honestly just shake my head and laugh at her because she looks almost like a clown now). For the other daughter, I bought sweat pants the same as myself, because she's heavier and didn't really have any smaller pants to get into.

I recommend thrift shops (if you have any in your area that sell decent clothes), outlet stores, WalMart and other inexpensive stores. Sometimes I can find good clearance sales at WalMart which helps.

Im in a similar situation.. my problem being a 5 day a week ordeal! I am in a management position and dress up to go to work..

the other day my husband took me 'shopping' right before work and I got a whole outfit for around $25 (including shoes).. now to my surprise the pants were my 'regular' size and hung off me (they looked good anyways because they were 'flowy' type pants.. you couldnt tell, but the crotch was almost to my knees <g>), the shirt was a size smaller than usual but even that was a bit big.. anyways I got alot of compliments on how good my outfit looked even though i found the pieces in the clearance section :) ( i absolutely LOVE the shirt and will be sad when i cant wear it anymore! but ill ship it to my sisters)

all of my business suits are hanging off of me.. it would be way too expensive to replace them at this point so im waiting until goal.. in the mean time some separates every month may suffice..

today i went shopping to get a few outfits and could find NOTHING.. I went to one of my favorite stores ~ the jacket i liked that i thought was in my size (or relatively close) was WAY too big.. I was falling out! I could have gone 2 sizes smaller but they didnt have it and the skirt i picked up was a size smaller than normal and i could have worn it around my hips! very cute, but a bit too short for work (I comtemplated getting it anyways.. but didnt have a top to go with it)

anyways.. I dont want to spend too much money either on clothes i may not wear a month from now.. but am between a rock and a hard place for work.. we dont have thrift shops here, so i check the clearance sections ~ but cant always find my size.. also shopping takes longer because my body is changing so much, I dont know what size to get anymore and the styles that flatter me are changing as well!

all of my clothes are way too big even though ive only lost 15#.. its strange because my mother always taught me that it takes 25# to lose a size when youre a 'big girl'.. but I seem to have misplaced at least a size and 1/2 at only 15#..

well im rambling, but im glad you posted this.. i was thinking about doing the same.. its frustrating, but in a good way.. I actually contemplated going to the other side of the store (NOT PLUS) to find my size.. and i probably could have! maybe in a month I will be able to do that without feeling like everyone is staring (if that makes sense)

and by the way.. i find myself drawn to colors now.. the outfit i wanted to get had some black in it but was mostly light pink! most of my outfits look like im amish (I mean that in a most respectful way).. all ive worn is black, grey, brown and dark blue!

OMG i thought i was the only one drawn to colors now LOL..... although i think black will always always be a staple its my security blanket so to speak LOL

i always buy my pants a teeny bit snug ( not so tight that i can see my panty line but just a teensy bit snug) b/c i know with in a week or so i will be fiting into them perfectly, once they get big i put them on ebay and buy the smaller size ....

Have you thought about getting your clothes altered to save money?

someone posted some tips on buying clothes from consignment stores about a week ago. It came in handy for me as I had to start shopping again (my pants won't stay up!)

You may want to look through the previous threads. They posted in the newbies section.

I also love thrift stores for imterim clothes. Resale shops have a nicer (read more expensive) type clothing, although I have seen brand new things at Value Village with the tags still on! (Especially those really small sizes, 4, 6, and 8. . .)
Another thought is to organize a church or other group of women to have a clothing trade. You all meet and bring clothes that no longer fit, etc. and exchange them for something that does. You can make it a casual thing or organize it so each piece of clothing is worth X amount of points, which the woman could spend. . .be creative. Lastly, it is garage/yard sale season. Happy hunting!
Carlene

I havent' gotten to the point of needing new clothes, but when I do I will definitely hit up thrift/goodwill, as I know they'll be interim clothes and I'd rather save my money for all the cute clothes I'll buy when I reach goal? Shirts are more forgiving, but you're right, too big pants won't work. I tend to lounge in sweats on the weekends, they'll fit for a long time, even loose.

Good luck and keep up the great work!

LL :)