Sisterhood of Big-Footed Women & others forgotten by fashion

Shewolf...I wish you were closer to me.

We have Exie's in the small town 35 miles down the road to me. Owned by Exie who is a black lady and the women has some STYLE!

She tends to border on ethnic clothing and some others that are in style. But her clothing age range it seems...is from the mid 30's up.

If that makes sense? Its been awhile since I have been in there, but I don't recall teeny bopper clothing...it was very fashionable!

shewolf, canada seems to get it....

http://www.canadiancontent.net/en/jd/go?Url=http://www.ashro.com/

oooorrrr, maybe not.

Wow, I just got lost in indian clothing land. Eveyone can wear a sari. Too bad we'd all look slightly silly walking around in them.

Sure, pantyhose are out in Real towns, but in itty bitty nowhere towns like here, they're in, big. I quit wearing them about, oh, 10 years ago. Why suffer?

I too started wearing long skirts with little knee-hi stockings in my last few Corporate years. Now I wear long skirts with little boots (more comfy, like sneakers) and don't really care how I look. I found I was So Much Less Crabby in knee-his than pantyhose.

Oh my gosh LittleK! Saw that link just now, and sure, that hat will "Get you noticed," if you don't mind Stifled Guffaws following you about!!!

And does anyone actually Like that front-page outfit with the red & gold & leopard stripe on bright yellow, of all things? Man, that is one ugly outfit! Actually I like flowing skirts like that, but forget bright yellow, ugh!

I think I'm a "Winter," too, if I recall correctly from one of those stupd 20-years-ago Corporate Girl Parties where you were supposed to buy a lot of things.

Seemed to me like pretty much Everyone came out to be a Winter, so I completely ignored all my supposed-to-wear colors and have always worn what pleased me. Purple's my favorite, a really deep purple. I think I look fine in tans even though they're a big No-No according to "The System," whatever it's called.

Oh, and Wal-Mart bras! You'd think every female in creation is a 36B, since that seems to be pretty much all they have! I'm a 36 but wear a 38 since all the 36's are too tight, and need an A cup. Good like finding a 38A!

I started making my own silk camisoles for a while, they were way more comfy than bras & I could get away with it, being pretty much flat-chested. I put 2 layers of silk in the front & one in the back, with wide flat silk straps. SO much better than a bra!

BTW, that's what women's front shirt pockets are for, in my opinon.... if I wear one with pockets strategically placed, I can get away with no bra! Ha! And nobody seems to realize why I'm in a much better (painless) mood, wearing them....

And those Shoes on that Canadian website! Look like they Really Hurt, don't they?

And they say "Shoes you can only find here..." It's a good thing, I wouldn't want to be finding shoes like that all over town!

-sigh- saris -sigh-

(Love 'em.)

I buy my mom almost as many clothes as she buys herself, (well... a lot, anyway) and two of the best places are J.Jill and Eddie Bauer. They both start out expensive but have fantabulous sales. (They both go up to 4X with nice, well-made clothes.)

Low-rider jeans are my current annoyance. I hate hate hate hate having to stand up straight and not sit -- at all -- anywhere -- if I want to avoid showing great swaths of skin that I'd really rather not show, thankyouverymuch.

But regular-waist jeans look so frumpy these days.

And I like jeans!

How many times I wished I could wear a Sari about town! They are So Comfy.

The only thing I don't like about them is they cut their little tops, worn under the Sari, way too tight! If you got a stretch fabric top in a size too large, you'd be in clothing heaven!

Don't you love those Sari fabrics? I have a silk turquoise-and-gold Sari fabric, uncut, hanging on the wall, it's so pretty.

I almost always wear a silk tank top with a drawstring waist, very long & light fabric skirt. Layer stuff on top in winter, leave as is for summer, and I'm hardly crabby at all!

Funny, I used to like jeans... until I realized these skirts are about 5 pounds lighter. Now when I wear slacks I whip out my linen ones... just as tough as denim, but much lighter. Then again, Florida weather practically forbids jeans except in the dead of Winter....

Yeah, jeans offer good protection in the winter. My favorite ones are brown cotton velvet (cut like jeans). Soooo cozy.

I love this thread!

I've found a couple of great plus size clothing websites (other than the excellent ones already mentioned)

www.junonia.com - Active wear and regular clothes in sizes 14 and up

www.makingitbigonline.com - sizes 22-44 - natural fabrics mostly

Clothes shopping is hell. I have to be in the mood for it, or I know I won't buy anything.

Oh and shoes. I wear a 7 1/2 or 8 very wide. It's always a challenge to find my size and I refuse to wear shoes that are uncomfortable. If my feet hurt, I'm very crabby.

I am not alone...I am not alone...I am not alone!

I want comfortable, but elegant and sexy shoes for my stubby feet!

I once owned the PERFECT pair of black dress shoes that looked absolutely elegant and stunning with every outfit. Those shoes were comfortable, yet feminine and sexy even when wrapped around my little chubs . . . and then one day . . . when I was visiting relatives . . . my brother's dog chewed them to pieces.

Those shoes were IRREPLACEABLE. And people wonder why I'm a cat person.

I went out shoe shopping with my wife a couple of weeks back. She always has trouble getting wide enough shoes.

So, since we were looking at the local Good Feet store here for some orthopedic insoles, we thought we might as well check shoes out, too.

She was able to get an absolute perfect fit. It was pricey ($150.), but it was well worth it to see her happy with the insoles and shoes. All told, with an indoor pair of insoles as well, it set us back about $700, she has no pain and can walk properly again.

By the way, my wife has told me that in England, it is much easier to buy clothes and shoes "off the rack" than it is here. It seems to be a different attitude there.

Several years ago I walked into a Lane Bryant store and had a hissy fit. Here I was in a store for large sized clothing only and all of the large posters up on the walls showed THIN models wearing the clothing!

Not only that but the mannequins in the store were also thin and had the clothing pinned around the back to take up the slack! Double

I'm sure I embarassed my companions that day!

As far as shoes, my feet continue to grow as well. I wore 10's for the longest time but after working on a cement floor for a dozen or so years my arches seem to have fallen and now I wear 12's. I do notice more stores are carrying larger sizes now though.

I recall on Cybill Shepherd's last sitcom, she was modeling some sort of a pair of sneakers and it was on a billboard. And the billboard people strategically cut out pieces of the picture so as to make her appear thinner (and Cybill isn't, and wasn't exactly a huge woman, but apparently being not a stick figure means you are some sort of moose in Hollywood). So she and Christine Baranski graffittied the billboard late one night, put the curves back on with spray paint that sort of thing. Given that it was a comedy, someone drew on a third breast, but it was an interesting message.

Thank you, my sistahs, testify, testify!

Deb, I think I get ice creamy colors because I'm not only a Spring but I am blonde and also pale, pale, pale as I just don't spend a huge amount of time in the sun (must be that vampire gene I have). So light blue, light and medium purple (not too reddish), light yellow, light green, peach, all of these are good for me. Pinks and plums are out. Cranberry is a big no-no. I end up wearing some black because it's easy to find. I used to do the scarf thing, but have mainly stopped, can't quite recall why.

soz, BK, yeah, I understand the jeans thing. Too low, they look like they're falling off. Too high, and you resemble a, let's just say, woman of a certain age. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Mainly I just want jeans that fit in the butt area but don't dig into my waist.

I can wear fairly casual stuff to work but am trying to go a bit more formal as I am taking the job more seriously and hope to be taken more seriously (not that that is a problem there, I just want to look the part). Hence more formal pants. But I'm still wearing long-sleeved tees (generally with a good neckline) with a moleskin shirt thrown over them or a sweater set. The place is too informal for blazers. I've been wearing sneakers all summer, need to wear something better for fall. I have boots but they are a bit too warm for this transitional time of year.

Yeah, Lane Bryant. I tend to get basics from them, the prices are good but the quality is lesser, I believe. And it's less fashionable stuff, at least I think so. But it's good for basic sweats, tees, that kind of a thing. I've gotten jeans from them, not because I really loved the jeans but more because I needed to own some blue jeans.

We should all go shopping together. In saris. And sneakers or other comfy shoes.

This place has cut into my bank account recently...

First I ordered two caftans, I think in extra large. They were gorgeous, but way too large, by, say, a foot on each side. Sent them back and got one replaced in large, still way roomy, but they are not supposed to fit tightly. Haven't worn it yet, it's dwelling on the closet door.

Instead of the second replacement I ordered a shawl and a scarf, which ended up being more money, bad osso.

Anyway, I think it's a fun site.


http://www.smithsonianstore.com/home.jsp

J.Jill!! Prices start very high but they have a whole lot of good sale stuff.

It would be nice if they showed 'em on plus size models, but this gives you an idea:

http://www.jjill.com/now_on_sale.asp?AreaID=NS&SizeID=3

I went crazy at JJill once - have about five linen blouses in diff colors..

Feet- I wear a rather normal 7 1/2- Problem is, that when you have been wearing mostly sneakers (er, excuse me, I meant athletic shoes)or comfort type sandals (Revelations, Easy Spirit and the like) for over a decade, you find that your feet just will not fit into a regular pump, even if you go into a wider width.

Petites- In no way am I a petite, which means "little" in French. Anyone who has seen me knows that "Petite" is a politically correct way of saying, "short". Actually, one of the worst days of my life was when I discovered that I had to shorten a petite sized pant, by about two inches. I think that it has something to do with vitamins. Today's young women are much taller than the women of my age.

Now my top, on the other hand, is another story. Ever since I have gotten my boobs shortened, things are a bit more normal, but my back still possesses the same girth, and was probably much more proportionate when the boobs and the back were in balance. Well, I suppose that you can't have everything.

I wear Bermuda shorts almost all the time. Regular shorts are too long in the crotch, so I feel like I am wearing a diaper between my legs. Petites fit me better, but the shorter length tends to be unseemly on my ever expanding, increasingly "mature" thighs.

Recently, I discovered that men's shorts fit me much better than women's.
They also have nice, big pockets that enable me to run around without a pocket book.

I know that fashions tend to go in cycles. I can't wait until the era of the "big shirt" is back in fashion again. THEN I can truly say that I am in vogue. In the meantine, I must content myself with looking like a beach umbrella!

Still loving this thread! Seems like pretty much ALL of us, no matter what our size, have big problems finding clothing that actually fits and is comfortable at the same time. So, what's modern technology FOR, anyway?

I mentioned on the Punk-Ass thread about the new trend in shoes, you know those black things with really big chunky heels and sometimes a platform in front, too. Man, they look awful in my size! Absolutely horrific! Like a phone lineman who's thinking about going about in drag! Never worn 'em.

I just won't wear those low-cut jeans. Mostly I don't wear jeans at all.

You know, scarves are a darned good idea. I have some really nice silk ones I've picked up at thrift stores over the years, and haven't done a darned thing with 'em other than put them up on the wall, they're so pretty. Hey, I could actually Wear Them!

I'm very fond of sweater sets, always pick them up when I see them in thrift stores. It's way hot in the car, so I can just wear the bottom part, and way cold indoors with A/C, so I can put on the sweater part. I love 'em!

I also Really Dislike how plus-sized fashion catalogs show skinny models.

It's like it's illegal or something to show a plus-size woman wearing plus-sized clothing. I mean, jeez, Who Else is gonna wear it?