Tips From The Trenches: Six Wardrobe Mistakes Not To Make During Your Weight Loss (and I Made Them All!)

[Sharon1964 2,530]

... the time and money you will need to create and maintain a wardrobe over a 100 major weight loss period can be daunting!

I had a hard time reading this, with sentences that are clearly missing words. It appears that you meant either "over a 100 pound weight loss" or "over a major weight loss period".

I think you will put forth a better image if you spent some more time editing. And as someone else mentioned, the pronouns need help.

And lastly, over $30,000? Most people I know cannot relate to that (including me). I'm guessing that was over one or two years, so either around $2500 per month or $1250 per month. That's more than my rent.

[FrankyG 1,450]

Um, I shop at thrift stores and wear really nice clothes that fit me very well no matter what stage of weight loss I'm in... and I spend pennies on the dollar for good condition, name brand clothes and accessories. Thrift shops are the BEST for finding inexpensive clothing for losing (or gaining) weight, since most people donate clothes if they still look good.

The trick is to find thrift stores in the ritzy or upper middle class sections of town. I'll still check out any shop I see if I have some time and am looking for something, but I've found designer stuff for cheap at those places, or at the very least, really pretty tops and jeans for much less than I'd pay at even Target or Walmart.< /p>

Husband has been losing weight with me and we just had to buy him new dress shirts and a sport coat... found two Calvin Klein dress shirts for $5, and a beautiful Joseph A. Banks wool sport coat for $15. I bought a really pretty ruby red off the shoulder top that matches perfectly a skirt I wanted to wear... $3.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

Wow at all the cost comments.

Different people have different budgets. 30,000 divided by 24 months is a little over a thousand a month. If you need nice suit for work, or purchased one purse or one or 2 pairs of shoes you can easily hit that number.

Different people view clothing differently. Some people how that dress an appear translates to money. A real estate agent selling multi millionn dollar listings for example cannot show up in some suit from the Limited.

The onky issue i had with the advice was dressing you age. That seems outdated and people shoukd dress for their figure.

[Tori Loukas 52]

Good message and good advice. Never mind the judgments here, writer.

[Chrystee 838]

I'm wearing too big of clothes.. but I'm trying to make them last.. I can't afford to spend a whole lot.. so only buying a few things on sale here and there..

[dbfn 67]

I guess what you spend on clothing is all relative ... $30,000 is a fortune to some, a pittance to others. I probably spend more on handbags than any of my friends, but that's my little weakness and I have no other vices so can afford to pay $1000-plus for the occasional designer handbag. This is all good advice, though ... you tend to change size so rapidly in those early months that you will never get your money's worth out of clothes you buy. And shoes are the same: as I lost weight, my feet also got smaller. I bought some cheap but comfy slip-ons to tide me over until things stabilised. Boots were also a little more forgiving because even if they did end up too big, I could wear them with some nice woolly socks to help with that.

[butterfyeffect 257]

Well, I have to second the shopping in thrift stores comment. I found a Goodwill near me that gets all of the designer donations. I recently got a Calvin Klein dress to wear to a friend's wedding for $10. Total haul that day was $82 for two pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, four tops, and the dress. Nothing that I bought was not a name brand.

I also have to add on though, that just because it fits, does not mean that you should wear it! I tried on some shorts on one of my shopping expeditions, and even though they fit, I liked the brand, and were comfortable, I put them back because I am 36 years old, and those orange shorts were just too young for me!

[Carin Boyer 90]

Thanks to all for comments on this article.

To those who asked if anyone should spend so much on clothes during and after weight loss surgery, the answer is that I do not recommend it!

Several factors contributed to my spending so much on my transition wardrobe. As a number of readers correctly guessed, where I lived (New York City) and the type of work I did (corporate executive type job in a well known financial services, think banking, company)during my weight loss period had a lot to do with it. We were expected to dress in a formal professional, very sophisticated style. The clothes I thought I needed in order to dress appropriately tended to expensive, and at the time, I thought I had to have a complete wardrobe each time I changed sizes. Now I know that with some planning it would have been possible to buy stylish clothing much less expensively, and by selecting the items with an eye toward versatility, fewer of them. As some of you have pointed out, shopping in thrift stores, and looking for sale items are ways to minimize the expense of adjusting your wardrobe during a major weight loss. Tailoring some of the more expensive items can also keep your costs down. Unfortunately, during my weight loss, I didn't have a workable strategy and it proved very costly.

These days, I take my own advice, considering my personal style, my lifestyle, and my budget as I plan my wardrobe.

Several people commented that they have their own personal styles and that they wouldn't want to change. Knowing what your fashion preferences are, and staying true to them are both essential to presenting your best self to the world. What image consultants can do is help you refine your style so that it remains consistent both with the person you are and the roles you need to play in your life, whether in your professional life or in social settings, all the while looking fabulous.

The very reasons I chose this career! I am interested in your comments, so keep the conversation going!

[TheProfessor 378]

The thrift stores have become my salvation! Every time I drop a size or two I saunter joyfully over to "Value Village" (Canadians, can I get a whoop whoop!) and spend a whopping $30 on new tops and jeans. HUZZAH!

Man does it ever feel good to wear clothes that fit as I'm on my way down. I happily donated a bunch of my Size 22 pants and jeans (SEE YA' LATER!), but some of my tops that I bought full pop retail are truly lovely pieces (purchased from funky online shops like Zulily) that I cannot bear to part with. This is where my seamstress friend comes in - she will be doing some sewing for me at $10 per garment and saving me hundreds of bucks that I would otherwise need to spend on new clothes.

As a professor I have an unwritten (but implied) professional dress code to adhere to, and having a seamstress buddy on board is very helpful!

[_Kate_ 2,224]

Carin, I really respect your answer to the comments left here.

If I had a good amount of spare money to spend on clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories I'd do it!!

After being married to the meanest man for 25 years (I used to have to hide money for holidays so the kids could have ice cream) I am now married to a man who encourages me to spend and I'm not ashamed of that fact. We both work hard, the 3 older kids are independent and the last one is 17 now and off to university next year so now its MY time to spend on me. In some area's of our lives we live very cheaply. However, I might treat myself to a few pieces of timeless classics which will work well in he long term.

Kate

[SleevePerry 248]

I'll happily dress any one of you for free (or for a bottle of wine, if you're feeling generous)!

[Stevehud 1,790]

i bought my first pair of pants since my weight loss started, at a goodwill 3 days ago. a nice pair of basic black dress pants, just in case. Size 36 waist. i havent worn a 36 since the 8th grade. I have to go away for business in september. and trust me i own just this one pair of pants everything else i own is either shorts or some exercise wear. Thankfully my work is ultra casual so at work it doesnt matter , but when i go away we have to dress a bit. sigh. lol budgetary concerns are the biggest however.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

This post is a big commercial? Chile PLEASE!

I am a fashionista! I look cute ALL the time and I bargain shop. Please stop spreading the stereotype that all fat folks wear unfashionable clothing in dark, boring colors.

[pink dahlia 2,513]

The thrift stores have become my salvation! Every time I drop a size or two I saunter joyfully over to "Value Village" (Canadians, can I get a whoop whoop!) and spend a whopping $30 on new tops and jeans. HUZZAH!

Man does it ever feel good to wear clothes that fit as I'm on my way down. I happily donated a bunch of my Size 22 pants and jeans (SEE YA' LATER!), but some of my tops that I bought full pop retail are truly lovely pieces (purchased from funky online shops like Zulily) that I cannot bear to part with. This is where my seamstress friend comes in - she will be doing some sewing for me at $10 per garment and saving me hundreds of bucks that I would otherwise need to spend on new clothes.

As a professor I have an unwritten (but implied) professional dress code to adhere to, and having a seamstress buddy on board is very helpful!

[pink dahlia 2,513]

Dear Professor, I used to get the best deals at our local Value Village ! They had everything ! Sadly, they went out of business where I live in western Washington state. The next time you shop there, tell them to please reopen one in our area ! ( In other words , "shut up and take my money !!!)