Clothes buying advice

I have been losing weight so rapidly even BEFORE my RNY that I have purchased new clothes I only wore once. And one shirt.. I never wore at all.

My surgery is set for 9/21. I am on the preop diet now. 

My waist is about 54 inches now.. (used to be 72)

When should I buy new clothes.. and since i order them online.. should I guess how big I will be when they arrive at my door?

Also. I haven't been to a real brick and mortar store that sells clothing.. what sizes do most stores go up to?

Hi Hercules,

I buy all of my clothes at Casual Male XL.  I am able to find just ablout everything I need in 3X (Size 52-54 pants).  I think they also have a good selection of 4X+ stuff.  I would check to see if there is a stor near you.  They also have a pretty good return policy.  So if you buy something and don't wear it, you can usually return it.  Also, you can buy from their catalog and return things to the store.

I am also going to the OH event up in NYC in October, and am bringing all of my big clothes with me (they have a clothing exchange on friday afternoon).  I am hoping to find some smaller stuff to take home with me...

Phil

 There are two different ways to go. One is thrift stores,some of the better ones have really nice clothes and two, some OH groups have swap meets where you can swap your big sizes for smaller ones. My wife and I are going through our closets looking for things we haven't been able to get into and arranging them so we can find something that will fit. My wife's surgery is Sept. 30 and mine is still in limbo land. I am working my diet like you waiting for the day to come

Good luck on getting a surgery date. I'll say a prayer.

When I was losing I would buy 1 pair of jeans and 2 shirts. they would fit for about 3 weeks and then I would do it again.  I could wear the bigger ones and the new ones so I always had 2 pair of pants and 4 shirts that fit ok.  They guys that buy at the thrift stores swear by it.

Thrift stores are a great way to find clothes. Some are better than others. In some you will find stuff just hung up with out being separated by size or even gender. Others is just like walking into a department store. I have found really nice dress shirts for 2 or 3 bucks. I found a couple that still had dry cleaning tags on them, still nicely pressed.

By the handle here you can tell I ride a motorcycle, at one thrift store I found a pair of leather pants for $12, size 34 and the hem was uncut. $100 pair of pants. There are times you will go into one never find a thing worth buying but in others you will find a gem. Don't get me wrong you can almost always find something.

My wife is the one that got me started into the thrift stores. She loves them and even when we are on vacation we will go in and check them out. Couple of years ago while I was still loosing weight we were in FL and I found new Levi's for $5 bucks a piece. I guess in FL people want shorts not jeans.

Once you get closer to "normal" sizes clearance racks are great. There for a while my wife said I couldn't go in a store without going past a clearance rack. I did become a clothes ***** for a while. 

When my wife and go on vacation now I usually take more clothes than her. I told her that in the old days I would throw in a couple of pair of jeans and a hand full of Harley shirts. Now I actually have choices.
 
pan head

I had some 35 pants in the back of the closet.  Cant pull them together without some hangover.  maybe at my 12 mo, maybe.  Other than that I shop Goodwill and consignment shops.  Gonna wait til I hit goal before spending big bucks.

Don't be like me...I spent $200. on new clothes, thinking I was done losing...I wasn't.  Within 3 weeks they were no good.  The thrift stores are the way to go.  Also the local support group.  The other one is friends and family.  My best pair of pants came from my nephew (size 44 pants he no longer needed).  I just had to be bold enough to ask my brother.  I know it sounds strange, but asking friends and family can really save you big bucks.  As you get toward goal and stablize look more to the new and fashionable clothes.  Brian

I've gone from 50 waist to 42 waist, 18 shirt to 16.5 shirt.

I was fortunate (in one sense).  I had lost a lot of weight about seven years ago on a Clinic diet, but over time gained it all back.  I kept all of the clothes I had purchased at the time, so my main shopping over the last four months has been in my basement.  I have dress and polo shirts, as well as jeans and slacks, and a few sport coats and suits in all of these sizes that I'm getting ready to take to our church's rummage sale.  I could hold some back and get them to you...

I'm planning on buying the minimum necessary until I find out where I end up.  I have some stuff I bought at our last rummage sale in the spring that will go back to this one, because I've blown through those sizes!

also meant to respond about the brick and mortar stores --

Most Penneys stores have a big and tall section that probably go as high as 54, although I've never had to check.  Their shirts are usually up to 4X, as I recall from the stacks.  They almost always have a sale going of some type.  I just bought a couple of L shirts on the clearance rack for about $2.50 each.

The one at Midway Mall in Elyria has been good for me.