Had to buy some new clothes !

Five months in and only my smallest clothes were fitting correctly. All the pants and shorts that I wore before surgery are just falling off. So I had to bite the bullet and buy a few pairs of jeans. Went to a thrift store because I don't want to waste too much money on clothes that might not fit before my one year mark. It has been so long since I was happy to try stuff on.

That's an awesome problem to have. Right? :) LURVE thrifting!

I used to hate clothes shopping and would never try anything on. I'd shop online as much as possible to avoid it. Now? Totally different experience and I HAVE to try everything on. And size charts are my best friend.

Smart choice for the thrift store. I switched to wearing wrap skirts at some point because they're cheap and change size with me - great investment. Sadly my biggest clothing expense is exercise stuff. But, hey, who'd of thought that would ever be an issue for me! So I can't complain too much :)

One valuable lesson I have learned is to never pre-buy clothes. You might skip sizes, or your body shape might be weird for the thing, or whatever.

That's a fun problem to have but it does get expensive. I am in 'regular' clothes now and I love not being limited to plus sizes. I went to Costco and bought 3 pairs of pants yesterday; 1 knit crop for working out, 1 pair jeans and 1 pair piquie knit. The total cost was under $45 and they all fit great. It seems silly but I was really excited I could do that. I also had to break down and buy 2 new bras last week. I had been buying my bras on Amazon because it's cheaper but found 2 pairs on sale at Kohls and they fit too. I have to be careful too because I'm still a long way from goal. Also Gwen makes a great point. Don't pre buy. I did that and literally passed right through the size I bought. So what I thought was going to be tight linen top is literally hanging on my now in an unflattering way. Too bad because I really liked that top.

I was able to shop my closet for a long time, too. But it reaches a point when you have to buy clothes. Resale/thrift shops are the best if you have time. I had really good luck at Kohls and they have a reward program and a lot of sales.

I have been keeping a minimum amount of clothes just to get buy until I get to goal weight. Then it's going to get crazy.

I had a 40% off your entire purchase coupon so during the January Old Navy winter clearance and got a bunch of size 14-16 cloths ( my "dream size"!) for this coming year. Because, I couldn't imagine being any smaller and, you know, it was such a good deal...

Me, smaller that a size 14/large? No way! Turns out I currently fit into size medium at Old Navy, sometimes a small in tops.

Gwen is right, don't pre buy.

Also, I am amazed at the high end regular size stuff I am fine doing in thrift stores...A (size 10!) Evan -Picone dress with the tags still on it for 19.99, it was 40% off on "senior" day at Value Village. And, even better, a 9 West dress with a great belt for $3.00 and a Jansen bathing suit for $1.00 at the Feral Cat Coalition Thrift Shop. Both size 12. All fit perfectly.

ThredUP.com was the best for me. I needed to dress professionally for work, but also got casual clothes through it. I've been in maintenance for over 8 months and over half my clothes are from there because I was so happy with the quality/price. I generally stick with items which are "like new" or "new with tags", but I've dropped down a level periodically. The quality is always exactly as described.

I can't stand any website that mandates an account with them to even look at what they have so I haven't bothered with them.

I got a lot through Swap.com, because our local thrift stores pretty much had nothing in the larger sizes when I need them.

I have, however, now rediscovered t-shirts lol I hadn't worn them for 35 years, because my lumpy, dumpy body looked awful in them and they are mostly short-sleeved, which I refused to wear. But because of my job at the camp, I had to wear a t-shirt regularly. Now, I'm in love with them, and they are so cheap...most I paid only $4.50 for! (No more $35 per top at specialty stores.) I currently own six, and my collection continues to grow! Who knew I'd be a t-shirt kind of gal!

ETA: And I thought I'd never wear short sleeves because now my upper arms aren't huge and fat, but small and flabby with hanging skin. But you know what? I've decided I JUST DON'T CARE!

I'm with you on the sleeves. I wear short sleeves, sleeveless, whatever. Prior to my brachioplasty and afterward even with my scars being new and red still. I figure someone else being bothered by my arms says way more about that person than it says about me. :D