Don't get me wrong, losing weight is wonderful. But watching your clothes sag off of your body like your older sister's hand-me-downs gets old pretty quickly. Here's a plan for maintaining your personal style while losing weight, without blowing your money on a new wardrobe every week.
Woven belts are my new best friend. I wear a woven or braided belt almost every day now. The reason is because I can adjust the belt to accommodate my shrinking waistline. Since belts tend to cost a little more than I care to pay, I'm constantly looking for cheap ones everywhere I go. I've found some of my most useful braided belts at affordable places like Forever 21 and Target.
Don'tunderestimate the power of lycra. Last month I purchased a pair of distressed jeans from Old Navy for $19. I was so excited because they DIDN'T have lycra or spandex in them, which I always needed to get over my butt and thighs in the past. As it turns out, I NEEDED that lycra. Without the stretch characteristic, my new jeans were baggy and saggy within two weeks of purchasing them. I recently dug out two pairs of old jeans from the coffers of my closet. They actually fit better than the new pair because they have a good amount of lycra in them. The waist is too big, of course, but that's okay because I have my trusty woven belt to cinch my waist as tight as I need to.
Being redundant is not that bad. I'm known for wearing my clothes in a way that makes my wardrobe appear larger than it really is. I mix and match the things in my closet to optimize them and get the most looks possible. This task becomes a major challenge when you only have a handful of pants and skirts that actually fit. One day after a fit of "lack of clothes frustration", I realized that it's okay to wash and wear the same jeans, shorts, or dresses each week. The key is to wear the things that look good AND make you feel good. Don't schlep around in oversized pants that make you feel like you're playing pretend in someone's else clothes. Use what you have. And as Tim Gunn would say, "Make it work." And when you finally get to your true body size, go out and have one spectacular shopping spree.
Stylenosh - what size are you aiming for? And what size are you now?
Posted by: Karla | September 26, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Great question Karla Kaye! It's so good, I'm may have to write a post about it. But the short answer is I'm not sure what size I am (b/c I was already a pretty small clothing size to begin with). And I'm not aiming for any size in particular b/c when it comes to clothing, SIZE DOESN'T MATTER. I'll definitely elaborate more on this topic in the near future.
Posted by: STYLEnosh | September 28, 2009 at 10:17 AM