My First style and beauty thread! I bought a dress...

[Hiphopopotamus]

and it doesn't fit. Over the last 9 months I've lost a fairly significant amount of weight, and have gone from being in, realistically at least size 18 clothes to size 14. My plan is to keep losing weight. So I ordered a dress online that I have wanted for a while - it's a kind of 50's swing style. I purposely ordered it in a size 12 so that I could have it as a sort of goal. But now it's here and it's beautiful I really want to wear it now! So what should I do? Send it back and reorder in my actual current size, or be patient and keep it as an incentive? Has ordering clothes purposely too small ever worked for anyone here?

It's always a bad idea to buy clothes to slim into. For one thing, you might lose weight from different areas and end up say, size 14 on top and a small 12 on the bottom or something. A tight fit always makes you look fatter than a tailored fit.

Also I find some of the 50s style stuff can be a bit snug in certain places - I have big boobs and I have to go up a size for some 50s stuff just so I don't have that unpleasant "too much of a stretch" across the front. Buy in what fits. (And you can always get it taken in at a later date).

Ah, send it back and get a bigger size. Enjoy wearing it now!

Congrats on the weight loss, that's a real achievement.

Can you afford to have 2, one in your current size and keep the smaller one?

Get the bigger size and have it altered when you lose the weight, it's not expensive and it will fit perfectly.

I really can't justify having two - I can barely justify the one. Hmm I'm leaning towards sending it back...

Like you I've gone from a size UK18 to a UK12-14 (12 bottom, 14 top) now. And like you I've bought smaller stuff to fit into.

I wish I didn't. I have lots of size US6/UK10 jeans I thought I'd be able to wear by now but well, still snug.

I agree. Sent it back and get the right size. An 18 to a 14 is an achievement - celebrate it NOW. :)

Yup. Good clothes now! Well done.

I bought clothes that were too small to slim into and it worked. It doesn't for everyone though. If you love the dress and want to wear it that badly just order it in the bigger size. You deserve a treat for losing so much weight.