Can a fat person look fashionable on a budget?

[Ladycsparkles]

I'm a size 22. I've struggled with my weight all my life- at my lightest as an adult I was 7 stone, I'm now at my heaviest, partially due to binge eating, partially due to medication I take, but mainly because I'm just greedy.

I'm in a massive rut clothes wise. I own one pair of leggings, one pair of leggings (complete with complimentary holes) and probably 3 vest tops that I wear under a black cardigan along with a pair of converse.

I genuinely don't know what to wear for my size or my age for that matter (I'm mid 30s).

Can anyone help a fat bird out with ideas? I have literally no money either so it needs to be majorly budget friendly!

Thank you

Sorry that should be one pair of leggings and one pair of jeggings

There are loads of nice things. Try Asos curve online. Nice colours and good shapes.

i did look at asos and missguided but the prices made me panic a bit lol. I guess there's cheaper stuff on there I just need to look properly

What I do is go on Pinterest and type in "plus size" fashion / outfits etc and book mark some ideas.

I then make a list of things I need to buy to get these looks.

E.g.

I really like that first outfit, off to look at Pinterest thank you.
It'll be buy one small thing every few weeks for a while, I can't justify spending more than a fiver or tenner at a time on myself 🙈😂

But I would say a basic wardrobe would include:

• 1-2 pairs of decent, flattering jeans (try on lots of different styles to find what works for you). I would go to Sainsbury's for this, they do decent jeans and aren't too expensive
• a decent jacket that you feel good in (e.g. A leather jacket, blazer etc
• 3-4 tshirts that fit well in different colours (is try Sainsbury's for these at first
• footwear that's comfy and looks good
• a decent handbag

If you're really strapped for cash, try charity shops. I bought a few things in size 20 today for £1 each! If you have a list in your head of specific things, you may have more luck than just rummaging. Otherwise try peacocks, new look etc. There are lots of sales on ATM.

Pinterest is great for those 'put together' outfit ideas, definitely.

H&M is pretty good, too.

The other place you could look is everything5pounds (link to plus size section). Nothing more than £5!!

Easily. Asda and Next have some great basics in size 22. After that Ebay is your friend.

I reckon for £100 you could kit yourself out with a lovely capsule wardrobe. Buy a nice pair of boots, a good handbag (Ebay for inexpensive quality brand) and you'd be sorted for Autumn/Winter.

And find a flattering colour palette that isn't all black. Navy, charcoal, grey marl and burgundy are all good base colours. You can add colour with accessories.

I second everything5pounds. They've got a £2.50 sale on at the moment.

I never ever thought to look on Pinterest for fashion stuff- I normally go on there for a diy hack and end up looking at tom hardy cuddling kittens or something 😂
I'm loving some of the looks I've found. The children go back to school in 10 days- I'll be taking myself off down town to browse the charity shops and see what I can find. Am also on eBay looking for boots as my converse have seen much better days and I don't think they can be glued together for much longer!

Thanks so much for the advice- I will post anything I manage to get 😊

Pookie the more I'm looking on Pinterest I think you're right- the biggest mistake I probably make is wearing all black instead of varying the shades a bit!

Question- I'm sure I read once that bigger people shouldn't wear horizontal stripes- is that right?

That was a hard sentence to write- it autocorrected fat to gay 3 times hence why I changed to bigger!

You can definitely look fashionable on a budget, and it's great that you have vest tops and leggings etc that you can accessorise or build upon.

I know that Tu at Sainsbury's, George at Asda and Dorothy Perkins stock clothes in your size, and offer some really good value for money pieces, in some really fashionable designs and cuts. You could also try Primark, Peacocks and Matalan websites to check what sizes they stock.

This guide from Dorothy Perkins features some lovely clothes, and provides ideas for how to dress your curves for different settings, such as the office or a night out:

m.dorothyperkins.com/en/dpuk/category/inspire-me-6170514/how-to-dress-your-curves-5966359/home?intcmpid=uk-mobile-hp-row13_pos1_curve

Also have a look at what shape you are - hourglass, apple etc - go online to help you if you need any help, then look at online guides for dressing your shape. They can be very helpful.

There are lots of sales on online and in the stores at the moment if you need some Summer clothes.

If you're after Autumn/Winter clothes, red is going to be 'the' colour. Also, a 40's/50's kind of powdery blue/Air Force blue is also going to be big, as are checks and tweed and quite loose fit 80's style tailoring.

You could buy a few cheap, long sleeve jersey tops in the seasons colours, and some accessories, such as a scarf and bag, but also on trend make up - a red or pink lipstick apparently. Also, you could add to your wardrobe according to what you are comfortable in. I'm not a jeans person, so for me it's pencil skirts, jersey dresses and leggings. You can then easily wear these with different accessories and make up/hair styles relatively inexpensively.

Hello Fashion Monthly magazine is great value at £1, and really gives me great information as to the latest trends and colours. The items they feature are far too expensive for me, but I know what colours and styles to search for in high street shops, EBay and charity shops. If you're comfortable with EBay and charity shops, definitely use these too, they can be great for updating your look inexpensively.

I'm the same as you, I shop in Sainsbury's (look out for their 25% off weeks) and the other supermarkets as well as H&M and occasionally ASOS curve, almost always sale stuff. I am not amazing at putting together outfits but I have a few shapes I know suit me which I look out for. I wear quite a bit of blue and grey so I don't feel too ostentatious but keeps me away from all the black!

By the way I think the stripes thing is kind of nonsense, vertical stripes accentuate any curves by bulging out whereas horizontal blend in with any fat rolls more. I would layer though so a stripey top with a jacket or hoody.

Im a size 20 and buy a lot in asda, the blouses are flattering as are the cardigans. I also buy from Yours, bit pricey but i do like the jeggings and some tops.

Bonmarche is also a good find recently, some of it is old lady like but some nice tops.

Marks and specers ojtlet do brilliant cotton jeggings too.

If you want to splash out on great quality jeans ANA from JC Pennys is brilliant nd sizes very good, fit in the right places

M&S jeans are good. Prices start at £15 for my favourite straight leg jeans and they go up to a 28. But at only a 22, you have your pick of their styles.

Asda are good for basics, but definitely also look at ASOS curve. I've also started picking up a few bits and pieces on eBay - Boden, Seasalt and Joules - better quality fabrics which seem to help to deflect any lumps and bumps better!

For a size 22 on a budget I recommend Asda or yoursclothing.com.
I lived in clothes from yours for years and had never been comfier or happier with how I looked. And it's far from extortionate in price too.

I love looking at Alexa Webb's outfits. Even if you don't copy them exactly, you can get great ideas.

www.alexawebb.com/

Emmi Snicker

www.emmisnicker.com/blog?category=Fashion

Girl with curves.

girlwithcurves.com/

Tesco have 20% off boots just now. I picked up a pair of tan Chelsea boots from there a few months ago that I've had a few compliments on. They were £12 in store on sale.

Thank you all again- I've spent the last hour happily browsing Pinterest, eBay and other sites. I've put together a list of basics I want to buy that will build a winter wardrobe and will get an item every week or two- it'll take a while but I'll get there and be able to throw out my holy trousers eventually!

Ginger you've just reminded me that I have £7.50 in club card vouchers that I haven't used yet- I guess Tesco will be my first port of call 🤓

Violeta at Mango too. Slightly pricier but does have good sales.

www.thefashionspot.com/style-trends/566517-best-plus-size-fashion-blogs/#/slide/1

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