Buying new clothing

[Ponderingwindow]

If you have a large amount of weight to lose, when do you break down and buy new clothing?

I’m about 1/3 of the way to a truly healthy weight. I’m going slow and steady. It has taken me a year to get to this point so I suspect it will take 2 more years to reach my ultimate goal.

My trousers are falling down so I have no choice but to buy something. Thankfully I was at home alone when that potentially embarrassing moment happened. I think I have been in denial about how much my body has changed. Tops and dresses, some just fit better. Some have been retired because the necks are now far too low.

My bras are now too big. That is the one that is really giving me pause. Even when I was an underweight teen, my cup size was huge. As a result my bras are very expensive. Replacing them multiple times is going to cost quite a bit and I feel guilty about spending so much. We can afford it and my husband will tell me I am being ridiculous.

hence why I am asking other people, how do you decide when to replenish the wardrobe when you know you aren’t at your goal weight?

Can you not try and shrink some clothes on a hot wash?

We are selling our nice clothes on vinted. I have sold a ton of beautiful size 16 clothes! Sell your sacks and treat yourself to some new clothes. Bras are on sale now too.
start treating yourself and your body nicely!

i think there is a deeper issue why you don’t want to spend on yourself especially if you can afford it!

I had to get new tops when I lost around 15kg, I need office wear so I got a couple of boring ones and just rotate them.

Also some winter jumpers had to be replaced as I froze because they were so big.

Trousers are now due with around 18kg off, I put two jeggings into the dryer, they shrunk enough to fit again :-)
Bras are due as well, I wear currently 38H, it will be expensive but a good bra is worth it as it gives a proper shape and you will look great with them.

After I lost 3 stone, I bought 2 new bras, because as you said, they are expensive. Having my Percy Pointers pushed up and pointing out makes all the difference.
I currently have a very small wardrobe consisting of 2 pairs of work trousers and 2 tops for work. I work 2.5 days a week so this is manageable.

i bought myself 3 pairs of different coloured cords from M& S, 3 cheap jumpers, and a new winter coat (in the sale) and that is basically it!! I will buy more in the spring when hopefully I might be another stone down.

Finally, it’s great being able to buy clothes that you like, rather than buying something that you don’t particularly like but it fits and it’s functional.

I swapped my wardrobe several times on Vinted I started at a size 22/24 by the time I was firmly a size 18 I was starting to look swamped, then again by the time I got to a size 14, now I’m a size 10/12 and this is my finish point I might go up or down a few lbs but am not aiming to get any smaller really so I’ve started buying clothes that I want to last. While I was transitioning I would just sell as much as possible and buy a few basics to tide me over.

Might not be an approach everyone would want to follow but I was obese from primary school so had no concept of what a thin version of me did or could look like so here’s what I did. I took a photo of myself in leggings and a vest too and uploaded it to copilot and asked it to tell me what shapes and styles of clothes would be most flattering on my figure, also what colours would best suit me. That got me some good ideas, from that I was guided towards straight leg or slight bootcut and away from wide leg or anything to voluminous on the bottom half. Towards v-neck, asymmetric or boat neck tops, slim fitting not empire waist or boxy and with 3/4 or long sleeves. It also steered me away from black or grey and towards warm autumnal colours or jewel tones.

I took that info into John Lewis and just started picking loads of stuff up, tried it all on and took photos but bought nothing. When I got home and got settled I went through the photos and tried to be objective about what best suited me. I’m at a point now where I can look at things online of on the shelf and be reasonably confident about what will suit me.

Its still really weird though because my mental image of myself is still a size 22/24 woman with a massive belly, huge boobs and 3 chins, in reality im actually slim, and tall with narrow hips and a small chest but I’ve got 30 years of history of being big to try to work past.

@InfoSecInTheCity That’s a really good idea, thank you! I keep forgetting to use AI for advice. I went to the shops yesterday and I got a few new bits.

When in John Lewis, I saw their advert about personal styling services so I might try that when I’m closer to my target weight. I had completely forgotten that I used personal shopper years ago in my late 20s when I changed my job and the dress code was completely different from what I was used to at the time.

Buy some bits on vinted , you can always sell them on again, but honestly it’s miserable to be walking about in clothes and underwear too big and you won’t feel or look good. The weight loss is wonderful and dressing for your new size is a real boost. I found stretchy clothes or elasticated waist bands did a couple of dress sizes,