The dress from Love Your Peaches.
When I was thinner I had a great fashion sense. I had lots of options. I remember shopping in stores like The Gap and The Limited as a teenager. When I was at my highest weight, because I was a 30/32, my choices were very limited. Basically the only places I could shop, in person, were Catherine's, which tends to be pretty expensive frumpy and old, and Fashion Bug which tends to be either too trendy or too old or even frumpy. Hey, with the body I had how could I expect clothes to look good on me? Ironically, I hate to shop from a catalog or the Internet. I like to try clothes on. However I did luck out in 2009 when I bought a dress for my Stepdaughter's wedding at Love Your Peaches.Getting t-shirts at concerts, tourist attractions, theater shows, and with my favorite sports teams on them was interesting. I have a 3X National Baseball Hall Of Fame t-shirt. 3X was a rare find and it fit me perfectly. It was the only t-shirt that fit me perfectly. I would always have to buy 2X shirts and stretch them, by hand. I would enlist my husband's help in stretching them. He'd be on one side and I'd be on the other. One of my favorite t-shirts wasn't stretched properly so the logo is off center. Don't wear it too often so it basically was a waste of money.
My National Baseball HOF Shirt
Even if I stretched the 2X shirts they still didn't fit me properly. If you look at the picture with me, my husband, Bugs and Daffy, you can see me with my Red Sox/Schilling shirt on. You can see how it fits me. It's not very long and it was hugging my gut. I was constantly pulling down my t-shirts. I even sometimes hiked up my jeans to make up for the shortness of the shirt. That of course made me look even bigger. Some of the T-shirts barely covered my stomach and when I wore them I was self conscious all day and kept pulling them down. I don't know how I tolerated that. When I sat on our couch and I'd learn forward to reach for something or use my laptop, my shirts would creep up on me. I'd pull them down but after a while I just gave up.
Me and my Red Sox/Schilling t-shirt
I hated, and still hate, my legs. They were so big and, this might be TMI, but it was really hard to shave them. I tried some 32 pants on in Catherine's and they fit nicely, except for the calves. I didn't leave with anything that night. I hated my legs so much I would wear nothing but long skirts, pants and long dresses. I expect my hemlines to go up in time.With the exception of sneakers, which I never have liked wearing no matter what size I am, I've only been wearing Birkenstock clogs and sandals for shoes for the last six and a half years. I do wear boots in the winter. Birkenstocks are so easy to put on and so comfy, even if I walk a little funny wearing them! When I wear sneakers I have more of a bounce in my step. As I mention here, sneakers and socks were difficult to put on and even tie. I gave up on my favorite shoes, my zip up cowboy ankle boots, in 2005 because I couldn't zip them up anymore because my ankles were so big. That was at about 77 lbs before 385. I still have them and I have yet to try them on. That will be a milestone.
Right now it's nice to be at a size where I don't have to stretch anything out and there is at least one size above my current size. It's also nice to be a size that is widely available in stores like Old Navy, Target, L.L Bean and Coldwater Creek. It makes me feel more 'normal'. Eventually, it will be great to be in a size that is even more widely available. I'm almost in to an XL shirt. My Montreal Expos Jersey that hasn't fit me in like ten years is an XL and my next clothing milestone. I'm almost there. Right now I'm smack dab in the middle of the plus sizes. At least I'm no longer on the higher end. Before I know it I'll be in 'normal' sizes. Next year at this time, if I keep progressing like I am now, I'll be close to being in the 100's and close to being out of the plus sizes. Stay tuned! Thanks for reading.
