no boys allowed in the room!!!!

Basically I buy everything I possibly can at the giant Macy's on State Street because I can walk there from work via the Pedway during my lunch hour, I know where everything is, and I can get a tamale from Frontera Fresca as a reward for my pain.

Yeah I guess it helps to have "a style" which is just whatever you know you like and feel good in (as long as that is not "dirty jeans and a band Tshirt" because in that case yeah you're going to hate shopping). Then, anything that isn't "your" style, ie peasant tops, things with uh sequins or lace, boot-cut pants, ANY pants, etc, you can just shove them out of the way and mentally clear the decks for a nice straight skirt that you will actually bother to try on.

I want a tamale, though.

peasant tops, things with uh sequins or lace, boot-cut pants

You just described 95% of all stock in every plus-size women's retail clothing store ever.

That's really good advice, Laurel - however, it can be annoying, and sometimes traumatic when you rarely find things you can feel good in, because they're not made in your size, or in flattering styles. That whole Sarahel's Semiotics thread was inspired because of my frustration over trying to find pants I'd want to wear.

xp - ha! I went into Lane Bryant over the Christmas holidays.

There is a woman who works here at my work who knows a woman who makes tamales and sells them, so every couple of weeks I get to put in a tamale order and the next day pick up a dozen homemade hot tamales. $11!!! That is shopping that I can totally get behind.

Lane Bryant and I are currently not on speaking terms, at least until all of my underwear totally gives out.

great, now i want a tamale!

Ooooooooh yes, those bastards. Do they think people over a size 8 (or 10, or 12, or whatever) are USING THEIR TONGUES FOR TASTE?? How about you shop in a PLUS-SIZED CLUE STORE, ya fucking idiots.

loooooooool @ "plus sized clue store"

macy's in ny has a plus floor that is actually pretty accurate larger reproductions of the same stuff in their misses section, but yeah, that was always reallllly annoying.

also for me, i was always in between where plus clothes looked baggy and terrible on me bc they were not made to be flattering, just to canopy, but reg clothes were a smidge too tight (always in the bust!). also i have a small butt in comparison to the rest of me so finding pants is a nightmare. if it fits in the waist the butt is saggy. booo. hissss.

i am familiar with the saggy butt problem

it's like if you are fat you are supposed to have a fat ass, too!

stereotyping :(

I'm high-waisted, so the year or so when all the women's pants were either pleated mom trousers or low slung boy pants was pretty grim. I ended up going w/ the boy pants because I don't have much in the way of hips.

The Macy's here has a good plus section, too. Or at least it is larger than most. Being in between straight sizes and plus sizes is a huge pain in the ass, too.

Basically, off the rack clothes don't fit anybody ever. It's like Laurel said in the shopping thread - you've got to find a manufacturer/designer that suits you. Also a good tailor.

I met Chicago Sarah for lunch today and she told me that my outfit lacked only for saddle shoes to be at home in a Twin Peaks episode (which she meant as and I took as a compliment), so despite all this angst, I must be doing something right.

:D

AWW!

I solved my shopping problem by not going shopping, at least recreationally, and I solved the fitting-pants problem by not wearing pants. Viola.

I realize this is not an option for everybody.

should i go back to my style from the early 90s of wearing dresses and skirts with thick tights and clunky shoes and boots?

A friend of mine and I were recently talking about the day we realized that clunky shoes were no longer in style, and how we both got a little sad. And had to quick go buy some new shoes.

xp Do you feel like it's "you"? Will the things you have to do in your life accommodate that style of dress, ie can you make it work for both business and personal commitments? If yes to both, then Y!

xp - I can't wear pumps or heels or anything with a narrow/small sole because otherwise I'd be returning to a world of pain.

I don't have the job I used to have that required me to wear pants, and I can play drums in a skirt/dress as long as it's not too narrow/tight. So, uh yeah. It's the shoes thing I worry about.

I cannot fathom committing to pantslessness in Chicago tbh

i live in the SF bay area.

xp It's an art.

http://freelancersfashion.blogspot.com/2009/12/anatomy-of-dressing-when-its-really.html

sarah, I can't wear heels either.

i guess the thing for me - is to figure out what height/length of boots would be flattering with a dress or skirt, so that my legs don't look stumpy.

Huh. I think that's just something you need to develop an eye for, cos it's so individual and also on a case-by-case basis.

is it more flattering, if you have thick calves, for boots to hit somewhere on the calf, or slightly below?

A friend's calves were so thick she found it difficult to get knee-line boots at all.

Those giant scary platform heels or ankle boots with the studs, spikes and ginormous price tags do look good with thick tights and loose-fitting dresses/tops/sweaters. Also, the only way I will wear the peep toe (my feet are nice but I hate hangy-outy toes on me). I've been mostly wearing Etienne Aigner fake equestrian boots with skinny jeans and big sweaters/tulip-drape dresses but otherwise my mid-length boots are not suitable on this spin of fashion's carousel. Which is a shame - kitten heels are being revived soon and the Manolo Blahnik one-off pair of boots with same bought from random fashion archivist BITD would be fab to wear.

The '90s ended the second they stopped making Donna Karan black matte jersey tights - they are bulletproof and I have at least five undamaged pairs to this day.

Yeah - you mentioned those tights way upthread, and I expressed my envy!

I was just remembering the other day that when I was young and my mom was getting "personal style" books out of the library, the rule was that boots should go a little bit UNDER the skirt hem, so that no leg showed. The idea being that a longer line in similar (dark-on-dark) colors would "lengthen" the leg visually.

More recently, the rule has been that there should be a slice of bare (or hoisery-ied) leg visible between boot and skirt hem. Apparently this is regardless of any visual trickery.

I don't have any nice boots so it's a moot point to me.

As a thick-calved women, I can say that I've worth both. Usually the shorter the skirt, the more I am inclined to go for taller boots. I'm wearing boots now that are similar to these here right now.

xp - yeah I have to look for "wide calf" or "extended size" boots if I want to wear boots higher than mid-shin.

I was dreaming of being able to afford Duo boots, Jenny, but they discontinued the 1 or 2 styles I liked anyway. Sad face.

huh - so i could do boots that are a little higher than ankle length and do mid-calf skirts, or slightly below the knee boots and slightly-above the knee skirts and not look I have sausages for legs?

I really like that dark plaid-ish dress that Justin3 posted on the wedding dress style help thread!!

If I wore heels, I'd have a pair of these so fast it'd make yer head spin: http://www.duoboots.com/products/boots/detail/calf_fitted_boots_boutique/madeira/243/colour/1-black_leather/

I managed to get mine when they were 1) on sale, and 2) offering free shipping. Happy face!

I'm actually wearing two pairs of tights today, speaking of wearing skirts in Chicago.

Sarah, yes, you could totally do that.

Oh! Here are my boots, the very ones I am wearing today: http://www.duoboots.com/products/boots/detail/calf_fitted_boots_everyday/naples/93/colour/1-black_leather/

I'm gonna wear a dress or a skirt today - you have inspired me!

They used to make a kitten-heeled, mid-calf patent leather pair with pointy toes -- alas, no longer.

Mom-sourced style books were WRONG.

Boots I have: Aigner, Blahnik, 13-hole steel cap Dr Marten, Kurt Geiger taupe suede with bows but also distinct junior high stonergirl vibe, black wedge knee boots, 2x French Connection ankle boots (1 black patent, 1 red patent), pointy black crocodile Valentino couture ankle boot with 5" spike heel. On, and black and chartreuse Etnies Girl moccasin boots in suede and leather, basically for those who don't do Uggs. There are other boots in storage somewhere but old, unloved etc. Would still be happy with those Mad Max/Balenciaga mindmeld ankle boots or similar hardware-looking things.

You have to keep in mind, suzy, that the skirts in question were like long, tweedy, walking affairs.

Or at least a little longer than is currently considered current.

Now I really wish I could remember what book that was! It made a big deal about things looking "rich" whether they were expensive or not -- basically the "quality and enduring style over seasonally 'in' things" argument. Also used the designation "Quality", eventually shortened to "Q" and "non-Q", to describe hypothetical items.

Laurel, you are Q.

Hahaha that's nice, thank u. Suzy and daria and a few others are really the hi-style fashion mavens, I am actually v v conservative in dress.

all the girls on this thread are Q, imo.

That book will be responsible for moms of a particular era wearing their best gold with black angora but never, ever black satin. I totally had a quality meme drilled into me because one grandmother was a trained fashion designer (but actually a fashion buyer) who despised synthetic fabrics and would moan at my mother if we appeared in lame prints, character/word t-shirts, or if the seams on the fabric did not cohere. Before I figured out there was this thing, fashion, I wore preppy everything or dressed up in approximations of b/w film actress looks.

If tweed, a brogue pattern of any kind is yr friend, whether shoe or boot. I used to do the mid-calf laced-up brogue, cableknit tights, tweed skirt thing.