Clothes Shopping at ~400lbs!

This is a list of stores / catalogs that I’ve bought clothing from in the last few years. Certainly there are other sources of supersize clothing out there, but this is where I’ve acquired mine :)

Making It Big. Catalog. Plus and supersize, mostly natural fiber clothing of good quality. I’m in the middle of their size range. They make pants in petite, regular, and tall. It’s where I get the “relaxed knit” pants I wear most days.
Junonia. Catalog. Specializes in “active clothing for big women”, both plus and supersize. If you want a tennis skirt, ski pants, zip-leg convertible pants, or other sports clothing most stores assume fat people won’t need, check out Junonia. I’m at the top of their size range.
Love Your Peaches. Catalog. I don’t get much here, but when I do it’s usually velvet. Both plus and supersize.
Zaftique. Catalog. Stylish stuff for plus and supersize women that shows off curves; lots of velvet, lace, and goth styles. I’m at the top of their size range.

The above shops all use plus-sized and supersized models in their photos. Both Junonia and Peaches carry lots of swimwear, and even sell some tops and bottoms separately – great for those who are different sizes on top and bottom.

Silhouettes is another catalog with plus and supersize clothing. It’s also one where I’ve had many more misses than hits. But lately I’ve picked up several sweaters there, some tops, and jeans. I’m at the top of their size range & get frustrated with how much of their stuff doesn’t go above 3x.
Woman Within and Roaman’s are inexpensive catalogs I’ve tried recently. Not the best quality, but not bad. Again, I’m at the top of their size range.
Catherine’s is a chain and catalog with plus and supersize clothing. I have gotten some good stuff there, like my nylon / fleece reversible jacket and red drawstring pants – but much of their stuff is too cutsy for me.
Holy Clothing. Catalog. Romantic and goth stuff to size 5x.
Lady Grace Bra heaven, though I’ve also found my favorite bra at Amazon. :)
Lane Bryant Catalog – different company from the store, and goes up to higher sizes. I’ve recently got some good jeans from them & just ordered some sweaters.
Lane Bryant and Avenue: I get underwear at LB and some bras & tops at these stores, but not much because I’m really above the stores’ size range.

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Posted

September 29, 2008

Clothing

Living 400lbs

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9 responses to “Clothes Shopping at ~400lbs!”

Dreama

September 29, 2008

I tallied up the latest Silhouettes and found that only 71 of 164 items (43%) came in anything larger than a 3X or size 26. It was disappointing as they used to be leaders in this field. Fortunately there’s still Ulla Popken, which is pricier than Silhouettes, but better quality, IMO, and not nearly as expensive as Making It Big.

Are you on livejournal? I’ve been a member of the Fatshionista community there for some time and the last couple of days I’ve been contemplating posting to ask if there’s any interest in a spin-off community for those of us who are larger than a 28 and aren’t served very much if at all by brick and mortar stores and are now finding (IME) catalog options difficult to come by at a decent price.

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living400lbs

September 29, 2008

Hi Dreama, I’m a member of the Fatshionista community too, as living400lbs. I agree a spin-off community might make sense.

(BTW, I do know about Ulla Popken, but everything I’ve gotten from them had to go back because it didn’t fit me. I think their fit model is NOT my shape! :)

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Patsy Nevins

September 29, 2008

Thanks for this post. I was considering emailing you to ask about MIB. I am a smaller fat woman (5″6″ & have ranged most of my adult life between 175 & 200), so I can find clothes which fit me many places & for most of my, up until the last year or so post-menopause, have been too small for MIB clothes. I have also been put off by their prices, but have recently considered trying a couple of shirts. I do have problem with people who refer to $55 for a long-sleeved tee as ‘everyday low price’, but if it is really top quality & last for years, it would be worth it. I do buy quite a lot from Junonia, though usually from Juno’s Closet, as their regular prices are generally a bit steep.

I get Silhouettes catalogs & have some of their jeans, but I am not really happy with the fit. I have noticed that they seem to be selling fewer items which go to 6X or 7X, which is NOT a good trend.

I love LLBean & Land’s End for quality & their service & the unconditional guarantee, but again, if you are larger than a size 26, you are out of luck.

I have Rightfit jeans from both Lane Bryant & Catherine’s & I personally prefer the Lane Bryant version. I am a yellow, & LB is designed more for my body type & my tastes.

Thanks again for sharing your observations.

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living400lbs

September 29, 2008

Patsy,

Making It Big does tend to discount many of their tops in their sale area. What really keeps me going back to MIB is the relaxed knit pants are cut perfectly for me….! I also note MIB has added another larger size, L, and they were already pretty big – I am in the middle of MIB’s size range (GH) but at the top of Junonia/Silhouettes/etc size range (5x/6x).

I agree that clothing can be had cheaper elsewhere. I also tend to get things on eBay :)

I tried the Rightfit jeans from Catherine’s. They fit my waist, butt & thighs perfectly…and were so tight on my calves they were practically jodhpurs….!!!!

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Patsy Nevins

September 29, 2008

I have the opposite issue with the Catherine Rightfit jeans, which I just got a couple days ago, on sale for $22.80 with free shipping, btw. I have slim thighs & legs for my size, so, for me, there is a bit too much material through the legs. The LB Yellow fit RF jeans are designed with the idea that a woman who is a yellow has proportionately thinner legs, so they fit my legs better. I have no idea if Catherine’s has any real difference in the actual shapes of their yellow, red, & blue, as Lane Bryant actually does, since the description of the jeans on the website sounds the same for all three fits. I guess it all depends on your body type & your taste. I love the look of the slim leg & tapered ankle on me, but also love stretch jeans because I can breathe & move. I have always had, in proportion to my overall size, quite a large waist & belly (well, when I was starving myself & exercising compulsively at age 25,I briefly had a 25″ waist), & that is more pronounced since menopause (not only does one tend to gain a few pounds at menopause, the body shape changes, & I used to be a definite hourglass, but my sands have shifted). I love the lighter blue wash of the Catherine’s jeans, but I prefer the fit of the Lane Bryant jeans, but both do feel overall better than any other jeans I have ever bought.

It sounds as if I might STILL be a bit small for MIB’s shirts, so I will give it more thought. Thanks a lot for the input.

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Julia

September 29, 2008

Poking my head in to say that I’ve been working to make the “Extended sizes” tag useful on LJ fatshionista, but I also think the experiences of super size people are often lost. I don’t have any good suggestions for making LJ-fatshionista a better place for super size people. I wish I did because I hate seeing only certain kinds of fat gain from the community.

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living400lbs

September 29, 2008

Julia – thanks for working on the extended sizes tag – I will look for it :)

I don’t think anyone is trying to “shut down” supersizes, it’s just that we are the minority. Part of why I started this blog is that I know I’m way out on the bell curve :)

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Bree

September 30, 2008

I’m a size 26/28 but occasionally go up to a 30/32 if I know the cut will be small.

I don’t know why most retailers refuse to go above a 3X—if you go to any plus size store or shop online, it’s the biggest sizes that always sell out first. There is a demand for extended sizes. We may be a minority, but we are a smart minority and grab things ASAP.

Luckily I have found many things at both LB and Fashion Bug (FB have really stepped up when it comes to offering things in 4X-5X). And the LB Right Fit’s are great. I’m a Red in their jeans.

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living400lbs

September 30, 2008

@Bree – I gather from the jeans comment you mean http://www.lanebryant.com not http://www.lanebryantcatalog.com ? (And how confusing the store / catalog separation is now with websites! :)

The catalog goes up to 44W in some things – the store have very few in 30/32. I will check Fashion Bug :)

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