I recently got an Facebook message from a Soror in another state who commented on my attire that had been reported to her by another local Soror who saw me going into a building locally. I was wearing red pants and a red and white top, so she commented on my wearing our sorority colors.
I responded by telling how I how gotten my red pants from Catherines this winter. They had a sale on them around Christmas. When I saw they had they I went out immediately and got them. They did not produce them in the different shapes so I had to go larger size since I am apple shaped and the regular pants are for straighter figures. This means I have to pull them up sometimes when I stand up. I got them because they were red and it is almost impossible to find red pants for a full figured woman.
This lead to a whole exchange about finding clothes that fit your body. She talked about having shorts legs and needing petites. I am short period, so I need petites but even those are about an inch and half too long, so depending on whether they are jeans or other fabric pants, I make cuffs or hem them. I can kind of cope with that.
Then there are other issues about clothes being too big, in all the wrong places. I have arms are short so almost all long sleeved tops are much too long and I need to shortened either by hemming them or turning them up for cuffs. Dresses are too long and I don’t want every dress to be a maxi dress just because I am short. Too many of the dresses are not suitable for business attire. Which goes to there are no suits or jackets and skirts or even pants that are coordinated so you can have a professional look, even if you are large. Sequins don’t qualify for business attire, even business casual.
We then talked about other places we might shop without success including the catalogs. Then don’t even talk about the quality of the items that can be found, particularly the catalogs. She suggested that as a last result we could go naked rather than looking like a homeless person wearing ill fitting clean clothes.
I shared how I have developed a uniform of sorts for both everyday casual and business casual. I found Project 333 which is a minimalist fashion challenge that invites folks to dress with 33 items or less for 3 months. This was compatible with my attempts to declutter and allowed me to think more constructively about my uniform and not spending time each day on what I was going to wear. In some ways it makes life easier. I understand that President Obama has a uniform, too. Although I think it is easier for men to have a uniform than women. There is a different standard for women.
I have a small wardrobe of dresses and I have a couple of suits left from my fulltime paid work. I have a couple of jackets and pants for the business casual that I have had tailored. For the moment is seems to be working pretty well.
I’ve learned what things sort of work for me and I have decided that I don’t need a great selection. It makes shopping easier, too
Finding what fits is not a simple process. It has taken me awhile to figure this out. What works for you?