Adventures in Shopping
Because I have such a wonderful family and circle of friends, I was lucky enough to receive several gift cards for clothing stores for my birthday. These were to help replenish my wardrobe for fall, seeing how anything I was wearing in September, 2005 no longer fits. I had cards from Target, Macy's, Nordstrom and Coldwater Creek.
I planned it all out so I could hit the last 3 (I'm saving the Target one for later) all at Mall of America. I can't believe how many cute outfits there are for "normal" sized people AND how much fun shopping can be! If I hadn't run out of money on the gift cards, I would probably still be there.
First stop was Coldwater Creek. I picked 2 skirts in size 12, figuring they would fit. Ummm, not so much. Although it's a little tight, I am actually in a size 10 skirt. A size 10!! I don't think I've been in a size 10 since high school. When I went to find a sweater, I took in a medium and a large. Guess which one fit. Yep, the medium. Holy crap. I always figured I would get down to a 14 and maybe a 12, but never a size 10 and a medium. Granted, it all depends on the fit since some of what I bought was a large, and I know I'm still a size 14 in shirts (bust/shoulders).
So, one cute outfit down, two stores to go and no dressing room panic attacks.
On to Macy's. I knew pretty much I would have to try on everything since sizes differ so much depending on style and designer. I picked up a taupe cord skirt (size 10), brown suede blazer (large), Anne Klein grey knit skirt/sweater (medium skirt, large sweater), 2 oxfords (size 14), black v-neck sweater (large) and a Kenneth Cole black wrap dress (medium). There was a killer leopard print pencil skirt I may have to get. It was so cute, but that store only had size 14 and a size 6. I'm OK with buying things a little tight, and if they had an 8 I might have gambled that I would eventually fit into it, but a 6 was a tad risky.
At Nordstrom, I totally focused on shoes. I really wanted a pair of black leather dress boots, but my calfs are large (muscles!!) and the shaft was too tight. I ended up with 3 pairs - wine suede mules, black slingbacks (really pointy toes!) and brown loafers. I still need the boots but I tried some on at Sears which did fit, so I may just get those. I also bought 2 pairs of (gasp) nylons.
I think I am going to use the Target gift card for accessories - belts, scarves, etc. I still need a few winter staples like a jacket, coat, turtlenecks, but I can go to Sears and stock up on Land's End stuff.
The whole shopping experience used to really mess with my head. I've had more than one occassion where I was close to a panic attack in the dressing room. I don't know why it's so hard to realize that I'm in a smaller size, but I think the change has been so fast that it just takes awhile for my mind to catch up. I remember when I used to go into a dressing room and being afraid that a store's largest size wasn't going to fit. If something was tight, I couldn't buy it because I knew it was never going to get any looser. Now, I'm fine with buying something a little small because I know it will fit in a week or so. It's a 180 for my mind, but I am getting better at being able to handle it. I don't know if anyone who has never had to be concerned about weight would understand, but for all the readers who are losing or who have lost a large amount of weight, I know you do.
Don is taking me out to dinner for my birthday tonight. I think we're going to Blue Point in Wayzeta. It's seafood, which is really the best thing for me (high protein, low fat). We went there before I moved here so it will be nice to go back. We tend to get into a bit of a rut with restaurants and only go to the same handful over and over. Should be fun, and I think I may wear one of my new outfits to dinner and for my 11 month photo update!
I planned it all out so I could hit the last 3 (I'm saving the Target one for later) all at Mall of America. I can't believe how many cute outfits there are for "normal" sized people AND how much fun shopping can be! If I hadn't run out of money on the gift cards, I would probably still be there.
First stop was Coldwater Creek. I picked 2 skirts in size 12, figuring they would fit. Ummm, not so much. Although it's a little tight, I am actually in a size 10 skirt. A size 10!! I don't think I've been in a size 10 since high school. When I went to find a sweater, I took in a medium and a large. Guess which one fit. Yep, the medium. Holy crap. I always figured I would get down to a 14 and maybe a 12, but never a size 10 and a medium. Granted, it all depends on the fit since some of what I bought was a large, and I know I'm still a size 14 in shirts (bust/shoulders).
So, one cute outfit down, two stores to go and no dressing room panic attacks.
On to Macy's. I knew pretty much I would have to try on everything since sizes differ so much depending on style and designer. I picked up a taupe cord skirt (size 10), brown suede blazer (large), Anne Klein grey knit skirt/sweater (medium skirt, large sweater), 2 oxfords (size 14), black v-neck sweater (large) and a Kenneth Cole black wrap dress (medium). There was a killer leopard print pencil skirt I may have to get. It was so cute, but that store only had size 14 and a size 6. I'm OK with buying things a little tight, and if they had an 8 I might have gambled that I would eventually fit into it, but a 6 was a tad risky.
At Nordstrom, I totally focused on shoes. I really wanted a pair of black leather dress boots, but my calfs are large (muscles!!) and the shaft was too tight. I ended up with 3 pairs - wine suede mules, black slingbacks (really pointy toes!) and brown loafers. I still need the boots but I tried some on at Sears which did fit, so I may just get those. I also bought 2 pairs of (gasp) nylons.
I think I am going to use the Target gift card for accessories - belts, scarves, etc. I still need a few winter staples like a jacket, coat, turtlenecks, but I can go to Sears and stock up on Land's End stuff.
The whole shopping experience used to really mess with my head. I've had more than one occassion where I was close to a panic attack in the dressing room. I don't know why it's so hard to realize that I'm in a smaller size, but I think the change has been so fast that it just takes awhile for my mind to catch up. I remember when I used to go into a dressing room and being afraid that a store's largest size wasn't going to fit. If something was tight, I couldn't buy it because I knew it was never going to get any looser. Now, I'm fine with buying something a little small because I know it will fit in a week or so. It's a 180 for my mind, but I am getting better at being able to handle it. I don't know if anyone who has never had to be concerned about weight would understand, but for all the readers who are losing or who have lost a large amount of weight, I know you do.
Don is taking me out to dinner for my birthday tonight. I think we're going to Blue Point in Wayzeta. It's seafood, which is really the best thing for me (high protein, low fat). We went there before I moved here so it will be nice to go back. We tend to get into a bit of a rut with restaurants and only go to the same handful over and over. Should be fun, and I think I may wear one of my new outfits to dinner and for my 11 month photo update!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home