Lands End is having a big sale... Problem is, I have no idea what size I wear anymore, so I had to go to Sears to check out my size. I'm beginning to panic about not having any shorts. I hate being hot and I will be miserable if I have to wear jeans when it's over 75 degrees. I will never, ever be able to be one of these women who give up shorts/skorts because of getting older and uglier legs. Sorry, you all will have to look at my old legs as I refuse to be miserable in heat just to hide imperfections.
But, sizes really are crazy. I have Talbot's 20s in my closet from 15 years ago that are snug, yet I tried on a Talbots 16W skirt yesterday and it fit perfectly. I used to say I will never wear less than a 14, but I think they've changed sizings twice in the last 20 years. I probably will end up in 12s at the end if I'm already getting to 16s. Another way to make Americans feel they aren't super-sized - change the sizes! I used to wear a 16 at age 18 and 175 pounds. Now I'm wearing 16s at 225 pounds... Hmmm.... and if you look at dress/clothing patterns for Butterick or McCalls, you will have a rude awakening! I am a 24 or 24W!!! Hello! In the stores I'm buyings 16Ws!
So anyway, I went to the mall to figure out what size to order in pants/shirts. It's been ages since I've been to the mall and I hit a shopping sale jackpot. Well, a couple of them. First, at Sears they had a clearance rack of 6.99 Lands End clothing and 4.99 rack of other brand clothing. From the Land's End rack I got two pairs of khaki's. One to fit now (size 18) and one to fit late this summer/early fall (size 14). $13 for both. Then I found a pair of perfect fitting size 16 jeans on the 4.99 rack and a pair of 16 shorts. That total was $10 for the pair. So, four bottoms for $25 with tax!!! woo-hoo!
Then I went to Lord and Taylors. I found a beautiful knit sweater for $13. I might not have much chance to wear it (yet) but I probably will this fall and probably will still have a chance this spring. And then, I spied this very pretty dress on the 'occasions' section. I figured it was misplaced or the wrong size. Hmmm... it was a size 16. Wow! Ok, I decided to try it. I thought it probably wouldn't fit, but hey, I could give it a shot. I went to the fitting room, I don't even take off my jeans, just dropped them to my shoes and I tried on the dress. It fit. It fit like a glove - like perfect. Wow!!! Then, I look at the price. $198 marked down to $149. But I remember it was on a clearance rack. What was the percentage off? I got redressed and went out to check. OK, it says 60% of last marked price. What is 60% off $149.98. Still too much. I don't plan to be able to wear it for long. But, I decided to take it to the register to ask the sales person to check. It was marked down to $25. What????? Heck, for that price, I'll get it and can even alter it when I get smaller! With a sweater over top, I could wear it all seasons.
I felt great. A size 16 fit perfectly and I bought my first dress in over 8 years... no probably closer to 10 years except for one bridesmaid dress. TEN YEARS!!!! I've been a stay at home mom for eight years and have had nowhere to go to dress up. No events to attend except for one wedding and even that was over 5 years ago. Plus, I was huge and nothing I ever tried on looked nice. But mostly, I fit terribly in dresses usually. Finding my wedding outfit was a nightmare. I ended up getting a suit dress.
But me, at 225 pounds can wear a 16 is ridiculous of course, when I have a red dress hanging in my closet still too small for me and that one is a Talbots "old school" 20.
Here's the $25 dress and anyone who knows me, knows this is truly a "Melissa" dress: Adrianna Papell dress
Stats for 4/7/11:
Beginning weight: 255.6 Now: 223.2 (a bit more than 32 pounds lost)
Exercise total hours/minutes in 2011: 89 hours 40 minutes
Total miles in 2011: 296.5/1000
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