clothing sizes?

This is going to sound silly but it's just something I've been wondering about. 

I'm 340lbs and wear a size 26 jeans.  I always wear t-shirts and like a 4x in them.  I'm 5'5".  I don't think I'm big boned, my hands are small ....  ?

Why do I see people who weigh 50+ lbs less than me wearing the same size?  Just doesn't make sense to me. 

And more on topic ....  How long did you wear baggy clothes just to make do?  Did you buy new clothes at each size?  I have 20 years worth of "skinny" jeans to go through so I'll be okay, just wondering. 

Thanks!! 

 It's taken about 3 months and 70 lbs for me to go through my old clothes. I just now am having to buy new clothes. I am in XL for the first time in decades.

I mostly just bought a belt and wore baggy clothes.  But eventually they start to look like circus tents and you have to buy a few new ones.  But I'm only buying a few in new sizes until I see where things stop.

Clothing is one of the amazing, and fun, things about WLS.  It is a true gauge of things.

It all depends on your height and how you carry your weight. For example... I'm 5'7" and weigh around 205 right now. I am wearing size 16's and 14's are starting to fit. But someone else who is 5'9" and weighs 220, may wear the same size as me.

I wear some baggy clothes, but have been buying a few new items twice a month or so. Like I'll buy 2 pairs of slacks for work and a 3 shirts or so a month. Its just too expensive to try to continually renew your wardrobe when you're losing weight so quickly.

I actually just submitted an article to OH magazine on the topic of clothing.

For me, it was VERY important to stay in clothes that fit. I had very little "body image" when I was heavy and didn't see myself as big as I really was. So it follows that it was very hard for me to see myself going down in size....pictures, measurements, and clothing were my ways of assessing my progress.

Baggy clothes are not flattering and do not make us look thinner, despite what we may have been told.

I worked through the clothes in my closet (yes, many sizes worth!) and then kept up by buying a pair of jeans at Walmart (always the same brand) in the my current size as I went down. Well worth the $15 per pair. I also kept one pair of black slacks for work and better occasions, always bought on sale at Penny's for somewhere between $15 and $20. My tops lasted fairly well - I found that sweaters adapted to my changing size, and I could always find a blouse or t shirt in the closet that had been too tight pre op. But...an occasional new shirt in a smaller size was a treat and one way I rewarded myself without breaking the bank!

I've only purchased 2nd hand & clearance clothing so far.  And, I din't buy every size, maybe every other?  I waited until things were not wearable to work.

Yes! Still a clearance shopper!

That same question STILL drives me insane (I am a 10/12 but know people who are the same height and weight who wear an 8 or even a 6)!  It really has to do with where you carry your weight and how your weight is distributed.  If your arms are smaller than someone else's but your chest is larger than hers, it is very possible that she could weigh significantly more than you but wear the same size (because her chest is roughly the same size). 

The other thing is that because of the relative amounts of material in clothes of larger and smaller sizes, it takes much more weight loss to go down a size from a 28 to a 26 than it does to go down from an 8 to a 6.  When I was wearing 28s, I had to lose 50 pounds to get into the next samller size of clothign consistently.  Now, just 5 pounds can mean the difference between size 10 pants being comfortable and being too snug in the waist!

I had clothes in my closets from size 28 all the way down to size 16, so other than buying a few "strategic" pieces for work (and new bras and underwear), I didn't have to buy too much until the 16s got too small.  Fortuinately by then, the weight loss was almost done, so some of the 14s I bought I can still wear even though they are loose. 

Lora

Lora I remember this conversation from a while back. You are so right. How much a person weighs has little to do with what size they may wear. As I lost weight, I lost my butt and realized I have very narrow shoulders....so wear a smaller size in some things than I would have anticipated.

I think it has to do with body shape and height.  Because when I started I was 285 and I wore 22's where as someone else at this same weight was in 24's or 26's.  So I think it has to do with how you carry your weight.  I carry weight all over not just in on particular spot.  As for the baggy clothes I would wear them until I had saggy seats and my mom or others would say you need smaller clothes or get them altered.  I have made one purchase for clothing and that was at Kohl's during christmas other wise I had clothes to cover sizes 18 and 20, and  mostly my mother have clothed me from her closet,(she had all sizes in her closet and she is a small to x-small on the bottom and a 12-14 on top, because of her tummy) I got some from my aunt, and some from a cousin.  So I have been very blessed to not have to do much shopping for clothes, but I do for bras and panties.

I'm 5'6" 310 and am *just* starting to squeeze into a 26, am sitting in a pair f 28's right now. I'm very heavy in the belly. I'm between a 3x and 4x top.

I am digging up clothes I've had in storage, and hoping to rely some on my family's store of clothes that don't fit right now. I bought a couple of inexpensive shirts to et me by. I have a lot of trouble finding good pants right now.