Out of Plus Size Stores, now where do I shop????

Now that I have "Undergrown" the plus size stores and departments.... where do I shop?  For the past 30 yrs that has been my reality... if I go to a department store, I hunt the Plus Size dept and that is where I shop... Didn't matter if I didnt like what they had, that is what fit me... now that I can shop in any department store, there are tons of styles to choose from and I don't know where to start?  I feel  like a fish out of water trying to decide exactly what my style is?  Now that it is is more than "Plus Sized".....  Has anyone else felt this?  I bought about 6 tops the other days from Macy's and asked the sales clerk, what that particular dept was called since they have so many.... she said, this is Moderate Sportswear... so I know what my style is at that store.... but now there are sooooo many departments in soooooo many stores available to me... that I dont know where to start....  What a nice feeling of bewilderment.....  like a kid in a candy store without all the calories!! 

Walmart has been good to me while I'm still big but not big-and-tall-big.  The clothes are inexpensive and they fit.  When I reach goal I will invest in quality clothing.

I can totally relate to your story!!!  I'm a pretty trendy girl and I love clothes and accessories, etc.  For the last 10 years, I have had to just buy what fits.  When I started loosing weight - I had NO PROBLEM getting rid of every last bit of those "old lady" clothes!!  I have so much fun shopping now that I can buy stuff in any store!  Even shoes fit better!  It's going to get expensive!!  I try to only buy tops because they will fit longer - I've had several smaller size pants to get me through and some friends have given me smaller pants also.  I can't wait to buy something fantastic when I reach goal!  My husband has bought me 2 large mall gift certificates this year and I am saving them for something special!!!

Macys has been really good to me and because I'm still losing, I only buy off the deeply discounted clearance racks. Most everything I get, jeans, sweaters, blouses end up less than $8.00 each. Nice stuff too. I can't do that any where else unless it is used. I'm at a size 14 now...still lots of clearance racks to look at as I get smaller :-)

LOL! My husband literally dragged me into an Old Navy one evening, because I was convinced that I was still too big to wear their regular sizes. . .

For my work attire, I tend to stick with New York and Co -- they carry tall sizes in the store, which is (sadly) super-exciting for me! If you sign up for their email alerts, you can frequently find some pretty good deals. I frequently buy tops at JC Penneys or Kohls.

For casual wear, I tend to stick with Old Navy jeans and tops wherever I find one that I think is cute. For workout gear, Target carries Champion activewear and usually has talls in store too. . .
 

Well I am an old lady ( starring 70 in the face right quick) and not only am I having a hard time adjusting to smaller sizes ( daughter just reamed me out for buying 2 -(3x) size blouses that she says are WAY too big for me ( I thought they were comfortable) but looking at all the bright colors, flashy prints, low rise jeans etc I feel like I'm just too old to wear a lot of the clothes I'm seeing in the stores.

GOODWILL!!

Anywhere you want to!!!!  I love that I can go anywhere now and NEVER head over to the plus size section anymore.  I spent too many years there and online so it's one huge victory in my life.  That is why this surgery is measured by more than just the scale.  Just go into any store now and try on different clothes. It's a whole new journey.  I gave away all my plus clothes away to Salvation Army at about two months out from surgery and never looked backed.  I never took the attitude what if I gained it back or some of it because after going through all this is not worth going backwards.  Have fun!!!!!!     Jane

Yeah it is a little daunting at first, I remember looking at clothes at Macy's thinking someone was going to come over and ask me how I ever thought I was going to fit into whatever it was.  I still can't comprehend my size even now, even when I look at my clothes and I look at people.  My boyfriend and I went out to dinner the other day, and this girl was walking by with this adorable navy blue dress with a thin red belt and super cute red sandals.  I said to my bf to look how cute she looks, he looked and agreed, he likes thick girls and thinks I am borderline too thin (his words lol).  He said she looked great not like the typical girls I think are cute, I said what do you mean, and he said she was on the thicker side, not the size 2's I typically point out.  I said she wasn't thick at all and I had no idea what he was talking about, he said she had to be at least a size 8.  He said her waist and hips were bigger then mine.  I looked at her again, she looked tiny to me.  Hmmm really I am smaller then that.  I know he wasn't lying given the nature of this conversation.  So I still don't see myself right.  Okay enough of my craziness, go try on absolutely everything, because you never know what you will like until you see it on.  It is fun.  Dressing room pics are the best.  I just took one last night.  lol

This was a hard adjustment for me as well.  In the plus size clothes I had gotten so clear on what my style was that I could shop online, know the kinds of clothes I wore, order and move on.   Now I have no idea on my size or how anything fits.   The best advice I can give is to make do with goodwill or consignment stores or cheap retail while you are still losing.  Now that I am leveling out (I'm in a size 4 or 6, I can't imagine I'm getting much smaller than that), I am devoting a full day here or there to just go to every store in the mall or the outlets and try and try different things to figure out what works.   I started with the basics...black slacks, khaki pants, a few pairs of shorts and skirts all in neutral solids and then a variety of casual and work type tops to get by. NOw that I have the base I can try on outfits that are a little less flexible or basic and I'm trying on things that I can wear that might be trendy or different.  We'll see what I actually purchase in the end.  

Good luck and have fun....this is the awesome part!!!