FashBlog.com

I hate shopping. Not because of the crowds or lines, but because nothing fits me. I happen to be a tall (5' 10") overweight woman who wears a size 14. I could stand to lose some pounds, but I do not think that I am horribly fat. I do, however, have a constant battle with clothes. Everything is too short, too tight, or even sometimes too big or too long. I seem to be between sizes and lengths, and nothing ever seems to fit. I try on a million pairs of pants or jeans before finding the right length, and then sometimes I only wear them once before they shrink an inch in length in the washing machine.

The problem with my size is that each clothes maker seems to have a different version of what they think a size 14 is. At department stores and discount stores, it is usually one of the largest sizes and usually seems to be cut small. I can try on five pairs of size 14 pants in the same department store and feel like I am trying on three different sizes. And the length also happens to be a varying factor. Sometimes the length is perfect (but if the pants might shrink, that is too short for me), sometimes it is two inches too short, and sometimes the pants are so long that they go half way done my foot and I have to scrunch them up around my ankles. It seems that the regular and long (or tall) pants sizes mean too short and too long for me. The only way I usually win is to buy long pants that will shrink to the right size when I wash them. Of course, that is always a gamble. Sometimes they end up not shrinking enough and are still a little too long (which I can live with) or else they shrink a little too much and end up a little bit short (and if they shrank that much, they are usually a little too tight everywhere else as well). I also have a very dull and boring wardrobe because when I find something that actually fits well I tend to buy several of whatever it is. I then end up with the same shirt or pants in several different colors.

I have tried a store especially for tall women, but apparently to them I am not really that tall. Not only are the pants a mile long, but their tops all come down to my knees. I held up one pair of pants that hit the floor with the waist at my chest. I can not think of ever meeting a woman that would need to shop at these stores. There must be a civilization of seven to eight foot tall women near by that I do not know of. Or perhaps there are just more women like me, and that is why the store is usually empty when I pass it in the mall.

Another option I have tried is the plus size store. Most department stores now have plus size sections as well. Usually the smallest plus size is size 14. I have learned that the size 14 in a plus size store or department is not the same size 14 in the department stores. It is a 14W. The first time I learned this I was excited and thought that this is what I was missing. I thought the plus size clothes would be cut the right length, or with just the right roominess, and solve all my problems. Of course, I was wrong. The plus size 14 clothes are all either too big for me, or else they are cut completely wrong for me. Instead of longer pants, the pants are cut the same in length (either too short or too long for me) and the legs are so wide that I recall memories of 1980s parachute pants. The tops are cut short and wide and hang weirdly on my frame. The sleeves of the short sleeve tops are also too wide and oddly cut for me. Almost every top I tried on hung like drapes from my chest, with short sleeves sticking straight out from the top of my shoulder. This was definitely not the look I was going for.

I have also noticed a difference in the way I feel and in the way that I am treated in various stores. In department stores I feel awkward and large. I am rarely waited on by the sales staff. I do not know if that is because I look like a waste of time or because I normally walk around the store looking at the cute designer clothes and frown when I realize that I could not possible get into or look good in any of them. Maybe it is a little of both. Or maybe it is just a lack of staff at the department stores, because it seems to be hard to get anyone to wait on me in any department! The last time I walked into a plus size store, I was immediately greeted by a salesperson who asked me if I was aware that it was a plus size store. I told her yes, that I am a size 14, and she said I did not look like it. I took this as a huge compliment and felt wonderful about myself for a while. Then later I thought that perhaps they say that to a lot of women that come into the store to make them feel good about themselves. Either way, it worked for me! Especially when I started trying on clothes and found out once again that they were a bit too big for me.

So, I suppose all I can do is continue to try on tons of horribly sized clothes until I find the ones that fit. I will forever be in search of the right length of pants and tops that reach beyond my waist.