Tag Archives: shopping

More Cute Workout Clothes (or Why Can’t More Companies Be Like Old Navy?)

I’ve mentioned my love for Old Navy clothes in the past. For a while, I’ve worn Old Navy workout capris and tank tops to various exercise events. The clothes fit me, they aren’t too expensive, and sometimes I find something awesome like this shirt.

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But most of the tops I’ve been wearing to workout in were not designed to be workout clothes. They get stretched out and don’t wick away any sweat (so I leave class feeling like my shirt was shrink-wrapped onto me).

Many of the women in spin class wear cute tops from stores like Lululemon. I’ve looked on their website, and most of their shirts don’t come bigger than a size 12. I won’t be wearing a size 12 anytime soon, and even when I do, I don’t know if I want to support a clothing company that doesn’t celebrate women of all shapes and sizes that workout.

So I’ve been on the hunt for real workout tops that come in my size. And guess where I found them?

Yup. At Old Navy.

(I’m seriously not paid by Old Navy to say any of this. But if they want to give me a gift card to support my shopping habit at their store, I wouldn’t turn it down)

In their Active section, they now carry tops that remind me of things I saw at Lululemon and other fancy stores like that. I purchased two different tops, both which had shelf bras in them. And I got them recently delivered to my house.

My review: I love these tops! The shelf bra isn’t the most supportive for someone like me, but it’s nice to have. I could see myself wearing these for walks without having to wear a sports bra underneath. I’m not sure about wearing them alone to spin class, but I might be gutsy enough to try it out this week.

I feel like it’s important to feel comfortable and beautiful while working out. And you don’t have to dress up to feel beautiful. I have friends who feel amazing when they workout in tank tops and sweat pants and that’s great! It’s just not me. I want to feel cute and stylish (but I’m not so crazy that I want to do my hair or wear any makeup when I’m working out).

I highly encourage you all to check out some of the workout clothes by Old Navy. I don’t get a kickback or anything. I just want to show support for a company that supports my body type. I am slightly peeved that they don’t carry any plus sized regular clothing in their stores (those are online only), but the largest size of the regular clothes is pretty much plus size.

If I have the courage to wear my new top to spin class, I’ll make sure to report back!

New Shoes! (or I’m Glad I Had A Pedicure)

Since my old walking shoes had a big hole in them, I needed to get new shoes before doing any more big walks. I had a full work week last week, but I had time after my half shift on Friday to do some serious shoe shopping.

Shoes and I have a funny relationship. I love shoes, but they don’t love me back all the time. Because of my hip issues, I have to be careful about what I put on my feet. A few years after having my hip surgery, I discovered that shoes with wobble boards in them (the ones that claim to burn extra calories and work out your butt) are the ones that are most comfortable for me. I don’t believe that they burn extra calories, but whatever allows me to walk for hours without pain works for me.

I have a lot of shoes from FitFlop, but they don’t make workout shoes. So when I discovered that New Balance had shoes similar, I bought a bunch of pairs. I had one pair at my house and another at my parents (so I didn’t have to fly with sneakers taking up a lot of room in my carry-on). But the ones with the hole in them were my last pair, and those shoes were discontinued a while back.

Since I loved my New Balance shoes before, I figured I’d try another pair of New Balance shoes (and no, they aren’t paying me to say this). There is a New Balance store near my work in Santa Monica, so I went on Friday.

This was no ordinary shoe shopping experience. Instead of telling the sales people what shoes I wanted to try on, the salesman (whose name is escaping me) brought me over to the shoe fitting area.

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I stood on that platform and there was a computer that took measurements of my feet and where I put pressure when I’m standing. During the measurements, I also told the salesman about my hip issues and explained what type of shoes I’ve like before.

After the foot analysis, the salesman brought over the shoe that he thought would be best for me. He also brought over an insert to put in the shoe to simulate what the wobble board did for me. The shoes weren’t as cute as my old ones, but they are pretty nice.

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I’ll admit, the shoes weren’t as inexpensive as I’d like. But now that I know what shoes (and inserts) work for me, I can be on the lookout for the shoes being on sale (and then I could stock up). I’ve learned the hard way that being cheap with my shoes doesn’t work, so I’m glad that I went for the ones that didn’t hurt me.

I’ve had the chance to do one decent walk with these shoes. And they aren’t the same as my old ones, but they don’t hurt either. I think I just need to wear them in a little bit and then they’ll be perfect.

Sometimes, you have to spend a little more to make things work for you, and workout shoes are one of those things.

How Long Can I Wait? (or Wanting To Shop At The Last Minute)

Yesterday on the phone, a relative of mine asked me if I had gotten a dress to wear to my brother’s wedding yet.

Honestly, I haven’t even really thought about what I want to wear. I have about 3 months until the wedding. That gives me time to shop around.

But also, I still want to see how much weight I can lose. I’m not going to be anywhere near my original goal, and that’s very upsetting to me. Just the other day, it was my 1 year anniversary at my day job. And I just couldn’t believe how quickly the time has gone by.

And while in the last 9 months I have lost weight, it’s not as fast as I wanted. There is a chance that somehow I could lose weight really quickly in 3 months, but I’ve learned from past experiences that that is not the best way for me to try to maintain the weight loss.

I have a size in mind that I’d like to be for the wedding, and it may or may not be doable. But at that size, I still wouldn’t fit into “normal” sized clothing.

Which gives me few options of stores that I can go and try on clothes at (that don’t look like something an old lady should wear). I’ve looked at some of the dresses available at David’s Bridal, and they have some cute things that would come in the size I’m at right now. And hopefully if I went to one of their stores they would have some options in my size to try on.

The other part of me is just wondering what I’ll want to wear for a black tie/formal wedding that is taking place near the beach in Hawaii. For practical reasons, I don’t want to wear heels, I’d want to be in wedges. I also don’t want something floor length because it would get dirty (and possibly be too warm).

Does anyone out there have any ideas for a dress that comes in plus sizes that would work for a formal Hawaii wedding? I’m serious open to suggestions. I might not try on a dress for another month or two, but I really need to get some ideas in my head for when I’m ready to shop.

Renting A Dress (or Testing Out Gwynnie Bee)

I got a lot of compliments on the dress that I wore to the wedding this past weekend.

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The dress was by Kiyonna, a store that I’ve written about before. But this time, it wasn’t a dress that I owned. I borrowed it from a service I’m trying out called Gwynnie Bee.

Basically, Gwynnie Bee is like Netflix for plus sized clothes (sizes 10 and up). You pay a monthly fee for a certain number of items out at a time, and you send back the outfits when you are done with them. I’m currently in a 30 day free trial (you can start your own trial for free at this link).

My trial is for 3 items at a time, so I filled my virtual closet with dresses so I’d have some new things to wear for the wedding. I got 3 dresses to my house this week. One dress didn’t fit so well (but they do include cards that you send back with the items to say any issues you had with fit), and the other one was a little casual for an evening wedding. Inside the box with the dresses were pre-paid UPS bags to send the items back.

This is pretty awesome! Clothes aren’t cheap, and in a way, this is a way to try clothes on that you can sometimes only find online.

On the Gwynnie Bee site, there are a lot of dresses and cute tops. I think that most of the clothes are cute and things that I wear. My only hesitation is that I pretty much live in jeans and t-shirts. I sometimes go out in cute clothes, but when I’m at my day job, there’s no need to dress nice.

I don’t know if I’d want to wear nicer clothes at work because when you are sitting in a chair for 8 hours on the phone pretty much the entire time, you want to be comfortable.

I’m sending back the dresses that I have at my house this week so I can try some other cute clothes. Maybe I’ll decide to wear cuter things at work. But if you are looking for some new clothing options, you should totally sign up for the free trial.

Full disclosure: if you sign up for a free trial from the link I provided and then decide to keep the membership after the trial, I do receive compensation in the form of a free month of my personal membership. If you don’t want me to get a free month from you signing up, please go to their main page and sign up through there. Gwynnie Bee did not give me any compensation for this post. All opinions are of my own.

Saying Goodbye To The Old And Hello To The New (or Yes, This Post Is About An Alarm Clock)

I mentioned yesterday how I got almost all of my errands done on my one day off. The one errands that is still on my list is getting a new alarm clock.

Sounds easy, right? For me it’s not.

I’ve written in the past how my relationship with my scale is a complicated one. When I had to get a new scale, it was horrible. I trusted my old scale so much and didn’t know how I’d feel about a new one.

I’m going through something similar with my alarm clock.

And before I go on, I’m totally aware that I sound crazy and these thoughts are probably all because of my panic/anxiety disorder, but they feel real to me. And maybe if you have issues with panic and anxiety you can relate to me. And if you don’t, perhaps this will give you some understanding of what it’s like to live with this. Either way, this is something that has been bothering me for a few days and I’m hoping writing it down and putting it out there will help me (it has in the past).

When I was younger and still in high school, I had a horrible time waking up in the morning. I’d set an alarm but I’d never hear it. My dad would eventually have to wake me up so I’d get to school on time.

I remember in my senior year of high school worrying how I’d manage in college. But for my high school graduation, a family friend gave me an alarm clock as a gift. This alarm clock was super loud and annoying (one of the alarm options was a rooster).

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I loved my new alarm clock! I don’t know if I ever missed a class in college due to me not hearing my alarm (not wanting to go to class is another story).

And I was happy with my alarm clock for the last (almost) 12 years. But the other day, my alarm clock sounded a lot quieter than it used to. It’s almost as if the speaker isn’t working as much (or one speaker died). So I knew it was time to find a new alarm clock.

My requirements: loud, annoying noise, battery powered (there are no power outlets where I put my alarm clock), and not horribly expensive.

I went to several stores, and none of them had a single alarm clock that matched watch I needed. The big hurdle is finding a battery powered alarm clock. And I don’t like the idea of buying one I haven’t seen before.

So while I continue my search for my new alarm clock, I’m using my current one at its reduced volume (I also set the alarm on my phone, but I need more than one to wake up on my early days).

I know that this is a crazy post to write, but I’m putting it out there in case someone knows of an alarm clock that I can buy that will work for me! So if you know of one, please comment!!

Dress Fitting (or The Reason I Took This Trip)

On Saturday, us girls (me, my brother’s fiancĂ©e Krystle, and Krystle’s friend Anna) had a very busy day planned.

We started our day by walking a couple of blocks up the street for brunch. We went to Blackwood, which is a Thai restaurant that does some really good egg breakfasts.

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I decided to get the spinach scramble. It seemed like one of the healthier choices. I was pretty surprised when I got my plate and it looked like this.

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I’ve never had scrambled eggs that looked like an omelet on top, and in the middle it was all scrambled. Nevertheless, it was delicious!

Next, we headed over to a bus stop so we could ride the bus over to where the bridal salon was. It was a pretty nice ride. The bus wasn’t crowded at all so I was able to look out and check out the city. We drove through Chinatown, and then we were over by Union Square which is where the salon was.

Krystle’s dress is by Jin Wang. The store was gorgeous, but you weren’t allowed to take pictures of dresses that you didn’t purchase so not photos to show how nice the store was.

I did get this picture of the sign in the entryway.

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And this photo of the dressing rooms where Anna and I waited for Krystle to come out in her dress.

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Krystle’s dress is really pretty. I would love to post photos of it on here, but she doesn’t want my brother to see them (I don’t know if my brother even reads this, but knowing my luck this will be the first post he looks at).

So the only photos I can share are these cropped ones that Krystle gave me permission to put on here.

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After the fitting was done, we headed over to where our next adventure would be: Burke Williams! But before doing that, we realized that we all forgot to bring swimsuits and we wanted to use the hot tub/steam room/sauna at the spa, so we made a quick side trip to Macy’s where all 3 of us bought new swimsuits.

Now, I have to say, I haven’t worn a swimsuit in forever. Before purchasing this one, I didn’t even own one in my size. So this was an adventure all in itself. I don’t love the swimsuit I bought, but it fits and works for now.

My mom’s goal for me for this trip was to bond with my future sister-in-law. Between going to her dress fitting and then trying on swimsuits together, I’m pretty sure I met that goal.

I’ll write all about the spa tomorrow! There’s so much to say that it needs to be its own post!

Busting Out Of My Comfort Zone (or I Bought Skinny Jeans)

I definitely have a comfort zone. There are a lot of things that I do now because I like how they feel as part of a routine.

I was like this with exercise. For a long time, I really didn’t want to exercise anywhere besides in my house or at Richard Simmons’ studio. These were places that I felt safe exercising. Nobody was going to judge me for my weight (which sadly is something I’ve experienced at 2 different gyms I used to belong to in LA). But I went outside my comfort zone when I saw the free spin class on twitter, and now going to SoulCycle is one of my favorite things to do! I never thought before that I would say a form of exercise is one of my favorite things to do!

I used to hide the fact that I have an eating disorder and credit card debt. I liked that I could hide behind a facade and seem to not have those troubles in my life. But once I stepped outside my comfort zone and admitted those things (essentially to the world), I’ve been able to deal with them much better. I still have debt, but I’m working on paying it down. And I’ll always have my eating disorder, but I don’t feel like it is as out of control and running my life as it used to.

What does all this have to do with me buying skinny jeans? Well, I totally have a comfort zone when it comes to clothes. For a long time, I told myself that it was like that because there are so few options for me. I have my favorite jeans (which seem to be the only jeans that really fit me well), and I love my Old Navy shirts. I wear those items a lot. And at my day job, where I’m on the phone all day and never have to see anyone besides my 5 co-workers, I don’t feel the need to dress nicer.

But I don’t want to look sloppy all the time. There is a time and place for that, but that is not everyday. This upcoming weekend I’m going to San Francisco for my future sister-in-law’s dress fitting. Besides the dress fitting, there are a bunch of other events during the weekend including 2 nice dinners, 2 brunches, a shopping outing, and going to a club. That’s a lot of clothes for a weekend, but I’m willing to figure out how to make it all fit into a carry on.

I recently got some new clothes from one of my favorite store, Kiyonna. I bought 3 new tops (but I think I’m sending one back because I don’t love it in person), and when I tried them on with my favorite jeans, it didn’t look right.

My favorite jeans are bootcut, and when I went back to the Kiyonna website I noticed that they had the model styled in skinny jeans for the tops I bought. So I went to the store that carries my favorite jeans, and they happened to have dark wash skinny jeans in my size (and in petite). It was fate!

I tried them on, and I didn’t love them. They aren’t what I’m used to. But after 3 salesgirls and 6 customers told me how much they loved the jeans on me, I had to trust them and get them.

These jeans are a big break out of my comfort zone. It’s almost harder for me to love these pants than it was for me to love spinning! I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of me in the pants on here (yet), but I wanted to wash them before I wore them.

I’m planning on bringing the new pants with me to San Francisco this weekend. I’m hoping to wear them for some of the events. I haven’t convinced myself not to also pack my favorite jeans just in case, but I’m hoping that I’ll have the courage to do that before zipping up my suitcase tomorrow.

Pictures to come, I promise!

Hitting A Dead End In A Maze (or Maybe I Should Have Had My Dad With Me)

Yesterday I had a half day at work (because I’m working Friday night this week), so my friend who has been going to spinning classes with me and I decided that we were going to each make the investment and buy cycling shoes.

To rent shoes at SoulCycle costs $3 a class. Not too bad, but when I want to try to go every week, that $3 adds up quickly.

I had decided to go to Performance Bike to get shoes. I like that store, my dad likes it, and that’s where my mom and dad bought this really cute bike for my birthday.

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So my friend and I met there after I got off of work. When we walked in, we were greeted by a very nice salesman but he was busy helping someone check out. He pointed us in the direction of the cycling shoes and we figured someone would be over there soon to help us.

We got to the shoe area, and saw a lot of empty spaces.

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Those three empty slots on the wall? Those were the three types of shoes that I had picked out online that fit my criteria (velcro closures, road shoes not mountain shoes, and under $100). I was pretty frustrated, but was hoping a helpful salesperson would be along soon and would tell me they had more in the back or something.

Wrong.

The salesman who came to help us didn’t help at all. He didn’t seem to care that we wanted to try on those three types of shoes that they didn’t have. He said that if we found them online, we wouldn’t find them in the store. When I asked if I could have those shoes shipped to me, his response was “if you want to pay for shipping”. I asked if they did free shipping to the store and he said they did. Why wasn’t that offered to me? Also, the salesman offered no help when I asked what the European size equivalent to an American shoe size 8 was (I ended up looking it up on my phone).

I wondered if it was a mistake coming without my dad. He pretty much knows anything about bikes. He was with me when I got my cute bike and knew all the questions that I wouldn’t have thought of asking (and got them to add a kickstand for me). But I had spoken with my dad before this shopping trip and got all my dumb questions answered before I went. Now I wish he was there because I feel like he would have gotten something out of that salesman that my friend and I couldn’t because we didn’t know all the right things to say.

We both ended up walking out of the store with nothing. I didn’t want to give them my business. I’ve tweeted at the store, and I’m thinking of linking this post to them in an email.

This just reminded me so much of something Blake Robbins said on Inside Acting Podcast (I got to hear this twice, once at the recording and again on the episode). Life is like a maze. You know that somewhere in it, there is a place that the ball drops through. So if you hit a dead-end, you don’t give up. You aren’t in a maze where the ball doesn’t drop through. You just have to back up, take a different turn, and keep trying to find where the ball drops.

So maybe I hit a dead-end in this maze for my spinning adventure. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to give up. I just need to back up, look another way, and maybe order my cycling shoes from Zappos (I love them!).

Plus Sized Workouts (or Are Clothing Companies Trying To Keep Me Heavy?)

Shopping for clothing in general for me is tough. I’ve talked about that a couple of times.

But shopping for workout clothes that fit me seems to be almost impossible.

I have a couple of t-shirts that are junky enough to be gross and sweaty, and for spinning I’ve been wearing tamis from Old Navy (no joke, when I went to grab this link, I saw that tamis were on sale and bought 4 more). Those tamis are nice and long on me, so when I’m bent over the spin bike, I’m not worrying about them riding up.

But workout pants are have always been weird. Not only do I need to find some that are big enough, I’m short so I need to find them in petite (or hope that they are short enough to not look weird on me). The first time I was trying to lose weight as an adult, I bought some workout pants at Lane Bryant. And nothing against the store, but those workout pants were beyond ugly! I might not have the world’s cutest butt, but those pants made it look like I was wearing a diaper.

I’ve tried the stretch capri pants at Target, but even their largest size was a little small around the waist for me. And on one of my magical trips to Old Navy (I swear that they are not sponsoring or paying me for this post at all), I found these great workout capris.  I love the fold-over part at the waist because it makes me feel like my stomach is being held in a bit.

In the store, they only have regular length, so I bought one pair of those to hold me over. I ordered 3 more in the petite length, and those 4 workout pants can get me through any week.

(this is where most guys will want to stop reading)

Sports bras are tough for almost anyone. It doesn’t matter what size you are, it seems like you can never find one that is right. I ended up going to a store for a professional bra fitting. It was a fancy store on Ventura Blvd (but I can’t remember the name of it) and they did a great job fitting me. If you’ve never had a proper bra fitting before, I recommend getting one done. I’d also recommend going somewhere like a lingerie or department store where they have more than one brand of bra. Also, be warned that a bra fitting is very touchy-feely and hands on (I have no modesty issues and even I blushed once or twice).

Sadly, most of the regular bras there were over $150, so I didn’t get any of those. But they did have 2 sports bras (one for low impact and a compression one for high impact) that were on sale. I got those, and I have to say that my boobs don’t hurt anymore when exercising (which is not the easiest thing to accomplish).

I wish that clothing companies were more accepting of all sizes, especially for workout gear. It’s tough when you want to lose weight but all the workout clothes are for people who are already a couple of sizes smaller than you are. But I’ve found something that works now, and one day, I’ll fit into all the cute gear that I see in other stores!

Just Because I’m Not Skinny Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Want To Look Cute (or More Shopping Drama)

I’ve talked before about hard tough it can be to shop when you aren’t skinny. I’ve also talked before about my love of Pinterest.

I love searching the boards on Pinterest for tons of stuff. One of my favorite sections is the Women’s Fashion section. There are so many ideas for clothes. Some of them are craft ideas with clothes (I totally want to make this sweater!). Some pins are about accessories.

But most of the pins are of really cute outfit combinations. I would totally rock any of those looks.

But sadly, until I lose weight and fit into a “normal” size, I won’t be able to create those outfits. There are a few stores that carry clothes in my size. Even fewer that carry pants or jeans that are both plus size and petite. And unless I want to order things online and take a chance on it fitting, I have only select stores that I can go to.

I am not trying to sound like a victim. I know that it is my fault that I am this size. I haven’t gotten control over my eating disorder yet. I hope that one day, the eating disorder will be a distant memory (although I think I’ll always have disordered eating habits).

But until that day, I need to still cloth myself and I’d like to look cute. I’m single, young(ish), and trying to live a full life. But when most of the clothing options for me are either very old-looking or something that maybe a middle schooler would wear, it’s tough to look how I’d like.

I’m thinking about seeing about testing out a personal shopper (you can use one for free at Bloomingdales). I might not purchase the clothes, but at least I can get an idea of what I should look for in other stores. Or maybe I can say that I’d like to look at clothes that are mainly on sale.

I don’t think I’ll have time to do too much shopping before I’m (f)unemployed, but maybe this could be something to look forward to in the new year.