Take the time where you can get it?

[mrsbrown]

I've been awake since 5, I'm ready for work and should probably head there soon as I'm leaving early to be a fangirl at a Wiggles concert.

Today I'm wearing one of the tops I bought in the US.  I loved that shop and I think I could shop there more often, but they only have shops in North America and London.  Maybe I could start a franchise here?  That would be a way to cheap-ish clothes...

Yesterday's thought of the day was, "I like wearing and buying clothes, but I hate going into shop after shop where their largest size is one size too small for me".

The nice thing about shopping in the US was that most shops had clothes my size.  I wonder if there's a guide around for places to source clothes that fit middle-aged women?  But not the frumpy, layered, oversized sack like clothes.  If not, there should be...

Comments

[pheloniusfriar]

"I'm leaving early to be a fangirl at a Wiggles concert"

I think that is one of the best sentences I have read this year! :)

[mrsbrown]

thanks!

[alexbayleaf]

As you might imagine, I have OPINIONS on this! There are lots of online guides to plus-size or in-between sized clothing ("in-between" = most of the shops stop one size too small for you, but the plus sizes are too big). What I've found is that Australia is one of the crappiest places in the developed world for clothing, especially at larger sizes. The only stuff available is frumpy, oversized, polyester, poorly made, and overpriced.

I'm lucky in that when I lived in the US, I found a number of vendors that I liked and learned what size I was in their stuff -- even if I ordered online in the US, returning stuff that didn't fit was inexpensive, so I could experiment a lot. Now I know my sizes, I can order online from those shops. Some of my favourites include:

http://eddiebauer.com/ -- good in-between sizes, and their women's jeans are as good quality as men's in terms of fabric weight and construction and so on); their tshirts are also excellent quality and I really like their 3/4 sleeve tshirts which I wear constantly. They have tall fittings in both pants and tops, and often have nice blazers. I think they would match your style fairly well.

http://landsend.com/ -- a bit "mom"-like (i.e. verging on frumpy) but in a "classic" way, not an ugly polyester way. I bought a few cashmere jumpers/cardigans on sale from them and they have served me very well. Check the clearance section. Their shirts are often very good, as are their winter coats (my parka is from there, and my hooded duffle jacket). Avoid their jeans and other pants, which are 100% frump. Their sizing runs large, so I always go down a size or so if I'm buying anything made of a stretch fabric.

http://talbots.com/ -- check the clearance section for *really* nice shirts and the occasional jacket. I bought a couple of mens-style-but-women's-fit waistcoats from them recently that are getting a lot of wear. Their sizing chart has been extremely accurate for me, and I love their "woman petites" line (not relevant to you of course).

[mrsbrown]

Thanks.

Eddiebauer was one of the first shops we went into when we were in the US. They made me think that all shops in the US had a better range of my size of clothes. Now I wish I'd bought more there.

I'll take a look at the others.

[alexbayleaf]

FWIW, EB's sizing is very consistent, so if you know your size in their stuff, you can order online pretty safely.