There are some good ways to handle the "transitional clothing" issue. We all know the thought of buying new clothes to wear for a few months is enough to make you wanna gag, but there are good (and cheaper) ways to do this.
1) Craigslist: Sometimes you can find people selling bulk clothing in your area. Granted, it takes more running around (unless they can provide great pictures and good descriptions), but you may be able to shop for many items at one time and save shipping.
2) eBay: A personal favorite of mine. You can shop from the convenience of your home, late at night, early in the morning, during lunch -- and have the stuff shipped to you. You can even save oftentimes on shipping if you can find numerous items from the same seller as they will typically combine shipping. Many items are new with tags (NWT) or excellent used condition (EUC).
3) Clothing swap: I went on LBT and did a search under the word "clothing" and came up with a list of threads that dealt with this very issue. Though some are pretty old threads, some are much newer and may offer ways to get clothes from others while you dump stuff of your own. Here's the link to my search: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/search.php?searchid=2042206&pp=25
4) Resale shops: Depending on what's in your area, you can possibly find some nice stuff in resale shops. I haven't found one in my area yet (though I haven't really looked very hard), but where I lived before, we had a fantastic one that I loved and which carried some really nice stuff for reasonable prices.
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5) www.Freecycle.org: Mindy just told me (reminded me, actually) about this site where everything is free and you can swap stuff. Just put in your city/state and it will show you if there are any locations in your area.
Never forget that your work clothing, if in good shape, can also be re-SOLD as well, creating a kind of "slush fund" for getting what you need.
I got an entire wardrobe of 18's and 16's (and a couple 20's as that was my size at the time) for less than $200 a couple months ago. On a side note, I then lost my job, and now the 20's don't fit; and it's possible by the time I get back to work the 18's won't fit. *sigh* ;)
GIRL Dont forget the good ol' garage sale !! Also not sure about your area. We have freecycle.org. Everything is FREE. you post what you want and if someone has what you need you go by and pick it up ! Its awesome.
ReplyDeleteThe problem i found with clothing swaps is the lower in size you get it seems the least likely I was to find the stuff.
My personal opinion , as you go down in size its best to sell the current size to get the size you need . I really wish i had done that. I gave away most of my bigger clothes, then had no money to buy clothes myself.
I too like resale shops. Now that im in "Normal" sizes I LOVE desinger jeans. BUT they are pricey . I found this one resale shop across from the UT Campus here in Austin , I can find Seven for All Man Kind Jeans for $15 they retail for $250 and up !! LOVE IT !!
THANKS, Mindy! And SOOOO glad to have you back!! *heart*
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind, but I'll include your suggestion in the body of the post so it's not missed.
Mindy,
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of this.. only I'm not sure we have this kind of swapping thing going in Australia (or more Perth where I live)... might have to suss it out. Good thinking Batwoman!
Cara
Beth , I dont mind at all. And I am GLAD to be back , I missed everyone very much .
ReplyDeleteCara, you could do local clothing swaps.
Get some kind of " Aussie Swap " going .
But like i said the problem as people get smaller it becomes less and less swaps.
Some how there seems there could be a better way. Like " No one can swap until everyone has someone to trade with " ? Make sense ? Like this person needs size 18 and this one needs 16. They both ahve to find their size before they can swap ? I dunno ?