Fashion Fridays: What To Do When In Transition Sizes

So my amazing college sorority sister and I were going back and forth on Facebook and I said, “I need some fresh ideas for Fashion Fridays!”  So she sent me some great ideas!

Drumroll please…she has lost FORTY FIVE pounds!  Y’all, how inspiring is that?  But she is working on the rest of her goal, about 20 pounds, so she doesn’t want to invest in an all new wardrobe just yet.  As you can imagine, her current wardrobe is not fitting.  Hence today’s Fashion Friday: What To Do When In Transition Sizes

You do have to buy a few pieces.  Since you know you won’t camp out at that size, you can find lower cost items, second hand retail, as well as purchase a few key pieces to get you through the remaining weight loss process.

I’ve gone through this myself before when I lost a fair amount of weight in 2011, and I had a transition size between my original size and my ultimate weight loss size (which I’m working to get back into now!).  So what’s a girl to do to look snappy but still keep from throwing money away?  Here are a few tips:

1.      Consider tailoring a handful of items.  My friend bought some clothes when she lost 30 pounds, and now those are too big.  However, those are likely just one size up from the clothes she needs now and something like a skirt or a dress may be easily tailored by pulling in an inseam to take it down one size.

Get recommendations for a local, reasonable, tailor.  You need a good tailor even after arriving at your final size just in case a must-have item you purchased needs a nip or tuck.  Ten dollars to shrink a waistband is far more reasonable than $80 for a new pair of pants.

2.     Buy a couple of quality basic pieces that can be the foundation for your work wardrobe.  She works in a fairly conservative environment, so buying two pair of pants or skirts in a black or camel that fit beautifully now (and might be tailored in 10 more pounds) will help you feel better about how you look.  Consider a simple shift dress that you can change up with a cardigan, blazer, or scarf.

This simple A-line dress can work across sizes and is on sale for $75 at Macy’s:

3.     Buy a couple of fun trendy pieces.  Since this isn’t your permanent size you can go nuts with trends, but buy them at low cost places.  I recommend second hand like on ThredUp, a great online second hand store where you can return what doesn’t work, or consider Target, Kohl’s, Marshall’s, or even AnnTaylor Loft with coupons (always search on line for coupons before buying).

This gorgeous snow leopard jacket was 50% of at Ann Taylor Loft yesterday which moved it from the too pricey to the just right category:

4.  Accessorize!  The greatest way to make your handful of items work for this interim period without looking repetitive is to mix up your accessories.  Bold scarfs or fun necklaces or interesting wedges.  You can invest in some quality pieces too because these will fit regardless of your size.

If you want to splurge, this gorgeous multi-blue strand necklace via Stella & Dot would go with any ensemble:

Or for less than $10 (WHAT?!?!?) you can add this lovely fall cranberry scarf to an otherwise simple outfit:

And keep up the good work.  Hang in there – you are almost there.  Keep to the basics until then and just mix it up with a few additions that fit your size now!