I took the plunge today and went to the mall in search of clothing. I came here with many brown skirts, and no shirts that matched them. Talk about poor planning. I've lost 20 pounds since I arrived, so many of the shirts I DO have are starting to get a little baggy. All the other clothes I own are in heavy rotation, so they are starting to look a little worn and I need to start looking for fresh clothes anyway.
As we were in The States still, packing our things to head over, I had the thought that chances were pretty good that I'd lose some weight here. Portion sizes are less, there'd be less temptation to eat out with someone else doing the cooking, and most of the meals are meat, veg, and rice, which tends to be lower fat what without all the cheese and butter that is ever present in American food. (And, oh, how I miss it!) I had a box of "Maybe Someday" clothes that I'd culled out of my closet and packed away in case I ever did lose weight, so I brought those along, because I knew that being 5'10" tall would make it hard to find clothes in general, let alone in my particular size. I'm not quite able to wear those yet, though, and I need something to tide me over until they fit again. So, I got the kids and we went to the mall.
The kids were my first mistake, but the staff in the stores here are much more patient with them, so they were just making me crazy and not everyone in the store, like at home. There are two stores in the mall here that carry clothes in my size (about an 18 US). One of them is called Tubby's (nice) and the other is Moda Plus. We went to Tubby's first. They are equivalent in quality to a Lane Bryant, and about 25% less price-wise. They had a lot of nice shirts, but none of them really suited me, and the one I really liked they didn't have in my size. So I found out that their new items come in at the end of the month and we will go back. The sizing there seemed to run along UK lines, where everything is shifted down one so an XL in the States is a 2XL in the UK/Philippines. I was ok with that. A number is a number, so leaving a 2XL size and landing in a 2XL size because I'm in a different country is no biggie.
Then, I went to Moda Plus. They had a rack of t-shirts that were clearly not the same sizing as the US, so I asked someone working there what size they thought I would be. The answer? 6XL. SIX EX EL! As I looked through more of the clothes, I think that really I'd be more of a 5XL, but honestly, that didn't make me feel that much better. I know it's just a number, a categorizing system for the clothing, but it did not make me feel peachy. Yay.
Moda Plus wasn't that grand, really. The quality was dookie and the styles weren't things I could wear. I am optimistic for Tubby's (*sigh*), but this round of their clothes just didn't do anything for me. What do I want for Christmas? Clothing. Anyone else coming over for a visit anytime soon? Want to be my clothes mule?
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10 years ago
3 comments:
It IS just a number. But I'll agree it's a crappy one! American companies are so smart to keep inflating their sizes! I know people who only buy clothes at certain stores where they can fit into "smaller" sizes. Silly. Anyway, I hope you find some decent shirts soon!
I was shopping in Lane Bryant several years ago and a woman was in there shopping for the first time and asked about sizing info. I had recently figured out that they engage in vanity sizing there, so I told her that I was a 16 elsewhere, but a 14 there, so she should be starting with one size smaller than what she wore from other shops. I thought the sales lady was going to flip her lid because I pointed that out to her. Sorry... Didn't know it was such a big secret! What really makes me nuts are when plus-sized shops start the sizing over again, so a 14/16 becomes a size 1, an 18/20 is a 2, etc. Do they really think we're that clueless? Seems to work for them, though.
If worse comes to worse, I suppose I could have them all handmade? Labor is cheap here!
hahahah... thanks... we needed that laugh. tubbys... ha
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