Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Is it possible to find clothes that aren’t for a 12 years old body?

I wanted a new pair of jeans. I hate shopping for clothes. Actually I enjoy shopping for clothes, but lately I’ve been dreading it. Why you may ask? Because everything in stores nowadays are either for the body of a young girl, who also happens to be anorexic or for “ma'ams”. I feel like I don’t really belong in neither of these categories, anyway, not the first one for sure.

Once I got home from my client, I called a girlfriend and asked her to meet me at a mall. I had a mission: to find a pair of nice dark jeans. We first went to the big stores, didn’t find anything of interest so we made our way to the boutiques. They were plenty of jeans to choose from. I knew what I wanted and what I didn’t: skinny legs, très peu pour moi – flair bottom, maybe – light colour and/or ripped, not at that price!

I had a hard time believing that the biggest size in most stores was a size 30; anything above that was barely impossible to find. The last jeans I bought were at least two years ago, and I bought them in the States. You guys, in the States, have bigger sizes than we do for some reasons. Walking from shop to shop I almost felt like I did when I shopped for my wedding dress: I didn’t have the body required for that piece of clothing.

Anybody who goes shopping not feeling full of complexes, sure does come out of there with some, trust me! In one shop, the sales guy was very sweet. He showed me his biggest size, and at that point I was willing to try anything. I went to the cabin, took off my pants to try on these jeans. I put my right leg in, and got stuck at the knee! I kid you not. I walked out of there feeling like my knees were fat! And those were flair! It’s ridiculously sad. He kept showing me different models, way too… too… oh what the hell, too young for me. I even told him he had to realise I was no spring chicken, to which he promptly replied (bless his soul): “Oh come on, you’re not old!” I may not be old, but my spring is getting loose! He was trying to refrain from laughing so hard, I felt sorry for the guy. Anyway, I walked out of there, laughing about it, but sans jeans.

I’m glad I’ve come to terms with my shape (or lack thereof), and do accept myself as I am, ‘cause man! After an evening of shopping like that, I sure needed those fries on the way home! What? I hadn’t had dinner yet.

P.S. I did manage to find a nice pair, which fits me nicely, thank you very much!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you have Old Navy stores there? They have a good selection of low-priced jeans with a huge variation in fit (meaning that even two pairs of jeans that are the same style and the same size might fit differently). You have to do a fair bit of back-and-forth between the sales floor and the fitting room (and the service isn't so great so it's good to go with a friend), but I can usually find at least a couple of pair that I like there.

Anonymous said...

If you find American jeans you need- let me know, I can send them to you.

Green-Eyed Momster said...

I was going to recommend the GAP, Old Navy and Fashion Bug. Do you have a Fashion Bug store near you? If not I think they have a web site and you could shop on-line if you're brave enough. It's hard for me too. I don't fit in a Plus size yet and I'm no longer a Junior. Just somewhere in the middle. sigh....
Glad you found a pair that you like. You should have bought 5 pairs!

Hugs!!

Annake said...

My fat ass and I love Gloria Vanderbilt jeans. She seems to have figured out how to design clothes for real women. They're comfortable without being too tight especially in the waist. For some reason, other brands seem to think if you've got big hips, you must have a teeny waist. ;-)

Periwinkle Studio said...

I hear ya! I hate shopping for clothes because of those very reasons!

The cute clothes are much too small....:(
Sorry, but I really don't want to show off my butt crack while sitting down! It would be bad for both of us! lol

The ones that fit are so ur-gly, I would rather wear anything else!
Plus, I think they must adjust the mirrors in the dressing rooms....they are so carnival like! Is my face 'really' THAT round? EEKKK!

kara said...

my mom loves this brand called Not Your Daughter's Jeans. she gets them at Nordstrom. do you have Nordstrom? it's douchey. anyway, they have more realistic styles without being 'mom' jeans. according to her, anyway.

Charlie said...

I hear you, SP, because I hear the same thing from Martha all the time. She used to shop at Casual Corner Petite, but they closed up shop a couple years ago.

Her biggest complaint is her figure: She's convinced that her boobs have gone south to her butt.

Anonymous said...

I'm just grateful for Catherine's. When I was just starting to move into the plus size (at least 20 years ago), all the clothes seemed to be designed for grandmothers. It drove me crazy. But Catherine's has great clothes that are really cute. Granted, some of the styles make me look like I'm 400 months pregnant but I can usually find something good. And I agree with Traceytreasure, if I find a shirt or pants that I like and fit me well, I'll always buy one in each color.

lizgwiz said...

I stopped wearing jeans years ago, as I could almost never find any that were flattering to my body type. I don't miss them--never thought they were all that comfortable, anyway. I do have a comfortable denim skirt, though.

stinkypaw said...

flurrious: We do have Old Navy stores, but never really been in there, everything looked small, like at GAP, so I tend to stay away. Maybe next time I'll drop in. Thanks for the info.

Monkey: Sweet! If I do I'll let you know, thank you!

Traceyt: We don't have Fashion Bug. Online shopping for clothes, not really. I did and often returned so now I just order (online) things with no sizes. I know that feeling of "in-between"... argh...

Annake: True, just like for bras, not because I have small boobs that I also have a small rib cage!

Periwinkle: LOL, very true. Cute equals small or tight. Heh.

kara: No, we don't have Nordstrom. I didn't want something that looked anything like 'mom' jeans nor 'cougar' either... it's rough!

Charlie: That's one thing I can't/won't complain about: my boobs. I'd have to have some in order to do so! ;-)

greenduckies: We don't have Catherine's either. I used to go to A+E (+ size store), but their clothes were too big, I'm not there (yet)... I'm too big for reg. and not enough for Plus = shopping Hell!

lizgwiz: I'm not ready to give up on them yet...