The lovely Rebecca shares her transition to summer.
A Plus Size Approach to Splurge vs. Save
Recently my husband and I retired and we had to take a new approach to money. Money feels different when you have a limited income and we took it as an opportunity to live more modestly. When I met my husband, over 20 years ago, I was about $35,000 in credit card debt, and he helped me get on a budget and pay off my credit cards, and live in a cash world. So, what does that look like when you are a plus size clothing blogger. It means you find a way to buy clothes on sale, do some thrift shopping, or to take a “do it yourself” point of view, and I do all three.
I found this sweater at Modcloth that I loved and thought would be very becoming, but since I had recently splurged on a Moto Jacket that I had been waiting to go on sale, I knew I was going to have to find a bargain.
I decided thrifting was the way to go, but because I am even a little larger than a regular plus size, which is usually a size 3X/24, and I am a size 4X/26, I suspected that my local Goodwill or a regular thrift store was probably not going to work. So I knew my best option was to try on line. I recently wrote about shopping for vintage/pre-owned clothing in my size. I started with ebay, because they have such a wide selection of clothing, but I did not have any luck, so I moved on to FatToo Grand for Size 28+, a group on Facebook where women can share clothing that is no longer working for them (it is a private group, you have to request entrance). The FatToo groups are not intended to make money for the creators of the group or the sellers, it is not a commercial venture.
And guess what, I found this fun sweater, for $5 plus shipping. It is perfect for spring and that was an especially good price, and similar in style to what I was looking for. So it was a great savings, and it feels really good to get a good bargain.
When I am thinking about making a purchase, I like to think in terms of what it would take to earn that amount, or what percentage of my income it will be. Will I love the clothes as much as it feels good to have savings and live within my budget?
I was invited to participate in the “Splurge vs. Save” Campaign by writing this post, through Credit Card Insider. I loved their goals: “We are advocates of the responsible use of credit, building and managing your credit history, and making informed decisions when selecting a credit card.” Because it is work we all need to do in our lives.
What do you think, do you love to get a great deal, and save some money for the future?
I would love to hear more about your hunt for a bargain.
Peace…affinity
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Wide Shoes – Finding More Support for My Body
Some of you may remember that I had a full knee replacement surgery a couple of months ago. After going to the trouble of having elective surgery and then recovery, it occurred to me that I need to start wearing a real shoe. I looked around for a style that was not TOO homely, had support on both sides, and enough sole to support my 275 pounds. I wanted a shoe I could walk in for an hour if I needed to. I went with the Clarks Felicia Plum Casual Shoe.
I wore them Saturday night for the first time, and since we were going to two different events I took along my old shoes in case I started to get a blister, but there was no problem. They are a perfect fit, they were great for the early BBQ on the grass and the patio, and the more formal party in someone’s home, later in the evening. (I will be taking a black sharpie to the brown accents. A little too rustic for my taste).
For at least the last 10 years, I had been wearing Arcopedico Light shoes. They are slides with no support. I am sure they were not good for my career or my feet and knees, but I trying not to slide back into them, or black ballet slippers with no support.
I reached out to the FatToo Anonymous Community on Facebook (a private group which you can apply to join). I did not check every option to ensure that it had sole support or came in wide sizes, but there are a lot of options here. FatToo Anonymous is the best resource I have ever had and I love getting to know some of the regular posters. These are some of their suggestions:
- Sperry’s boat shoes (they have great arch support)
- Dansko (some people did not find them wide enough)
- Merrell
- Birkenstocks
- Wallabies at journeys
- Orthoheel (now Vionic)
- The Walking Company
- Kalso Earth Shoes
- Toms
- Softwalk shoes
- Earth/Earthies
- Taos
- Skechers
- New Balance
- Ecco
- Munro
- Crocs
- Chucks
- Rohde (Birkenstockish)
- Aravon
Peace…affinity
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My Favorite Jacket EVAR!!!
I just had to write this post tonight. I got this MYNT 1792 jacket in the mail today, and it may be my FAVORITE piece of clothing EVER, and I could not wait for you to see it because it is on sale, and the Size 4X is already gone. I think it runs true to size, the 4X fits me perfectly unzipped, but a little snug when I zipped it, and I am a Size 26 – 28.
To compare my measurements to yours, click HERE.
The jacket is soft and light, the weight is perfect for California, or for spring in the East, and it feels really soft to wear.
Detail of the Front of the Jacket
And yes, those are little gold studs on the front of the jacket. It is so amazing that someone on the street stopped me tonight to tell me how cute it is. So if you have been dithering, this is the moment.
Peace…affinity
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Beth Ditto in My Mailbox!
I know y’all have heard before that Beth Ditto is my fatshion hero, so imagine my glee and surprise when this lovely brooch showed up unexpectedly in my mail box the other day.
It was a gift from my fellow “Ahead of the Curve” blogger, Christina “Stina” Scott, owner of Every Day is Like Halloween, and blogger extraordinaire of Fatshion Peepshow.
Thanks Stina, I love it and I will wear it often.
Peace…affinity
photo: Leori Gill Photography
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Who Reads Affatshionista?
I never see anyone else do this, but I am so interested in whether people from other countries read Affatshionista, and other plus size fashion blogs. So I thought I might post the cumulative map of all of Affatshionista’s history, and I hope I will get to see other blog’s demographics.
Feel free to comment, I would love to know how you found Affatshionista, what you would like to read more about and anything else you would like to say.
Peace…affinity
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Spinning the Color Wheel at Evans Plus Size
The Remaining ‘CUT’ Collection Evans U.S. Size 28
Pink Cami – From my Closet
ASOS Curve Green Cami U. S. Size 22 (A little big for me)
When I saw that Evans had a line, “CUT”, designed as part of a competition by students from a couple of Universities that were known for their strong print and knitwear design divisions, I was thrilled and I knew I had to have a piece.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLcOtJeHe4I&w=560&h=315]
Then the skirt went on sale. And our Ahead of the Curve topic was Miss Matched. So I started mixing and matching camis to wear with the skirt, dark green? does it need orange? or red? is mint green too blue?, trying things on and then trying them on a different way.
It happens that Evans accidentally sent me the jumpsuit also, so I thought you might like to see it too. It runs a little long as jumpsuits often do. This would need to be shortened.
To compare my measurements to yours, click HERE.
J. Crew Necklace (Similar)
I went through my jewelry, How much could I wear, and stay in the color family? And then I went to an event and my friend, Jennifer Raiser, was wearing a green and hot pink necklace I could borrow, what are the odds of that?
And then shoes, well shoes were kind of a bust. I don’t have any forest green shoes or hot pink shoes, so white sandals it is.
I thought you might also like to see some of my other Miss Matched outfits, HERE and HERE.
Don’t stop here! Click HERE to check out all the chic, smart ways other bloggers from AHEAD OF THE CURVE interpreted this month’s theme.
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Simply Be Review – U.S. Size 28 Pencil Skirt
I bought this pencil skirt from Simply Be in a US Size 28, and I wear it all the time. I love it, it is fun and flirty, and get compliments whereever I wear it (they no longer have it in this size, but here is a precious, even less expensive, pink lips skirt that is similar.) I had wanted to see what Simply Be sizing was like in this style.
In the last several years I have made several Joe Brown purchases, also from Simply Be. They are cute and fun and fit as well in the US Size 28, and they have worked well on me.
To compare my measurements to yours, click HERE.
Peace…affinity
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Workin’ Stella & Dot Jewelry for Plus Sizes
Denise Spencer and I have been friends for well over 20 years. In fact you might remember her as one of the friends who gave me the fabulous Retirement Party a couple of years ago. SO when I heard she was selling Stella & Dot Jewelry, and you know I love jewelry since I wear it everyday, I thought it would be fun if we got together and I tried on a couple of pieces and shared them with you. (I wish I had also tried the necklace without any extensions, sometimes I really like that choker look with the sort of round collar this top has.
Stella & Dot Sutton Statement Necklace Longer – To do this you just lift one of the lengths of chain over your head, nothing additional required
This is the Sutton Statement Necklace and it can be worn five different ways, I am wearing it with two extensions here. I love that it is a multi-metal necklace and can be worn shorter or longer or even longer, without or with the rhinestones strand.
I also tried on a wrap bracelet, which I loved since I have been wearing a lot of wrap bracelets lately.
Here are some other pieces I thought you might think were fun, and a little less expensive.
Peace…affinity
No compensation was paid for this post, not even lunch…
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Plus Size 24+ Vintage/Previously Owned Clothing
I know you know I love “vintage”. There is not much of it in a Size 24+, and I suspect the term used clothing would be more appropriate than vintage. Please click on the links underneath each photo, above, for more information.
But I love it just the same, and there are some good deals out there if you are willing to shop.
So I thought I would go on a hunt to see what I can find in my size (I can usually wear a UK Size 28, to compare my measurements to yours, click HERE) and here are my results.
- Beth Ditto, All Sizes from Evans Line as well as recent t-shirts, All Sizes
- The Curvy Elle Size 24+ (New to me, there are other sizes on other pages of her shop)
- ebay Pre-Owned Size 4X
- ebay Pre-Owned Size 5X
- ebay Pre-Owned Size 28/30
- ebay Pre-Owned Size 6X
- ebay Pre-Owned Size 30/32
- Etsy Vintage Size 4X
- Etsy Vintage Size 5X
- Etsy Vintage Size 6X
- Etsy Vintage Size 7X+
- Etsy FatFancy (not sure these are used or vintage)
- Urban Thick All Inventory (not much in the 4x+ range)
- Fabulous Fatshion
- Plus Size Auction Site, but I did not find much clothing on it.
And of course my list of the FatToo Groups and other plus size clothing groups on Facebook can be found HERE, with a special shout out to FatToo Grand Size 28+. The FatToo groups are not intended to make money for the creators of the group or the sellers, it is not a commercial venture. It is just a way to share clothing that is no longer working for the seller. There are rules, and I suggest you read them before you buy or sell anything.
I would love to hear from you if you have suggestions to add to my list.
I expect that there will be additions as I go along, so check back now and again and see if I have added anything.
Peace…affinity
