Shopping

Yesterday, I took the girls shopping for Easter clothes at Kohl's. They each managed to find something they liked--Lauren a sundress & cardigan ("I can really run in this") and Sarah a racerback dress with a t-shirt to go under it--and since we were there anyway, I tried a few things on myself.

I got four dresses, all of them in this general style. They all looked like tents. They looked cheap and flimsy, and I couldn't stand how I looked in any of them. If I'd had more time, I would have looked for more and different options, but the kids were getting restless.

So I ended up being frustrated and annoyed that I couldn't find anything that I remotely liked, but I did come away with renewed motivation to eat better and get more exercise, because I really did not like how I looked in those dresses. Hopefully things will go better at Macy's, and I have gift cards there, which is a bonus.

Edit: I love Macy's. I loved the first thing I saw at the top of the escalator--a springy watercolor skirt. I found one in a size 16, knew it wouldn't fit, and grabbed it anyway. A yellow basket weave detailed top in XL to go with it, and I hit the fitting room.  I was right; it didn't fit. But it almost fit. And I loved it as much on as I did on the hanger, even though it was too tight. I could barely get the zipper up, and I knew I'd never be able to sit in it.

I went out to see if they had it in an 18, and the nice salesgirl called three times to try to find one. Finally, they realized that there was one out in Ann Arbor. I really didn't want to hike out there tomorrow, so I reluctantly kept looking. And looking. At one point, I did head up to the plus department on the third floor, but saw nothing I liked at all. Back on the second floor, I found several skirts to try on, and a sleeveless sheath style dress with flowers printed down one side. That's another one that almost fit that I loved.  But nothing else was really grabbing me. There was plenty that did fit, but none of it was appealing enough to buy. I was heading back to the counter to see if I could work something out where I could get the sale price on the original skirt at the other store tomorrow when I saw another rack of dresses. I grabbed one similar to this, but a different pattern. The neck was a pretty deep vee, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

Sure enough, it was way too low cut for me. But other than that, it looked pretty good. So I realized that I'd use the same solution that Sarah had--a tank underneath, and problem solved! I quickly found one, tried them on together, liked it quite a bit, paid, and was out the door just before closing time.

It's not a perfect dress. The colors aren't as bright and sunny as I was hoping for, and the waistline does hit a little high, but it's pretty and it works for now, and both pieces were less than $50. I think I can wear my sandals with it, and I'll find some earrings.

But the memory of that one flowered dress is really going to keep me on the straight & narrow for the foreseeable future. That was a killer dress, and someday I'm going to be able to wear that kind of thing. And I will rock it.

Shopping

I know; I said I wasn't going to go shopping until spring, because I don't really need any winter clothes. But Kohl's had a great sale on winter coats--Jeff got one for $53 that was originally $180.  My winter coats are getting too big, and by next year, they should be really big. So it makes sense to get a new one now, while they're cheap, instead of waiting until next fall, when they're full price.

Yep, makes perfect sense. Here's the problem: I don't know what size I'll be next fall. I tried half a dozen coats on, in various sizes, but the fact remains that if it fits me now, I'm hoping planning that it won't fit me next year. So picking a size now is a crapshoot, and not worth it, even for a good deal.

I also did some more "closet shopping" yesterday. I was looking to see what I had, and pulled out a blue striped button down shirt that I used to really like. I checked the tag. 3X--really? I knew it would be too big, but some things do run small. When I tried it on, it was really too big, even too much for me to consider altering the darts that are already in it. Time to call Purple Heart again!

I've been wanting a black or white wrap style shirt to go with the black & white skirt I got back in December that almost fits, but haven't seen anything "just right" (this is a problem with me--I get something very specific in mind, and then nothing else will do). But at the back of my closet I saw a couple silk t-shirts I used to wear with skirts to work back in the '93 or so. Why do I still have these? But one was black, so I shrugged and decided to see how close it was to fitting (size XL). I expected it would be far too tight, and it was too tight, but not by that much. The shoulder pads were a little linebacker-y, but I can take those out easily.  I'm hoping that this is an outfit I'll be able to wear by sometime this spring.

So even though I didn't get anything new this weekend, I do have clothes waiting for me. How long it takes before I can wear them is up to me. :)