Fashionable Clothes for Plus Size Women – Elaborating on What to Buy

 

Now that we have established our plus size capsule wardrobe rules, and decided in general what pieces we need to add, it’s time to elaborate on what to buy. We’re not going to go frumpy and dumpy here. We will be looking at fashionable clothes for plus size women. Remember our goal is to assemble a plus size capsule wardrobe that is inexpensive, practical, versatile, and most of all, makes you look good, and that you LOVE wearing! Frumpy and dumpy don’t appear in our goal!

“There’s no shortage of amazing plus-size fashion bloggers to look up to or body-positive champions to admire. Even so, we’ve still got a long way to go. Some plus-size fashion brands continue to reference the “slenderizing” technical aspects of their pieces, women sizes 14 are still underrepresented in media, and women don’t all have equal access to the same number of clothing options. So, until that happens, we’ll keep working hard every day to move fashion forward.”  Dia&Co. History of Plus Size Fashion

That said, we are lucky now that we have plenty of choices to fill our plus size closets.

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Trendy vs. Classic

It is important to remember here, when looking at fashionable clothes for plus size women, we want to determine a “mix”. We want trendy clothing, but we also want a good amount of classics. The reason for this is this: Lets say, in a year or two, a trend will go out of style. If I have all trending pieces in my closet, then I run the risk of having to replace ALL my clothing once the trend has run its course. I want to have a mix of classic, iconic pieces that never go out of style, so I can keep a core capsule. Besides, it’s the very height of fashion to mix trendy items with classics!

I suggest you go for classic looks in your bottoms (pants, skirts, and shorts) and in your neutrals (whatever clothing pieces you add that are black, white, navy, gray, or khaki). These tend to be more expensive and therefore harder to replace. One or two trendy items in this category is certainly OK, but be aware that trendy is short-lived.

Defined Lines vs. Detail

Also, when you are looking for fashionable clothes for plus size women, you want to look at the detail of the garment. Of course defined lines in clothing is a very classic detail. However, I would argue that no embellishments make for a very plain look.

In my plus size capsule wardrobe, I like my solid color shirts and blouses to have a little detail, such as a ruching, or a lace trim or inset, or an applique, or a button or zipper detail. However, I want my core neutral blouses and t-shirts to be straight up detail free, just because I need those items to be a little more formal and versatile in my wardrobe.

 

Completer Pieces: Jackets, Blazers, Sweaters, Vests, and Overpieces

Again a rule of thumb here is to keep your neutral completer pieces classic and without embellishment. However, you will want your solid color or print completer pieces to have some decoration. The key word here again is the “mix”.

Of course if you are comfortable having all classic lines or all embellished elaborate decorations, that’s great. Whatever makes you comfortable. However, I would argue that most of us prefer a “mix” because we want to switch it up and not appear boring or over-embellished.

 

 

Accessories: Scarves, Hats, Belts, and Jewelry

A good “mix” of classic and trendy would go well in your accessories category. However, I think your accessories is the best place to have your most trendy pieces. They are inexpensive to replace compared to your other clothing, and it’s easy to hit a variety of trends.

Necessities: Underwear, Socks, Shoes, and Outerwear

This category of clothing is one I have not touched on yet while discussing our plus size capsule wardrobe. I discussed a little about shoes in previous postings with a starting point of neutral flats. It is also a good idea to start with all neutral and classic underwear, socks, and outerwear. You can always add in some character pieces later when your budget allows. However, these are the items you are going to spend the most money on. I know I can buy three pairs of pants for the price of one winter coat. And have you bought a decent bra lately? I’ve had outfits where the bra is the most expensive item I’m wearing. Most of the year I can wear whatever socks I like, and I really don’t wear them in the summer, however, I need 100% merino wool socks for the winter, no substitutes. They can be expensive. And I can’t wear cheap shoes: I need support, and I need long-wearing construction and resistance to the elements. So therefore, it’s best for me to get classic neutrals in all of these. However, it entirely depends on what you’re comfortable with, and what you have for a clothing budget.

Athletic Wear, Lounge Wear

Until now, I have not touched on athletic wear or lounge wear either. When I watched What Not To Wear on TLC long ago, the bone of contention always came about when the contestant insisted on wearing athletic wear or lounge wear in public. I happen to agree with the hosts of the show, that NO athletic or lounge wear should be worn in public. Athletic wear is for working out, and lounge wear is for sleeping and grunging around the house. I know I don’t feel like I look my best in either type of clothing, and after all, our plus size capsule wardrobe is supposed to make us look good, correct? Again, you do what you want, but bear in mind that the wearing of athletic or lounge clothing may detract from how you want to feel when you go out in public.

Putting Thought into What You’re Wearing

I know you’re thinking right now, that you’ve never put this much thought into your clothing. That is why we’ve had a problem with our closets in the past. We didn’t think of all these details. We just blindly bought clothing pieces without a care about any of the details. And we ended up with a closet full of mismatched, ill-fitting, ugly, itchy clothing that we hated. Putting a little thought into each garment as you buy it will reap years of happiness and high self-esteem. When you have put your rules together, and thought about all the details of your garments, then you are ready to buy fashionable clothes for plus size women.

Please add your comments and suggestions below, and keep reading my blog, and most of all share with your friends and relatives!

Psst!  Where did you get those clothes?

My favorite store is Amazon!

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