My Online Shopping Tips (What I Wear)

Disclaimer: I will not body shame or fat shame anyone in this post. I also will Not tolerate any comments containing body shaming or fat shaming in the comments below or in the comment section I personally share this post. Gross comments will be deleted. 

So an article on BuzzFeed came across my timeline on social media. Go Read What Happened When This Woman Ordered A Dress Online Captures The Online Shopping Struggle and come back. So this Chinese lady bought a dress saw on a celebrity online and felt like it was an example of why people need to be careful of buying online.

Their example maybe a stretch. The dress fell in a all the right places as it did the celebrity & site model. Now just because the website does not have it's own pictures of the dress on non-industry model size bodies is a matter of splitting hairs, in my opinion. No store shows what every clothing item looks like on everyone's body. I will say the intent of the article, I do agree with. "People Need to Learn to Properly Learn How to Shop Online".

I am a Proud online shopper. I do at least 70% of my clothing & shoes shopping online. Other than shoes & in-season items, I don't feel the need to try everything on. Physical shopping makes me frustrating. It's not the crowds and pushy sales people. Physical store are for trendy shopping. I don't dress trendy a lot. I am more of a classical dresser. I might buy trendy pieces to update a look but most of my base clothing are classics. It is mind numbing to me when I need a basic white blouse and black skirt

and got to a physical store to find it, What do I find? I find the seasons trends.

That's cute!!! I like the look. It is not practical for my life. Physical stores are not so catering to practical. I understand that. They spend a lot of their money from trends. They have to be sure they get those sold. All my classic pieces that I wear, I can Always find online. Here are my personal ways I use to shop & purchase online.

• I Research everything I buy online. This is my money. I work too hard for it to be stolen. I work too hard for not to fit the way correctly. I read reviews because customers can be brutally honest if a product is inferior. I also like to see where the bloggers that look similar me are talking about.
•  I Love to shop around before purchasing. One of the best benefits of online shopping. Who has the better price & value?
• I click on the Sizing Charts. All stores are not alike. At one store I wear a 1X. At another store I wear another size. All Brands are not alike. Take buying shapewear from a national chain for instance. Maidenform, Bali, & Glamorise may have different sizing charts.
• I keep a current records of your measurements. Even in physical shopping this should be done. At least every Spring and Fall (warm & cool) take your measurements. One can't keep trying on clothes like one does in the brick & mortar stores. Some online stores don't have brick & mortar stores to go into. Some stores carry collections that can't be tried on in person (Boycott Update Coming Soon) Having your measurements helps in making wise decisions.
• I know the store, the brands they carry and how you fit in those brand. JCPenney carries Worthington & St John's Bay. I wear those well. Walmart has Faded Glory & NOBO. Faded Glory fits well but NOBO does not. Tried on a Nine West shoe in a 6 1/2 M on at Macy's, it fit well. I see the very same shoes on Amazon's website for cheaper, what size do I buy? If you pay attention to your habits and preferences, it lessens a lot the guess work & headache associated with online shopping.
• I take Risks but don't pay for them. Trends, especially trendy shoes are risky for me. I have an average foot for my not so average body. As cute as many shoes are many of them hurt. I do Not believe in "Pain is Beauty" when it come to my feet. But when I do take the risk, I wait for sales and special deals. And there is always the clearance sections where many items go to before the season is over. 
• I sign-up for deals for every store I shop and will potentially shop. Many discounts are email to shoppers. Some stores send out their deals weekly. Also signing up make you a preferred shopper and preferred shoppers get deals in-store alos. Who doesn't like a deal?
• I believe in Coupon codes. Shipping is painful. I call it the gas prices of online shopping. Like gas stations each store's free shipping minimum varies. I pray for a good free shipping not based on the minimum codes. Many times there are codes to help your cost before shipping. I also use them just to lower the cost period. 30% off is 30% I can put back in my pocket. My favorite to use is Coupons.com. I get my grocery store coupons there also. Search the store's website codes also. And don't be so quick to close the pop-up window when first getting onto the site. Codes may be there.
• If it sounds iffy do Not buy it.

So these are the things I do keep me from looking like this chick from one of my favorite shows from the 90s, Living Single. She didn't have a mirror and had to depend on Regine, the sales person to tell her she looks good. Common sense would have told her to look at her bust and she could see those the top was stretching for dear life. That is the trick to online shopping, using your common sense. That is my top tip, "Use Your Common Sense". Hope I helped someone.

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

My Main Shopping Plus Size Issue (What I Wear)

I love Chastity Garner. She is one of my favorite fashion bloggers.

I love her book, "The Curvy Girl's Guide to Style". It is a Must-Read. Last week, she released an open letter stating she will be boycotting Target stores for their lack of plus-size options in their designer collaboration sections. HERE is the letter. Of course, some think her boycott is petty. Some that are plus size, also. I saw one lady say “You can't get upset because they don’t want to make larger clothes”. *sigh* It’s not about forcing designers to make plus-size clothing. It is about inclusion and respect.

I, a plus-size shopper will not shop in places that act like their plus-size clothing is a secret. I’m not talking about stores that don’t sell plus-size clothing. They don’t bother me because I know where they stand. Everything I wear is not plus size. I wear a 7-1/2 Medium shoe. I can’t get and will buy a shoe anywhere. I’m talking about stores that say they sell plus-size clothing but you can’t just walk into their stores to purchase anything plus size. You have to go online or to their outlet stores only to purchase anything plus size. Old Navy was the first retailer that lost my dollar. They moved their plus-size line out of its stores to their website only. This

dress I bought in 2009 or 2010 is the last anything I bought from Old Navy. Yes, I, An Avid Online shopper will not shop at a store that has physical stores, that will force me to only shop online. The store H&M has Never seen any of my money. Maybe it is my area but the only place that has the plus-size line is the H&M outlet store. So, why does a store with more than online shopping options do that to a section of clothing buyers? They claim that their plus-size consumers were for the most part purchasing clothing online or in the outlet so that is why they only sell those lines in those places. Doing acts like this says to me that these stores want Fat Folk’s Money but Not in Their Stores. I may be wrong but that is how I feel. Well since, my clothing is not welcomed in the stores, those stores are not welcome to my money. Stores like these have even made me research every store that announces that they are starting selling plus-size clothing to see if that is in-store & online purchases or outlet/online only. If a store does not respect me enough for me to be seen in their store purchasing items, they don’t respect me.

I understand Ms. Garner’s plight. It won’t be hard for me to join her boycott, I’m not a major Target fan. It’s never the first place I think of when buying anything. Why should plus-size styles be limited in their stores? Like I said it is about respect. When the male underwear section is bigger than the Plus Size section, that is not respect. But if they won’t respect pleads for acceptable designer wear then make them respect the $$$$ that they will be missing from their stores

Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms

Just Want a Maxi Dress *whining* (What I Wear)

Pimps aren’t the only people having a rough time. It’s hard out here for a short plus size diva like me. It’s a lot you don’t see in pictures. I’m just 5’2”. I have short legs, torso and arms. I also have a Medium B Width foot.  Shopping can get sometimes frustrating to me.

For the 5 years in a row, I have fail to find many affordable sleeveless Maxi dress (sleeved ones look like muumuus IMO) in petite plus size. I did find one this year. Sounds like one somebody heard my cry.

I’ve yet to find a cap sleeve shirt that does not fit me like a short sleeve. See this dress with my attempt to shorten the sleeve. (This dress gets a lot of wear)

Still Not as short as it looked in the ad. I gave up trying to wear short skirts in high school. Since I have a big bust I use to pull my tight knit skirt under my bust to shorten them. Now I’m too old to wear my skirts that short.

Let me also talk to shoe industry. Can a lady with a B width foot but a wide leg get a well-crafted fashionable comfortable heel or boot? Any shoe (mostly boots) that I own that is made for plus size women are stuffed at the toe. They are too wide. I know I could go to all the other stores and get any shoe I want and I do. But I like getting my shoes from Plus Size retailers because the shoes is better crafted for a larger frame. This is one of the few B width shoe bought from a Plus Size retailer I own and was from the internet not an in-person store.

I just want to dress like everyone else and be able to pay for it also. It‘s bad enough that plus size clothes cost a little more than average. (I saw a Petite Plus Size Maxie Dress for $98) It’s already bad enough the fashion industry is very slow to understand that the “Big Girls” don’t want to dress in geriatric wear.  I just want someone to understand the “squatted” ladies are here and we want to look nice too. Don’t tell me to just get it tailored. Sometimes that cost almost as much as the item. Oh well back to whining. “I just want more than one sleeveless. Maxi dress”. LMBO

As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms