When to buy new pants?

So I have a wonderful quandry - when is it 'safe' to buy new pants?  I've lost 20 lbs and my pants (but not shirts - hmmm) feel really loose.  Do you hit a plateau at a certain weight? 

I don't have a lot of money to spend and I fully intend to lose another 20 lbs in the next two months.

Any suggestions?  No, I'm not a good seamstress!

This is tough.  I was buying a new pair of jeans every 7 pounds!  I think because I am short, it takes fewer lbs for me to go down a size.  I think 20 lbs is safe.  You can get inexpensive jeans at Old Navy, and pants at Target.  If you can get away with 1 or 2 neutral pairs, it might be the way to go.

Unfortunately everyone plateaus at different weights.  But enjoy your new smallness!  Congrats!

I'm in the same boat. ^.^ I've lost 20 pounds so far and I actually just bought 2 new pairs of jeans yesterday that were on sale. I went to try things on to see what fits me now since my current pants will fall of me without a belt. I was so happy with how a size smaller fit that I went ahead and bought them anyway. I still have 30+ more pounds to lose, but I figure these pant will keep me happy for the next months to come. When they get loose, I'll keep wearing them with a belt, which should last me a while.

If you're comfortable with it, go ahead and buy 1 or 2 pairs of pants. Think of them as "transition" cloths. You can donate them when you don't need them anymore.

Way to go on your 20 lb weight loss! Depending on how much weight you want/need to lose, you will hit a plateau eventually, everyone does. To get thru it though, try something different .... different workout, different foods etc.  Regarding clothes, to save money until you get to your goal weight, shop at consignment shops! 

Keep going! 

I have a lot of "in between" sizes that I picked up CHEAP at the thrift store. Half of them still had the tags on them. Also Ross, TJMAXX and Marshalls may have some stuff cheap to get you through to the next size.

good luck!

Wow - you folks are quick!  Unfortunately none of the stores that you mentioned are available where I live.  I like thrift shops, and while I couldn't care less about fashion, everyone else seems to.  I'm involved with a few major events in the next month where I'll need to be dressed nicely.  I've never had much luck at thrift shops aside from very casual clothes, and I need dressier stuff for work.

I've been working at losing weight for 2 months and I'm pretty proud of myself so far.  Does it get any easier (i.e. should I anticipate losing weight more easily now that I am more mobile) or harder?  I need to lose another 40 lbs to hit the upper threshold of healthy.

oh, that's too bad!

I did get some nice dress shirts (cause nice white shirts I can't seem to find at my standard cheap stores) from jcpenney & sears in their clearance section.

Is there a khols near you? I have a friend that goes there and gets some good deals.

Original Post by crazydiamondchrysalis:

oh, that's too bad!

I did get some nice dress shirts (cause nice white shirts I can't seem to find at my standard cheap stores) from jcpenney & sears in their clearance section.

Is there a khols near you? I have a friend that goes there and gets some good deals.

 

 No Khols or JCPenney - I'm waaaay up in Canada (yes, it's already snowed).  There is a Sears, but I'd still be looking at a minimum of $40 per pair for something that will wash.  The only real options for inexpensive are Walmart or Zellers, but the quality is usually really poor.

I love/hate this problem!

MAN!!! that sucks!  I'm sorry, I'm all out of ideas! :(

Do you wear skirts or dresses?

I was in a similar situation to you, but didn't want to invest a whole lot of money in pants until I got down one more size. I had started as a 10/12, got down to a true 10, but didn't want to buy pants until I was down to an 8. A-line skirts and stretchy dresses were great for getting me through that awkward period. I feel like pants that aren't the right size look kind of awful, but skirts and dresses give you much more leeway in terms of fit.

I was going to say the same thing I work in a professional environment so I wore a lot of skirts, with the elastic waist not the zipper, and dresses.  When it started to get colder I would wear tights or knee high boots.  I went from an 18 to a 10 there were just too many sizes in between to keep buying new pants.

I lost 30 pounds (the goal for THIS year), but I want to lose another 10 next year. Well, I can't walk around the office with saggy bottom pants for the next six months, it's unprofessional.

So, I bought a couple pair of work pants (on clearance of course) and a couple new shirts. I didn't buy a whole new wardrobe.

Also, I had TONS of clothes in my closet that I couldn't fit into bc I gained too much weight. Well, now that I've lost weight, those fit pretty well now for the time being, also.

Here's a test if you should buy a couple pairs of pants: Does it look like your walking around in a diaper in the back? Yes? Okay, buy new pants.

As for the walmart pants being poor quality, they're not that bad, but you're losing another 20 pounds anyways so they're just a temporary solution anyways. There's your answer right there.

I am a thiift store junkie. Find a goodwill or any mom and pop thirft store. The mom and pop ones are the best because you can buy jeans for a couple of bucks. Another option is to go to a store and find the jeans you like and size that works for you. write it down. Then go to ebay and buy it. I have saved so much money off of ebay. I mostly buy sirts and dresses off there. If you go to the buy it now and a lot of times you can find stuff for real cheap with really cheap shipping. you just have to look. Peoples auctions who end in the day are god to. Most people bid in the evening time.

Why not get some reasonably cheap staples eg black trousers for work, pair of jeans, then ebay them when you lose more weight? Get stuff on ebay, you can get really cheap stuff if you look.

Also, 20lbs in two months?! Really??

Original Post by hawkychico:

I am a thiift store junkie. Find a goodwill or any mom and pop thirft store. The mom and pop ones are the best because you can buy jeans for a couple of bucks. Another option is to go to a store and find the jeans you like and size that works for you. write it down. Then go to ebay and buy it. I have saved so much money off of ebay. I mostly buy sirts and dresses off there. If you go to the buy it now and a lot of times you can find stuff for real cheap with really cheap shipping. you just have to look. Peoples auctions who end in the day are god to. Most people bid in the evening time.

 Unfortunately, I need to be really nicely dressed at work and jeans just aren't an option for daywear.  I love the online idea though (even though I've never tried it) and I'll see what I can find through that route.  Thanks!

Original Post by doingmybest:

Original Post by crazydiamondchrysalis:

oh, that's too bad!

I did get some nice dress shirts (cause nice white shirts I can't seem to find at my standard cheap stores) from jcpenney & sears in their clearance section.

Is there a khols near you? I have a friend that goes there and gets some good deals.

 

 No Khols or JCPenney - I'm waaaay up in Canada (yes, it's already snowed).  There is a Sears, but I'd still be looking at a minimum of $40 per pair for something that will wash.  The only real options for inexpensive are Walmart or Zellers, but the quality is usually really poor.

I love/hate this problem!

 Our WalMart is trying to revamp their image, and I found some dressy black pants - nothing special, but works well with a nice blouse.  If you haven't perused their clothing in the last year or so, you might give it a try.

You might also try Craigslist - but I can't buy clothing 'till I try it on.

I am in Canada too and walmart has indeed changed up quite a bit :)

There is also Sears and Zellers and Hart lots of places to look.

I have lost 83.4 pounds since April and I go to the thrift stores like crazydiamondchrysalis.  I hit places like the Sally Anne and Value Village and they do have some nice high end stuff too :)  along with the casual everyday fare.

I have bought new pants on 2 trips.. as I just couldn't take the clothes hanging on me anylonger.. it was .. liberating :) It was at about 35 pounds gone  then again at 70.. will be back in the stores by about 95 or so again I think.. I shop on a small budget as I am saving my money for when I hit goal.. then the clothes horse in me will take over  :)

what part of Canada are you in?  Newfoundland here :)  we haven't had snow yet but lots of cold rain  brrrrr

I'm in Canada too. I find Reitman's clothes go on sale pretty often and aren't too expensive.

I also need to wear fairly nice clothes for work. I've been buying clothes on the tight side so I can keep them for a bit longer when I lose.

ebay has been my solution to all sizes in between a rock and 20lbs ago. You can find a nice pair of slacks and have them shipped to boot for under $20. Congrats on your weight loss! Cheers to having such a fun problem.

i want to buy expensive designer clothes soooooo badly

but i just can't justify it, until i lose the weight

it's one of my biggest motivations, but also one of my biggest hates about having gained the weight

Unfortunately, I was (and am still) unemployed when I lost my weight. I don't have the $$ for new clothes, much less in between ones. I have lost 50+ pounds and would like to lose at least 20 more, so I was holding off, even though I have been in a plateau for past couple of months (also suffered an injury and haven't been able to exercise as much).

So I am still in my "fat" clothes. I look like a refugee and the belt on my dress pants wraps halfway around my back, but I really don't have a choice right now.

There is a shopping spree in my future--I just don't know when.