The Plus Size Thread - All are welcome!

[classic1908]

And I forgot to answer the jeans question! I discovered Paris Blues in plus @ Torrid a few years ago and have pretty much lived in them since.

I'm going to have to visit Avenue. They have a store here but I've never even been in it.

I must warn you: I think Avenue discontinued the Premieres, although you may find an odd and end on sale. They are supposed to have Seven7s now, but I have only seen them online, not yet in a store, and I live in Southern California, a major, populous market.
Avenue is rather hit and miss for me, mainly miss although I do OK in it. You have to have a defined sense of style and the ability to say no in order to make it work. It's aimed at older women.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Avenue is rather hit and miss for me, mainly miss although I do OK in it. You have to have a defined sense of style and the ability to say no in order to make it work. It's aimed at older women.

Kind of how I feel about J Jill Have you guys had any luck there? I know they have women's sizes too ... and also have jeans. I find them to be great for sweaters and tops for a curvy figure. I have one skirt from there ... have never tried the jeans or slacks.

The one complaint I have (other than all the mommy clothes that I skip over) is the color palette--I wish it were more fashion-forward. But maybe they know their audience & don't have very many customers like me ...

 

[classic1908]

Kind of how I feel about J Jill Have you guys had any luck there? I know they have women's sizes too ... and also have jeans. I find them to be great for sweaters and tops for a curvy figure. I have one skirt from there ... have never tried the jeans or slacks.

The one complaint I have (other than all the mommy clothes that I skip over) is the color palette--I wish it were more fashion-forward. But maybe they know their audience & don't have very many customers like me ...

Your latter point is probably spot-on. I have seen some of J. Jill's cashmere items in the past and have been interested in buying it. But its style, for me, seems a bit too earth-goddess (the same issue I have with Eileen Fisher).

 

[xmodel citizen]

The Avenue is way too plain for me and Torrid is just not my style. But I love LB because it fits nicely in the middle. Trendy, but not into the trend-wh*re category. Yuo can find such a wide variety and I even bought a pair of those trendy high-waisted, wide-leg jeans there (haha, and they actually look good)!

As for jeans, the Avenue is pretty good. I have a pair of skinnies I bought there that I live in.

 

[masquerade]

Ive never even gone into a J. Jill. The clothing just looks too old for me

Has anyone here tried Nine West's plus clothing? I've never tried anything, but they look like they have some pretty cute stuff.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Well, I'm recommending that you guys give it a chance I wear only separates, so hardly ever do I wear an outfit all from the same label or designer ... in fact, I practically have a rule against doing that

You do have to pick & choose, but when you're a 38DD & find someplace where the tops always but always fit like they were made for you, you tend to be forgiving of its little faults

I ran by at lunch the other day to grab a sweater with a friend from work who dresses pretty well, and she was impressed, said she saw a lot of cute things & wanted to go back. She was playing with the jewelry while I paid ...

Eileen Fisher, I have a couple pieces, but I find it a bit puzzling in general ... it's all drapey, but usually not in any flattering way

 

[Guessgirl96]

Nine west does clothing? is this new? I always thought they just did shoes

 

[masquerade]

Nine west does clothing? is this new? I always thought they just did shoes

I think theyve been doing clothing for a while but I think their plus collection is new. I've only ever seen their clothing at dept. stores (macys, bloomingdales and nordstroms), I don't think they really sell them through their stores

 

[LaurieAnn]

I've had some good luck with several items from J.Jill but I can't do their style straight up and agree about the color palate, usually too bland for me. Sometimes I see a particular style and wish they carried it in a bolder color. Their "tried and true" fit jeans work very well for me, these are cut a little fuller in the hips, seat and thigh then their "authentic" fit. I also purchased a few of their Summer linen shirts with 3/4 length sleeves (color "latte") which are working well with several things I already have.

When I very first moved up to plus size clothing I purchased several items from Eileen Fisher but I've only been happy with one coffee colored loose knit tank and cardi set. I've since come to realize that I can do better fit wise in other lines.

I am also intrigued by the Nine West plus size line that I see on Nordstrom.com. I haven't tried it yet but last Winter I did manage to purchase on sale a cropped black jacket with a tie waist and 3/4 sleeves in XL in their regular line. I was thrilled!!! It's the most forward item currently in my wardrobe and I think I wore it at least four days per week for five months. It's been to the clearner and is waiting for next fall.

 

[classic1908]

Ive never even gone into a J. Jill. The clothing just looks too old for me

Has anyone here tried Nine West's plus clothing? I've never tried anything, but they look like they have some pretty cute stuff.

I've seen some of their dresses and do have interest in them. I need to try them on at a Nordstrom or Macy's. Speaking of which, I am an off and on buyer of INC Woman, when their offerings parallel my style.

 

[cait]

cait, the tunics with the empire waist details sound wonderful. Did you find them at a specific store, or are they vintage?

They're not vintage - unfortunately they're not any known brand I can rec either, I'm a big Marshalls/Ross/TJ Maxx fan and got lucky at Marshalls awhile back.

 

[BlkLadyLaw]

Ive never even gone into a J. Jill. The clothing just looks too old for me

Has anyone here tried Nine West's plus clothing? I've never tried anything, but they look like they have some pretty cute stuff.

I have a few Nine West clothing items. They are kind of similar to INC woman to me. I like their clothes and they fit nice. Some items run a lil bigger than other brands. I bought mine from Nordstroms womens dept.

 

[BlkLadyLaw]

Also, who makes good jeans for plus size? I haven't worn jeans in about 8 months since my last pair got messed up. I really need a pair.

My favs are Not Your Daughters Tummy Tuck Jeans as sold in dept. stores like Nordstroms...they can run between $70 and $120 (they are worth the money...I have bought some on ebay for less...sometimes I find I need to go a size up their jeans FYI), Newport-news.com jeans (I get the catalog...catalog jeans sound cheesy but for some reason I love the fit), Lane Bryant Venezia jeans. I have a pair of Nine West jeans for work with a matching peplum jean jacket...they aren't exciting but they are good for when I want to wear jeans and form fitting ones are not appropriate.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I tried those Not Your Daughter's jeans on (in regular not plus size tho) ... maybe it's that I'm not a mom, but they did less than nothing for me (they were actually unflattering), and I found the panel thing really uncomfortable ...

 

[BlkLadyLaw]

I saw the same shift on Emilia Fanjul, who is probably in her 60s and not plus, and it looked better.
A couple of years ago, I read that Valentino did some gear for one of Aretha's tours, and Aretha was still quite large. I guess that money and fame trumped snobbery in that case.
Her most recent pics, though, weren't good. She was caught in candids wearing "mom jeans" with the elastic waist.

Is this the one you are talking about? At a minimum the shirt should have been longer like a tunic length.
http://www.blacknews.com/blackcelebritygossip/aretha_franklin_new_man.html

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Gracious ... that pic definitely makes the case for the Not Your Daughter's ...

The guy is cute ...

 

[classic1908]

Is this the one you are talking about? At a minimum the shirt should have been longer like a tunic length.
http://www.blacknews.com/blackcelebritygossip/aretha_franklin_new_man.html

Indeed. She should have worn a tunic that flares out in order to soften the "front butt." I hate talking about a legend like this, but that was not a good look.

 

[fashionista-ta]

Indeed. She should have worn a tunic that flares out in order to soften the "front butt." I hate talking about a legend like this, but that was not a good look.

At least it's an innie

We love you, Aretha

 

[thefrancofille]

Any plus size women been abroad? Say Paris? Were you stared at?

 

[xmodel citizen]

I know my sister went to Europe when she was younger and was maybe a size 14 or 16 at most and she said that people in London and Italy were nice, but people in France were just rude in general