Sunday, January 21, 2007

I had the most wonderful day out shopping with my husband today. To be honest almost every day shopping is wonderful if you ask me but today was super special for me.

Since losing all this weight I've been getting by with minimal clothes. I am still, even though it's winter, wearing the t-shirts I bought over the summer with long sleeve shirts underneath them. I just can't justify spending money on new clothes when I don't plan on being any size for very long. The shirts I'm wearing are too big for me and this past week I had just had it and said I had to buy one or two new shirts to get me by until I reach a stable size for a while.

So off we went to the city to do some shopping. I wanted to go to H&M as they carry plus size and tend to be a little more stylish than the other plus size shops around. I've posted this before but I'll say it again... In Holland if you are a big woman they also expect you to be 60+ years old, 7'4" and have just a smidgen of colorblindness, so it's very rare to find trendy clothes here.

I was very disappointed in my findings at H&M. Everything in my section seemed to have been picked through and picked over and what was left wasn't pretty. We left disappointed but shopped on. Marco suggested we go into this sports shop and look at some men's sweatshirts. Not 20 seconds into the store and I spotted one I liked. I popped it on and voila! I have a new shirt (and it was 50% off!)!

We continued shopping as I couldn't wear just one shirt all week long. It didn't take me long to figure out that today just wasn't going to be my day. Everything was either too short, too cold, too big, too ugly or too beadazzled.

That's when we happened along to the fancy-schmancy section of one store. Lots of formal dresses, evening gowns, party dresses...beautiful stuff all in small sizes... or at least too small for me. We're going to my brother's wedding in April though and I have been looking on the Internet for something to wear so I thought this would be a great chance to get some ideas.

I browsed through and really liked a couple of things I found. I'd pick a dress and start thumbing through all of them in that particular style looking for my size. After searching every tag and being disappointed with each turn of the cardboard I gave up in the hopes that they would carry my size in anything. Marco, being the good dedicated husband that he is, was helping me turn tags.

One dress in particular caught his eye but of course they didn't have it in my size. The biggest they had was two sizes smaller that what would fit me...or so I thought. I really liked the outfit (it wasn't really a dress it was a pants suit but not really a suit but I don't know how else to explain it so I'm going to just call it a dress) but was sure it wouldn't go up over my hips.

After some coaxing from my husband and a few excited giggles going back and forth if I should or shouldn't try it on from me, I snatched the dress off the rack and hurried to the dressing room. "This should be funny" I thought.

I knew it wouldn't fit my butt but I thought it just may look ok on my upper half.

Getting the thing on was a hoot. The 'dress' is actually one big onsie. The only way I could figure out to put it on was to step into the neck hole. So I did.

I stepped in the neck and got my feet all situated so the entire frock was in a bunch around my ankles. I started pulling it on. A little tug here... a slight snap there (the material was stretchy and forgiving)...a battle with the sleeves...some situating of gathered material and it was on.

It was on! It was on and it looked... pretty darned good! Once again I was so surprised at my body. I've always been curvy (ok more lumpy than curvy) but this dress laid in all the rights places and forgave me in all the wrong ones! I actually had a figure and it looked good. I couldn't believe it. After dressing myself in jeans and too big t-shirts for so long I had no idea what my body was doing under there. Apparently it was just waiting for the right outfit to let me know my hard work was paying off.

I stepped out of the dressing room to show Marco and I'm pretty sure he was just as surprised as I was. We actually had a laugh about it... and I haven't stopped smiling since.

I didn't buy the dress. It was still a little too snug for my liking and I just couldn't convince myself that I should get it. Call me superstitious or whatever but I just thought maybe I would jinx myself and my weight loss if I bought something now to wear in April.

But I just couldn't shake the smile off my face. We shopped some more but my mind was back in the dressing room looking in the mirror, checking myself out. If it makes me feel THAT happy then maybe I should get it? What better motivation to stay on track than a smoking hot dress/suit/onsie that makes me feel so absolutely fabulous that I just can't stop smiling about it.

So Thursday I'm going back to get it. Heck with superstitions. Maybe I'll leave the tags on though... just in case.

2 comments:

Andrew McAllister said...

I smiled at that phrase: "just a smidgen of color-blindness."

I'm chromatically challenged, so maybe I would have fit in :o)

Andrew (To Love, Honor, and Dismay)

Anonymous said...

Sarah I know what you mean about no nice clothes for big girls here in Holland. try Ulla Popken they are not bad.

Also I have lots and lots of clothes if you want to borrow some- from size 22 to 10! I am hoping to put away my big clothes forever at the end of this year.

Barbi