I love clothes, and despite the fact that my clothing choices are limited because of my “plus size,” I pride myself on dressing as fashionably as possible. I have tons of clothes – more than any one person needs, really – and I feel a point of pride when I write that I have not repeated an outfit yet this school year – that’s 5 weeks (25 days) without a repeat. Well, except for Fridays when we’re supposed to wear our school pride colors, and a girl only has so much blue and gold gear. This is during the week, mind you; on the weekends I often wear the same comfy workout clothes when I’m just hanging around the house or, well, working out. But if I’m going out with friends and family, I definitely dress to impress whenever possible.
With that said, I thought it was high time to start a new tradition around this blog on Fridays – OOTW (Outfits of the Week). I’m inspired by Heidi‘s Fashion Friday posts, but since I didn’t want to completely steal her idea, I figured I’d feature the outfits I wore throughout the week. The side bonus of these posts will be that they’ll serve as a visual record of my weight loss through the weeks.
Sound fun? I think so, too. So let’s get started.
Sunday – yin yoga outfit. The reason I’m featuring a weekend workout outfit is that I’m trying to wear more fitted clothes when I workout. I tend to wear really baggy workout clothes because they’re safer and I can “hide” in them. But again, as Heidi pointed out, wearing baggy clothes makes me look bigger than I really am. I should start embracing my curves even when I’m moving and sweating. With that said, I wore a much more fitted shirt to yoga on Sunday, and I felt great about it. The shirt is one that I had purchased well over a year ago and when I first bought it, it was much too tight. As you can see, it fits much nicer now.
Top: Lane Bryant; Yoga Pants: Avenue; Workout Bra: Champion (Target)
Monday – I love the animal print top in the unexpected colors. I guess all these Jersey shows I’m watching (Jersey Shore, Jerseylicious, RHONJ) are starting to influence my fashion.
Top: Macy's; Necklace: Dress Barn; Pants: Avenue; Shoes: Reef (Zappos)
Tuesday – It was super-hot this week (in the 90s every single day), and I wanted to be as cool as possible. These palazzo pants are very thin and flowy, so they’re sooooo comfortable. I feel like I’m wearing sweats to school when I wear them, yet they’re really dressing looking. The shoes are flat sandals, but they’re patent leather, which sort of dresses them up a bit, I think. I’m not sure if these pants are very flattering on me because they’re so wide-legged – they either camouflage my big thighs or accentuate them – what do you think?
Top: Torrid (2-3 years ago); Cami: LB; Pearl & Silver Necklace: gift from my mom; Pants: Target; Shoes: Avenue
Wednesday: I looked in my closet and saw nothing that felt cool and looked cute (do you ever have those days?), so I went next door to my sister’s closet and borrowed this top. One of the many perks of having her right next door and being almost the same size.
Top: Mervyn's; Cami: LB; Necklace: Silpada; Cropped Jeans: LB; Shoes: Reef (Zappos)
That’s it for this week because Thursdays are college tshirt/sweatshirt days (to promote a college-bound culture) and Fridays as I said are pride days (blue and gold).
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In keeping with fashion, last Friday my mom and I went shopping for some new shoes for me. Since I’m on my feet all day long, I need really supportive shoes, and since I have wide feet with a high instep, I’m not the easiest fit. I’ve fallen in love with Clarks! My last pair lasted 3 years and I wore them almost every single day during the week! They’re still “functional,” but they have seen better days. Since the time of sandals and open-toed shoes will soon be gone, it was time to buy a new pair of Clarks.
The 1st Pair is called UnMemoir: I found this pair right away and knew they’d be perfect because they’re very similar to the pair that lasted 3 years. They’re incredibly soft and comfortable, and they have amazing support. Plus, they come in wide width, so I can get my real size (7 1/2) instead of having to size up (which often causes blisters at first). They very cute with pants/crops and I’ll wear them all the time.
You can almost feel that soft calfskin, can't you?
I think they're adorable for "comfortable" shoes.
The 2nd pair is called UnNotice. I got them because they were a bit dressier, because of the heel. They’ll be perfect with dresses and skirts. (The other ones look a bit too “orthopedic” with dresses). When the weather gets cooler, I’ll pair them with tights and they’ll be ideal. I originally wanted to buy knee-length boots, but because my calves are so large, I just can’t find ones that fit/zip to the top. I’ve given up trying to find them, at least for now. They’ll be something I buy when I get to my goal weight, because I’m sure the width of my calves will decrease, along with everything else.
They don't look very impressive from this shot, but when I have them on, they're adorable.
I like that they have sort of a retro feel to them.
Each of these pairs was $115, but they are well worth the money for the comfort and support they provide. Especially considering the fact that I’ll wear them day in and day out. (I also have a pair of brown Hush Puppies that I’ll wear when I’m wearing outfits of that color scheme).
These shoes (and a couple of pairs of comfy ankle-length boots) are the reasons that I can’t wait for the cooler, crisper weather to arrive. Well, that and the fact that I am so sick of this heat! I love fall fashion and can’t wait to start putting pieces together.
Bella on the Beach 
I love your shoe style! I actually have a couple pairs of shoes in the Clarks Privo line & I love them. I think you look slimmest in the Thursday outfit with the jeans–it goes against all fashion sense, since its the lightest bottoms of the collection, but the shape is really flattering! You look gorgeous!
I agree with Tina…the Wednesday jeans outfit was the cutest (though you look great in all of them!). I’m really loving the tops you choose. Glad to see you wear coloras it brightens you up. I think the palazzo pants are probably so comfy that I’d never take them off but they don’t hug your curves as much…however, maybe a shorter top (just a few inches shorter) would pull up the silhoutte and give you a slimmer line. 😀
You guys are right! I think that once I’m ready to buy new pants (which I’m not going to do until they’re the next size down, at least), I’m going to strive for legs that aren’t so wide. I always thought that wide legs were more flattering with my shape, but I can see that they just emphasize what I’m trying to avoid.
Those jeans fit you PERFECTLY! Don’t be afraid of the more fitting stuff, it really looks great on you. The jeans are super flattering.
I too am a sucker for the animal prints 🙂
LOVE that you’re doing this! Cute outfits – and I’m particularly in love with those shoes. When did Clarks start doing wide shoes? I remember I used to drool over them back in my Fatshionista LiveJournal days, but I couldn’t get any because they didn’t come in wide. Woohoo for wide!
Just wanted to mention that some of the on-line stores such as Woman Within carry boots that are meant to fit larger calves.
Kinda fun to see the different outfits, Bella!
I know, that’s where I ordered the most recent pair which I ended up sending back because they were STILL too small.
I think Monday is my vote for fave outfit! Love how it all pulled together, but I liked them all too. I have also been working really hard on going as long as possible w/o repeating outfits at work — if I’m going to keep as many clothes as I have, I need to make sure I’m wearing them!
My thoughts exactly – we might as well wear them all and keep variety in the wardrobe.
Just wanted to mention that some of the on-line stores such as Woman Within carry boots that are meant to fit larger calves.
I know. I bought some boots from them, but they didn’t fit (I have short calves, too, so these were too tall for me) and I ended up having to return them.