I've noticed that a lot of WLF members have expressed concerns about having to purchase new clothes as they lose weight. Some of us have wondered if we are afraid to lose weight because we don't have the money for new clothes. In this economy, that isn't such a small concern.

I once went from a size 22/24 to a size 10. When I started losing weight, I had just been laid off. When I found a new job, it was for far less pay than my previous position. Money was really tight. I knew that I had to have a professional appearance because I worked in a law firm.

I went to discount department stores and bought 5 blouses of different colors (white, pink, green, purple and cream), three pairs of pants (black, navy and black pinstripe) and two sweaters (white and black). That's all I could afford and I used half of my unemployment check. I mixed and matched these items so that I never wore the same shirt or sweater in the same calendar week. I kept a clothing log. I already had two suits for when I had to appear in court. I used the blazers from the two suits to further mix and match my wardrobe. Blazers can be worn no matter how much too big they are for you.

I didn't have replace the blouses or sweaters, except for every three sizes lost. The pants could be worn for two sizes down. As I lost weight, I bought a few more items that could be added to the rotation, maybe once every two weeks, and I continued to keep track of what I wore. By changing my hairstyle - wearing up, down, back, straight or curly, I varied the look. Your hair and make up and jewelry are a good distraction. No one noticed I was wearing the same things over and over again.

Every paycheck, I put away a little for my dream weight wardrobe by cutting back on expenses elsewhere. When I was finished losing weight, I had some money to supplement my wardrobe.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Charming. Those are good suggestions.

that is a lovely idea^^ thanks for sharing =D

excellent idea

I fell for the buying new clothes thing when loosing weight only to find them not fitting a month later, gutted - waste of money
I then went on to buy things with elasticated waists which went at least through 6-8 clothing sizes by pulling it tighter. Also friends cast offs were warmly welcomed!

Really nice tips. Thanks for sharing.

Buy off the clearance rack- JC Penny and Target have a ton of stuff on clearance all the time. That way, you aren't spending much.

Take good care of them, and sell them to a consignment shop after they've become too big for you and make some of your money back.

I don't have any information on it, but I once heard an add for a clothing exchange. You get points for how much you bring in and you can exchange the points for what you need.

That is a good idea. I don't lose that much so I can pull out my sewing machine and alter the bottoms. The shirts still fit OK.

I buy my jeans for cheap at Wal-Mart until I reach my goal. For shirts I buy what fits and then buy a size down later on even though it's too tight as I test myself in them to see how I'm losing. It's good motivation for me. I've donated almost all my clothes that are too big (went from 3XL to L) to Goodwill. I buy a couple new things every few weeks. The more I lose the more excited I get about clothes.

As I "fall out" of larger sizes I launder them and put them aside to be donated to charity. Periodically I make a donation to a local organization here in town. I have very little clothing that fits at any given time and I tend to wear the same 2-3 pairs of pants and same 5-6 shirts over and over again until they're too large; then I wash everything in boiling hot water and fry it in the dryer to try to shrink it down. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Only then do I buy a smaller size. I also have "aspirational" pants, but those now fit. I guess I need a new pair of "aspirational" pants.