Shopping.....Ugh!

Yesterday I went shopping for new jeans. The new department I work in allows jeans to be worn, which is really the only thing I'm liking about the place at the moment. But, I only have one pair of jeans.....that fit. Technically, I have about 15 pairs of jeans, piled either in a dresser drawer or in the attic....but just the one pair that actually fits. If I could wave a magic wand and drop two sizes instantly, I'd be able to "go shopping" in my closet for clothes I haven't been able to wear in years. Alas, since I'm lacking a magic wand and the required powers necessary to use it, some shopping was in order.

I've always, ALWAYS been hard to fit when it comes to pants, even when I was skinny. I have a short torso, and long legs. And thanks to having no hips or butt, no real waist. Definitely no pear shape here, let alone hourglass! And being overweight just makes the problem worse. Shopping for any kind of pant is a nightmare that leaves me exasperated, cranky, red faced, sweaty, and ready to flee the store as soon as humanly possible.

My favorite store to buy clothes in is Kohls.... the nearest one to where I live (central Nebraska) is 50 miles away. No problem, because I love to drive. Driving is like therapy for me, it's relaxing....but that's for another blog. Why do I like Kohls? The atmosphere. Super-shiny glossy floors that makes you feel like you're in a high-end department store, soft mood lighting that doesn't make you look scary, tastefully arranged clothing displays, awesome sales and bargarin racks, and a huge variety of clothing styles. Well, a huge variety.....if you're not plus sized.

RANT ON: This isn't a problem just with Kohls, but with most stores: why doesn't the plus-size section contain the same amount of clothes and variety as the normal-size section? And why is it always in the back of the store? They make you walk for miles it seems past the never-ending racks of beautiful clothes you know don't fit you, to find the ones that will fit, shoved way back in a tiny corner. It's almost as if they're embarassed to have large ladies shopping in their store so let's put them out of sight of the rest of the customers lest they offend our thin patrons. And the styles in the large lady section? The term "mumu" comes to mind. Tacky, ugly bold patterns in bright colors in shapes that make you look bigger than you are. Lots of polyester and elastic waist bands. Just because I'm overweight does not mean I want to look like a frump. There ARE very stylish, well-fitting clothes out there in plus sizes.....so carry them! Please! RANT OFF.

To be fair, Kohls has a better-outfitted large lady section than most, thus, I continue to shop there. I dream of the day I can once again shop in the never-ending fields of what is the normal sizes....but I digress. I only found one pair of jeans that fit well....in hindsight I probably should have bought two pairs of the same jean, but it's a start. I'm glad jean season is here because I *LOVE* this look:

The boot-cut/slightly flared jean with heels or clunky boots. In my mind this kind of look, paired with the right top, makes me look slimmer.....but in reality it probably just makes me look like a fat girl wearing jeans and boots, lol. But it's how I feel about myself that counts, right?

The treadmill is calling.....