meredith and maggie: Tips for Dressing Your New Body

You are losing weight and getting healthy, but how do you dress this ever changing body without breaking the bank? I've discovered a few tricks and tips along the way and would like to pass them down. As I mentioned in my last article organizing your closet is a must. I took the pieces that at the moment are too tight and packed them away. It's not a case of "out of sight, out of mind," but more of the idea that when the time comes for me to be that size, I will not have to head out and re-buy all of those pieces.

Working in an office all week requires me to dress business-ey. Which can be a struggle not to look the same day after day. So my advice for changing up the wardrobe would be:

Buy a few staple pieces: You will want to look for items that fit close to the body, buy them loose now and in two weeks they will be too baggy. A pair of pants that I recently purchased are miracle pants to me. When I bought the size they fit; now every other pair of pants bought in that size are too big, but these pants. The no-gap waistband is genius, because it adds just enough stretch.

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Invest in well-fitting jeans: The pants that I recently purchased are classified as 'jeans' but they look a lot like business dress pants, so I would recommend buying the jean version as well. Or if you have something against having the same pair of pants in 2 washes, then invest in a pair that will not hide your new figure, because nothing looks worse than a saggy bottom. The new jeans don't have to be an expensive investment, look at Kohl's, Old Navy, etc... Once you hit the ideal weight, then look for more expensive pieces.
Borrow/Trade clothes: In my case several of us were moving around the same time, which means we all were cleaning out our closets. So we traded. It was great because now I have a few pieces that will fit now and some that will fit in a few weeks/month.

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T-shirts: I live in plain t-shirts. I recently went to Macy's and found this amazing white t-shirt on clearance for $5, so I had to have it. I then came home to find three more white t-shirts already hanging in my closet. Granted all have different necklines and sleeve lengths, but how many white shirts does one girl need? So, I am now trying to cut myself off from buying white and force myself into some color. Most of my shirts come from the sales rack at Target, but every once in awhile I can find something at Macy's or Dillard's that won't break my budget.
Wrap Tops: I was never a fan of wrap tops until I started to lose weight. They never fit correctly, but now I see that while I'm losing weight it is a great camouflage and since they are not very size specific I have been able to wear them for quite some time now.