So... what DO you like?

We've had lots of discussion recently about things we don't like and things we like but could like more, etc. So, tell me: what do you really love, when it comes to clothing? Are these things that you can find and can't get enough of, or items you've been hoping will fall out of the sky and into your happy little hands?

Personally, I'm content with knit tops that are comfy but stylish, jeans that fit perfectly, and cute flats or sandals. I'm not a very fussy dresser and I definitely gravitate towards casual, easy clothing. I dress up on occasion but I'm not really one for a whole OUTFIT! on a day to day basis. Don't get me wrong, I think I look awesome, I just don't usually spend a lot of time putting together an entire look.

I do like empire waists because my chest and waist are about the same size (pear!) and I like to make my cha-chas look a little bigger, if possible. I tend not to wear woven tops with buttons and the like because it's hard to find those types of shirts that fit well in my shoulders, bust and belly all at the same time. I inevitably have to stick a cami underneath and leave the bottom few buttons undone. That's just life, I guess. At least layering looks pulled-together?

I will say that having proportionally bigger hips does make finding tops and bottoms that fit well pretty difficult but that seems to be the case for just about anyone. I think Lane Bryant is on the right track with the Right Fit line and I'm hoping they'll come out with shirts, too.

I'm trying to think of specific things that I like...

• Cotton hipster panties and the Right Fit line from Lane Bryant. I just wish the jeans came in more inseam lengths, I'm between petite and average and it's annoying!
• The cotton/spandex v-neck camis from Torrid. Those always come in fun colors and I love them.
• Kiyonna's knit tees, I seriously want every last one.

I'm sure I could think of more but those are my favorite favorites.

Time for more comments: what do you love? What would you love if it came in your size? Bonus: what trend or style are you sick of seeing and wish would go away?

Comments

[Carrie]

Great post! I wish plus-size retailers would clue in to make "regular" clothes in plus sizes. We want to look cute too! Spring and summer dresses, skirts, blouses, designer jeans, etc. I love the hippie/vintage style but more tailored than actual vintage pieces... blouses with a little smocking, squared necklines, cotton summer dresses, etc. I also like the idea of wrap tops, jeans, and blazers that fit properly (proper seaming on the blazer, jeans that accommodate my waist-hip ration, etc.)

Things I'm annoyed with: anything without shape (ex: the swing dress, the trapeze dress, the mod blazers at LB); charmeuse/ satin dresses (don't they show every lump and bump?); and, t-shirts with weird/funny/quirky sayings on them.

I've been seeing a lot of discussion about body shape types-- anyone have a suggestion of how to figure out what type you are? I get confused about apple vs. pear vs. square. My bust is 44" (b cup), waist is 40", hips are 50". I think I'm a pear?

[Laura]

I would love to see more reasonably priced cute summer dresses with just a bit more coverage up top than the ones that I am seeing now. I hate that the vast majority of the cute summer dress at Old Navy, for example, are either strapless, spaghetti strap, or halter style. I am not going to invest in these styles because I can't wear them to work. I work in a pretty laid back office and could definitely wear a cute cotton sundress to work in the summer if the straps were just a bit thicker (thick enough to hide bra straps). I don't want to go the cardigan-over-the-dress route because it's just going to make me too warm in the summer and I don't really care if my upper arms are exposed, even though they're a little chubby.

Other than that, I would also love to see the ankle-wrap sandals and flats that seem to be everywhere this season made to fit my ankles. I would imagine that the wrap/strap part would be too small/tight on my ankles if I tried a pair of those on. I would also like to see more cute tops that are both comfy and versitile (work appropriate for a very casual office but laid back enough for hanging out on the weekend). I am also still looking for a cute spring jacket (casual jacket to wear on cold mornings, not a blazer). I have a jean jacket but I was hoping for something cute in a spring color. So far, the ones that I see have cropped sleeves (which won't work because I am still wearing some long sleeved tops) or are trench-styles that are longer than I would like (I fear that a longer jacket with cropped pants would look odd).

[tadpoledrain]

I am ALWAYS in search of the perfect black boots: flat, plain, well-made, comfortable enough to wear every damn day on my flat, small, crazy wide, high-instep feet and ginormous calves, and reasonably affordable. I also wish I could find cowboy boots that would fit me and be comfortable. I've always wanted those.

I LOVE Talbots' women's petite line. Their suit jackets/blazers are the only ones that really fit me, because I am built like a very short linebacker. Of course, I have to go to the outlet to find one that I can afford... And I usually hate the cut of their pants and skirts.

[Brittany]

what i love and didn't know i loved until recently: dresses, all of them. i only want to wear dresses now. wrap ones, sweater ones...anything that isn't sleeveless.

stuff i love this season: i'm in love with the khacki jacket/semi-safari look. i found a great khacki jacket at Avenue that cinches at the waist and i would wear it everyday if i could. also wide leg jeans in a dark wash. metallics as neutrals ---LOVE! and the switch from silver as the dominant jewelry color to gold in the past year has been a fave for this auburn haired girl with brown eyes. i also love the trapeze top within reason. somehow the ta-tas look amazing in those.

my favorite piece in my wardrobe: a tea length black wrap shirt dress i bought from lane bryant over a year ago. it can be very dressy with it's full skirt and super flattering waist-cinching long sash but it goes nearly casual with the right accessories.

however, things that i hate: the trapeze dress ---shapeless sack on everyone! the crazy prints in earth tone colors...if we're gonna go crazy i vote do it in some color. the nautical thing -- please tell me we're over that. ruffles on tops and tie neck blouses --- of course, maybe it works for the skinnies. berets are not okay. the heeled oxford is a short train to stumpy town.

apparently, i have many opinions.

[gretchen]

I would give my right arm for more high-quality, tailored business suit separates. There are some cute suits out there, but you always have to buy the jacket and skirt together, and as a pear, I need a smaller size jacket than skirt.

In addition, I totally want more cute dresses, of all kinds--work-appropriate shifts and shirtdresses, summer sundresses, elegant black cocktail dresses.

[Michelle]

Things I love:

Cacique bras from Lane Bryant. They're the only bras I've found that actually fit and do what they're supposed to do (42DDD) and don't look like my grandma's white industrial strength support bra.

V necks on almost anything. I've got a round little face, so I like v necks because with them my face isn't quite so round looking.

pretty flats. I've got a knee that likes to dislocate, so heels are scary things. Not to mention, flats are just so much more comfortable.

Bright jeweltone colors in my clothes. I'm a bright, vivid woman and I like it when my clothes reflect who and what I am.

Things I loathe:

the fact that most of the plus sized clothing I can find in the local stores is orange, lime green or has "Grandma" emblazoned across the bust. The colors orange and lime green turn my skin a sickly greeny-yellow. And while I am a grandma, I don't look it and really prefer not to advertise the fact. And why, oh why, must they put stuff across the bust? I have enough trouble getting people to look above my collarbones. Must we encourage them?

I loathe spaghetti strap tops. Again, I'm a 42DDD grandma, need I say more?

Low-rise jeans. I went jeans shopping last weekend and could not find a single, solitary pair of size 22 jeans that came up to my waist. I don't much like the look of low rise jeans on skinny young girls, so I can't get my brain wrapped around the thought of low rise jeans on my chunky little body. I find them both unflattering (can anyone say "muffin top" supreme?) and miserably uncomfortable. I don't like having to keep hitching and pulling at my pants to keep them on my body.

[Danielle]

Try finding warmup pants or cute sweats/lounge pants or even yoga pants in tall inseams in plus sizes! I dare you! You won't find ANY!!!! Why can't all those cute sweat outfits come in petite/average/tall?! At least if you are petite you can get them hemmed! I can't beging to tell you how unbelievably stupid I look wearing sweat pants with a 31" inseam!!!!!!!

[vicki]

great post--i LOVE fashion and make it a hobby to find the right clothes for me. i wish the GAP had plus sizes, i do fit in the xxl tops but not the bottoms. also, i am a 42 small C cup, I cannot find a bra that fits me correctly. I want a sexy one thats kind low because i like to have low necks, but I don't want underwire or the stiff padding. I have tried every bra at LB to no avail.Also skinny jeans that are not super tight at the ankle, just tapered to look modern.

[SteveD]

From the Peanut Gallery (Male Side).

Ladies;

Please Please Please don't dress like your 12 when your 3-4 times that old. That should be a rule for both sexes.

Plumer's Crack should be on Plumers. Unless your a Member of

http://www.plumbers75.com/union_history.htm

No one should be showing too much.

Lime Green don't work for everyone unless your trying to blend in with the Jungle.

Since all Women are Beautiful (Example in Link of Wife)remember that. A smile does so much more than fancy clothes.

http://starlightmoon.home.comcast.net/~starlightmoon/Images/DSCN1545.jpg

Thoughts from the Other Side

SteveD

[Julia]

Things I love:

Lane Bryant pants fit me perfectly. I haven't tried out the Right Fit yet.

Wrap dresses

Wide, comfortable shoes

Old Navy's perfect fit v-neck tees. I can wear regular sized women's XXL on my normally 2X sized body and they fit and flatter like a dream. The sleeve is the perfect length of showing some arm, but not quite being sleaveless.
http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?searchCID=26519&pid=472806&scid=472806002&vid=1

[Becky]

Things I like:
- Jackets and cardigans. Especially jackets. I want to buy every jacket I see.
- Dresses
- Floral prints! I'm a hippie at heart.
- Flared jeans (see above)
- Wrap tops and wrap dresses, they make my boobs look amazing.
- Pants that come up to my waist!
- Skirts, tights and boots. Dress pants just don't flatter me (too much bootie) so I wear skits and dresses to work except when it's like 20 below. With tights, boots, and my down knee-length coat, they're almost as warm as pants in the winter.

[FatShepherdess]

Er...I can never find anything I 100% love from the plus size racks at stores. I really enjoy long flowy dresses and blouses from the older-style fashions. I can't hardly find any of these things in stores!! It's mostly pop-star kiddie girl clothes or Grandma clothes. Or clothes that are so hideous they don't even qualify as anything but hideous.

So...my solution was to quit the stores and hire a seamstress. Holy cow it was EXPENSIVE but I have loads of fun patchwork jeans and I'll soon have a small wardrobe containing all manner of really fun lovely dresses. Sure, I won't have a big wardrobe but who cares! If the variety consists mostly of stuff I half-hate then what's the point? I hired a seamstress to sew several modified dresses from these styles: Jane Austen "Regency", Colonial, chemise + kirtle, Viking Cotehardie... so fun! I also gave up trying to find a winter coat that fit me without making me look like I was homeless and instead I ordered a grey wool cloak lined with dark velvet and sporting a hood and ivy embroidery. (from the same seamstress who did the dresses.) Is it ok to post links here? The lady I ordered from has an awesome website with so many cool options (plus she does custom work.) There is a lot to be said for clothing that FITS our own individual bodies and I encourage all women to hire a seamstress even if for only one dress - or learn to sew!! (www.fashionsintime.com)

I'm singing in a chorus in June and I'm ordering "Susan's Archery Dress" from Fashions In Time for the occasion. It's totally going to cost to the point of hurting but why not?!?!?! I'm sick of looking dumpy and frumpy in the nonsense on offer at the plus size departments.
To see this "Susan's Archery Dress" go here:
http://www.fashionsintime.com/html/susan.html
Obviously mine is going to be a lot bigger!

I've also invested in several lovely hats that are surprisingly inexpensive! I encourage all women to love hats hahaha! They are so fantastic!
www.hat-a-tude.com Kathi makes the best hats and yet she charges like 1/3 less then most hat places and she has large sizes that even fit my huge noggin. Fat face? Get a nice wide brim!! Oooh yeah...hats are so nice! They are like wearing a garden on your head!

I have decided, IT IS TIME TO BE BEAUTIFUL!!! Not in an inflated-ego sense or a superior sense but in a feminine "I'm Happy With My Body" sense. No more skulking in the shadows dining off of the crumbs tossed my way as a second-class citizen fattie.

[mimi]

What I love ...
A-line skirts.
Anything that Ann Taylor has if only it came in my size!!
Beaded sandles
Really high quality purses (thanks Dooney and Bourke!)
Sweater sets (I'm a librarian, so I think it's a librarian thing)

What I hate
Bold patterns--I'm fat, but delicate featured and big patterns overwhelm me.
The top shape discussed in the previous post.
Clunky heeled shoes

[k]

I love wrap dresses. Boot cut jeans...I'm finding good jeans at Maurice's. They have a plus-size line now and the jeans are long enough for me. It is hard to find plus-size tall jeans. I like wrap tops. I am learning to like jackets. I can't pull a blazer off, but there are some other cute styles that look okay on me.
I don't like the pastels so much or floral prints that get put on everything plus-size. I don't like that all the sun dresses have tiny straps or tie around the neck...very sexy, but I couldn't go without a bra, no way.

[Constance]

Love your blog.

Yippee for anything with a touch of spandex including panties and jeans.
Love the hipster panties from Avenue, wrap and faux wrap tops, scoop and vee necks, Goddess bras.

Being a big time internet and catalog shopper I hate Roamans' clothing. They take a suit and add too much detailing such as pleating, embroidery and/or ruffles. Yuck!
Women Within is good for basics: pants, tanks, tees, etc.
Avenue is now my favorite retailer for fashionable tops and panties.

I wish I could find stylish shoes to fit my wide feet.

[Nina]

Things I love: Soft knits from Ulla Popkin, very comfortable but with a touch of spandex so they fit well. Coldwater Creek, which makes clothes with considerable style and quality while still fitting (and excellent outlet prices).

Things I hate: Everything I see in the stores these days. I have to say that I'm not a fan of the empire waist; these things never look good on me, the fabrics are often flimsy, and half the time the fit means that the seam is right on top of my bustline rather than under it! Really, it's all a flashback to the 60s/70s, bad almost-Pucci prints, florals that make me look like a couch, and I didn't look good in these things the first time around! You can have nice prints that look good on everyone, but these aren't the ones!

(Yes, i'm feeling bitter and twisted after a bad Macy's trip yesterday.)

[Bree]

I like:

-Capris. I hear so many so-called stylists saying fat women shouldn't wear them, but they are wonderful for warm weather and you don't want to show off your thunder thighs in public.

-Tunic length tops. LB and many plus-size retailers are still obsessed with super-cropped tops. They're fine if you're short waisted, but I'm not and they're uncomfortable. Luckily catalogs like Silhouettes, Woman Within and Romans carry tops 28 inches and longer.

-Dressy flat sandals. I have wide feet, no arch, and heels look horrible on me.

-LB Right Fit

-Twinsets

-Long flowy skirts

-Cacique bras & panties (finally, us fat chicks get cute underwear)!

-Tagless shirts & nightgowns

-Swimsuits with shorts attached

What I can't stand:

-Sheath dresses, which for me is just a sophisticated mumu.

-T-shirts with smartass sayings

-Extremely low-cut tops (LB and Fashion Bug are obsessed with these, and I don't like showing a lot of cleavage)

-Empire waists

-Ruffly poet shirts

-Loud prints

-Horizontal stripes (why oh why do plus-size retailers insist on forcing these on us)

-Skinny jeans

-Leggings

[FashionableNerd]

Love: capris and bermudas. Anything shorter than that and I'm BEGGING for riding and slight chafing.

Dresses! I've always been a dress kinda girl, and the dresses at b&lu are callin' my name. And, um, I love trapeze dresses. I cinch mine at the waist with a wide belt, and it looks good on me...although I recognize that it may not work for others.

Funky flats...and sexy heels. I love shoes in general, actually.

And silky pjs. I love nightclothes.

Hate: Leggings. Please. Leave them in the 80s.

Ankle boots. See above.

Also: can we stop with the ridiculously large print? I don't want a flower (or polka dot, or random geometrical shape) on my boob or bum. They belong in my hair, and that's it, folks.

[dcsurfergirl]

Time to vent. I live in a conservative area (Washington, DC metro area) so I need classic practical looks for my laboratory job.

I like
-Classic fit (boot cut too)jeans and dress pants that come up to my waist(can't take the muffin top look).
-Jackets that come down over my lower abs.
-Empire waists and classic straight sheaths . I have cocktail dresses in these styles and I love them.
-Spanx power panties really help my dress outfits look better.
I can't stand
-Most underwire bras.I have only found two styles that fit well (at Sylene and Dor-Ne Corset Shoppe). Otherwise it's Playtex 18 hour bras.
-Loose,baggy,relaxed fit clothes. Potential safety hazard for me. My mom kept telling me I looked thinner in them but I felt huge.

I end up wearing dark classic fit jeans and mens T shirts to my sometimes messy work(long live the casual dress policy)and accessorize with cardigans and nice jewelry when I can.

Bottom line? I want to see plus size clothes withthe same style and quality as misses and junior sizes. I need them in the department stores and specialty shops, not just online.

As a result, I hope my continuing weight loss (for my blood pressure issues) will also mean more stylish and diverse clothes. I know that's not very "fat acceptance" of me but I am so tired of dealing with disappointing clothing styles. I just can't take it anymore.

Thanks for letting me vent. All I know is that I am not my dress size and neither are you.

[ginag]

What I love:

* cotton dresses for spring/summer with enough strappage to cover bra straps (or have short sleeves) in pretty prints and colors (not just white and black)- Target's been doing these surprisingly well lately. And even shirtdresses! in Prints!

* Shaped/tailored button-down blouses in prints and cute colors for work. Gap pleasantly surprised me with their cotton blouses: prints, colors, swiss dots... (now if they could only get away from the spaghetti straps...)

* Blazers that actually fit well. Honestly, I've learned the value of a well-cut, tailored blazer.Even if it's cut too big, I'll take it in for the extra nip/tuck at my tailor's, because they're so difficult to come by.

* jeans and trousers in NATURAL FABRICS that fit well. I've been wearing the same pair of Liz Claiborne bootcut jeans for ages because they're the only ones that fit. No booty sag, no thigh-choking. I'm tempted to try a pair of svobodas, but am bewildered by the myriad styles and fits (and the fact that I can't try 'em on in person).

*Fantasie bras.

What would I love if it came in my size? Everything by Nanette Lepore, Catherine Malandrino, and Tracy Reese. Elegant femininity seems really hard to come by above size 14. I'd settle for J.Crew and Anthropologie, though - they both do excellent work with dresses. I've often wanted a J.Crew suit, too.