The school I teach at has been designated as a HUB school this year. What that means is that we used to be a low-performing school, but we have made amazing gains and have went from the bottom 5% of schools in the state to the top 5% schools in the state in 3 years. Now, other schools want to know what we are doing, and so we will have visitors in and out of our building frequently this year. While this is a great honor, it also leads to added pressure to make sure that we are adhering to the teacher dress code (no jeans) and dressing "professionally." I just knew that I couldn't handle the disappointment and frustration that would go along with going out and trying to find decent dressy clothes in my size that didn't make me look like an old woman this year, so I decided to try something new and order everything online so that I could try it on in the comfort of my own home and send it back if it didn't work.
I have been following Authentically Emmie's blog for some time, and one of the things that I love about her blog is that she has a clothing directory in which she has collected some of the best plus size clothing sites on the web. Through her directory, I discovered Sealed With a Kiss Designs (S.W,A,K), and I absolutely love their clothing! They have the largest selection of Palazzo pants I have ever seen. I had never tried this style before, but it looked so loose and flowy that I thought I would give it a try. I ordered 3 pairs, their Perfect Palazzo style (polyester/spandex) in both black and grey and a jersey knit (rayon/spandex) pair in Navy. I do have to say that material wise, I prefer the jersey knit over the Perfect Palazzo. Unfortunately, they have fewer colors in that material. The only difference between the two styles of pants is the material. They are cut and styled exactly the same, with a wide fold down waistband and pull on style. These are quite possibly the most comfortable pants I have ever worn in my entire life. I also ordered one of their pretty cami's and their Amber shrug, which go great together and with the pants I ordered. The best part was that purchasing clothing from them didn't break the bank. This company always offers 10% off of orders of $150 or more and 15% off of orders of $200 or more, and shipping is free on any order of $99 or more. When I received my order, I was shocked and amazed when everything fit perfectly and looked great on me. I was so incredibly pleased with everything. The quality was top notch, and the clothing has held up well over the past few months. I wash everything in cold water and hang to dry, and it still looks as good today as it did when it came out of the box. I will definitely order from this company again.
Around the same time, a friend of mine introduced me to a store called Cato Fashions. She compared them to Fashion Bug because they have cute plus size clothing that is actually affordable. This excited me because I loved Fashion Bug and was very disappointed when they closed. Anyway, Cato actually has a retail store about an hour from me, but I decided to continue with my online ordering trend. The first thing I noticed about their website was that they had a huge selection of clothing to choose from. I was pretty impressed with the wide variety of styles they carried. I am absolutely in love with flutter sleeve tops, and I found a basic flutter top in various colors. I ended up getting a turquoise and a navy, as well as a black with white polka dots. They fit really well, although I wish the turquoise and navy were as long as the black with polka dots. There's only about an inch difference, but it makes a huge difference in whether or not the shirt covers my hips and rear. I also found a cute shirt that was called a capelet. I thought it was just a flowy top over a tanktop, but when it arrived, it turned out to be like a poncho styled shirt attached to a tank. The design hangs down in the front. back, and slightly over my shoulders, but the sides are just the tank top. It's a really odd style of shirt, and I didn't think I would like it, but I do. I just have to be careful when washing my hands because the front tends to hang down when I bend over. I also scored a cute pair of khaki capris from the clearance section for less than $12.
These clothes pretty much carried me through the first 12 weeks of school. However, now the weather has started to get colder and the Palazzo pants just aren't up to par for keeping you warm in the chilly and windy fall that we typically have. I decided to start looking for some khaki colored denim or some kind of thicker material pants and some longer sleeved shirts. I found the perfect pair of curvy fit khaki colored denim pants on Cato's website, but unfortunately, they were out of stock in my size. If there is one downfall to Cato Fashions, it appears to be that they don't restock clothing sizes. If you want something, you have to get it when they have it because if you don't, chances are it will be gone when you want it.
So the hunt began. I did a lot of looking at Old Navy's website after another friend recommended their plus size section. I found some plus size boot cut khakis that had high reviews, so I bought a pair in rolled oats and black. I also found some plus size bootcut cords, called "The Rockstar," which also had high reviews. I ordered a pair of them in rolled oats and anxiously awaited their arrival. Unfortunately, all I got was one large package of disappointment. The bootcut khakis may be plus size, but they are very tight in the thigh and way too loose in the waist and hips and everywhere else. The straddle of the pants hangs down in the back and makes it fit awkwardly. The pockets were cut weird and gaped open even though the pants were loose on me in that area. A smaller size wouldn't have helped because the legs would have been even tighter in a smaller size. The material is also thin and cheap, so those are going straight back. The khaki cords were even worse! I didn't like the material in them at all. It was way too thin and had too much spandex in the blend, which caused them to hug the body and show every flaw. Additionally, the pair I received had a HUGE waistband. It seriously looked like they had sewn on a waistband that was made for a pair of pants two sizes bigger than the rest of the pants. The waist band gaped open about 4 inches in the back when I put them on. I promptly bagged them back up and am planning on sending them back on Monday. Ugh. It wouldn't be clothes shopping for me without at least one major disappointment. I definitely will not be ordering any more Old Navy plus size clothing.
So the hunt continued. I went back to Cato's site, but of course, they still didn't have my size in the curvy fit dressy jeans. However, I did discover that they carry flare leg denim pants. I about peed my pants with excitement. I have been searching for flare leg jeans ever since Lane Bryant discontinued the flare style at the beginning of the "skinny jean apocalypse." I knew from my experience with the dressy pants that I had better buy what I wanted immediately, and what do you know, I got the last two pairs they had in my size. You have no idea how much I wish I had found out about these earlier, as I would have ordered at least 2 or 3 more pairs and in different colors. They arrived quickly and they fit perfectly. I am in love. As happy as I was about this, it still didn't solve my work problem.
I decided to visit JCPenny's website. Last year, I found two pairs of Worthington Denim trousers there that I wore all year. They weren't the most comfortable in the world, but by this point, I was getting pretty desperate. I ended up finding a totally different style of pant. some St. John's Bay Cords. They had them in my size and they were on sale for a reasonable price. I decided to order two pair in khaki and two pairs in black. They arrived yesterday and they fit like a dream. They weren't too tight in the legs, the waist band didn't gape, and they were super soft and comfortable. My only complaint with them is that they are a straight leg style. I really wish they were bootcut, or even better, flare leg. I just don't think that straight leg pants are very flattering for plus size women. However, for me, I just need something comfortable that is acceptable to wear daily at work. I'll be happy when spring comes again and I can go back to wearing my flowy, comfy pants.
Now if I could just find some cute, plus size winter tops. I don't think my school t-shirts with long sleeve undershirts will fly with the "professional" look they want us to portray this year.
Around the same time, a friend of mine introduced me to a store called Cato Fashions. She compared them to Fashion Bug because they have cute plus size clothing that is actually affordable. This excited me because I loved Fashion Bug and was very disappointed when they closed. Anyway, Cato actually has a retail store about an hour from me, but I decided to continue with my online ordering trend. The first thing I noticed about their website was that they had a huge selection of clothing to choose from. I was pretty impressed with the wide variety of styles they carried. I am absolutely in love with flutter sleeve tops, and I found a basic flutter top in various colors. I ended up getting a turquoise and a navy, as well as a black with white polka dots. They fit really well, although I wish the turquoise and navy were as long as the black with polka dots. There's only about an inch difference, but it makes a huge difference in whether or not the shirt covers my hips and rear. I also found a cute shirt that was called a capelet. I thought it was just a flowy top over a tanktop, but when it arrived, it turned out to be like a poncho styled shirt attached to a tank. The design hangs down in the front. back, and slightly over my shoulders, but the sides are just the tank top. It's a really odd style of shirt, and I didn't think I would like it, but I do. I just have to be careful when washing my hands because the front tends to hang down when I bend over. I also scored a cute pair of khaki capris from the clearance section for less than $12.
These clothes pretty much carried me through the first 12 weeks of school. However, now the weather has started to get colder and the Palazzo pants just aren't up to par for keeping you warm in the chilly and windy fall that we typically have. I decided to start looking for some khaki colored denim or some kind of thicker material pants and some longer sleeved shirts. I found the perfect pair of curvy fit khaki colored denim pants on Cato's website, but unfortunately, they were out of stock in my size. If there is one downfall to Cato Fashions, it appears to be that they don't restock clothing sizes. If you want something, you have to get it when they have it because if you don't, chances are it will be gone when you want it.
So the hunt began. I did a lot of looking at Old Navy's website after another friend recommended their plus size section. I found some plus size boot cut khakis that had high reviews, so I bought a pair in rolled oats and black. I also found some plus size bootcut cords, called "The Rockstar," which also had high reviews. I ordered a pair of them in rolled oats and anxiously awaited their arrival. Unfortunately, all I got was one large package of disappointment. The bootcut khakis may be plus size, but they are very tight in the thigh and way too loose in the waist and hips and everywhere else. The straddle of the pants hangs down in the back and makes it fit awkwardly. The pockets were cut weird and gaped open even though the pants were loose on me in that area. A smaller size wouldn't have helped because the legs would have been even tighter in a smaller size. The material is also thin and cheap, so those are going straight back. The khaki cords were even worse! I didn't like the material in them at all. It was way too thin and had too much spandex in the blend, which caused them to hug the body and show every flaw. Additionally, the pair I received had a HUGE waistband. It seriously looked like they had sewn on a waistband that was made for a pair of pants two sizes bigger than the rest of the pants. The waist band gaped open about 4 inches in the back when I put them on. I promptly bagged them back up and am planning on sending them back on Monday. Ugh. It wouldn't be clothes shopping for me without at least one major disappointment. I definitely will not be ordering any more Old Navy plus size clothing.
So the hunt continued. I went back to Cato's site, but of course, they still didn't have my size in the curvy fit dressy jeans. However, I did discover that they carry flare leg denim pants. I about peed my pants with excitement. I have been searching for flare leg jeans ever since Lane Bryant discontinued the flare style at the beginning of the "skinny jean apocalypse." I knew from my experience with the dressy pants that I had better buy what I wanted immediately, and what do you know, I got the last two pairs they had in my size. You have no idea how much I wish I had found out about these earlier, as I would have ordered at least 2 or 3 more pairs and in different colors. They arrived quickly and they fit perfectly. I am in love. As happy as I was about this, it still didn't solve my work problem.
I decided to visit JCPenny's website. Last year, I found two pairs of Worthington Denim trousers there that I wore all year. They weren't the most comfortable in the world, but by this point, I was getting pretty desperate. I ended up finding a totally different style of pant. some St. John's Bay Cords. They had them in my size and they were on sale for a reasonable price. I decided to order two pair in khaki and two pairs in black. They arrived yesterday and they fit like a dream. They weren't too tight in the legs, the waist band didn't gape, and they were super soft and comfortable. My only complaint with them is that they are a straight leg style. I really wish they were bootcut, or even better, flare leg. I just don't think that straight leg pants are very flattering for plus size women. However, for me, I just need something comfortable that is acceptable to wear daily at work. I'll be happy when spring comes again and I can go back to wearing my flowy, comfy pants.
Now if I could just find some cute, plus size winter tops. I don't think my school t-shirts with long sleeve undershirts will fly with the "professional" look they want us to portray this year.