Hello! I'm Angela. So I guess I should say that I'm currently having a fashion moment. In the past, due to many reasons, I struggled a lot with clothes and fashion, and so I tended to over rely on black pants and black shoes as the safe option. I literally went years without buying new clothes, only taking in old clothes to a tailor to be fixed, because shopping was just so hard, plus being fearful about money. Then in the spring my clothes situation turned dire. That coincided with sitting on top of some savings from the past year. It took a while for me to figure out how to buy clothes. My body size tends to fluctuate a lot, and I'm also tall. When I go into stores and look for plus sized, what I can find is usually ugly and makes me feel bad about myself. Because I'm tall, most of the time stores don't carry what I need and need to order anyway. I also have a large frame in the hands, feet, and shoulders -- I would be average sized if I were a man. I'm thin at size 10 and 12, I'm plump at size 14 and 16, and I'm fat at size 18 and 20. I'm currently between size 18 and 20, although I've been losing weight since the summer. I also am very curvy in the breasts and hips at whatever size. I remember as a skinny teenager feeling bad after putting on a dress meant for girls with straight figures, and being reassured by the sales associate that it was fine because I can give birth easily -- that certainly did not help.
So in the spring when I tried to replace my black pants, I knew that stores wouldn't carry my size and need to order anyway, so I looked online and ended up ordering from Woman Within. I strongly disliked my experience with that company and I disliked the clothes I got from them. After that, as we were heading into summer, I got it into my head that I was determined to wear linen pants, and I had to search very hard to find something that was both plus size and tall, but I did. And I loved those linen pants to death -- they made me feel good. I went on a bit of a linen spree after that. Long story short, I eventually found my way to ebay. And I discovered that ebay was by far the easiest way for me to shop. I had a lot more options available to me and I could even be picky. The first amazing find for me was a brown blouse in high quality silk, thick and matte. The next amazing find for me was a pair of burgundy wool pants. I didn't know what to wear with the burgundy pants other than a black pants, but I was very attracted to the idea of wearing red and colorful pants.
Then as I was trying to figure out what to wear with the burgundy pants, I was taking tops from my closet and just laying them across the pants to see how they go together. I took out a blouse that has a navy blue background and a pattern of bright orangish-pink flowers. It looked amazing with the top! And I felt amazing wearing that top with those burgundy pants.
I thought about why that top goes with those pants so well, and I realized it has to do with complementary colors. The navy and the burgundy harmonize in their intensity but are different in their colors. And the orangeish-pink and the burgundy harmonize in their color family but are different in their intensity. The result is an outfit that is harmonious and dynamic at the same time. So now I'm very interested in recreating that same sort of harmony/dynamism in other outfits, and I've been playing with colors and tones.
I've considered the clothes in my closet and what it is that I really like. I love natural and luxurious fabrics. I love playing with colors. And I love patterns, although not all patterns. So I am currently in the process of completely overhauling my wardrobe. Put my clothes that don't fit into storage -- I don't want to get rid of it because of how easily I gain and lose weight -- and got rid of clothes that I just don't like. Now my closet is filled only with clothes that I can wear right now and that I want to wear. When clothes are just a bit wrong, I take them to a tailor I found who is very good. And I'm playing with my clothes and figuring out outfits.
I like the people on this forum and I hope to be a part of this community!