I’m not a small person. I don’t call myself “big” and definitely never “fat.” Whatever I am, it’s definitely not average.
Shopping is hard because I don’t fit in anyone’s prefabricated bucket. If I go to regular stores that have regular sizes, I have to sift through all the racks in the store to find the one item in the biggest size they carry. Sometimes it’ll do, but most of the time it won’t. I have a long torso, and most of the time the shirts are just too short. I don’t know about you, but I’m not down with showing my midriff. If I go to the plus sized stores, I have the same problem, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. I have to search the store for the smallest items. Shirts are the worst in these stores because I’m not very busty–at least not busty enough for plus sized shirts. The shirts are long enough, but a lot of times I’ll need to wear a cami underneath because either the neck is cut too low or the arm holes are too big or both!
Pants shopping is a little easier, but it makes me sad. I’m not as wide as whatever the definition of wide is, but I wear wide sizes to fit my fat gut in my pants. I was not blessed with a nice, round backside, and I have skinny legs. So if I get pants that comfortably fit my gut, then they end up being baggy in the leg and have that gap in back. If I try to get skinny or any kind of fitted jeans then I have to walk around with stomach sucked in or wear shape wear to tuck my gut in.
As you can see, it is a happy day when I find clothing that fits me in all the right places.
When I daydream about what life would be like if money was not a concern, do you know what I dream about? Well, besides the cars and what my house will look like, I think about getting a tailor to make clothes that fit my odd body perfectly. I never took the time to find out how much something like that would cost, but I imagine it would be more than what I’m willing to pay right now. I thought the days of having custom fit clothing were far into the future, but to my surprise they are already here! I discovered ILoveFitted.com. ILoveFitted is the sister company to CompletelyFitted.com that specializes in hand-crafted, custom tailored suits, dress shirts, jeans, and ties for men.
ILoveFitted.com brings hand-crafted, custom fit eShakti dresses, blazers, and tops to women. They are all made by hand according to your measurements–not the standard cookie-cutter size chart that does not take individuals into consideration. First time buyers get $25 off, so I decided that I could not lose by trying it. If you’re like me, then you probably do not like shopping for clothes online because you’re worried about how it will fit. Because you measure yourself (I would highly recommend having someone help you), everything you buy will fit perfectly!
I’m trying to step up my dress game, so I found a dress that looked like it would look great on me without breaking the bank. I have big shoulders, so I tend to buy shirts and dresses with either a v-neck, or something else that detracts attention away from my shoulders to my chest–especially if it’s sleeveless. Ruffles are great for that. I also do not have a defined waistline. So usually I try to stick with A-line dresses, but that gets boring sometimes. Prints are good because they confuse the eye enough to shield the waistline. The dress I bought from ILoveFitted.com is a sleeveless, v-neck dress with pleated ruffles down the front. I like long ruffles because they also shield my gut–ruffles can cover a multitude of sins ;-). Because this dress was made according to my measurements by hand, the seamstress made sure to make the back slightly longer than the front. Why is that important? Well, when your stomach is as big as mine, most of your dresses end up being shorter in the back because your stomach is taking up extra material. So if you make the front longer than the back, when you put it on it will be perfectly balanced. Also, the arm holes were perfectly fitted. In my world, if the arms aren’t perfect, then it’s better to have them loose than too tight. At least with loose arms you can gather it up and tuck some of it in with a safety pin. With tight arms, you run the risk of ripping–not to mention it’s uncomfortable.
On the red carpet of Kung Fu, Old Skool & Tyrone the Movie premiere.
The prices are very reasonable. When you’re oddly shaped like me, you just can’t run out to any store and get a $5 shirt. You’re used to going to specialty stores and spending a little extra money on looking fabulous. So, when I saw dresses for $80 and $90, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought to myself, “Really? I can pay the same price I would normally pay for a dress that is going to fit me perfectly? Heck yeah!!” The dress I bought as actually $69.95, and the $25 off brought it down to a totally awesome price.
Every woman should have at least one custom fitted dress in her closet. You will feel amazing, and the stress of worrying about wardrobe mishaps, exhaustion from holding your stomach in, and whatever else you go through will be completely eliminated. For once you can go out and focus on having a good time. Well, unless, of course, you’re worried about your shoes–that’s a different story! I am very happy with my dress, and I will definitely order more dresses, skirts, shirts, and jackets. I can’t wait until they start selling pants.
