Tuesday, May 17, 2011

...Not since High School

Yesterday I went on a dreaded shopping trip to Kohls to find some new tennis shoes because mine were pretty much ready to be used for yard work only. I have no idea what possessed me to go to the women's plus size section and see what they had on the rack. First of all, you have to realize I absolutely hate shopping for clothes. For this reason I stick to a safe pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt usually bought in the men's section at Walmart because I don't care for pastel colors. Every time I go shopping it is a cruel reminder that generally stores don't like to keep their plus size section organized or in stock with anything other than the absolute worst fabric available on the market.

For years I have told my sister that we should go into business making REAL plus sized clothing which were affordable, cute, and didn't involve stars, ducks or huge florals. It would be everything you see in the petite stores but in OUR size. From trendy to career wear to formals. Yeah, I'm still a dispatcher.

So, I went to the tiny plus size section and didn't see anything that jumped out at me. They have very few dresses and very few items I am willing to wear. I found a dress that looked cute on the rack but a little voice kept telling me, "You're wasting your time, it will never look that good on you and they don't even have your size." I pulled a dress off the rack that was 2 sizes smaller than I would usually try on and went to the dressing room. "Are you crazy? You're just going to disappoint yourself. But go ahead if you are going to be hardheaded about it, what a perfect chance for me to say I told you so!" I pulled the dress on and while it looked a little stearn, it fit. I couldn't believe it. I looked at the idiot in the mirror and smiled. "Ok so you've been working in the yard a little and maybe you picked up something that was mislabelled." She said back to me a little ticked-off. I went back to the section and found a pair of slacks I saw that were definately not my size but I wanted them for work. Off to the dressing room I went and I was smiling a little when the voice didn't say a word as I pulled them on. They were 4 sizes smaller than I usually wear. I smiled even bigger in the mirror when I turned around to find they weren't sagging off of my butt. Again the voice was silent.

Well, if I can fit in this size in the plus size section I wonder if they have any XL's in the skinny women's section that look fashionable. I walk over there and I must say, I found a few things I might actually wear, but only if I were going to give into my age and show it.

So, I did something drastic! I walked across the walkway into the girls section. This is usually were the teenagers are when they want to wear something cute besides a t-shirt. The voice started laughing at me. "Yeah ummmmm right!!!!!" I saw the cutest green and black dress ever. I had to see if they had an extra large and even then would it fit over my head? I felt myself get really excited when I found an extra large that was marked on the dress and not just the hanger. Off to the dressing room. This is a record for me. If I go into the dressing room more than 2 times it's too much and it's time to go. I put the dress on and looked in the mirror and almost got a little misty. I haven't put this size on since high school. While it's a little tighter than I would usually wear I could hear my friend Ana tell me I shouldn't hide everything under a t-shirt like I usually do. I snapped a few pictures on my cell phone and sent one to Ana making sure I wasn't under some sort of weird chemically induced hysteria. When she confirmed it looked ok I looked back into the mirror and wondered, "Do they change these mirrors to make you look thinner? Maybe I should try another dressing room." It was just that much of a shock. I left the store after trying on a few more things just to make sure I wasn't crazy. Oh and that awesome green and black dress???? It's mine now! I might just have to try it on today to make sure I wasn't temorarily that much smaller. I will post pictures after the 100 Club event. Shhhh it's a surprise.

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