Another step towards normaly....more about clothes...

Total disclosure, some of what I am writing about happened last week. But with the funk I was in I wasn't ready to write about it. Today it seems like a good topic. And more importantly it seems like something I need to remind myself today.

May is trade show month for the company I work for. We have our big annual meeting, called Insight. It is the one time a year I get to see lots of my old clients and colleagues from around the country. Every year it is in a different part of the country, last year we were in Florida, this year we are in D.C.. Typically 4-6 people go from our company, mostly the sales team (pardon me "Client Development" *grin*). I have attended the last two years because I was presenting a session as part of the user conference portion of the meeting, and will be again this year.

Part of going to these events is always a discussion on what we are going to wear. The normal attire is matching (color coordinated) "logo wear" so that we are easily identified with our company. I usually dread this process. I have never been able to fit in the same shirts as the rest of the team. When I have tried to order from the catalog the PR folks provide nothing has ever fit right and I usually ended up having to shop for shirts and then take them to have the logo added. Everyone else would match and I would end up "odd man out". Just another way of reminding myself I was the fat girl who didn't fit in. And I totally expected this year to be the same, especially when I learned the shirts this year were tailored oxfords (the hardest thing in the world for me to find that fit). In the past to get oxfords to fit across my shoulders/back I would have to order men's shirts, which would then not fit right in the bust and would be huge in the armpits. Never an attractive look!

I had already prepped for this year, before knowing what the team was wearing, and found some dress shirts and put them in my closet to send for logos. But when the "action pack" came around I was having a decent day on my view of my weight loss and decided to try to do what the team was. Off I went to Land's End (where they were shopping this year), styles I needed in hand and ready to fail!

I of course had to go through my trying on 4 sizes that were too big first *shaking my head at myself* but SHOCKED myself when I realized I was going to be able to easily order what everyone else was this year, and more importantly they fit right!!!!!!! They are still considered "plus size" but they fit, and the reality is one more size down and I wouldn't have needed the plus size even.

For once I get to fit in and look like everyone else!!!! I can not remember the last time I was able to easily dress in coordinating shirts at any trade show I went to, or if I ever have. Kinda cool.

My other clothing success recently was yesterday, it was jeans shopping time again! This is about an every two week occurrence it seems. Which is kind of ironic since the tape measure every time we measure me says my abdomen isn't really shrinking, but I think my butt is and jeans kind of depend on both items.

The last pair of jeans was a size 20. For those that don't have to shop for plus sizes, a quick lesson. Typically jeans will run normal sizes 1-24 and then the plus size stores make up their own series of numbers after that. The store I normally shop at had a 0X-12X on top of having 16-24 in the normal range for jeans. A year ago I was 12X and was pushing that. Yesterday for the first time in at least 15 years, I bought jeans with a 1 in the front within the normal range...size 18!!!

I wish I could say I was excited when it happened. I have to admit with the place I was at yesterday it was a pretty uninspired purchase, again just doing what I had to. But today I am trying to look at it in a better light, because logically I do know that is a HUGE accomplishment. I actually bought the next size down also just to have them so I don't have to keep running back.

The interesting part about buying the size 16 is that it means I have run out of something else I can buy at Catherine's (where I have shopped for most of my adult life). I already can no longer buy bras, dress pants and some shirts there, and now about to add jeans to the list.

As part of commemorating that milestone I am going to be doing another large donation of clothes to charity this weekend. It turns out Catherine's is doing a national clothing drive Thursday and Friday for Women's shelters. So I am going to take the huge mountain in my closet and let go of all of them. If you have clothes to donate, please check with your local Catherine's for their details.