Simply Sarah Jones

It’s 2019, and man it sure is a time to be alive as a “big girl” on this planet.

Let’s be real, it’s still true that being an “attractive” person gets you further than those of us fluffy folks. You still will get stares when you wear that crop top by some people. But there are also women like Lizzo flaunting around in bodysuits and being praised for it. It’s a great thing to see.

But what about us that aren’t celebrities? Those of us who don’t have the purse strings to get custom made clothing, those of us who still have to show up to a 9-5 job in an office and transform those outfits into our weekend attire as well.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, you’ve come to the right place. I’m not here to spout #bodypositive quotes at you, as most days I still struggle with who I see in the mirror.

But what I can do, is share the tips I have learned over the past few years of how to find affordable, cute, clothing in “plus” sizes (this is in quotes because many of the clothes deemed “plus” are normal people sizes, in my honest opinion).

Best Places to Shop for Work Clothes

The other great thing about shopping for work clothes at Old Navy? Because Old Navy isn’t known for it’s trendy styles, they tend to be more conservative. For those of you working in an office with a business casual dress code, this saves you a lot of headaches when thinking about length of dresses, backless dresses, etc.

Another great thing about shopping as a larger girl at Old Navy? In my experience, their sizing is pretty consistent. After working there in college and spending most of my money towards their clothes, I can actually shop online now! I don’t always have to try on the clothes because the silhouettes repeat fairly often, and it’s rare that I have to change my sizing.

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Best Work Tops for Plus-Size Girls

Best Work Pants for Plus-Size Girls

Say it with me. Pixie Pants. Yes, let me say it again. Pixie Pants for the win!

My standard go-to pants for work…The Pixie Pant by Old Navy. Typically these pants cost about $35/pair, which is not too bad at all! HOWEVER, you can constantly find these pants on sale or on clearance! Sometimes, that means buying the funky patterns, but you can rock it! There have been times where I have found a pair of these gems for $7!!!! Are you kidding me?! I wear a size 16 in these for reference 🙂 They come in Tall, Short, Mid-Rise, Chino, you name it! The versatility of the pant is what keeps me coming back!

If you’re able to splurge a little bit….The most comfortable pair of pants I have ever owned in my life are the Mid-Rise Built-In Sculpt Ponte-Knit Pixie Pants. These pants typically will cost you $49.99 full price. They rarely go on sale and tend to sell out quickly (for good reason). So, if you ever see a pair in stock, RUN! I am so sad, I can’t find my only pair I ever owned, see below for some examples of my dream pants:

Best Trendy Clothes for Plus-Size Girls

For the longest time, especially when I was working at Disney, I didn’t have the budget to have a “work” wardrobe and a “fun” or “going out” wardrobe. So, I went out in a blouse and my pixie pants most of the time. Judge me later, the struggle was real. Now that I’m making an actual salary, I’ve splurged and bought a few things that I would consider “trendy”. Let me start by saying that I am by no means a super trendy girl by nature. I tend to dress pretty plain, I don’t like drawing too much attention to my body. But some of you out there may like to! And that’s why we’re here 🙂

SHEIN

When I discovered this website, I was in absolute shock about the prices. These clothes aren’t your highest quality materials, but they have REALLY good prices, and most of their plus size clothes go up to a 5X. In my opinion, they run a tad small, so size up especially if the material isn’t stretchy. Here are some of my purchases from SHEIN:

Forever21 Plus

Forever21 doesn’t stack up as high as SHEIN for a few reasons. The first being the prices. For similar quality to SHEIN, in my opinion their prices are too high. Additionally, the variety of options are limited to a specific type of style. Finally, as a 26 year-old who has a professional career, I am now getting to the point where it’s uncomfortable walking into a Forever21 store, that’s just a personal preference. One of my favorite “going out” rompers is from Forever21:

Old Navy

Finally, some of my favorite clothes to wear between work and play have to come from Old Navy. I’m sure at this point it’s no shocker to you how much I love this store. See below for some of the not-so-standard clothes I’ve accumulated from Old Navy over the years:

Last but not least, swimsuits.

For those of us who live in Florida, finding a swimsuit that fits AND makes us feel confident and not like an 85 year-old grandma can be the ultimate challenge. However, all of the above stores (SHEIN, Forever21, Old Navy) plus Target have allowed me to feel comfortable and confident when I go to the beach. I tend to prefer wearing two-piece bathing suits for the sheer ease of being able to use the restroom easier, but to each their own. I’m loving that one-pieces are back in style! The options are much more diverse now! No more shopping at Lands End or spending hundreds at Everything But Water if you are a bigger babe who is ballin’ on a budget.

So that’s it for now! If you have other reasonably priced places to shop for girls who require a little more, feel free to comment on this post! I am hoping that sharing my tips and tricks might make shopping a little bit more exciting for those of us who need some extra guidance 🙂

Simply,
Sarah Jones