How To Dress After Losing Weight (Guest Post)

Yes, that's right, occasionally we do something right with our lifestyles and lose 15 pounds, two dress sizes and reshape our bodies! This happened to me a few years ago when I quit smoking. Three months after I quit, I started doing aerobics twice a week, went on a semi-diet and lost 15 pounds, gained a waist for the first time in 10 years and have more or less kept it off through a pregnancy and various other life changes. I've also cut my hair from super-long to chin length, changed its color and am now over 40, the years when bodies begin to change in other ways and sometimes not for the better..... I'm stronger, healthier and more confident than ever before, and I would say it shows because of the clothes I wear. Many ladies take large-size dressing down to their smaller size without success. You may see them out and about - clothes that may still fit somewhat around one part of the body but don't fit well, hang baggily, are dated, may have been expensive when they were first purchased but are still held onto like security blankets. Excuses are made, closets are full of things you don't want to wear, you stand for several minutes in front of the closet every morning trying to think of something that makes you look like the person y`ou now are. This post is how to emphasize your gains as well as your losses! Pick one body part you have worked hard to improve and emphasize it. Got great arms now due to weightlifting? There's a reason Michelle Obama wears a lot of sleeveless items when being photographed, when most of us look 10 pound heavier! She works hard for those muscles and likes to wear things that emphasize that body part. I started wearing wrap dresses, higher waists and really anything that defined a waist again. I used to have a lot of quasi-maternity style dresses - my sister and I call them "fitted and then vaaaaaague...." and those went to Goodwill almost immediately. Once I was asked all the time if I was pregnant, now it rarely happens. Keep a close eye on proportion. One thing I discovered is that although I am petite and a size 10/11, I can look even thinner if the proportion is right. Wide-legged pants call for a sleeker top. Blousey top calls for a pencil-like or straight skirt, or narrower pants. I will often wear a swing-style cropped suit jacket with a dark straight skirt, and it makes me look a lot taller. Being more fit means you can feel confident about being sleeker. Shop for or tailor basics you need to replace first. One thing I see thinner people do a lot is to keep wearing their old jeans. That stiff fabric makes them look a lot heavier than they really are - it's time to invest in either getting them tailored to fit you or new pairs. Same thing with suits - if you really really love it and it's not dated, get it tailored. Don't forget the foundation garments. When you lost weight, did The Girls get smaller too? I even had to buy new panties! I didn't lose so much weight that my shoe size changed, but for some of you this may be something you need to invest in! Lucky you! I do still need the control top tights in the winter, but it's more so that they stay up rather than that I need the firmness per se. Although that never hurt anyone.... Tailored items make everyone look thinner. When we are heavier we wear a lot more stretch fabrics, and especially if you've lost inches, that stretch fabric hangs oddly and is ill-fitting. I had some great pairs of jersey pants and dresses that when I decided to ditch 'em, I replaced them with more tailored items. Not only was it a way to present a more professional image (I wanted to also advance my career with my new look), the additional seaming and pressed creases in the tailored pieces allowed me to make straight lines where I wanted them to be, and to be more polished overall. So congratulations! You've worked hard to drop that weight, and every little bit counts. Whether it's 10, 20 or 70 pounds, celebrate your accomplishment, your new life and your new body and rock it with the clothes you wear! - KayBug, guest blogger and avid Jazzerciser, cyclist and very occasional power walker/jogger on the dreaded treadmill. Interested in being a guest blogger on Wardrobe Oxygen? Send me an email with your idea and your qualifications!