The Baggy Clothes Trap

Filed Under: Curvy Conversations, Fashion

We do casual Fridays at work and last week I took a risk and wore a pair of skinny jeans and a long-sleeved V-neck shirt. Overall, the outfit was more formfitting than I’m used to. Usually, I pair tight jeans with a top that’s a little looser so wearing an outfit that hugged all of my lumps curves put me outside of my comfort zone. I spent a few minutes in the mirror wondering how much bigger I looked and if I should change clothes, but I was already running late so I just grabbed my coat and ran out the door.

Later that morning, I walked into my bosses office to ask her a question and she stopped me mid-sentence. “How much weight have you lost?” she asked.

“About 25 pounds,” I responded. She looked me up and down, “you’re looking very ‘skinny’ today!”

Could it be that my hip hugging skinny jeans and breast clinging top was actually… slimming? I’ve read that wearing baggy clothing can actually make you look bigger than you are, but as a girl with body image issues its hard to actually believe it.

Growing up in California our summers could reach 105+ degrees but I can remember walking around in denim shorts… and a baggy sweatshirt. It made no sense! I was burning hot, but covering my body was way more important than dressing like a sane person. One day a boy asked me why I was dressed like that, I actually told him I was cold, even though it was like 99 degrees! He looked at me like I had three heads.

Even though I know better, it’s still hard to accept that I, a Plus Size Princess can wear form-fitting clothes and still look good.

Of course, I will never be one to let my rolls hang out. I believe that no matter how loose or tight my outfits are they should always be flattering (which sometimes means foundation garments underneath, like spanx). But sometimes I need a reminder that getting dressed is not always about hiding my body.

Sometimes accentuating our bodies can work to our advantage…

Do YOU get caught in the Baggy Clothes Trap? or find it difficult to wear form-fitting clothes?

 

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Published on Monday, February 6, 2012
14 Comments
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  • Jourdana Claibourn

    Oh I love that you made a post about this topic!
    I grew up in NorCal and it of course was great weather, but I remember in 6th grade being a cute little chubster but wearing a heavy, ridiculously heavy green winter coat.. I was BOILING! But I did not take it off… for fear everyone could see what they of course already saw ( I wasn’t invisible lol). Highschool no winter coat, but definitely the baggiest clothes I could find. Beginning of College.. I started wearing things a tad, not much, a tad more form fitting. It isn’t until recently that I find I actually PREFER skinny jeans, form fitting t-shirt or blouses. They make me look better, they accentuate my chubby but cute hour-glass figure. They help turn heads. Had anyone said that to me when I was 15.. Puh-lease! It would have been I that was looking at someone as if they had 3 heads lol.
    Yes sometimes I will still freak out “Omg..that’s gonna show the tummy lump..” then I try to shake out of that thinking, because regardless, as I stated, I’m not invisible. They’re going to see the chub, period. So why not make the chub something good to look at?

    • Anonymous

      YES! YES! YES!

  • Brittany

    I’m the kind of girl that wears looser, but not baggy clothes. It is flattering when my rolls aren’t showing, but I do love my skinny jeans! Thanks so much for posting on this!

  • Jess

    I’m here in NJ and while I always wear nice short sleeved, empire waisted shirts that flatter year round in the summer time I HATE showing off my legs! I’ll wear a short skirt if I can wear pantyhose but I don’t own a single pair of shorts. My legs are my weak spot, I have short legs with “cankles”, after shaving I always have that black dot look and because of my line of work I always have bruises everywhere on my legs! Last summer a bunch of my coworkers went to Six Flags, it was extremely hot that day. We took three cars and everyone was following our car since I had the GPS. I had wore long jeans and I was DYING of heat in my coworker’s non-air-conditioned car. Finally I made our entire caravan stop at Walmart so I could get some “long” shorts. Everybody kept telling me I looked fine in the regular shorts tho, the whole thing was terribly embarrassing.

  • Hayley H

    Absolutely. In the UK, we can get away with covering up to a certain extent, especially during Winter. However, I’m at the stage where my not so lovely baggy work fleece is covering even my nicest clothes… because it’s baggy and hides everything, but it’s safe and it’s comfortable, so it gets worn, with a scarf aswell, so that every last little bit of skin that I can possibly cover up is covered up.

    Fantastic post to write - gives much food for thought!

  • Tweekalina2

    Omg, I thought I was the only one! For some reason (lol) I was okay until 8th grade where I then started to wear hoodies with everything I wore all year until maybe 11th grade. An ugly black hoodie, with EVERYTHING. It was a security blanket to hide my insecurities, like I was fooling anyone, ha! And I was in volleyball and probably the best shape I’ve ever been, oh how I wish I would’ve snapped outta it. If anything, the hoodie added to the lumps I was trying to hide. Now as I’ve searched the internet for fashion and tips for Plus Size Princesses, I could’ve complimented my curvy self with flowly tops and skinny jeans (my favorite!) as I do now. I get nervous wearing form fitting clothes with or without smoothing underlying garments but I’m weening myself outta that funk. When I feel confident in a form fitting top I can rule the world, confidence is key. Sorry for the long reply, :)

    • Anonymous

      Don’t apologize- I love it! xoxo

  • http://austinstf.tumblr.com slavetofashion

    I used to wear baggy clothes all the time - in high school I wore guys clothes in an attempt to hide my body! Now, I’m all about the form fitting. Like CeCe I’m very particular about making sure things fit correctly (and good foundation garments!!) but I wear a lot of leggings and skinny jeans. If I wear a flowing top, it has to at least have a defined empire waist to give it some shape. Great topic - it’s nice to know I’m not the only one that went through that baggy clothes phase!

  • http://austinstf.tumblr.com slavetofashion

    I used to wear baggy clothes all the time - in high school I wore guys clothes in an attempt to hide my body! Now, I’m all about the form fitting. Like CeCe I’m very particular about making sure things fit correctly (and good foundation garments!!) but I wear a lot of leggings and skinny jeans. If I wear a flowing top, it has to at least have a defined empire waist to give it some shape. Great topic - it’s nice to know I’m not the only one that went through that baggy clothes phase!

  • YummyP

    hi cece!
    thanks for posting about that subject
    i thought i was the only one to “hide” myself under baggy clothes…

    since my 15th, i’ve noticed i wasn’t as pretty as the other girls…i was putting on weight so i couldn’t wear small tops or bikini at swimming pool.
    i was always covered with a big “pull over” or “sweater”
    in hot or cold weather..
    under “dry season” in my place you’re like roasting^^
    my mom used to be worried thinking i was sick…
    everyone in my family or friends were always asking the same question: why are you covered????

    even when i was going out, i could wear a nice dress,jean, or top but then i was adding a big sweater to hide everything…my hips,waist, “really no flat tummy”
    and for sure was looking so..over dressed :)

    now i’m trying to change that bad habit but not easy at all…i still can’t accept the way i look, much harder when sisters and friends are all size 0!!
    there is like an intruder in the band…^^

  • Vanessa

    I did get caught in the Baggy Clothes Trap for YEARS ! So much that even though I’m bigger now than I used to be years ago, people think I’ve actually lost weight over the years ! I wore oversized jeans, shirts, bras, etc. and at some point I started finding plus size clothes stores that actually fitted me and I ended up wearing tighter clothes that showed off my body shape. I hate seeing PSPs wearing stuff that’s REALLY too loose, or incredibly tight (with rolls hanging out, as you said). I think both look neglected, and most of all, they do not look comfortable with their bodies ! Plus, I’d say a LOT of PSPs actually have nice body shapes, despite being bigger, but they don’t know it ! It’s just GREAT to see bigger girls embrace their curves, wearing flattering clothes instead of trying either to 1. hide their body with oversized clothes or 2. ignore the fact that they are actually bigger!
    With that said, looser clothes can actually be very flattering. There’s a difference between looser and oversized.

  • Coresoftoffice

    I luv this!! And I am soooo super excited for this years new line to come out! Last year i looked everywhere for a cute, modest swimsuit and was almost in tears in tears because I couldn’t find one that suited me. When I discovered Lime Ricki I was the happiest person on earth!! Cuter than I ever thought modest could get, Thank you so much!
    Regards:- Sandeep Sharma
    Mens Swimwear

  • http://www.hollisterco.me.uk/ pheobe

    thank you。It was a security blanket to hide my insecurities, like I was fooling anyone, ha! And I was in volleyball and probably the best shape I’ve ever been, oh how I wish I would’ve snapped outta it. If anything, the hoodie added to the lumps I was trying to hide.

  • http://twitter.com/ReneeHarwood Renee Harwood

    I recently moved to HOT Arizona and went into menopause. Well let me tell you. I always wore the “Baggies” but I found myself needing less ans less clothing on my body. I started wearing dresses but the Chub Rub was really bad, and there is no sense trying to look good and be in total agony. Well I did find a solution to my problem. There is a product called thighslides.com and these things are now part of my summer wardrobe. I can’t not imagine taking on the summer heat without them. You should check them out. PS the ease of using the bathroom is worth every penny.

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Hi, I'm CeCe! My New York City adventures as a Plus Size Princess are chronicled on this blog. Enjoy! xoxo [More]

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