Monday, October 31, 2011

Online Clothing Stores


ONLINE STORES
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These are stores I’ve tracked purchases from.  The items were delivered and of reasonable quality.

Ashro.com 1800 865 9442  Lots of fat store clothing is bland and even boring.  Ashro breaks the mold.
    They market to gorgeous black women, and have great dress-up and date  clothes,
    hot Easter Sunday church  lady outfits, dressy mother of the bride outfits!  There are a few very
    attractive “ethnic” African clothes.  (Why aren’t Paris fashions called “ethnic”?) I like them because
    they’d look good on my plus size figure and they tend to be cotton and comfy-looking.  The ladies’
    headdresses would be a great chemotherapy option!
    Also wigs, although I’ve never bought one from them..
    I usually very good prices and lots of fun looks that are hard to find in large sizes!
Catalogue Favorites.com  glamour and novelty jewelry, funny T-shirts, jewelry, apparently anything they
    saw and said ooo!
Avenue.com  (Redcats,One Stop)
Catherine.com  Pear shaped?  Good news!  Many of Catherines selections are geared toward large
    thighs and proportionately small waists.  Scanning their site this morning was a revelation!  The skirts  
    fit their models around the waist, then bagged around the thigh area. 
    This bodes well for those of us who need that cut! 
    The bad news was that prices are high.    A polyester A-line skirt is listed
           “on clearance” for over $50. 
    A simple cotton kurta blouse (usually around $36retail, is over $40 in
            “clearance”.  Moral:  Shop carefully!
CasualLivingusa.com  1800 843 1881  Yuppie casual.  Office wear.
Chadwicks.com 1800 525 6650  Yuppie casual.
Chicos.com  sizes 0-22  Market to a younger, thinner crowd, but some fun items.
ColdwaterCreek.com   professional  class work and casual clothes.  Beware of dry clean only, but they DO have some very flattering styles., especially if you’re 5’1’-5’6”  I’m 5’10”, so all I buy is skirts and scarves.  Worth knowing:  They have a "forever" return policy.  IF your dress looks bad after you wash it, they'll take it back.
DevaLifeWear.com  1800 222 8024  “cottage industry seamstresses make a living wage working from home” making this cotton “lifewear” SML XL, 2x, 3x in basic shapes (not tailored) in varying weights of cotton weaves and knits.  Very plain , but ideal if you want quality basics to bead  or build a look.  For fall 2011 they also have pirate shirts and some Ren Faire or Celtic Pride-appropriate shirts.
Fashion Bug is a brick and mortar (find it at the strip-mall) store.  They carry large sizes.  I haven't had much luck there, but friends have.  Happy hunting!
 
Igigi.com  Sexy clothes cut to celebrate (not hide) the full figure.   Weddings, formals, cocktails and work wear, Service address is in SF!   These are cut to show your best curves. 

JessicaLondon.com  Redcats group member.  Work and relaxation wear.  Sexy looking models who are about 5'3".  IF you're tall, look for them in a mini-skirt and that'll be your next tunic.  Very nice styles and if you need skirts, they have some great ones.  just remember,. the neckline that looks low on them with be moderate on you and the moderate neckline will strangle you.  Lots of cotton and linen blend fabrics are available.

JustMySize.com  bras 38A-58J  clothing 14W-40W
     JMS has LOTS of non-tailored, cotton and cotton blend knit T’s shirts, jackets and skirts.  I also like their in-house  jeans.  These clothes are NOT SEXY, but very simple and comfy, at reasonable prices.  They occasionally have some good sales. 
LaneBryant.com  (now separated from “Woman Within”) seems to aim at a short skirt demographic.
     I was looking at jeans and they didn’t list inseam length  on the info, I went on to the “fit”  sheet and came up empty.  No fit sheet!  Just an  empty page. downloaded. 
MiBplus size.com (Making It Big) models are large size, lots of cottons & linens Cotton tunic, untailored for $79 normal to super-sizes, nice styles.Embroidery, 
Navabi.us.com  Theorectically, they have  sizes 12-28.  I spent 15 minutes in their clearance section and
     didn’t find anything over a 24 in stock. Great looking hot weather clothing in cool, natural, lightweight
     fabrics.  You may want to tell your skinny friends who have hot flashes?

Nordstroms.com Has an annual sale in May of women's clothes.  Last year I made out like a bandit with pencil skirts, blouses and a "Sunday Brunch" outfit.  If you have a Nordstorm card I hear they do free alterations. 
NorthStyle.com   1 800 336 5666  Sizes 4-24, some 26-28s, yuppie casual  & conservative
     office.clothes. 
     Lots of  polyester, very few 30” or longer tunics
     July  27 ’11, went through entire plus size clearance.  Most items didn’t go above size 18.  The two items I looked at that seemed promising were out of stock, but still listed!  Bought nothing.
OneStop.com is a TIMESAVER!  One location where you can check out the selections from all of the Redcats (large size catalogue) companies, plus Ulla Popken and  Igigi.  They also have their own coupons and sales, so check and see whether the best price is at the direct website (like Igigi, or whether you can get a better deal at One Stop.  Note:  One Stop has a club for frequent shoppers that gives you $2.99 shipping on any order!)
      on your item.
      Be aware that promotions, coupons and sales don’t always apply to non Redcats products.)
      Redcats companies include:
                             Roamans.com
                             Woman Within.com
                             JessicaLondon.com
                             Kingsize.com 1800 846 1600 
Pyramid Collection.com  Glamour collection, including some Ren Faire & Halloween clothes, chic vampire, Goth, glamour, velvet full length capes definite “Look at Me clothes!  
Most are polyester or Rayon, Some styles come in sizes upo 3x. Also jewelry, real sterling silver and stones.  
Roaman’s.com (Redcats Group)  Cute but conservative, practical clothes, with a few exceptions, NOT usually sexy clothes, but worn on sexy models you can be fooled.  As always, imagine how low that neckline would go on you.  The models are about 5'3".  If you're taller than that, be wary.  Right now empire waists are trending and if you're tall, the waist band will overlap your breast.  Not a flattering look.   
Work & sports clothes, lingerie, Mother of the Bride /church clothes, D width shoes.  dress-up.  Lately lots of lace, embroidery and some beadwork.  

UllaPopken.com Clothing sized for 5’8” women, insean usually 30-31”, LOTS of long 30-36” blouses, 
     Lots of natural fibers, compared to other sites.  Clothing ranges from yuppie to bohemian and
     hippy-chic, usually some nice embroidered sleeves, bodices and necklines, usually beaded  or
     grometted  peces available.  Almost always great buys on clearance. 
Simply Be.com (UK), Clothing sized  for 28” torso, 30” inseam
    “young” conservative looks
     July 27’11 went through entire clearance section.  Actually found 6 skirts in my size (24)
                  at very good prices.  I’ll let you know how they are when they arrive.
 October'11  Bought 5 pairs of flashy, sassy Oscar Red Carpet HIGH heels in, get this! size 10 EEE!  So excited!  Until they arrived.  
My often measured foot IS a size 10EEE.  These shoes were 3/4 inch too narrow.  That's it's own subject.  
Moral:  Their heels aren't even close to true to width. Four pairs of the offending heels were from Viva La Diva.  On behalf of Divas everywhere, I'm offended. 

Soft Surroundings.com  Nice, sexy descriptions of “silk-blend, curve-loving “  $128 fishermen’s sweaters. They have knits and soft wovens.  Some of these could be worn to an office.  Enjoyable reading and whqat appears to be nice, pricey casual wear, but only up to size 24.  Lots of long tops (32”, 34”) but Tall girls, beware!  One of the photos has what appears to be a moderately low (no cleavage) neckline, and it drapes halfway down the thigh on a model in who must be under 5 feet tall, since the caption says the shirt is 30” long.  On a tall gall, that wouldn’t cover your bottom, much less drape below the hips..

Sonsi.com  This is Lane Bryant merchandise displayed in a magazine/catalogue format.  Medium size models, (not twigs, but only slightly upholstered)  Some nice shapes, a few teen-friendly items.  Some very very matronly styles.  Not dependable about including lengths on dresses and formal gowns, or whether the item can be washed or dry-cleaned.  I’m guessing most of these floor length Spring Prom and mother-of the Bride gowns would hit me mid-calf?  But that’s just a guess. And if they don’t SAY an item can be cleaned, be wary!

Southwest Indian Foundation  Jesuit 800 504 2723 long cotton skirts, matching or coordinated  knit
cotton tops, well made and very washable,from
     $29-$ 79,  perfect colors for coordinating with your Southwestern look blouses and Native American
     Jewelry.  This company is a fundraiser for Catholic missionary work with Native Americans.  I don’t know if  the products are made in America, but the quality is good.  I can’t vouch for the jewelry prices (not an  expert)


Talbots.com  sizes 12-24, Not my favorite, but they get points for hiring large sized models (size 18-ish)..  Lots of polyester priced over $100. 
     They don’t put the length on tops, so unless you know the model personally, you can’t guess whether
      she’s 5’2” or 6’2”.

Men’s Clothing 
Ladies!  It’s easier to find bigshirts, long turtlenecks and tees in Men’s and Men’s Tall sizes!  Just be aware that shoulders and pants fronts may be oversized for you.  As always, compare your measurements to the size charts and be aware that men’s clothes are often cut to be really REALLY loose on skinny guy legs, which means it’s a good bet they’ll skim over your thighs! .
There is no better place to find “boyfriend” sweaters, shirts, etc, than men’s catalogues!

KingSize.com  One of the Redcats Group. Always check for coupons and sales both directly and through One-Stop.com, the Redcats outlet, and BCO.com, BargainCenterOutlet, the Redcats clearance site.
 Usually good customer service. Lots of pants styles that offer to trim them to the inseam length you specify.
SimplyBe.com (UK) up to 5x

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