scrubbedexpat091

I buy my shoes in the US, can never find a pair in Canada that fits right and of course the lack of selection and the fact you can get a pair of name brand shoes in the US for the price of some off brand piece of junk in Canada.

I also stock up on shirts in the US, they fit better and don't look too small on me, and again better selection so I don't have to dress like my dad...lol

petitefrancaise

Mrs D, I would be pear-shaped if I didn't have broad shoulders! Dresses are a complete nightmare. My neighbour tells me to go to Marshalls and have a rummage but I loathe doing that, TK Maxx is good for chocolates and house bits as far as I am concerned...

So I went to a huge outlet at San Marcos - an hourish away and went to the Levis shop where they have all the levis styles in one place. YUCK, if they fitted then the material was all just stretchy and reminded me of leggings. Then I went over to Gap where I tried on a few pairs and found some lovely jeans...."cigarette " ones. Fab, til I got to the checkout and found out that I'd bought the only bloody jeans in the whole store that were NOT reduced (in an outlet store). So since they were $65 and they wouldn't accept the gapcash voucher I had then I only bought one pair (will I ever learn??).

Never mind, it'll be too hot for jeans down here in a few months and I'll be back in my MandS Maxi dress and flipflops.
I like Anthropologie but my bank account doesn't!

Derrygal

I love Talbots (but can't really afford to shop there unless they have a huge sale). There used to be an outlet near me, but it closed last year. I also love Land's End (also only buy one sale). I guess I could be described as pear shaped although I don't have a huge behind, but by bottom is definitely bigger than my top!! I haven't bought clothes in the UK for a while. Now that the airlines have started charging for extra luggage/weight I rarely bring any clothing back with me.

Jerseygirl

My Canadian SIL order his shirts and suits from M&S in the UK.

username.exe

My sympathies.
I once purchased a baseball cap that fit my head like a glove (no pun intended).
I went out of my way to warn mrs username.exe NOT to wash it. (It was made of wool and she has a habit of nuking all of my favourite garments).

She washed it.
Shrunk to half its size... I'm still not over it.

Lucybell33

I emphathise! I've been here six months now, but still haven't found my groove clothes-wise. Being short, overweight and hourglass-shaped doesn't help!!

Am going to check out Eddie Bauer now, especially as I've noticed they have an outlet close by. Otherwise, still struggling to figure out where to find decent underwear. I tried True, and they were OK, but wouldn't recommend them whole-heartedly.

At least I've found a shop I like for the children - Gymboree!

petitefrancaise

I tried buying some undies in Macy's/Dillards and was horrified at the beige awfulness of it all so I asked my FB friends where they get their stuff from

Soma Intimates for nice underwear here.....

Victoria's secret for everyday stuff.

Spanx when needs must!

Lucybell33

petitefrancaise

My mum came to help out when the babes were born. God love her, she wasn't used to dry-clean only pure wool trousers. Washed and tumble dried about £600 worth in one go. Then she ironed them....

Next time round we had pink sheets, bathtowels, underwear.....and that stuff that's supposed to take the colour out? Doesn't get it all out.

Baby number 3, we had MIL and FIL to stay. A bit too old and not quite with it so they sat around drinking tea. Bit of a relief really.

Englishmum

I'm only 5'2" so I've always had a nightmare trying to find clothes; even the 'petite' ranges have trousers which are still too long.

The go-to shop for me is Ann Taylor Loft and I do sometimes buy items at Lands End but some of their designs are very staid or have hideous patterns, so I tend to go for their basic items in block colours. I do love Anthropologie but as someone has already mentioned, it is very expensive and I never go anywhere to get much use/wear out of them...I usually wear just jeans and tops.

My best friend is one of the top 'Fit' models in the US and models for some of the biggest names in American retail fashion. Basically she is like a human dressmaker's dummy....the designers/pattern cutters like to try their creations on a model to see how the material drapes. When they are happy with the fit, they give the go-ahead for say 500,000 or more of that dress/trousers/top/jeans etc. usually in a production facility in the Far East etc. She is a 'perfect' US size 8 and is 5'8" tall.

It is odd though, even though we sometimes go clothes shopping and almost always anything she tries on fits her perfectly (making me go green with envy lol!) it is interesting how all the stores vary in their clothes sizes....the Spanish owned stores eg. Zara, Desigual and Mango fit very small in their clothes and even my friend found their sizes too small and tight.

A few months ago I was in M&S in the UK. I was trying on some casual trousers and picked a couple of identical styles in the same size, but in different colours. I was quite shocked to see that there was a big variation in the waist size - one pair fitted but the other pair was far too big. The lady at the fitting room told me that they've had a lot of complaints due to the sizing and M&S has a huge return rate on clothes which customers have bought online but found that the items just didn't fit them.

The only shops I can find petite clothes in the UK are Next, Dorothy Perkins and in department stores eg. Debenhams, John Lewis. Over here in Switzerland there are no petite sizes whatsoever....I can only buy tops here. Oddly enough there are loads of F+F clothes (from Tesco) in the Swiss Coop larger supermarkets....but at the high Swiss prices....

I've given up with my spouse....if a shop doesn't sell electronic gadgets or sports equipment he's not interested and won't go in them. After work and at weekends he just wears sportswear all the time

BunnyGirl

Has everyone seen this before?

What Size Am I?

Not much help for us short arses (I'm 5'1" with an hourglass figure) but might help in terms of fit etc.

Pulaski

Obviously I have different size and shape issues to you, but my next pair of jeans will be coming from here. Not only are they made to whatever size and style you want, but there is a huge range of fabric choices. If I get a couple of "regular" pairs (in the usual heavyweight fabric that most men's jeans are made from) and like them, I intend to get a lightweight pair for the occasions during the late spring and early autumn where I don't want to wear shorts but it is too hot for heavyweight jeans.

Nutmegger

I'm a Marshall's and TJMaxx fan -- but I work from home so can wear what I want and am never shopping for something for a specific occasion, just looking for an eclectic bargain with a designer label. Have you tried TJMaxx in the US? I visited a TKMaxx in the UK and it was indeed a horrible "bargain basement" kind of place, not the same kind of store they have here at all. I do recall that it took me a few years in the US before I became comfortable with shopping for clothes -- good luck in finding what you want.

Orangepants

I have found that the US does an enormous range of sizes - I am a size 0 which is just ridiculous - how can I be a 0? But I still have to get things altered - I keep the alterations guy in business! Shoe size in the UK I was about 2 so always looking for brands that run small. Recently found Sole Society online which has lovely shoes/boots at very reasonable prices which generally run small.

I love fashion, clothes, shoes and bags so I am in heaven living in this over commercialized world! My OH thinks it is hilarious that I buy handbags that have their own bags! I am a salesperson's dream!

Jerseygirl

Thank goodness there's someone else on BE who loves handbags...and yes all my handbags are kept in their own bag. I love shoes and clothes too.