First REAL Shopping Trip

I am a frequent visitor to the area malls, living in Northern Virginia is the equivalent to being in Shopping Heaven.  Only one draw back, when you're a Big Girl you only have a few select stores to choose from.  Any Skinny Bitch (And don't take that the wrong way, I really want to be one of you) walks past the Plus Size section with a look of disgust.  For years I thought it was because they hated the women that wore these clothes because they were fat.  Nope, it's the God Awful Ugliness of the clothes!  My Jesus have you seen those horrible prints and big shapeless dresses hanging on the racks?  The mere thought of having to wear one of those garments sends shivers down my spine.  Seriously!

I had a limited variety of "Off the rack" clothes available to me in my area and budget.  Most of my shopping had been done online but when I needed something now, I went to my favorite store at the mall Torrid.  I would check other stores from time to time like Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx, Ross, and Avenue.

Across from Torrid was the H&M Store that opened about 2 years ago in all its glory.  I took my first trip into H&M enticed by their Accessories and Handbags.  I stared at the clothes longing for the day I could actually fit into something off the rack.  I purchased many accessories from them including hoop earrings, hair bands, a great purse, scarves, hats, bracelets, and clothes for my Baby Belle.  Never did I imagine that I would be able to go in here and buy clothing a few short years later.

So let's fast forward to August 2010 when my weight loss had reached around 50 pounds I needed some new jeans and went to Potomac Mills Mall to hit up Torrid.  Walking through the mall I got this adrenaline rush when I saw H&M and thought, "Could today be the day that I can shop here?"  I decided to veer left, instead of right, into my first surreal clothes shopping experience.

I walked in all cool and started perusing the racks in the front of the store.  I saw a ruffled front vest in a nice blush pink color that immediately caught my eye, I looked at the sizes and they ran Small, Medium, and Large.  My mind was used to picking the biggest size usually a 3X in the Plus Size store so naturally I'm looking for a XXL or at least an XL.  Nope just S, M, L.  Damn, this isn't going to fit I convinced myself without even trying it on.  The strangest thing happened, a voice said to me, "TRY IT ON!" 

Not sure if I should listen to this voice or not, I hesitantly picked up the Large and started moving around the store.  I found a couple more items, a Black Long Sleeved Tee, a Navy/White Striped Babydoll, a Navy Babydoll Tank, and finally a Whisper Weight Cotton long sleeved tee. 

I went into the fitting room and started trying each item on.  The original ruffled vest I picked up first looked  horrible on my body so I started to feel that pit in my stomach.  I hung the vest back on the hanger but was determined to try something else on.  One by one I tried on each item I had selected from the store and every single item FIT!!!!!  If there had been a camera in the fitting room I would have been on one of those shows, like When Bitches Go Crazy!  Someone would have thought I had escaped from my straight jacket.  I was dancing and jumping up in down in the dressing room like I had just won the lotto. 

I pranced out of the dressing room like I was high on a drug that no one told me I was on.  I was finally able to fit into regular clothing in regular store like a regular woman.  At this point I felt like a normal person and had my Fat label removed without my conscious knowledge.

I purchased the lot and walked straight out of the mall not even glancing at the store I once held in such high regard.    The new jeans that I had gone into purchase?  I had my old skinny jeans, a Size 26 taken in 4 inches in the waist!