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Posted 3/31/2010 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I imagine I'm not the only one with this problem.  I have the worst time finding clothes anymore!  6 months of the year I'm in a cotton turtleneck and cardigan sweater, because I'm cold and any other kind of material makes me colder.  Even in the summer, I have to wear something like cotton (or maybe rayon) because silky, polyestery stuff STILL makes me cold!  Even though when I was young I wore it all the time, I love the looks of it, the way it flows and falls away from your -ahem- less-toned up areas.  Oh, that's another problem.  I am NOT showing my arms from the elbows down or my legs from the knees up to anyone, because they're so flabby, even though I'm not overweight.  Acrylic and wool is usually itchy and scratchy.

Shopping for anything is more and more of an impossibiliby because of the exhaustion factor.  Clothes can't weigh too much, they can't have patterns that make me dizzy, they can't bind.  And don't even get me going on shoes, which I always have to special-order because of strangely-shaped feet (and then, often pay to ship back!)  Maybe it's time to join a nudist colony. tongue

Posted 3/31/2010 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
I have Meniere's too, and isn't it crazy how clothing patterns (especially black and white) can make us so dizzy? I spend most of the year in soft stretch pants and soft long or short sleeve T-shirts.

I hate the lack of "fashion" in my wardrobe, but with fibro, 4 abdominal surgeries, and 2 back surgeries (all with painful and sensitive scarring), comfort has to come first. Now, if only someone could make comfy cute clothes!
Posted 3/31/2010 6:31 PM (GMT 0)
Debbie, I know exactly how you feel about clothes and shopping. I can't stand anything that is even slightly tight. Waistbands have to be loose or stretchy. I freeze all year round so I always have to wear a light jacket or sweater but it can't be too warm. Shoes--YUK! I wear an 11 but my foot is very narrow and I have a high arch. I wear 2 styles of shoes. SAS sandals with built in arch support and AVIA cross trainers which I add a gel pad to. I order the Avia from ShoeBuy. com. They pay shipping both ways.

I am not so fashionable anymore. I use to love dressing up but I've traded looks for comfort yeah
Posted 3/31/2010 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
For me, the issues with clothing include hypersensitivity to labels or coarse stitching, plus I suffer from extremely severe hot flashes that are both menopause and medication related. I need to wear the absolute least amount of clothing that's appropriate, without offending anyone if I'm out in public. I can be outside in a short sleeved shirt while everyone around me is wearing quilted jackets and scarves and mittens.

Shoes are horrible for me to find. I have size 4 Triple E width feet...try finding cute shoes for that kind of sizing. Ugg! Because I live in Canada, I almost always have to buy shoes from the US, and then pay duty and taxes, etc. I also can't stand the suede insoles, as my feet sweat terribly and that type of material causes blisters.

If I could sew, I'd make cute clothes for myself, but I don't have the patience, time or energy to do so. Good thing I'm mostly always at home - I just wear yoga pants and t-shirts.

Pam
Posted 3/31/2010 10:54 PM (GMT 0)
Yup, I hear ya, I have to cut labels out of everything, fabrics have to be soft. I wear
alot of cotton knit tops and I still can wear jeans. The mid-rise jeans feel better on than
anything cinching my waist.

In the summer I wear capri mid-rise pants, shorts, comfy tops and sandals. I try to find
things I feel good in. I'm almost 58 and no spring chicken so I don't need to look like
a hot chick. It is all about comfort and if I can look good that's a bonus!

Hugs, Robin
Posted 4/1/2010 5:14 AM (GMT 0)
Wow, once again, I find I'm not alone!  Strange how that's comforting, somehow....(though I'm not glad you all have problems, too.)

Anniedaze, the catalog I use most for shoes is Old Pueblo Traders, they have clothes and shoes and their offshoot company for just shoes is Coward.  Footsmart is also good - they have special orthotic shoes and other products for feet and legs comfort.  They're also online. 

Puppylover, thanks, I'll have to try Shoebuy.com.

Yes, the days of obsessing over how we look seem to be a thing of the past!  I just want to get through the day in as much comfort as possible.  The worst is when I HAVE to dress up for something...I don't think I've ever worn high heels in my life and even low heels are something I avoid like the plague.  They have to be adjustable sandals because my toes go straight across, making them very wide at the top but not at the heel.  So skirts and dresses are very tricky.  I usually go for the loose, fancy pants!  :-)

Posted 4/3/2010 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
As one of my grandsons told me a few years ago, "grandma your old, it's not like anyone is going to look at you anyway so why bother dressing up". Yes, that young man is now out of my will. tongue

 

I was lucky that I didn't become so clothes sensitive til I started getting older, almost 60 now. When I am shopping for clothes the first thing I do is feel the fabric and if it doesn't pass the softness test I move on no matter whether I like the top or not. I found some cheap ones at Walmart not too long ago that are 95% Nylon and 5% Spandex that are so soft and comfy. My upper body is getting so sensitive that even cotton Ts bother me especially after they have been washed a lot. I have a bunch now that I need to get rid of cause I'm not wearing them anyway. Of course the more pain I'm in the pickier I am about what goes on the bod. I love summer when I can wear soft shirts and capris or knit shorts, but the downfall is I have to wear a bra in the summer and not the winter. I buy bras way too big where they just skim my body, I don't have much to support thankfully. Heavy clothes in the winter feel like they weigh a ton some days. Today I will be wearing jeans but I buy them a size too big too so they are not tight. I dress in layers a lot cause I'm usually colder than most people til a hot flash hits me.

 

My feet don't bother me as much as a lot of peoples do but I do have to be careful of the style I wear and a lot of cute shoes are out of the question and I don't do heels anymore.

 

Of course I'm the same way with my bedding as I am with my clothes.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

Posted 4/3/2010 3:46 PM (GMT 0)
I live in cotton t-shirts and yoga pants, except for at work, where we wear scrubs. If only I could go to work without a bra! Now that sweatshirt weather is over, I can't do my shopping without one :(
Posted 4/3/2010 5:26 PM (GMT 0)
I know I'm old, and that nobody else cares what I wear, but I care! Clothes are supposed to be fun! I love jewelry, but I have such sensitive ears (newly pierced again because they keep getting infected through 40 years!) that I almost never change them. Necklaces can't be too heavy, and they can't make me cold....the other day I went out for lunch with an old friend, and for about the 3rd day this year, it was warm enough that I didn't have to wear a turtleneck. So of course, I couldn't wear the stone necklace I wanted to, because there was nothing between it and my neck.

Marlee, I also buy everything too big, know what you're talking about. I am fairly big-chested (liked it 30 years ago, now not so much!) so support is important, but - too bad - I can't take anything across my back that I can really feel. So I wear an underwire, but still droop.

Being a redhead who's already had 2 basal-cell carcinomas on my face, I have to avoid the sun like the plague, too, not easy to do in Colorado. Lots of sticky sunscree, long sleeves and hats. JOY!
Posted 4/4/2010 4:37 AM (GMT 0)
I had to share with you. I have a wedding to go to, my daughter's. I am a difficult size to fit to begin with and I can't walk in malls. My feet are wide and heels are a no no.

I ordered online and got back a hideous outfit. My daughter bought me a pair of heels online and they hurt my feet. So, I asked a good friend who is like a daughter to me if she would wheel me in a wheelchair through the mall and she agreed. I went to Layne Bryant and to Macys and found absolutely nothing. Then I went to Sears and found a plethora of choices, but remember, I am a hard size to fit, bigger on the bottom than the top.

Well after about two hours of trying on, I found a beautiful blue jacket dress for the wedding and a nice pantsuit for the rehersal dinner. Then with money I had saved on the clothes, I went and bought two pairs of shoes, low heels.

Well, I have been on weight watchers for about 8 weeks now and have lost 15 pounds and all the shoes fit, even the heels my daughter originally bought for me!! I'm feeling pretty good with my finds. And I will be comfortable at the wedding now.

Thanks for letting me share.

Lindaloo
Posted 4/4/2010 4:39 AM (GMT 0)
Linda,
That's wonderful! I'm glad you had such a successful shopping trip, in spite of all the obstacles. Have fun at the wedding.
Posted 4/4/2010 5:12 PM (GMT 0)
I'm so glad you found what you were looking for Linda and will be comfy at the wedding. I haven't had to do a wedding in a long time and can't imagine holding up for that long these days.

 

My oldest granddaughter had a pair of shoes on yesterday at her son's birthday party that were really pointed and killing her feet so she finally took them off. I asked her why she was wearing shoes that hurt her feet so badly and she said cause they are in style and I wanted to look nice. I remember being 20 and thinking like that. Give her another 40 years and with or without fibro she will change her way of thinking.

 

I don't know whether my mom had fibro or not but I remember when she went to what I called "old lady shoes" and I thought I wouldn't be caught dead in a pair of those no matter how old I was. Okay, that was before tennis shoes were the thing and you could buy them to fit about any foot problem so I haven't resorted to "old lady shoes" just comfy ones.

 

I do feel for the young women with fibro that can't wear the in style things cause of it.

 

I was wrong about the tops I bought cheap at Walmart they are 95% Rayon and 5% Spandex, I had written Nylon. They are soft, soft, soft. I need to get some more of them for summer cause when I change clothes over from winter to summer there are a lot of scratchy Ts going. Also when I find a top that I really like I buy 2 or 3 colors in the same style.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

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