fashion in US and the UK

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I've never tried shopping for jeans over there so I've no experience with that. I'd almost rather put my eye out than shop for jeans in the US. It's not just the waist/butt proportion issue. It's the cut in the thigh and calf. Apparently you need legs like a pencil (something I don't have). Vanessa mentioned Sonoma from Kohls so I might give them a try. For my bubble butt, I've had a lot of luck with A.N.A. from JC Penney.

Let me know how you go with the jeans if you don't mind I'd be interested to know whether you find the same thing with them. I don't have small legs, many thanks to my paternal grandma for that. Big lady. Not fat, just big bones and tall etc.

I went looking for jeans in an emergency one day (lets just say there was an incident requiring attention ) but with this whole "seasonal" shopping dealeo (which living in Aus I've never dealt with 'cause you can wear the same thing year round just add a jumper ) it was summer and there were NO jeans at Kohls that were right (all capri's etc or seasonal clearance). I tried about 5 shops before I started getting really upset about it and eventually relented and went to Walmart (horror of all horrors I know) thinking I'll find something cheap that fits there. The only jeans I could get there that fit my legs were at LEAST 2 sizes too big in the waist/butt area and I just hated it. It made me look like a had an extremely large stomach hanging over my thighs or something. Finally winter arrived and my jeans were back at Kohls. That first time you slip them on and they do up perfect... makes a girl feel a LOT better about herself!!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I am loving reading all your replies and its making me feel somewhat normal again, knowing its not just me with the whole jeans, big boobs and clothes not fitting issue ! When we went back to England for Christmas just gone, all I talked for months leading up to it was how I was gonna buy jeans jeans jeans.. it drove my husband nuts ! I agree that here, if they think you have a bottom then for some reason you have no waist and have a big belly too.. (haha @ Vannessa&Tony re the "faux ####### look"... I full understand that one !)

I love my hubby but sometimes it's so nice to talk/type to someone who speaks British English (well me mostly British with a side of Aussie )! I was having a conversation with my hubby just the other night and used the word "faux" in a sentence. He had no idea what I was talking about. When I spelt it he knew the word but said (and I quote) "No-one uses that word". He then proceeded to talk to me about how occasionally I'll say a word he's heard before but it's WAY old school or something... yah, that's 'cause I speak "English" and you speak "American"

[slangofoil 50]

I find a huge difference in how people dress in America versus Ireland. People care a lot more about fashion and looking good in Ireland and the UK. I kind of hated it when I lived there. I always felt under-dressed and like I stood out. This was also before I learned how to use makeup and I felt plain next to all the made-up Irish girls. I didn't particularly like the shops in Ireland simply because I found most places were just ridiculously priced. 50ish euro for a pair of jeans in a place like Monsoon or Warehouse, and nearly that much for tops at times. Give me a break. I do LOVE Penneys (Primark) though. I find good prices there and the quality isn't always as bad as people make out. I always do some shopping there on our trips back.

I used to always shop at Target for clothes because they had Mossimo jeans, which were perfect for my slender, rather straight-up-and-down body. But I think their prices have gone up a lot in the last few years. Frankly I've been hitting thrift stores a lot more in the last year. It's not that I can't afford to shop at regular retail, I just refuse on principal to pay the prices a lot of places charge. You can find some awesome stuff in thrift stores if you devote the time. I wouldn't tell my husband's Irish sisters though...they'd judge me.

But in general I've become a lot more fashionable since living in Ireland. I generally dress a bit better than my friends here in the states, and have started accessorizing more with cute scarves and jewelry.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

There seems to be a real stigma here attached to having large boobs - if anyone claims to be above a D cup, they're either assumed to be boasting or obese (not entirely my own observation; I've had a few American women tell me this). I know at least three women who clearly have much larger busts than me who claim to only be a D-cup... I'm just afraid they're squeezing into far too small bras! I've given up even trying to find bras here; I just budget $200 for bras on my trips back to the UK and buy a year's supply at once.

As for men's clothes... I feel sorry for any slim men in the US! Pretty much all of Alex's clothes from Japanese and Korean stores.

My ex is 6ft tall and weighs 140lbs (he was 128 when I met him but I done fattened him up!) and he HATES shopping for men's clothing. Everything is too gigantic, but he does well with J Crew small and Gap small too. Jeans are a nightmare -- almost impossible to find 28x32 jeans. Of course in the UK he never had that problem.

And +1 about the bra thing. I'm a D cup but a lot of people won't believe it. I squeezed myself into a 36C for YEARS until I realised that wasn't a fat roll, that was my ####### and as such belonged in a brassiere. I went and got fitted at a fancy lingerie shop here in LA (gift to myself when my ex and I finally finished our agonising 1-year split) and they said I was a 34D. I truly thought 34Ds were for porn stars. Apparently they are not.

Can I also point out how psyched I am that a UNIQLO is coming to San Francisco this year? My boyfriend and I are road-tripping up there when they do. I sooooooo miss UNIQLO! I went to one in Seoul and loaded up on t-shirts and vests. They just need to come to LA!

[ceresa 3]

I love my hubby but sometimes it's so nice to talk/type to someone who speaks British English (well me mostly British with a side of Aussie )! I was having a conversation with my hubby just the other night and used the word "faux" in a sentence. He had no idea what I was talking about. When I spelt it he knew the word but said (and I quote) "No-one uses that word". He then proceeded to talk to me about how occasionally I'll say a word he's heard before but it's WAY old school or something... yah, that's 'cause I speak "English" and you speak "American"

Hahah.. I told my husband this whole converstaion to reiterate the point that I'm not the only foreigner with issues about the clothes (especially jeans) here and I told him about the "faux #######" comment and he looked at me dead confused "fo?.. huh??" And I told him again about how if jeans fit my butt here, then there too baggy in the front cus theyre made for a big belly and he said "well most women here if they have a big bottom, they usually have a big belly too". Us British are just shaped different I guess

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Hahah.. I told my husband this whole converstaion to reiterate the point that I'm not the only foreigner with issues about the clothes (especially jeans) here and I told him about the "faux #######" comment and he looked at me dead confused "fo?.. huh??" And I told him again about how if jeans fit my butt here, then there too baggy in the front cus theyre made for a big belly and he said "well most women here if they have a big bottom, they usually have a big belly too". Us British are just shaped different I guess

Exactly! I find UK women tend to be pear shaped or hour-glass (but there's been many a time I wished my legs were thinner!). Personally I gain weight in my hips and thighs LONG before I gain it in the belly area (long before I knew Tony I got real sick and gained weight in the belly and I actually did a little calculation to see if there was ANY way I could be pregnant ). I know I'm really getting too heavy if I gain in the face.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

I've never noticed women from Great Britain being particularly built one way or the other.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

I've never noticed women from Great Britain being particularly built one way or the other.

I'm trying to find the link but British women have been shown to have larger bosoms than their European cousins.

[lovelyalex 99]

I don't like bra shopping in the US... I finally found one style of bra I like and fits okay, in Victoria's Secrets and stick with it. Generally stocking up in their sales. When I had a baby my bra size went up only a cup but my chest measurement went up to a 44" which made things difficult. After Adelaide was about a year/ year and half old I FINALLY went and got measured in VS again as my giant bras were clearly not fitting anymore and I'm still at the size they measured me then... a 36DD. Which is what I was give or take a D/DD before I got pregnant! My mother in law always comments on the size of my boobs, and I don't think they are big, more so she doesn't have big boobs herself hahah!

[lovelyalex 99]

have any of you had any luck with TJ/TK Maxx or Marshalls? Everyone I know gets some really nice bits in there, but whenever I go in, I never find anything. I call it the Primark effect. The same thing happens to me in there! Everyone has really nice Primark stuff, but whenever I go in there, its like a bombs gone off in a jumble sale and the only things I see are #######!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I don't like bra shopping in the US... I finally found one style of bra I like and fits okay, in Victoria's Secrets and stick with it. Generally stocking up in their sales. When I had a baby my bra size went up only a cup but my chest measurement went up to a 44" which made things difficult. After Adelaide was about a year/ year and half old I FINALLY went and got measured in VS again as my giant bras were clearly not fitting anymore and I'm still at the size they measured me then... a 36DD. Which is what I was give or take a D/DD before I got pregnant! My mother in law always comments on the size of my boobs, and I don't think they are big, more so she doesn't have big boobs herself hahah!

Back in Aus I had to import my bras from the UK. I still need to get them online 'cause they're not available in shops here (and those that can order them in told me SIX weeks!!) but there are some good US websites. Found an exercise bra I like the look of (http://www.biggerbras.com/royce/royce-wire-free-impact-free-sport-bra-s925.shtml) but I have to call them about it 'cause im not sure if i need to get a size bigger 'cause they're tighter and also because I've grown again so i want to know their return policy... not a bad price and actually goes up to my size. /sigh... the pains of being a girl!

have any of you had any luck with TJ/TK Maxx or Marshalls? Everyone I know gets some really nice bits in there, but whenever I go in, I never find anything. I call it the Primark effect. The same thing happens to me in there! Everyone has really nice Primark stuff, but whenever I go in there, its like a bombs gone off in a jumble sale and the only things I see are #######!

Ugh no to TJ Maxx... though it was during the holidays i was there and it was so messy and disorganised.. it stressed me out just thinking about the mess!

[lovelyalex 99]

I hate sports bras! I swear it takes me 20 minutes to get mine over my head, let alone do the thing up! I think it was designed by an architect or something. I'm exhausted by the time I'm done, let alone done any exercise.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I hate sports bras! I swear it takes me 20 minutes to get mine over my head, let alone do the thing up! I think it was designed by an architect or something. I'm exhausted by the time I'm done, let alone done any exercise.

Ditto for the exact same reason! It's an ordeal to get the bloody thing on BUT this one does up like a regular bra so I'm hoping I'll love it (much as you can something that allows you to exercise ) and I'm hoping this will give me more drive to exercise. Nothing like two black eyes to make you dislike exercise.

[wee carrington 33]

have any of you had any luck with TJ/TK Maxx or Marshalls? Everyone I know gets some really nice bits in there, but whenever I go in, I never find anything. I call it the Primark effect. The same thing happens to me in there! Everyone has really nice Primark stuff, but whenever I go in there, its like a bombs gone off in a jumble sale and the only things I see are #######!

I freakin' love TJ Maxx and Marshalls! I just got this awesome pair of Guess jeans for $25.00!

[wee carrington 33]

I find that in the UK people are generally much more trendy and I think Americans generally lean towards more 'evergreen' styles.