Stretch Your Clothing Budget While Losing Weight

It's great fun to go clothes shopping when you have lost weight. However, budgetary concerns may limit the amount of money you can spend on clothing, especially if you are still losing and so may "undergrow" the new items within a few months. Stretching your clothing budget while you are losing weight isn't that difficult, even if you can't sew well.

Belts

Big, baggy tops aren't flattering even on the heaviest person. Wearing something the shape of a tube or an A-frame can actually make you look heavier; that's why Empire waists are a better choice. As you lose weight, you can create your own Empire waist with a belt.

A wide, elastic black belt is a great accessory. Stretch it around your waist, and you have created definition that helps the clothing fit better and make it look more appropriate for your size.

A decent belt should fit your clothing budget, as well. You should be able to find one under $10, although you can pretty easily spend four or five times that if you want something fancy. Black is a good color choice since it matches nearly everything and doesn't draw the eye too sharply like a white belt might.

Best of all, this belt can remain an integral part of your wardrobe for years. The elastic allows it to shrink or grow with you (within a certain margin), so you won't need to get rid of it until it becomes frayed or too large. This makes it easy on your long-term clothing budget, as well.

Easy darts

A few easy sewing steps can also ease your clothing budget, even if you don't have a sewing machine or feel that you can't sew.

Darts can be sewn into the waistbands of pants, skirts and shorts to help them fit more tightly. You create a dart by sewing a V into the material. Pinch the material at the waistband, taking in the amount of material you want, and then pin it as you create a short V, usually about one inch or so, moving down toward the legs. Then just stitch through the side of the V, pulling the sides together.

If you have created a small V, you can probably stop there. If you needed to take in more material, you will probably want to cut the extra material so it doesn't bunch up uncomfortably along the waistband. Ideally, you should create two darts evenly along the back, front, and/or sides of the waist to maintain an even form.

You can sew darts in the waists of your loose shirts to make them more form-fitting, as well.

Remove elastic

Tightening the elastic is also a good way to save money on clothing as you are losing weight. Use a safety pin to secure the elastic currently in place on both sides of the back seam of your pants. Then cut through the existing elastic and remove any necessary thread holding down the elastic. Remove the safety pin from one side and, holding tightly to the elastic, pull the amount you want to remove through the hole. Then put the safety pin back in, cut the excess, and sew the pieces back together.

If you aren't much of a sewer, you might not want to perform this surgery on your best clothes, but pieces that will be covered with a shirt, pajama pants, or workout clothes can certainly have extended lives with just this little bit of work.

These sewing tips take little from your budget, costing only for pins, needle, thread and scissors.

Save now to spend later

Clothes shopping after losing weight can be a wonderfully uplifting experience. If you put a few dollars aside every week, you can give yourself some strong incentive to stay true to your program until you have reached your goal and allow yourself to blow the budget. Enjoy your reward for losing weight.