Plus Size Business Suits

Career Fashion Advice for Full Figured Woman

Postponing Purchasing Your Plus Size Business Suit

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This is from the “been there, done that, bought the T-shirt factory” files. If you’re like me, your biggest goal in life is to lose weight. You hate your girlish curves and your fondest fantasy is to go to bed fat and wake up thin. Morning, noon and night, your obsession and desire is to lose weight.

As a result, you postpone buying your power business suit because you’re going to have to buy it in a plus size. You’re going to WAIT to buy your plus size business power suit once you get to your goal weight.

Until then, you’re committed to shopping the discount store clearance rack to build your business wardrobe, buying clearance pants, skirts, jackets and shirts that have been banished to the clearance rack for a reason.

You know that shopping like that means you’re a likely candidate for the television show What Not to Wear, but you don’t want to make an investment in your clothes until you’ve achieved your ideal weight.

Here’s the end of the excuses!!!

Give yourself 6 weeks to make a significant change in your body. Today, right now, stand up walk over to your calendar and mark the date that is 6 weeks from today. Next, take your measurements as they are TODAY. In six weeks, you’ll take those same measurements again.

Now, promise yourself that if those measurements are not SIGNIFICANTLY different, that you are going to make a significant investment in your professional wardrobe.

You have the next six weeks to make a significant change in your body. Whether you decide to diet, exercise or get gastric bypass surgery or even plastic surgery… the clock is ticking.

If you find yourself postponing buying your plus size business power suit because you’re “going” to lose weight, make a commitment to begin making investments in your professional image six weeks from today.

Your to do list for the next six weeks should include:

  • Find that fabulously talented tailor you need to make your business suit fit like an expensive personalized glove no matter WHAT size you’re wearing six weeks from today.
  • Pick up the right support garments – because no matter what size you are in 6 weeks – Spanx are going to make ALL of your clothes look better no matter what size you wear!

Plus Size Business Suits: Jacket Choices

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The jacket is an essential element of the plus size business suit. Full figured women need to be extremely careful in choosing the right fit and style in a plus size business suit jacket.

Because everyone’s body is different, the jacket that flatters on woman’s body will have the exact opposite effect on another. Your body type must be taken into consideration when choosing a plus size business suit.

If you’re shopping in person, don’t leave the house without your carefully chosen foundation garments. The wrong support can make the right business suit look wrong!!!

In addition to the proper foundation garments, you should also bring shoes that you will wear with the suit. No business suit (full figured or otherwise) looks sharp when paired with running shoes.

As you shop for a business suit, pay careful attention to the cut of the jacket. Short, boxy jackets that hit at the waist aren’t flattering on anyone larger than a size 1. Instead look for a longer line in your jacket. One that skims the hips will be more flatter for most women, especially full figured women. A jacket with slight padding in the shoulder will balance the figure of a woman who carries her “junk in the trunk” but can create the look of a football lineman for the woman whose shape is described as a crisp apple as opposed to a luscious pear.

I know it sounds counter intuitive, but look for a jacket that follows your curves. It’s common for full figured women to shop for plus size business suits that fall from the shoulders and don’t touch the body. Instead, try a jacket with a cinched or tapered waist rather than a jacket that is cut straight up and down. By choosing a jacket that fits well, you’ll accentuate your curves.

For years, plus size women have been forced by designers to hide their sexy curves under shapeless tents. Fortunately, today’s designers offer more form fitting options.

Finally, be sure the jacket FITS your body. If it pulls across the bust, then get a larger size! Cut the tags off when you get home if you hate the number on the tag! It’s easier for a tailor to cinch the waist of a jacket than to let out the bust.

Remember that a jacket that fits you perfectly will present you in the most professional light!

Before You Begin Shopping: What Every Plus Size Woman Must Know

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You might think that an article titled “Before You Begin Shopping: What Every Plus Size Woman Must Know” would start with tips on the fabric, cut or style of the business suit itself.

It doesn’t!

Before you begin shopping for a plus size business suit (or any other piece of clothing), you need to first make sure you have the proper foundation garments in your wardrobe.

Foundation garments are just that – the FOUNDATION of your wardrobe.

Shopping for foundation garments – bras, body shapers and underwear –  is no time to try to be frugal. What you wear under neath your suit may be more important that what you wear on the outside!

Here’s a hint: If someone hasn’t recently asked which plastic surgeon did your breast implants, then it’s time for new and better foundation garments!

The right foundation garments will make a so-so outfit look great while the wrong foundation garments will make a fabulous suit look frumpy.

Foundation garments are the pieces you wear UNDER your business suit that provide support. The right foundation garments can make or break a suit. While the woman without shape and curves may be able to skip worrying about underlying support, the full figured woman must make it her first priority.

From supportive bras (larger breasts need heavy duty support!) to body shapers, before you begin shopping for a business suit, be sure to outfit yourself with the foundation essentials first.

This is going to be an investment of time and money on your part. Begin with a trip to your local department store. Find one that offers someone in the lingerie department who will help you find the right bra size. Many women of all sizes are wearing the wrong size bra. First, find your correct size and then find the style that provides the support you need.

Just as you have a “work” wardrobe and an “play” wardrobe, you need to have “work” foundation garments.. bras and body shapers that lift, support and reduce unwanted “wiggle” from under your garments.

When you’ve got the proper foundation garments on, you’ll find trying on clothes a much more satisfying experience. A business suit that looks frumpy when you’re wearing an ill fitting bra that provides no support and sans body shaper will look 100% better when you try it on with the proper foundation garments.

Before you begin shopping for the perfect power suit, the one you pull out of your closet when you need to present your most polished presentation, be sure you’ve got the proper foundation garments. You’ll never find the right plus size business suit without them.