Carla Ives, Author at Old Busted Hotness

Carla Ives

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REVIEW: Woman Within a/k/a the old Lane Bryant Catalog

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May 122017

Company Name: Woman Within (a few pics at the bottom)

Size Range: 12 to 40, sizes above 24 are approximately $5 to $10 more depending on style

Shoes: Yes, in sizes 7 – 12 W, WW, with wide calf boots also available.

Trendy: NO

Overall Rating (out of 10): 7

For those of you who lived out of the old Lane Bryant Catalog back in the day and know that the current Lane Bryant stores have nothing in common with that catalog any longer, allow me to present Woman Within. The catalog changed its name approximately 9-10 years ago. It is now a part of Full Beauty Brands, which also includes plus-size catalogs Roamans, Jessica London, Ellos and Swimsuits for All.

The Clothing

Woman Within sells basic, non-trendy clothing. It’s a little fuddy-duddy to me, but I do occasionally purchase basics from here, including tee shirts, undies and the occasional odd garment. You won’t find anything super stylish here but you WILL find good basic pieces for your wardrobe.

They have a few cute dresses scattered throughout, but most are maxis which make my short stuff look. . . learn the term. . . F&D or Frumpy & Dumpy. 😉 Swimsuits tend towards the granny look. They have a large selection of underwear, sleepwear, basic pants, shorts, jeans, tops and shoes. The shoe selection is where I feel they excel. Woman Within, Roamans and Jessica London carry a huge selection of large, wide and stylish shoes. (More on this in a coming post.)

Sizing

As I said, they have sizes 12 through 40. Not all clothing comes in all sizes. They have a decent number of petites. I haven’t seen many talls, if any, but their regular clothing, to me, is very long. Most descriptions give the length of the pieces somewhere in the description. I admit that I’m not crazy about the fact that a catalog geared to plus-size women charges more for extended sizes, but that’s the nature of the beast for most retailers.

Fit

I always thought their shirts ran a little snug. Some items ran big. My point being there seems to be little to no consistency in sizing. They DO, however, offer free exchanges so, if you like something and it doesn’t fit right, you can exchange it for a different size.

Speaking of Returns and Exchanges

Exchanges are free. Returns are accepted for refund of purchase price to the original payment method within 90 days, minus $7.50 for return postage (usually through UPS drop box). After 90 days, you can still return an item but you will get a Woman Within gift card, minus the $7.50, instead of a credit to your original payment method.

Price

It’s hard to give you a guideline here because every day brings a new deal so you have to check the site. Most dresses I looked at were in the $25 to $60 range. Tops go $25 to $40 regular price. Tee shirts are cheaper. Jeans are basic and in the $40ish range. Personally, I think they are expensive for what you get. Their quality is better than Walmart, but. . . not as good as I think it should be for what they’re charging. Now all that being said, check the next section on getting a better price.

Special Deals

Oh my goodness, there are ways and ways and ways to cut the price at Woman Within and earn benes. There are coupons out all over the internet for this catalog. (Check Retail Me Not) If you sign up for their emails, you will get an immediate 40% off coupon and you will continue to get coupons. They have big sales on all major holidays, too. And they also have a refer-a-friend program. There is a page on the site where you can refer friends. When your friend purchases, they get $25 off and you get $25 in your account to spend as you please. If you sign up for their credit card, you earn $10 rewards which can be spent like cash. You can sign up on the site for a free catalog. Every time you get a new catalog, there is a discount or free shipping or a freebie on it.

My Overall Impression

The Woman Within Catalog used to be the one place a larger woman who liked mildly conservative clothing could get everything. It still is, but it is no longer the only place. While I occasionally purchase from them, much more stylish clothing can be found in lots of other places. However, if it fits you well, the price agrees with your budget and you like what you see, give them a try. The company **is** reliable and will work with you to iron out a dispute, if necessary.

See ya Monday!

Floaty, mid-length, crinkle fabric dress, $39.99 to $49.99 depending on size

Straight Leg Stretch Jeans, $29.99 to $39.99 depending on size

Cute, up-to-date sandal in a full range of sizes, 7M to 12WW. $39.99 to $49.99 depending on size

Workin’ It Out In Style

Life's Little Observations, Musings, Uncategorized No Responses »

May 102017

Do you work out? I do. If I’m being perfectly honest with you, I’d rather not but. . . I’m afraid not to. Age and illness have taken their toll and, if I sit too long, there are consequences. So off I go to the gym and yoga. Lather, rinse, repeat. Lately, I see lots of other folks there who look just like me, older and larger than the average bear. I used to go in old (lady) pants and tee shirts. But one day I looked around at all the ladies rockin’ their cute active wear outfits and decided, “Why the hell not?” I left the gym, headed to Lane Bryant and snagged me an outfit.

That First Outfit

This was that first outfit. (Yes, my flying squirrel upper arms are showing, thank you very much! 😉 ) The mannequin was wearing the only one in my size. I stripped that gal nekkid in a heartbeat and bought it. LOL The top is royal blue with the word INSPIRE on it. I needed that. The pants are actually capris but I’m mega short, remember? They’re sorta kinda crops on me but I can yank them up to the knees if necessary. You can’t see it well here, but there is a multi-colored stripe down the side of the pants that matches the word INSPIRE.

Super comfy. Easy care. All the good stuff. And not too expensive to boot. I’m wearing a 14-16 in this pic. You will note that most of my tops will be tight around Jabba the Gut. If I buy them bigger, they tend to swim on me in all other places and make me look sloppy. So I just go with the snug middle look.

My honest impression of Lane Bryant active wear: Good quality, reasonable price (on sale) but not a huge selection. That being said, they are getting more and more as larger women are becoming more active.

But Wait, I Need More!

I’m going to the gym 3-4 times a week. OMG, I need another outfit!!! Back to Lane Bryant I went. Problem was they didn’t have another one that I really liked. As this blog moves forward, you’ll find out how picky (anal) I am about what I spend my hard-earned clothing bucks on. So remembering that Google is my friend, I found Fabletics.

Fabletics is an exercise wear company founded by Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn’s daughter. She’s late 30-ish and in amazing shape. When I first heard of them, they had kind of a bad rep. They apparently made some changes because, all of a sudden, I began hearing good things about them. All the models look like Kate Hudson and not me, not by a long shot. I didn’t know if the clothes would fit. I got a good deal through a friend, though, so I tried an outfit. When it arrived, I was like. . . uh-uh, no way. But. . . does shuckin’ and jivin’ into compression pants classify as a workout? It should!!!

As you can see, this one is a royal blue top with LOUD leggings. Luv me some wild prints! I’m wearing a size 14-16 which is an XL in their size range.

Fabletics is a membership site. Every first of the month they debut new outfits for that month. You have five days to decide if you want something and boy, oh boy, do the outfits sell out quick! Outfits are $49.95 and up, usually with free shipping. If you don’t make a selection by the 5th OR SKIP THE MONTH (more in a moment), they put a $49.95 charge on your credit card that you can use whenever you’d like. You can skip a month at any time. Believe me, I’ve skipped most of the months that I’ve been subscribed. SHAMELESS DISCLAIMER: If you click THIS LINK and sign up, you get two pair of leggings for $24, which is the current sign-up special. And I get something for it, too. 🙂

My Honest Impression of Fabletics: Great style, good fit, easy to navigate website and membership plan. GREAT NEWS!!! They just started carrying some kickass plus sizes up to a 24. I like the leggings much better than the tops. The three pair of leggings I own are very strong and supportive. The tops not so much, but they look good!

Old Navy

One day I decided I needed something new to encourage me to go to the gym. I ended up in Old Navy, attracted by a sign that said BIG SALE ON ACTIVE WEAR. I had ordered some of their compression workout pants about two years ago as they only had the larger sizes online. I was pleasantly surprised to find they were now in the store up to a 2XXL, which is about a size 20-22. This is my Old Navy gym outfit.

The top is purple and the bottom is gray camo. The back of the top is actually mesh but it overlaps so there’s not much showing. Yeah, you can see the back of my sports bra. Who cares? I’m such a rebel these days! (HAH!) This one was a little pricey and I wouldn’t have bought it had it not been for the extreme sale. I’m wearing a size large as the XL didn’t support Jabba the Gut. I am not comfortable with my floppy bits flopping about, especially while working out.

My honest impression of Old Navy active wear: Good styles and prints. A little on the expensive side, so wait for sales! From my experience, the sizes are not always consistent so try it on first.

Lots of Choices

As I said in my prior post, there is explosive growth in the plus-size active wear market. You can get outfits and separates in many places, including JC Penney, Walmart, Target and other big box/mall stores. Even Nike, that staunch defender of the Just Do It thin folks, has started carrying larger sizes. (Two words: Cha Ching!!!) It’s actually fairly easy to find active wear up to a 3X. However, if you’re larger, don’t despair! I’m doing some research into extended-size active wear. I know it’s out there and I WILL find it. Stay tuned.

Oh, do you notice my huge feet? For some reason, that and my big gut are all I see when I look at these pics. LOL I am barely 5’1″ (if I stand up real straight and suck it in hard) and yet I wear a size 9-9.5 shoe. My mother always said I wouldn’t tip over in a storm. For some reason, the shoes look HUGE to me although I’ve worn this size shoe since I was a young woman. We’re our own worst enemies, aren’t we?

Coming Up Next

Stay tuned for the next edition of Old Busted Hotness. Fridays are going to be reviews of catalogs, stores and other places to get stylish, wearable and reasonably-priced (for the most part) clothing for us, the older, larger woman who wants to look GOOD. I get a gazillion catalogs and have purchased (and returned) many, many things. The exploration starts in two days.

See ya then!

A NEW DIRECTION

Life's Little Observations, Musings, Uncategorized No Responses »

May 082017

And So It Begins. . .

What begins? So glad you’ve asked. Me, OBH, a/k/a Old Busted Hotness, a/k/a Carla, is jumping into the world of plus-size blogging, but. . . with a twist. What’s the twist? This one is for us gals WELL over the age of consent. There are many excellent plus-size blogs out there but the oldest gal I’ve seen blogging is maybe 40. As many of you know, I have socks older than that. So here I am. I’m still what society calls plus-size and I’m OLD. Perfect fit. We have money to spend, too, and I am forging ahead with the intention of making us a force to be reckoned with!

So What Will This Be About?

Clothes and, more importantly, the challenges we face as we age in a body larger than the average bear. I should point out right up front here that I am militant about, “Wear whatever the **** you want.” If you want to wear goth, wear it and wear it proudly. If you want to wear something more conservative, wear that and wear it proudly. You will get my opinions and boy, oh boy, do I have ‘em! But in the end, it’s wear what makes you feel good about yourself. The gloves are coming off on, “You’re too old or too big to wear that!”

The BIG No-No

Something else I am militant about is NO BODY SHAMING. NONE, NADA, NEVER. I recently saw a supposedly fat-acceptance person shaming a thin person and what’s left of my hair stood up on end. My mind started calmly enough with the fact that nobody should EVER denigrate someone due to their size. Your weight or BMI is NOT your self-worth. And then I got mad and thought, “HOW DARE YOU???” Someone who has been made to feel less than human due to size doing that to another person? Nope, not on my watch. So if you feel the need to leave a size-shaming comment, suffice it to say your comment will be deleted, at best. At worst, you will be cursed into the next millennium!!!

Size vs. Health

One other point I want to make right from jump is that size does not equal health. I understand that excess weight aggravates some medical conditions. I’m not trying to say don’t strive for health. However, society, as a whole, still sees fat women as sitting on their collective asses and eating bon-bons all day. Nothing could be further from the truth for most of us. Want proof? Take a hard look at the increase in retailers selling plus-size active wear. If there was no market, there would be no gym clothes in 16-24 and beyond. Personally, I go to the gym 3 times a week and I do yoga once a week. I watch every bite that goes into my mouth, some due to medical problems and some due to trying to be the healthiest old fat lady I can be. Got a feisty grandbaby to chase!

The Big Why

Why am I doing this now? Because all of my life I have believed the hype that thin is good, fat is B-A-D. I have dieted until the cows come home, twisted myself into a pretzel trying to force this body into things that it was never meant for, swallowed probably thousands of dollars in miracle “cures” for fat and. . . just about anything else the so-called “experts” out there told me would make me “normal.” God, how I hate that word!!! To quote my longsuffering husband, “Normal is a setting on the dryer, nothing more.” He’s right. Why did it take me so long to learn that? Question for the ages, but I HAVE learned it. It’s finally my time. . . our time.

So let’s age together, folks. Flash those wrinkles and droopy bits proudly. If we are not what society wants to see, you know what? They can look in another direction. When I was young and a size who knows what, three guys at the beach followed me around yelling, “Look at the whale!” And I was in a bathing suit that covered almost all of me. I went home and cried. All I can say to those guys now is that if you’re still out there, don’t try it again. I’ve found my balls. Took me longer than it should have but, as the old adage goes, better late than never.

So. . . who’s with me?

2016: The Year of Sybella Starr

Musings, Uncategorized No Responses »

Dec 312016

Today is December 31^st, 2016. Many are preparing to celebrate the end of this year. It was a year to remember, for sure. It was the year where the entertainment industry lost a lot of people, some expected, some not. It was the year the U.S. saw our political system devolve into something I can’t even describe. It was the year that civility and common decency flew out the window and online hatred soared to new heights. And while I deplore all of those things, I can’t really hate 2016 because, for us, it was also something magical, something wonderful and something miraculous. 2016 brought us the birth of Sybella Starr.

It happened on April 24^th. She was due on the 28^th so the text that my son and his lady were headed to the hospital wasn’t unexpected. It was a long day for her beautiful mommy, who ended up with a C-section just before 10 p.m. Sybella was here. The next generation arrived in a glorious seven-pound package!

Holding that little bundle for the first time was something I will remember the rest of my days. She was tiny but feisty, with a full head of dark hair and deep blue eyes that looked right into yours. Less than 24 hours old, she already followed the voices of Mommy and Daddy. At that moment, she was the most beautiful vision I had ever beheld.

As I write this, Sybella is eight months old. Those eight months have been a roller coaster ride for our family, definitely not all lollipops and roses. But through it all, there was Sybella. We did our best to visit every week. No matter how bad that week had been or how broken my heart was, somehow all was right with the world the minute that little girl was in my arms. That feeling would sustain me for the next seven days until I would race to hold her once more.

Sybella is growing up way too fast, as is the destiny of most children. She is trying to walk. She talks right in your face and I’m sure it’s the most scintillating conversation in the universe. I only wish I knew what she was saying. Soon, I will. She is funny, spirited, super intelligent and loves to play. She is the most beautiful baby in the world, according to her very prejudiced Nana and Pop-Pop. And while I am sure I will be saying things like this about subsequent grandangels, right now, it’s all Sybella. And what an “all” that is!

So good-bye 2016 and welcome to a bright, shiny New Year. I expect a lot from you, 2017, but you’re going to have to go a LONG way to beat April 24^th, 2016, the dawning of the age of Sybella Starr.

Old Busted Hotness’s Guide to Voting in the 2016 Election

Musings No Responses »

Oct 212016

As I write this, we in the U.S. are just short of three weeks away from the most contentious presidential election of our time. I’ve been voting for many years and have never seen anything quite like this. There may be logical reasons for it. I don’t know. All I know is that many of us are going to go to the polls to vote for (probably) one of the two most disliked candidates in history.

That being said, the answer is NOT sitting this one out. Despite the importance of picking the president, there are other contests on the ballots. There are local elections and questions. Go for those. Vote for any number of reasons but, please, do not stay home.

In that vein, let me offer you Old Busted Hotness’s Guide to Voting in the 2016 Election. Before I give you the benefit of my wisdom (HAH!), let me state that I am not in support of any candidate currently on the ballot, not the main two nor the lesser two. I offer no commentary on either side. I throw this out there for you and me, that we may vote without violating our collective consciences.

Old Busted Hotness’s Guide to Voting on November 8th, 2016

(1) If you openly support one of the two main candidates for president, by all means vote your choice.

(2) If you don’t like either one, but feel one of them is the lesser of two evils, by all means vote for that person.

(3) If you feel that one of the other two candidates more reflects your values and choices, by all means vote for one of them.

(4) If you feel that you cannot, in good conscience, vote for any of the main four, write someone in. If you supported someone in the primaries who didn’t make it, say, Bernie Sanders on the left or possibly Marco Rubio on the right, write their name in if you can. I say “if you can” for the following reason.

I have recently learned that Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma and South Dakota do not allow write-in votes on presidential ballots. Not sure how they did this, but that’s how it is. If you live in one of these states, you will have to make a selection from those on the ballot or leave it empty.

On the other hand, Alabama, Delaware, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming let you write in anybody and anything. Vote your husband, your best friend or your dog, if you like. There are no restrictions.

The other 34 states all have some type of qualification to get on the ballot as a write-in candidate.

Whether any of this will change prior to November 8th is unknown. Many unprecedented things are happening this year. This information is as of my research today.

(5) If you don’t like the main four and you don’t want to write someone in, provided you can, leave this blank and go on to the local elections. These will probably have a greater effect on your day-to-day life.

( 6) Don’t forget the questions! These will impact what happens in your community and/or your state. If you have questions on your ballot, please answer them if you do nothing else.

The main consideration here is not violating your conscience. Too many years I have pushed a button or pulled a lever and felt like I had to take a shower as soon as I got home. This year, I have been getting brain cramps trying to figure out what I will do come election day. This is the process I’ve worked my way through and now I’m at peace with what I will do. . . . or not do.

Folks, November 8th is coming, like it or not. Please vote for who/what you feel you can. Alexis de Toqueville reportedly said, “In a democracy, people will elect the government they deserve.” After watching this election unfold, this statement scares the beejeebies outta me! So I will show up and do my best to cast my conscience. There is nothing more any of us can do.

OBH over and out!

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