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as my waistband has expanded over the years my taste in clothing has moved with it.  gravity has taken it's toll on my never-a-single-digit-sized body and i feel like for the most part i have transitioned with a certain amount of grace.

i have been a lane bryant customer for the past decadeish and loved them.  why? because it felt like they were making clothes to fit me & by body style - not making clothes for someone who has no boobs, no hips and wears a size 4 and then patching in fabric in a coat-of-many-colors type way.  i loved when they moved to the Real Women movement.  giving women a sense that THIS is how a woman should look - she should have curves, she should have no reason to apologize for her appearance, she should embrace it, she should be confident and she DOES look fabulous.

lately lane bryant has made me crabby.  have you seen some of their models? 



right.  i'm looking at her and thinking she is beautiful...but she is not a size 12-28



or her.

i know that they believe they are using appropriate sized models - they have told me.  not kidding.  i emailed them a few years ago telling them that their models were becoming less and less like real women.  they protested assuring me that all of their models are size 12-28 ... i think they can get away with 12 because they sell size 12 underwear.  nevertheless, seeing models like THIS makes me flashback to the days of feeling like my size is an accident.  my size is ok - because they sell it - but i should be apologizing for it. 

i realize not every one of their models is like these girls - have you seen their jeans?  they REQUIRE an incredibly curvy figure (which i dont have that, either) - so since i was not born with child bearing hips and i don't fit into their 'just my size' box ... i really struggle to find jeans there, and i WANT to find jeans there.  the reward program is great and no one wants to have to leave to look for another place to shop just to buy their jeans.



note the taper leg - i know it's in style now and i know they really want you to believe this is for sure the way to go - i just can't do it.  when i look at this picture i see this ginormus ass - like HUGE - and i'd bet it's not even that big, but with the bedazzling and the stilettos and tucked in shirt i can't get past it.

LUCKY for me, they developed the Just For You program where you can tell it how much you love and hate their pants that they pick - so me?  i hated every single tapered leg anything (for me, not for you, you can love and hate your own things) and i hated the jeans that have a CRAZY high waist ... and whammo, i got jeans that look like something i would try, buy and love.






so while you'll never catch me with my shirt tucked in, this jean looks more like something i would find in my dresser right now.

so at the end of the day - will i still shop there?  yup.  do i think the models are getting ridiculous?  i sure do.