Tip Of The Day: It’s time to branch out (or Bug out, if you will) into a new shopping arena. Fashion Bug – a chain of Misses and Plus-sized clothing stores – has been around for years, but I’ve never even deigned to step over their threshold. Today, that changes. I’m going shopping at Fashion Bug for the good of all my readers, and the world at large. Yup, I’m just a giver that way.
Tip For Tomorrow: What do you give the child who has everything? Or at least, everything they need and their toy box/play room/basement/garage/entire freaking HOUSE can hold? The gift of time – your time. And your undivided attention, too.
Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: Tuesday afternoon, my BFF Larue called with what she claimed was Very Important Shopping News. Fashion Bug, a store that barely registers on my shopping radar, now carries Right Fit pants and jeans. Seeing as how I didn’t even know or care what they stocked, I failed to respond with the level of enthusiasm Larue deemed necessary.
“Don’t you GET IT?” she asked, “They carry RIGHT FIT. The style where it’s small in the waist and wide in the hip? So your pants don’t gap in the back? SO YOU DON’T SHOW BUTT CRACK.”
Yes, I know what Right Fit means, and I’ve coveted it from afar lo these many years. But who cares? Lane Bryant carries the same thing – which is awesome for the plus-sized ladies, but is meaningless to me (who has a big butt, but isn’t larger than a size 
. So why is Fashion Bug any different?
Because, as Larue was quick to point out, the Right Fit at Fashion Bug goes all the way down to a size 24” waistband. So everyone with an itty-bitty waist and a round-big-in-your-face can get sprung. And, apparently, Right Fit pants.
Now, my waist is nowhere NEAR 24”, but I am a Misses size, which Fashion Bug carries in the Right Fit styles. So, if you’re a Misses like me, or a Plus-size get thee to a Fashion Bug toot sweet and stop with the butt crackalackin’.
UPDATE – I just left the store, and here’s what I bought, plus the all-important reasons why:
1. The Marissa Right Fit black dress pants. I’m a blue label (“Are you fuller at your hips?” asks the tag. Um, DUR.), size 4M. They come in Talls, too, but not at the Vadnais Heights store – just Average (M) and Petite. Fortunately, the Averages run long, so they fit my stilt-like legs.
2. The Melrose Stretch Right Fit dark rinse jeans. Once again, blue label, 4M. I might order some from their online store, so I can get the Talls and wear them with heels. Find their online store (and store locations) here. The jeans Averages run long, too.
3. Why did I buy them?
A. Since I’ve lost weight, 2 pairs of my wear-with-flats jeans no longer fit AT ALL.
B. The pants were on sale for $21.99 and the jeans $19.99, plus I got an additional 10% for signing up for their credit card, and then another 15% off for using it. Grand total = $27.18 for both pairs. Best part? They let me pay off my new credit card charge right there at the store, with a check, so I’ll have NO INTEREST FEES. Nice.
C. The pants are an upgrade from my current pair of go-to black pants, which I’ve owned for 3 years and are getting a bit pill-y.
D. The jeans and pants will replace items in my closet. Thus, I am donating 2 pairs of jeans and 1 pair of black pants to the Goodwill.
E. Although they aren’t Michael Kors quality, both the pants and jeans are nicely made, with enough stretch in the fabric to be comfy and hold their shape. Plus the colors are good – it’s a good black (not greenish or faded) and a good dark rinse (not too blue, not too black, not dirty-looking).
Confession time – I could have bought oh so much more. Fashion Bug is running their Fall Fashion Sale, so their already ridiculously low prices are practically free. But the only other items I need for fall/winter are dressy sleeveless tops to wear under cardigans and blazers – and they had nothing that fit the bill. See? The 3 Reasons Why To Buy is WORKING, PEOPLE.
My advice – leave your pre-conceived notions of Fashion Bug (they only carry old-lady crap, or cheap teeny-bopper crap, whatever) behind, and check out the store nearest you. My only complaint? Why didn’t I know about Fashion Bug last year, during my $20 or less experiment? That would have been helpful.
6 Comments
Just wanted to let you know I am having a really terrible day and your blog post made me laugh out loud.
Thanks. I needed that.
AAANNNNDDD if you are a plus sized lady, they will give you a copy of Figure Magazine when you check out. And Figure Magazine has coupons for Fashion Bug AND Lane Bryant in them. Its a win-win, really.
To show the difference in height, here, my 5'5 self bought the petites and they fit perfectly to the floor. The averages are good for heels, but will need to be hemmed.
Because I am short like that.
Aren't you glad I called you with such fabulous news???
Just wanted to let you know that I was having a terrible day – and then I read your blog – and it made me laugh out loud!
Thanks for makin' me smile!
I've never had more than lukewarm luck @ FB. I visit my nearest store maybe just twice a year, to see if things have improved (not so much bad synthetic fabric, quality, and ugly styles). I'm so not a snob, and I've tried to like Fashion Bug. Howeeeever, because you and Larue are singing their praises, I'll give them one last shot. As a plus-size chick, I've been aware of The Bug for years. But I have much better luck at Lane Bryant and Kohls. If my Bug visit goes well, Cheap Chick, they owe you a commission! $$$
I won't lie, I've never been a big Fashion Bug shopper. Much like Tashi I hate the synthetic fabrics, and loud designs. However, they now carry Studio 1940 and I LOVE their stuff. I can't tell you how many cute blazers and dresses I have salivated over. All I can say is that it was a lucky day when I ended up having to pull a double shift at work and wondered in on a whim to kill some time.
My only problem is they all seem to have stretch. I really hate jeans with stretch. I know I'm in the minority here, but I like my jeans to last forever… especially if they are a favorite pair. With the added stretch, they always seem to lose their lovely fit after about a year. Sagging in places they shouldn't and not springing back. ugh.
I even wash my on delicate, cold and they're never in the dryer. Still… stretchy.
So I walk around Ross and Marshall's pulling on the legs to find a rigid pair in the midst of the thousands with lycra. It's worse than finding a needle in a haystack.
Plus then, they've got to fit around my boot-eh. and that's a whole nother issue all together.