Friendship, Fashion, & Fun Finds

This post is reposted from my dear friend Amanda‘s blog. Enjoy!

People love and appreciate others, 

not just for who they are, 

but for how they make us feel

..Irwin Freedman..

 

Sometimes we find what we’re most looking for when we least expect it. Cliche? I know. But true? Absolutely. This afternoon, I found myself driving south a little ways to visit a new friend. Well, an old friend in truth, we’ve video-chatted and texted and instant messaged for so long I feel like I know her whole life story, but to me, I was still a little nervous.

What would I find when I met her at the door? Would it be awkward? What would we talk about? I brought a whole bag full of DVD’s (none of which ever came out of their cases) and my computer, and nail polish and an assortment of other things too as afternoon activities, but the sun has long since set and we’ve found plenty of ways to entertain ourselves and each other.

I started by explaining why I was a little later than I had planned (blame Victoria Secret), and we began talking about fabrics and sensitivities and here we are, four hours later, and I’ve made four online purchases and I think her nearly as many.

So, I’ve talked about some of the things wrong with my insides – but I’ve never quite discussed how this translates to my outsides. I have extreme visceral hypersensitivity – my nerves over-fire almost around the clock, meaning that any normal sensation for one person my body interprets as “wrong” and has a reaction to it. Well, my hypersensitivity extends outwards too. I’ve always been very susceptible to temperature changes (I struggle immensely in the cold… it actually physically hurts my skin sometimes), and more recently touch (gentle, and slowly, please). This translates to fabrics – sheets and towels and clothes and underwear.

For at least eight months now, I’ve only worn lace waisted underwear. My favorites stopped being sold at the end of summer, and since have subsided in what I had collected (part of the PINK collection from Victoria Secret) and more recently, I’ve been buying the lacie (which is a little lower cut than I’d like, but it helps). Today, my friend suggested Soma’s Lace Hiphugger or Laceable Thong. (PS – they’re having a panty raid and its currently 7 pairs for $35).

My second issue is pants. If you know me, you know that I don’t believe in pants. Like, at all. I’ve literally worn leggings or dresses for 16 months straight. I have one pair of stretchy jeans, and that’s all. Part of this is because my size changes so often (meds, diet, degree of illness) and part of it is because with abdominal pain, the last thing in the world I want or can even handle is something cutting into my waist.

I’ve been reduced to tears more times than I can count because I dont have anything that fits or anything thats comfortable or anything that looks presentable to leave my house in. I’m pretty sure that all just changed.

When I told Alyssa this she was like LET ME SHOW YOU MY TRICK PANTS. And skeptically, I followed her to her closet.

UM. O.M.G.

How did I not know about all of the things?!

Ironically, we’re about the same size right now, so I was able to try on many different varieties of pants that look like pants but dont have texture problems or weight restrictions or waistband issues! Pictured above are some of my favorites.

Many of these are found at multiple stores or on multiple websites, but here are links so you can at least check out colors/styles,etc:

Daisy Fuentes Boot Cut Ponte Pants  (yes, i ordered them in black and in grey)

Mudd 5 Pocket Color Skinny Jeggings (purchased in grey)

Rewind Ponte Skinny Pants (Um, they’re NORTHWESTERN Purple)

Jag Jeans Pull-On Boot Cut

Jag Jeans Pull-On Narrow Boot Cut

Alyssa owns JOLT jeans – in both bootcut and skinny jean, which I am obsessed with and threatening to steal, however, we cannot find them available anywhere online and are thus concerned that they have stopped production on these (WORST THING EVER).

We also highly recommend:

Gap Body – Pure Body Tee Shirts (long sleeve or short)

Victoria Secret Raglan V-Neck (long sleeve or short)

We just thought we would share our finds with you, incase you have tummy troubles or an ostomy or just like comfy pants/underwear.

Keywords for searching for related items would include:

Pull-On

Foldover

Ribbed Waist

Lace Waist

Magic Waist

Please share any successes or other products you love, we’d be happy to give them a try!

Pants and underwear seem like small feats, but when you feel better about what you’re wearing and leaving your house, the world seems a little less terrifying outside.

xo,

A&A