Are 15 or 60 my only choice?

So picture this. I'm standing in Macy's between two departments. The Juniors section to my left, the Misses section to my right. My head bouncing back and forth between the two just looking at my options. 15 or 60. Twilight the movie or your twilight years. What kind of options are those?

Now let me preface this with the fact that up until a few months ago I wouldn't have even been in these sections. Over the last year or so I've lost enough weight that I moved from the Plus Size dept to the top end of the other depts. I remember thinking how great it was going to be to be able to shop at regular stores with my friends. I thought I would finally be able to find "my style" and not have to limit it to what I could find at specialty stores. Oh how wrong I was.

So I return you to the scenario I started out with - Me, Macy's, and the clothing tennis match. I was horrified to discover that truly I still had the same options I had in my old sizes. Either dress like you're going back to school OR dress like you are going to Shady Pines Retirement Village. I was disappointed to discover that when you are in your late thirties early forties fashion is almost impossible to find. They write endless stories in my dearly loved Vogue magazine telling us how once you hit a certain age you can't possibly wear (insert huge list of no no's) and you should be only wearing (insert huge list of very expensive clothing). Well thanks for the list but I live in the real world with budgets and children. So what is a girl to do? I don't want t shirts with humorous sayings on them like the ones my daughter loves. (Although, I must admit, one of my favorite t shirts is black and says "I'm not the girl next door I'm the bitch down the street") I don't want jeans with elastic waist bands. I want clothes that are appropriate for my age and yet have some STYLE to them. I want a cute sweater that is super classy and fun that doesn't cost me Burberry prices. I want the color of Betsy Johnson without huge lips or cherries on everything. I am not a Ralph Lauren Yacht Club kinda girl and yet I'm not Hot Topic either.

I look around and see that lots of women my age are in the same boat. When people say "She dresses like a Mom" could that be due to the fact that she can't find anything within her budget that looks any better? Could it be that the Mom uniform comes from lack of free time to search for hours online for something that isn't a tshirt, sweatshirt or jeans? Is it any wonder women my age start to have a battle within themselves? Wrinkles and bad clothing--what fun!

So I'm on a quest to find the Holy Grail of shopping. The Mecca of fashion on a budget. The yellow brick road to style. And best of all, I promise to share what I find. Wish me luck!