Wear do locals purchase clothing?

[revbrenda]

My daughter has sprung a surprise on us... she's taking my husband and I on an Adventure of the Seas Southern Caribbean cruise in February. The only problem is that there is nowhere here that I can purchase suitable clothing for a Caribbean tour, especially 'formal' wear. I've checked around various websites but all I find is tourist-oriented information. I'm almost 60 and I need to find a shop which has plus sizes. I figured the 'locals' must shop in places less 'boutique-y'. Can anyone help me?

 

Regards,

revbrenda

[Arubalisa]

You can try Linda's Department store in downtown Oranjestad. Hoenstly though the selection is going to be extremely limited. My friends Mom lives on the island and does all her shopping here in the states. Another Aruban friend is a big and tall male and he does all his clothes shopping in Miami or San Juan.

Cruisewear will be out here in the stores in the states right after, if not right before Christmas. Places like the JCPenney online outlet always have off season merchandise on sale.

[arlodog]

There will be lots of appropriate clothes on clearance after Christmas. You should be able to find formal wear at a great discount. I have recently been able to find my cruise formal wear on E-bay (got the tip on a CC thread) My last dress cost $15! Have fun shopping!

[CRUISERTN]

These days on cruises, formal wear can be almost anything, especially anything in black for a woman...black pants, skirt, jacket.....Home Shopping and QVC have things that would be suitable.....http://www.hsn.com and their "slinky brand" items in black are good, but order at least one size larger than what you wear so the material won't cling....also www.qvc.com has a brand called "citi knits" and it is similar to HSN's slinky and same thing with one size larger...they have nice two and three piece sets (pants and jacket, skirt and top, pant,tank and jacket 3-piece) and a set of that in black would be perfectly fine for formal wear. These sites also have summer wear that you can order any time of year. This material looks the best in black.....also this material does not wrinkle and you can roll it up and it travels very well......hope this helps. You will have a wonderful time, and don't stress about what to wear....just go and enjoy!!

[phoenix1181]

From what I've seen in Aruba, the majority of stores seem to cater to small women. And, those that do carry larger sizes lean toward what my DH refers to as the Latin look.......... Very tight, short, and low cut.

 

Some would say sexy............ but for those of us who like to keep our bulges under cover, they just don't get the job done.

 

I strongly recommend you shop online. I've had very good luck with Lane Bryant, Brylane Woman, & Roman's. I find sizing the most consistent with the larger, better known, merchants and this is the perfect time to get some nice buys on summer clothes.

[lcmslady]

My daughter has sprung a surprise on us... she's taking my husband and I on an Adventure of the Seas Southern Caribbean cruise in February. The only problem is that there is nowhere here that I can purchase suitable clothing for a Caribbean tour, especially 'formal' wear. I've checked around various websites but all I find is tourist-oriented information. I'm almost 60 and I need to find a shop which has plus sizes. I figured the 'locals' must shop in places less 'boutique-y'. Can anyone help me?

 

Regards,

revbrenda

 

What a great surprise!! I would agree with preious posters - go online. I picked up some really good deals on Coldwatercreek.com and landsend.com. Look in their clearance/slae sections. You could also try overstock.com but I'm a little more hesitant because I'm not necessarily familiar with the brands of clothing.

 

Have a great time!!

[revbrenda]

... to all who replied. I did check all the on-line sites you suggested. My body type (sort of popsicle-shaped, or maybe Spongebob) doesn't lend itself well to one-piece outfits so I really need a hands-on approach to shopping... I'm leary of just ordering, no matter how wonderful what I saw was.

 

However, there's good news. Unbelievably, I was in a small village (~500 residents) and popped into a small store. I ended up buying a beautiful dress which fit perfectly and turned out to be 1/2 price, too! So with that and my 'little black dress' I'm all set to go. :)

 

Regards,

revbrenda