Nothing to wear? Check out alight - and enter to win a FABULOUS top!

I was never destined to be a skinny girl. Nope. I started out as a preemie but quickly made up for lost time and haven’t looked back since...

I was scrawny until the 3rd grade. You can see the moment in time in which I stopped being a sick kid and started to love food. Yep. Second grade class picture? Cute, toothless, and thin. Third grade class picture? A good stand in for Violet (think: “Violet, you’re turning violet, Violet!” in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory) – status post turning into a blueberry. Who knew I would like food so much? Teased as the fat girl throughout most of my grade school and high school years, I was miserable. And back in the 90’s (when all this went down) they didn’t make cute clothes for plus-size girls. Nope. Only for the skinny girls. So I was destined for a life of baggy jeans and oversized tshirts, trying to cover up my belly (thank goodness for the grunge era!) I slimmed down toward the end of high school and into college, but quickly gained it all back (and then some!?!) in nursing school. Darn it! The good part was that during that time I met ThriftyGuy, who professed his love to me and begged all 230 pounds of me to marry him. So if there is ever any doubt that he loves me for me…

Anyway, these days I am quite thinner than before. I’ve lost a bunch of weight and am sticking at a nice solid number (although I would give my left pinky finger to lose a good 20 pounds). As I said before, I will never be stick skinny. Never a size 6. I am strength and muscle and a little bit of fluff around the middle – and I don’t freak out if I want a peanut butter cup (although these days I do try to be good). The good news – besides finally being comfortable with who I am – is that companies now realize that most women can’t fit in a size 2 or 6. Or heck, a 10. And they are making us cute, trendy clothes that not only look great but fit well and feel even better when we put them on. I have come across one online plus-size clothing store in particular that has sparked my interest – alight.com (Check out their website here:  alight.com plus size clothing.)

Going strong for over 10 years now, alight.com prides itself on the fact that it has so much to offer its plus-size clientele. You can find over 100 brands (and over 900 styles) for teens and women sizes 12 – 34! Measuring yourself at home means having a good, custom fit. It also means never having to lug your armload of clothes into the dressing room at the local “Size 0 – 10” store again. Yeah, you know what I mean. You get your heap of clothes into the fitting room and stretch, suck it in, stand in funky positions – all in an attempt to make it look good. And then you leave feeling sullen and hurt, swearing to never step foot in another dressing room so long as you live. Been there, done that. Poor ThriftyGuy has been in the dressing room for many of my disastrous clothing attempts. Thank goodness for the custom sizes, extensive selection, and affordable prices at alight!

Now for the best news of all: alight.com is teaming up with ThriftyGrl to bring you a spectacular giveaway! Each month we’ll hold a giveaway for one of their fabulous tops! Alight picks the top and sends it to you in your size! (*Note: Tops range in size from 0x – 4x. Click here to see alight’s sizing chart.) I will also have the opportunity to try a top (courtesy of alight), which I will tell you all about once I receive it!

Want to know how to win? Please read the following carefully!

For this particular contest, you can enter by leaving a comment(s). The following are ways you may enter:

1. MANDATORY: You must subscribe to alight.com’s email list. Click here to visit their website and subscribe (look to the right of their logo at the top of the page). Then, to enter the giveaway, leave a comment containing the following:

Your first name, last initial, and the email address you subscribed to alight.com’s email list with. (If you are chosen to win and are not an alight.com email subscriber, you will forfeit your prize and another winner will be drawn.)

2. Want more ways to win? There are over a dozen ways to get additional entries!!

*Please note: You MUST leave 1 comment per additional entry. It MUST contain your first name, last initial, and the email address you subscribed to alight.com’s email list with. Also, leave any additional info we might need - Twitter/Facebook name, link to a post you made about the giveaway, etc.  If your comment does not contain all of the above information, that entry will be void.  (We don't want that to be the case!!)

Now – on to the fun stuff! You can do any of the following for additional entries:

1. Visit alight.com and tell me what your favorite item is!

2. Subscribe to ThriftyGrl’s daily email updates!

3. Visit alight.com’s Twitter page and become a fan!

4. Visit ThriftyGrl's Twitter page and become a fan!

5. ReTweet ThriftyGrl's giveaway on Twitter!

Example: RT @ThriftyGrlJ Check out ThriftyGrl’s giveaway for a FABULOUS top from alight.com! Enter by 5/5! http://tinyurl.com/yhtxpkr @alightcom

6. Visit alight.com’s Facebook page and become a fan!

7. Visit ThriftyGrl's Facebook page and become a fan! 

8. Place a message about the giveaway on your Facebook wall.

Example: Check out ThriftyGrl’s giveaway for a FABULOUS top from alight.com! Enter by 5/5!  See http://tinyurl.com/yhtxpkr for more info! 

9. Blog about the giveaway and leave me a link to it.

10. Help to spread the word on other blogs/giveaway sites! (Leave links to your posts!)

11. Add ThriftyGrl to your blogroll! (Leave a link to your page!)

12. Grab ThriftyGrl's button and place it on your website! (Leave a link to your page!)

13. Become a Google Follower of ThriftyGrl! (Let us know your Google Follower name!)

14. Follow ThriftyGrl on Network Blogs.


The contest is officially open as this is posted and ends Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 10:00am EST. The winner will be chosen by random number generator. The winner must respond with requested information (full name, mailing address, and size information) by Friday, May 7, 2010 at 8:30pm EST or they will forfeit their prize and another winner will be drawn.

Good luck!