These Are The Absolute Best Plus Size Fashion Purchases I Made In 2019

I gave up traditional New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. After years of telling myself I had to reach a goal in the next 365 days or I would have failed, I decided to reject the idea of resolutions altogether. The idea that the only form of success you can achieve in a year is correlated to the amount of weight lost or money earned seemed tired, and I was exhausted from feeling like a work in progress instead of existing at my best in that moment. I still get excited for the new year, of course, but now my resolutions look a little more like intentions rather than hard-and-fast goals. This past year, one of my intentions was to be more meditated about the new pieces of clothing I brought into my closet.

As someone who writes about fashion, I have the privilege of being gifted clothing on a regular basis. This means that whether I go shopping or not, I end up with more clothing than I know what to do with. In past years, I would shop a lot on top of these gifted pieces and end up with piles of clothes that I never wore, or just wore once.

This year, though I still occasionally purchased new pieces, I cut back on the shopping trips for the sake of boredom that led to unneeded consumption and stopped buying special occasion dresses that are only worn a handful of times. I also thrifted secondhand more often and rented clothing regularly when I had back-to-back events. After a year of adjusting my fashion shopping habits, I feel much better than I ever have before about my wardrobe. I truly appreciate every item I bought and wore last year. While it's a smaller list than the years before, click ahead for the nine best plus size clothing purchases (and one gifted item) from my 2019 year of guilt-free shopping.

Olivia Muenter is a freelance writer, editor, and digital content creator who is passionate about creating things that inspire others to love themselves more. You can find her on Instagram and OliviaMuenter.com