Yvette, I've had the same problem with Mossimo. The colors have also faded wicked fast IME - I bought about a dozen last year, short- and long-sleeved, after DH *ahem* cleaned out my dresser. (He does the laundry, and sometimes if he deems something too ratty to continue wearing he'll dispose of it, informing me that he has done so and that it's time for me to go get a new "whatever".) We have a front-loader washer and use a very tiny bit of detergent, and other clothes don't fade anywhere near as fast, even the $10 Docker knockoffs I get DH - he rips the pockets by catching them on the chair arms at work and gets that weird worn-out spot where his wallet is in his back pocket even in the expensive brand-name pants, so why spend 4x more to have a brand tag on his butt? (My Mossimo swimsuits are also disintegrating after about 7 months. When they went on clearance last summer I bought a pile of tops and bottoms - I only wear tankinis - to rotate at my twice-weekly pool sessions, so I never had to wear one suit more often than once every few weeks. Seams and hems are unraveling, patterns are fading and the lycra's getting those weird loopy rough bits in wear areas like under the arms and on the seat. I got sent home one day last week because my suit top was stretched enough that one of the "girls" kept popping out! Into the trash it went. Luckily it wasn't a favorite. I'll keep buying them when they go on clearance because getting a plus-size two-piece suit for under $20 is pretty good, and the $80-100 suits haven't held out a whole lot longer, but I really do hate throwing clothes out after a matter of months.) I never pay full price for Land's End anything though. Clearance department only for me! roselvr, that's why I have a lot of 3/4 sleeve things. :-) I inherited the "gorilla body" from my father - long torso with a barrel chest, no butt, long arms, short legs. I'm an old-fashioned freak, I want my pants waist at my actual waist. If they're below my waist I feel like I always need to hike 'em up. (I have a bad case of White Girl Butt and what hips I have are up at the pelvic crest, not down by the hip joint like most women's, so there's nothing to hold lower-cut pants up!)

I tried the Curvation several months ago and they have been the best fitting and most comfortable for me. They actually FIT, don't ride up and are comfortable. They do sell them at Wal-Mart and K-Mart but the selection has gotten a lot smaller lately . Curvation Queen Latifah partnered with the Curvation line of intimate apparel, which is part of the Vanity Fair lingerie family, in 2002. She has been involved in both the marketing and design of Curvation. This line is appealing for many reasons. For starters, it provides full figured women quality lingerie at reasonable prices. It's also designed to make you feel good about yourself while wearing it. Most of the undergarments come in beige/nude, black or white and in sizes up to 2x for bottoms and shapewear and 44DDD for bras. The line can be found online at sites such as: Amazon.com: Shop this well-known online store for a good selection of Curvation bras. Cisultan.com: Find strapless, minimizer, and uplift styles here. Her Room: Read reviews of the bras and get front and back images at Her Room. Sears.com: Select hosiery and bras are available at Sears. Kmart.com: Find a great selection from the line at Kmart, including panties, hosiery, and bras. To find a retail location near you, enter your state or zip code into the store finder located on the Curvation website. http://shop.curvation.com/

For those who like to give such gifts, and I am one, I find that people get more enjoyment out of the gift if they can choose the charity (unless you know of a particular cause they are involved in). My kids have a fundraising site on Razoo.com, which is a great platform with tons and tons of charities, and you can order (physical or e-form) gift cards from Razoo. Then they can go on Razoo and choose a charity. I am sure there are other ways to do it (not just Razoo), but the thing is you are giving a gift card that can only be used to charitable giving, but the charity is up to the recipient. I have done this with good success. ETA: Here is an article on the subject, see the table at the bottom. http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/charity-gift-card-tips-suggestions-1271.php

Bra fitting is so much more complex than most people think! I was wearing 34DD's and pulling the back down to deal with the extra band length when I'm actually 30H/32GG. There's only so much adjusting and compensating this woman can put up with before realizing that there had to be better fitting bras out there! After I got myself properly fitted and bras in my actual size that worked for my breast shape I had my mom measure herself and give me the numbers so we could get her into a better bra too! Finally not cringing at the sight of her bra band riding up towards her shoulders knowing she couldn't possibly be comfortable and supported with her bras doing that and we got to bond over bras and boobs! ;) She had been wearing 34C's when she was a 32 (I like a tighter band but she found 30's too constricting.)!