Celena

I've worn plus size clothing most of my adult life. And let me tell you, clothes shopping has really been an agravating experience to say the least. You go to the mall and visit the one store that carries sizes more than 1X. You browse the racks and find a nice pink blouse you'd really love to buy, and they DO have plus sizes, but YOUR SIZE PINK BLOUSE IS MISSING. ARRGH!

Or, you might find a pretty black bra that you'd love to have, but they are out of the 42DD. Plus size clothing can be Pure Frustration.

At first glance it looks like the big and beautiful store has a lot of items, but when you take into account that each item probably is displayed with 4-6 sizes, there really isn't that much in one store. Even the big chain stores like Target, Walmart and K-Mart really have a limited supply of plus size clothing. And most of it isn't very stylish.

And why do all other stores always put the women's plus size clothing section right next to the Maternity section? I'm offended by that as a large woman, and I'd be offended by that as well if I were a pregnant woman. You have to make sure that you aren't checking out the clothing that belongs in the maternity section.

Speaking of maternity wear, I know from personal experience that finding maternity clothes as a larger woman is murder! I seems that only the skinny girls get pregnant as far as the clothing manufacturers think. You have to find a special store that carries nothing but plus size maternity clothing, and lots of it.

To add to the frustration, they put the Petites section on the other side of the Women's section. Come on...no big woman wants to shop next to all those perky little skinny girls.

It's all so darn frustrating. But there is a solution. Shop online. More items, and more sizes, and total freedom to choose in your own home. An online store doesn't have space restrictions and can display a thousand items with relative ease.

That's easier said than done. Some online plus size women's clothing stores carry a limited line. You have to visit many online shops to find what you want. It's hard to find an online plus size fashion site that offers bigger size shirts, pants, suits, etc., from many designers and retail stores. An online plus size clothing store can pick clothing from many suppliers and designers, and make plus size clothing available at all price ranges. It can offer plus size lingerie, plus size boots, plus size coats and plus size swimwear. And it can stock a limitless selection of products, and sell them all in one place.

Sure, there are one or two large scale (excuse the pun) plus size clothing stores online, if you can find them. Still, online shopping is definitely the way to go for us plus size women!

Amy Hutton is a plus size woman living in Florida writing on subjects that concern plus size women. Her favorite plus size clothing store is http://www.Plus-Size-Heaven.com.Tips

After selling piggy banks for more than a year it suddenly dawned on me - why are they called piggy banks? What does a pig have to do with saving money? A pig would be the last animal youd associate with saving! Why not bunny banks or doggy banks and for that matter, why an animal at all?! Additionally, piggy bank sounds like it was intended as a childs item as how many adults would use a piggy bank for collecting change?

To satisfy my curiosity I did some piggy bank research and have learned some interesting things and thought I would share them with you.

As you well know, many, particularly ceramic, piggy banks do not have an opening to remove the money. Now why is that? The theory goes that this is to serve as a lesson in finances for children. The piggy bank enables a child to save his money but forces him to justify its spending as in order to access the money he needs to break his piggy bank. This lesson seems to have been forgotten by many adults! Maybe we should keep a piggy bank in our front foyer and deposit our loose change as we come home each day! I digress

The question still remains, why is it called a piggy bank and why is it in the shape of a pig?

One theory is that just as it was common to purchase a piglet and feed it with scraps until it was finally ready for slaughter, so too we feed our piggy bank with small change (scraps) until it is full and then break it to reap the rewards of our investment. According to this, the piggy bank would also be appropriate for adults.

A more popular theory is that, in fact, the original piggy bank had absolutely nothing to do with a pig! In the Middle Ages, when metal was expensive, an inexpensive, orange colored clay, called pygg, was the common media for making pots and jars, and was referred to as a pygg jar, for example. One of these jars was often used to hold coins. Eventually, the pygg jar or pygg bank used for coins, surely accidentally, became known as a pig bank or piggy bank! The general consensus is that this evolution transpired a few hundred years ago in England when crafters were hired to make pygg banks and not being familiar with pygg they made pig shaped banks.

The oldest recorded piggy bank in the shape of a pig is claimed to be 1500 years old from Indonesia. If this is so, it precedes the pygg theory by around 1000 years! Perhaps there was some connection between the pig and saving money in that culture but it seems to have not influenced Western culture, where the modern piggy bank only evolved from pygg clay just a few hundred years ago.

Understandably, the piggy bank is not popular in all cultures. The pig is considered an impure animal according to the Old Testament and hence is not owned, eaten nor benefited by Jews. Similarly, Islam forbids the eating of pork due to being impure. Hence, one would not expect to find too many piggy banks in Muslim countries and in homes of those of the Jewish and Muslim faiths.

The modern piggy bank, whether made from ceramics, plastic, beads or metal, has been a very popular collectors item and gift for children due to its appealing and humorous appearance. In addition to the smile or chuckle we experience each time we drop some change into our piggy bank let us be reminded by the lesson it teaches us!

By the way, the famous phrase, break the bank, has nothing to do with the piggy bank!

Ron Askotzky is co-founder of Wow! Imports.Downloadsquad