How do you look good if you're changing body size or shape?
I know fit is important to having your clothes look good. Is there a way to still look good without having to rebuy clothes when your fit changes?
19 Replies
If stuff is too small it’s harder, if stuff is too big you can often make it work
expectation for me is mix of both? I'm not anticipating overall size changes so much as everything sort of shifting around. not that I wouldn't take looking 20lbs or so.
but the biggie is I'm starting on testosterone injections finally and that usually means everything rearranges itself
I'd lean towards buying whatever your current size is now
I've had too many clothes where I aspired to fit into them (which didnt go exactly as planned)
I think just leaning on stuff that is designed to be looser fitting is the safest bet here, it’s no trend anyway, and it won’t be as affected by changes to your mass distribution
Stuff with raglan shoulders or oversized soft shoulders might be a good move
my shoulders could use all the help they can get looking like they exist anyway, lol
Are you someone smaller looking to get bigger or other way around?
I'm hoping for bigger on the shoulders. but also I'm FtM so the big thing here is just, like, anticipating hormone shifts in body fat.
Ah fair enough, disregard my advice then lol. Yeah go for the looser fit clothes
I'm also trying to work out but I'm not planning on working miracles there.
Trans guy on T here, thirding the recommendation to aim for looser cuts/styles. If you use a tailor to shorten or tighten areas where you might start growing, try to make sure they leave enough fabric to let those areas back out as needed.
And I'm guessing you already know that buying secondhand is a smart move for anyone who's dealing with body recomp; the stakes feel lower (and the losses less painful) when you're not buying everything at retail prices.
yeah. unfortunately second hand can be iffy for regular clothes. I can ebay nicer pieces but there's not a great local second hand market for mens wear.
I will say I am adoring my current pair of loose fit linen pants for summer. I need to figure out how to do that but not summer.
Same thing but wool trousers
if you're currently carrying less weight on your waist and more on your hips I would recommend buying or thrifting stuff with a fair bit of seam allowance in the waist. my friends on t have often changed shape significantly thru there even if they're not working out. That's if you want to keep whatever you're buying for as long as possible of course. Otherwise I would try to buy as little as possible if you're not starting with a microdose - anecdotally speaking, ppl I've known on T have had the most dramatic changes to their weight distribution within the first 12/18 months and I feel like that's not a super long time to wait?
so I actually can't do wool at all. like it's to the point where brushing my hand against wool trousers leaves an itchy rash.
you can get fully lined ones! but i wonder if you're allergic?
Yeah that does sound like you’re allergic, maybe just go for thicker cotton weaves or lined trousers
so I probably only really need one pair of dress pant options. I tend to live in my dickies cargo pants for the part of the week that I put real pants on. (I work from home, so there are many days of cotton lounge pants and a blanket.)
something I can show up to church in and not freeze if the heater goes out again
yeah it kinda sucks that most casual or like, non-dress trousers aren't made to be able to be let out. Maybe some baggy/big cords for winter if you're looking for something that can maybe be worn to church or casually. They sometimes have bigger seam allowances especially if they're vintage. I like stuff that makes me look like a grandpa tho and looser cords can definitely toe that line.
maybe. honestly I could even do a pair of good jeans. most stuff I need really just needs to be able to look like I made an effort.
if I have to go into work stuff I'd say dark jeans, collared shirt, and sweater is pretty standard
suits are for the corporate people not the IT minions