Buy Clothes That Fit You

dennisnguyen

I have my fair share of demotivators throughout my weight loss journey. A motivational tip that I used was making changes to the clothes I wear.

When I had a higher body fat percentage, I was wearing size medium clothes. As I started losing weight, I was still wearing medium size clothes. Even when I lost all of the weight I needed to lose, I was still wearing medium sized clothes.

The problem with this is that my clothing was making me look like I was still carrying the extra pounds I lost. Even if there was enough fat loss to change my face, my clothing was making my body look big.

You should by clothing that fits you properly. When I started either buying smarter or altering my clothing, I instantly looked like a new man and photos with family were more pleasant. There are a lot of tips that can help you dress in a way that makes you look like you lost weight even at the beginning of your weight loss journey.

For example, I used to wear dress shirts that were a size medium and they were classic cuts. After looking at old photos, these shirts were big, baggy, and poofy looking in the mid section. After I started learning how clothing should fit and more about my body type, I started buying size small dress shirts that were fitted. These shirts looked much better and made me look more fit, but they were still baggy looking. Finally, I started buying dress shirts that were small, but slim cut. These were perfect. There was no extra fabric to give me a poofy mid section.

This was also the same story with my pants. I always bought regular or classic fit pants. After educating myself about fashion/style, I started wearing slim fit pants. Wearing slim fit pants also made me look more in shape and also helped me look taller. When I was wearing pants that were wider in the legs, I noticed that I looked even shorter than I already am. With all of the clothing that I bought, I was buying clothing that was slimmer, but not tight fitting. Clothing that fits you properly should still be comfortable. It helps to get yourself measured and buy clothing according to your measurements. My basic chest-waist-hip measurements are 36-26-29. After getting myself measured, it became very obvious that standard/classic fit shirts would not work for me.

Basically, since I was buying clothing that didn't fit me properly, I was making myself look wide. This was a terrible move on my end. Since I'm already short (5"4'), adding more width makes me look even shorter and heavier. Don't be afraid to try something on that is labeled as "fitted", "modern", or "slim", or trying on clothing that is a size smaller. Just because you are carrying extra pounds, it doesn't mean that you can't wear a "fitted" shirt or pants that are a bit slimmer in the legs. The overall shape of your body may fit perfectly in clothing that is labeled as "fitted". Even if you are still carrying some extra pounds, getting clothes that fit you better is a good motivator. Buying better fitting clothes also helped some of my co-workers view there bodies in a more positive way. Some of the guys I work with were easily carrying an extra 50 lbs, but after buying clothes that fit them properly, their self confidence sky rocketed.

Believe me, when you find something that fits you very well, you will look and feel good. Also, don't beat yourself up if you can't buy high end/name brand clothing. It doesn't matter how much your clothing costs. If you bought an expensive Armani suit that fits you like trash, it was a waste. I buy a lot of my clothing from stores like Ross, Burlington, Walmart, and Target. As long as everything fits you well, you will look like a million bucks.

ElizabethOakes2

I love Ross & DD's, but right now, with my body in transition, I'm finding ThriftTown is awesome.

dennisnguyen

ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »

I love Ross & DD's, but right now, with my body in transition, I'm finding ThriftTown is awesome.

Thrift stores are amazing. I got some very well fitting clothes from my local Goodwill. I like to go to thrift store in other neighborhoods. Depending on the neighborhood, you can find some designer clothing for rock bottom prices. I was very lucky when I found a Calvin Klein sweater in my size for about $6. If you are willing to do a bit of digging, there are plenty of things to find in a thrift store. Sometimes you'll even find you size is mislabeled on the hanger.

jemhh

Good post.

I have made it a point to buy new clothes each time I've gone down in size and needed them. Yes, it has added up, but I wasn't willing to spend months on end eating better and working out and looking like a frump. I also had to get used to fitted clothing. Several times my husband had to say "You look good, that shirt is supposed to fit like that" after I said that something seemed to look or feel too tight. The clothes in question were not overly tight, I just wasn't used to clothes that fit properly.

dennisnguyen

As you go through your weight loss journey, you will definitely learn that sizes from different brands are not equal. For example, when I first started buying slim fit shirts, I learned that the term "slim" is different between brands. I fit very well in a slim fit dress shirt from Express. I tried on a slim fit shirt from DKNY, but it was very big on me.

Eventually you will find a brand that will fit you everytime. Recently, I discovered a store called H&M. I always passed by this store, but never walked in. After getting curious enough to go in, I was amazed by the fit. I'm not used to going in a store that is not a discount store like Ross. But the prices for the clothes are good. And the fit was almost perfect. I say almost perfect because the sleeves are a bit long. This may be my new trusted store if I'm looking for something that I can't find anywhere else.

Previously, my go to brand for clothing that fits me perfectly was Express. This is a good brand for my body type, but expensive. I would buy clothing from Express only when something is on clearance or a very good sale price. Generally, I would only buy three to four items from Express per year.

Other than discount and thrift stores, what helped me save a lot of money on clothes was learning to sew and doing alterations. I was able to salvage some of my old clothes that still looked good but were too big.

kgirlhart

I think this is a good point. I'm at a frustrating point right now. I am almost halfway to my goal and none of my clothes fit and they all look frumpy. But I don't want to buy winter clothes in the size I need right now because I hope I won't be able to wear them next winter and it seems like a waste of money to buy things that might work for about a month. I keep thinking when the weather starts warming up I'll get some cute new things for spring, but it sure is frustrating right now. I guess I need to find some thrift shops. Unfortunately where I live we don't really have thrift shops, we just have a couple of churches that offer clothes (like a food pantry). I guess a trip out of town may be in order.

pstegman888

My sister always shops at the consignment shops in the upscale neighborhoods of her city...lots of really nice designer label clothing for decent prices, and lots with tags still on or worn only a few times. It's too far for me to travel, so I content myself with my small-town thrift stores and the more middle-class selections, whih suits my tastes just fine. But if I ever needed something really special for a good price, I'd take a trip to the classy section of the city!

jemhh

kgirlhart wrote: »

I think this is a good point. I'm at a frustrating point right now. I am almost halfway to my goal and none of my clothes fit and they all look frumpy. But I don't want to buy winter clothes in the size I need right now because I hope I won't be able to wear them next winter and it seems like a waste of money to buy things that might work for about a month. I keep thinking when the weather starts warming up I'll get some cute new things for spring, but it sure is frustrating right now. I guess I need to find some thrift shops. Unfortunately where I live we don't really have thrift shops, we just have a couple of churches that offer clothes (like a food pantry). I guess a trip out of town may be in order.

I would suggest getting a few t-shirts and light twinset style cardigans. For now you could wear the cardigans over the t-shirts. When it gets warmer, just wear the t-shirts. You could also try to remember to let it all air dry right now. Once you are smaller, run them through the dryer to shrink them a bit.

kgirlhart

I would suggest getting a few t-shirts and light twinset style cardigans. For now you could wear the cardigans over the t-shirts. When it gets warmer, just wear the t-shirts. You could also try to remember to let it all air dry right now. Once you are smaller, run them through the dryer to shrink them a bit.[/quote]

That's a really good idea. I'm in Texas and we have a lot more warm weather than cold weather. I hate to spend a lot on winter clothes but I have noticed that clothes that are too big are really as bad as clothes that are too small.