Sorting out my summer casual clothes wasn’t the end of it. Next came fall jackets, and that’s where the size label mattered a lot less than I expected. While I dropped from 90.9kg to 75.3kg with jump rope, I kept swapping shirts and pants as I went, but outerwear that only comes out once a season sat untouched. This fall was the first time I really had to face it.
Summer Casual Was Just the Start
A few weeks ago I wrote that I’d started checking fabric and fit before size when buying summer casual clothes. Pulling out my fall jackets, that habit mattered even more. I spent years making and selling clothes for a living, so I already knew that fabric and construction decide how a jacket actually fits. I’d just forgotten all of it and gone straight for the size label.
Why I Check the Shoulder Seam First
My shoulders got noticeably narrower as I lost weight. When I tried on an old jacket, the shoulder seam sat more than 3cm past my actual shoulder point. Once that line is off, everything below it looks wrong too, so now the first thing I do in a fitting room is line up the seam with the tip of my shoulder bone. Sleeve length works the same way. The rule I go by now is showing about 1 to 1.5cm of shirt cuff, not just covering the back of my hand like I used to think was fine.
What Fabric Blends Actually Tell You
Most people skip right past the fabric composition label, but that percentage tells you how long the fit will hold up. 100% wool holds its shape well but barely stretches, so if my body changes again, there’s not much room to adjust. Polyester with just 2 to 5% spandex is a different story: it stretches noticeably more, and the fabric quietly absorbs small swings in weight. Since my weight could still shift a bit either way, I’ve been picking blends with a little spandex on purpose.
Judging Quality From the Lining and Stitching
One habit from my old job stuck with me: checking the lining and flipping the seam inside out before buying. Acetate lining breathes well and doesn’t rustle much, so it stays comfortable through a long day. Cheap polyester lining, on the other hand, gets hot and noisy fast. I also check whether the seams are finished with overlock stitching and whether the buttonholes are tightly stitched. Loose stitching starts coming apart after just a few washes.
What I Rebought vs What I Kept
I didn’t replace everything. Looser silhouettes like coats just needed the waist taken in a little, so I kept those. But two fitted tailored jackets I ended up rebuying outright. Taking them in would have cost close to 70% of a new jacket, and a shoulder seam is nearly impossible to fully correct with alterations anyway. There’s still one knit cardigan I haven’t dealt with. The shoulders are a bit loose and I’m just wearing it as is for now.
Wrapping Up
Between summer casual and fall outerwear, I’ve settled back into checking shoulder seams, fabric blends, and stitching before I even glance at the size tag. I didn’t expect my old job to be useful for this, but here we are. I still have a few pieces left to sort out, and I’ll keep working through them one season at a time.