I thought I’d already handled my wardrobe. Dress pants and shirts were resized months ago. Then last week, packing for a trip to Gangwon-do, I pulled out my t-shirts and shorts and every single one of them was too big. Somewhere between 90.9kg and 75.3kg, my summer casual clothes never made it onto the list.
T-shirts fit at the shoulder but ballooned everywhere else
I dug out a pile of size XL t-shirts I used to wear without thinking and put one on. The shoulders slid halfway down my arms, and the body puffed out like a tent. I sized down to L, the shoulders lined up, but now the sleeves ran a little long. I ended up caring less about the size number and more about which brands actually cut their shirts slim through the torso.
My waist shrank but my thighs made the shorts feel wrong
My waist went from a 36 to a 32, no question there. But the shorts I already owned still had the same thigh room as before, so the waist sagged while my thighs felt tight. Cinching the waist with a belt didn’t fix the overall fit. I switched to a straight cut with a narrower thigh and that solved it.
What I bought in a rush right before the trip
Two days before we left, I realized I didn’t have much to actually wear and grabbed a few things last minute. Linen shorts breathed well and didn’t pinch at the thighs. A lightweight t-shirt dried fast and stayed comfortable the whole trip. I also picked up sport sandals with a wider toe box, since my old pair used to pinch after a long walk.
I started paying more attention to fit and fabric than size
I used to just grab a size that felt roomy and call it done. Now I check whether the shoulders line up, whether the thighs feel tight, and whether the fabric actually dries fast. I’ve picked up the habit of turning my shoulders and sitting down in the fitting room mirror before buying anything.
I still haven’t replaced everything
I bought a handful of new summer pieces, but more than half my drawer is still old-size t-shirts and shorts. They feel wasteful to throw out, and uncomfortable enough that I don’t want to wear them out, so for now they’ve been demoted to house clothes.
Wrapping up
I paid attention to the clothes people notice first, suits and jackets, and didn’t realize casual pieces like t-shirts and shorts had the same problem until much later. If your body changes, it’s probably better to check each season’s clothes as that season comes around instead of trying to overhaul the whole closet at once. Summer casual is sorted now. Fall outerwear is probably next.