Just got back from the tailor, who presented me with a $110 bill to alter two suits to make them fit again since all of this training and eating much healthier has led to my losing a great deal of weight. I should head back soon and have two more altered almost as extensively. Well, at least the total cost of altering all four suits is still a lot less than buying just one new suit.
But, what I really can’t figure out is why the same size shirts that I have worn since high school are too big and no longer fit. Although I used to weigh a lot more 5 or 6 years ago, I still don’t weigh as little as I did in high school or college when this same size of shirt did fit. Does anyone think that they are playing with the sizes of men’s clothes the way they play with the sizes of women’s clothes?
I feel your pain. I’ve got 6 suits that a draped over me like curtains. Before training and eating right I was a 40 Regular and now I’m a 37. My waist went from 35" to 30".
I agree with your assumtion on the sizing of clothing these days. 15 years ago (before I gained the weight I recently lost) I was buying size large t-shirts and now I buy medium and they fit the same. I’m even buying size small clothing now which is great because the sale racks at the end of the season have tons of smalls due to the fact that slim people with small frames are the minority these days.
Definitely the sizes of shirts has changed. I used to wear XL T-shirts. Now I weigh maybe 5 pounds less than 15 years ago, but I’m wearing size Medium T-shirts.
I feel sorry for a lot of women triathletes out there because very few events have size small shirts anymore, despite the fact a normal size guy wears a medium.
Funny story related to this…
My father-in-law just received some underwear from China (not Walmart, but purchased in China and mailed to him). They were XL. He’s about 5’10" 165lb. His first reaction was no way, these are way too big. Then he tried them on. Fit perfectly. Apparently an XL in China is a Medium in the US. WHAT does that say?
…what I really can’t figure out is why the same size shirts that I have worn since high school are too big and no longer fit. Although I used to weigh a lot more 5 or 6 years ago, I still don’t weigh as little as I did in high school or college when this same size of shirt did fit. Does anyone think that they are playing with the sizes of men’s clothes…
not sure if men’s clothing sizes have changed, but you might want to consider this: muscle tissue weighs about 5 times more than an equal volume/size of fat tissue. so you can end up heavier and yet more compact as you get fitter.
Don’t worry about that; I’ve been running about 50 miles per week to train for a marathon I might run in November, and my shoulder needs a little break from swimming for a while.
…what I really can’t figure out is why the same size shirts that I have worn since high school are too big and no longer fit. Although I used to weigh a lot more 5 or 6 years ago, I still don’t weigh as little as I did in high school or college when this same size of shirt did fit. Does anyone think that they are playing with the sizes of men’s clothes…
not sure if men’s clothing sizes have changed, but you might want to consider this: muscle tissue weighs about 5 times more than an equal volume/size of fat tissue. so you can end up heavier and yet more compact as you get fitter. **You’re right, of course, but in my particular case, I don’t think I fitter as a 40 year old lawyer and father that weighs 170 pounds than I was as a college middle distance/distance swimmer weighing in around 155. Perhaps weight distribution is a little different, but still should not be enough to account for the differences. **
I feel like a girl even posting this, but I recently bought some jeans. I tried one pair on and liked the fit. The other, which was exactly the same style, just a different color, was shorter in length when I went to wear it the first time. I checked, they were both exactly the same size (per the tags).
