Shopping In The Boy's Section

[Patroklos]

Frankly, I'm a very small guy. I'm 5'6", weigh about 105lbs, and measure up (when binding) as 30"-25"-31". Well, because of this, I can't shop in the men's clothing section. I have to shop with my 12 year old brother in the boy's section.

I have a number of issues with this.

1) I'm too tall for boy's jeans but too thin for men's.
2) I STILL can't ever figure out what shirt size to buy. There seems to be endless variation of size - none of them right for me.
3) I can't buy work clothes that fit without having them tailored, which I can't afford to do.
4) Underwear is nearly impossible to find in my size.
5) My brother gets freaked out when I pick out the same Spiderman briefs that he did five minutes before.
6) I like slim/tight-fitting clothes, rather than baggy ones but I can't find them in either section without going to a skate shop where jeans cost 300% more.

I also have laughably small feet (size 5.5 in women's) and hands (ring size 5) and all of this makes me wonder how I'll ever actually pass.

I'm just so frustrated. There should be one continuum for sizing that covers boy-sized and men-sized clothing.

What are the chances of chest/shoulder expansion and height growth with T? u.u

[jonjon]

I'm 5'2" 

And i dont know if you're in UK... but we have a Primark here and i just get everything thats labelled 'small' when clothes shopping. Still all too big, but i kinda like the baggy stuff anywho.

And whats wrong with spiderman briefs!!!??? *wishes i had a pair ¬_¬*

[Patroklos]

Nothing is wrong with Spiderman briefs! That's the point. I like them but it freaks my little brother out when we both buy them at the same time. XDD

[Jay]

And I don't know if you're in UK... but we have a Primark here and I just get everything that's labelled 'small' when clothes shopping.

Primark rocks! Tee Shirts £3! I get a Large from primark for all my tops however the jeans no matter what size do not fit me!

Milo don't worry about how tall/big you are there are plenty of men your size.

I'm 5'8" however I am of a large statute, and very conscious of that as I can never have an absolute flat chest...

[Andrew]

Height growth is possible...my physician, who works with tons of transpeople, says she's documented it in transmen. I've personally had a medically-documented half-inch of growth. (Then again, I started when I was 18, so I might have had a little more to go.) In any case, don't worry about it! I know a super-cute guy who's even shorter than you are (he about comes up to my shoulder). No one questions his manhood! (Unless...and this is something I've never considered...we have another transman in our midst!?!?!)

[Patroklos]

$JeT 3$, that was very helpful. Thank you very much.

Andrew, I only just turned 18 but I haven't grown at all since I was 16. But here's hoping. =D

And I'm not so concerned about my actual size as I am about the fact that buying clothes seems to be nearly impossible. XD

[ConfusedMichelle]

Hey Milo.

Abercrombie Kids is fabulous.  Their jeans and shirts fit me very well, and are very stylish.  You can even go in the store and try on for size, then order anything off the internet! Perhaps off of ebay for a cheaper option.

Also, I have had much luck finding women's clothes that are masculine.  The black button up in my pictures from Photobucket is from the women's Section at Target for like 14 bucks!! It's a small

Another option is the GAP.  They usually run some extra small sizes in the Men's section and they are made to fit tighter.

[Patroklos]

Thanks for the tips, Brady. =D

[Schala]

Frankly, I'm a very small guy. I'm 5'6", weigh about 105lbs, and measure up (when binding) as 30"-25"-31". Well, because of this, I can't shop in the men's clothing section. I have to shop with my 12 year old brother in the boy's section.

I have a number of issues with this.

1) I'm too tall for boy's jeans but too thin for men's.
2) I STILL can't ever figure out what shirt size to buy. There seems to be endless variation of size - none of them right for me.
3) I can't buy work clothes that fit without having them tailored, which I can't afford to do.
4) Underwear is nearly impossible to find in my size.
5) My brother gets freaked out when I pick out the same Spiderman briefs that he did five minutes before.
6) I like slim/tight-fitting clothes, rather than baggy ones but I can't find them in either section without going to a skate shop where jeans cost 300% more.

I also have laughably small feet (size 5.5 in women's) and hands (ring size 5) and all of this makes me wonder how I'll ever actually pass.

I'm just so frustrated. There should be one continuum for sizing that covers boy-sized and men-sized clothing.

What are the chances of chest/shoulder expansion and height growth with T? u.u

I'm very slightly bigger than those measurements, same height. I didn't really care what I wore pre-transition (in men's clothes). So it was all baggy. You'll probably have more luck with boy pants than I would with girl pants with regards to length, though. Size 12 girl is too short for me - but size 14 girl is long enough.

Finding anything below 28 inch waist in men's pants is pretty much impossible. I tried.

I used to wear medium, large and x-large t-shirts, of the black variety, very baggy...my nightgowns I got now are comparable in length. On the bright side, baggy t-shirts will hide skinnyness and anything A cup or lower won't even show a hint. Basically, since the t-shirt is cut squareish, your waist will be 'invisible'.

[James-Alen]

I'm 5' 2" and my weight fluctuates between 120-129 lbs, see my parents wont buy me guy stuff so most of my clothes are from thrift stores... I always go into the boy section because men's stuff is waaay too big. The cool thing about that is that i don't have to know my shirt size, merely grab a handful of stuff and go try it on ^^ (that and i love DBZ shirts and the boy's section always has at least one LOL). So I recommend cruising by the value village some day, there's some cool stuff in there for hella cheap!

[debbie.j]

maybe this might be of some help to all of you . when shoping for guys clothes its really simple  just

mesure your waist . and see what the number is kinda like this  if your hips are about a 38 inch waist,

then  the pants would be a size 38  and so forth . and one of the places to shop for smaller sizes might

be jc penny they carry a lot of smaller sizes .hope this is of some help to all of you

[Purple Pimp]

I totally know what you mean.  For years, before realizing I was trans, I generally had to wear women's pants since I couldn't find anything in men's, me being between boys and men's sizes.  Transitioning has actually sorted out my clothing problems, except maybe for having slightly-wider-than-normal shoulders.

Lia

[debbie.j]

I totally know what you mean.  For years, before realizing I was trans, I generally had to wear women's pants since I couldn't find anything in men's, me being between boys and men's sizes.  Transitioning has actually sorted out my clothing problems, except maybe for having slightly-wider-than-normal shoulders.

Lia

hiyea lia  indeed  it sure ant easy when your in between sizes . i had that problem till i when i was younger

too. aways made me frustrated. i see  um iam not sure here so forgive me please if i messy up on this. but

from your forum pic i would say you are about a medium in shirts from looking at your pic. if it dont feel like

you still got room . try large which will give you plenty of room then

[Patroklos]

Well, I haven't had trouble figuring out my pant size. It's the shirt size that I have issues with. No matter what the size is on the tag, it doesn't fit me unless it's specifically a band tshirt in a Youth Medium. Which, outside of concert merchandise tables, is nearly impossible to find. Thus, I have over 20 shirts  ranging from a boy's 10 to a men's medium and only my three band tshirts fit correctly. Frankly, there just isn't a boys/mens shirt size that works for me.
That's my problem.

[Nero]

I'm jealous. You guys are lucky. I can never find pants without having them tailored or rolling up the cuffs more than they should be.
I'm built like a short, stocky guy. Nothing fits, but my best friend had that problem too and we shared clothes.
Girl clothes never fit me. Hated that when I was trying to be a girl. Would love to shop in the boy's section. Sick of shopping in the 'big and tall (short, fat man) section. And still having to tailor the pants.

Posted on: February 10, 2008, 02:33:20 PMAnother reason you guys are so lucky - maybe if I were built smaller, I might actually be able to pass as a boy. But there's just no way. I'm too big. And even short, fat cisgender guys get mistaken for women. And with my face and hair on top of that, I can't win.
Wish I could at least be mistaken for a young boy instead of a big butch woman.
Can you feel the envy coming through the screen? You're my boys though.

[LynnER]

Well boys,  Welcome to the world of men...  Pre transition It would take me weeks of shopping around to put together a decent wardrobe of clothes that ALLMOST fit right....

I recomend Ross, Marchles, and all those other reject outlet stores...  They tend to have things that are either too long or too short or too small for the general public which makes it allot easyr for the skinny guy to find something he likes...

pre transition I was 32<flat as a board> 28, 32..... and it was virtualy impossable to find anything that would fit properly with out looking overly baggy...  Just shop around... and if the pants are too long you can allways hem them.

[Killroy]

I'm very lucky to have a younger brother (14) who is growing out of his clothes insanely fast and just gives them to me.  But like people have said, thrift stores are great. 

[Andrew]

You know what's great (that is, if you know your size)? Mail order. Mail order, mail order, mail order. Walmart.com is insanely cheap, especially if you find clearance stuff.

[Maddie Secutura]

Come on, clothes can't be that hard to shop for.  Men's clothing especially (or boy's as the case may be).  They come in small, medium, and large.  Men's clothing isn't meant to be super fitted or anything like that.  I bought a pair of jeans the store the other day, 30/30, I didn't even try them on.  Once you learn the method, you'll never have to try on clothing before buying them.

[Dennis]

Depends a lot on your size, Maddie. I'm lucky. I'm off the rack, standard size. I can buy suits off the rack, jeans without trying them on, and shirts without taking them out of the package. Not everyone can, though, especially smaller or larger guys with pants. I have a 30 inch leg, and that's really the shortest size you can find in the Levis bin without going to specialty stuff. My sleeve length is about the shortest as well - can wear 15.5/32 shirts. Even at that, the shirts are hard to find. I often have to push it to a 34 inch sleeve.

Larger guys, especially pre-T, will have fat distribution issues that will make it hard to find a pair of jeans that fit.

Dennis