Clothes sizes

[Berliegh]

Clothes sizes are something I have always found difficult and years of HRT hasn't really improved on my size ratio comparing ny bottom half to my top half. If I want to buy an outfit that is in two pieces i.e a skirt suit and each one on the shelf is listed as one size, it usually won't fit both the top and the bottom. So when no one's looking I have to swap the bottoms..

I seem to be a U.K size 12 at the bottom and a 16 on the top which is an opposite ratio to a genetic female who is more likely to be bigger on the bottom than the top. Does anyone else have these problems? and how can I improve my bodyshape and increase the bottom half and decrease the top half?

[Just Mandy]

I can't give you much advise but can sympathize with you Berliegh.

I wear a size 5-6M bottom and size 12M top. I thought it was just me and my early state or HRT... kinda
bums me out that I might be like that long term. But I know that for a lot of GG's that's also
a problem.

My first thought would be doing heavy leg work to help your lower body. But I can also
see how that might make you slimmer overall but not change the ratio of top to bottom. Since
you would build a lot of lower body muscle and reduce fat overall. And muscle takes up less room
so you would be slimmer overall.

If you need to lose upper body muscle mass lots of cardio with a limited protein intake will burn
it off. But if you do that my thinking is you need to lose all the fat you want to first because once
the muscle is gone losing the fat is going to be difficult.

The only weight lifting I do anymore is heavy squats (yah.. very manly) which really works a lot more of
our body than most people realize. It also releases a lot of HGH which is very good and keeps us looking young.
But I think it's overall made my hips smaller since I've lost a lot of fat as a result of bigger muscles in my thighs
and butt and the resulting higher metabolism. But from the rear I'm starting to look very feminine.

Maybe Keira will give her opinion, I know a lot about training but she always has good ideas
about training to improve the female shape.

Amanda

[Berliegh]

I can't give you much advise but can sympathize with you Berliegh.

I wear a size 5-6M bottom and size 12M top. I thought it was just me and my early state or HRT... kinda bums me out that I might be like that long term. But I know that for a lot of GG's that's also a problem.

My first thought would be doing heavy leg work to help your lower body. But I can also
see how that might make you slimmer overall but not change the ratio of top to bottom. Since
you would build a lot of lower body muscle and reduce fat overall. And muscle takes up less room so you would be slimmer overall.

Amanda

I do the heavy legwork anyway and I walk 4 miles everyday. This is the sort of topic which I find important and I am dissapointed that after 10 years of HRT there's little change in the fat distribution ratio....

I could loose a lot of weight and look like a stick and be thin throughout or keep trying but HRT is very limited in fat re-distribution if you are over the age of puberty..

[Kate]

but HRT is very limited in fat re-distribution if you are over the age of puberty..

My old, fat rear and thighs beg to differ, but... we've been through this before. Ya GOTTA remember that your personal experience with HRT isn't universal.

Sorry to stray off topic

My tops and bottoms are the same size... tops smaller sometimes.

~Kate~

[Keira]

Actually, plenty of women have bigger tops than bottoms,
in the UK, the average bra size is 36C which means they're probably putting 12 or 14 on.

The average for bottom in the US is 10, which is 12 UK (that's waht both Harrod's web site
and Gap UK web site says). So, At most, women in the UK seem to be equal in tops
and bottoms, which would seem logical since that's how clothing is sold.

I'm 34B and I fit in size 8-10 UK tops (US 6-8) and I fit in 4-6 bottoms (UK 8-10).

(Some say its +4 US VS UK, but if you look at ALL online UK retailers, its +2, look it up).

If I got the guts :-), I'll post a backside bathing suit picture soon and people will be able to
see how much fat distribution I got. I'm 40 and got plenty of fat on my thighs and butt
(I had big muscles on my tighs and butts already so I look quite curvy :-).

Doing squats shouldn't reduce your fat down there if your eating in excess (more
calories in than out).

[Just Mandy]

Berliegh I've gotten noticeable redistribution in just three months, the most drastic changes are to
my tummy... it's flat now and it's not been that way since I was early 20's and I was in top
shape in my 30's. My butt is also much more rounded.

Amanda

[Berliegh]

but HRT is very limited in fat re-distribution if you are over the age of puberty..

My old, fat rear and thighs beg to differ, but... we've been through this before. Ya GOTTA remember that your personal experience with HRT isn't universal.

Sorry to stray off topic

My tops and bottoms are the same size... tops smaller sometimes.

~Kate~

Kate, People often say this but where are the photographs and evidence to back it up? I notice you don't even have your own photograph in your profile so we have no idea what you actually look like....

Posted on: April 18, 2008, 06:25:39 AM

what fat is there to re-distribute pre-puberty?   

i mean, you dont have either male or female fat patterns at that age.....

Pre- or during puberty your body frame is still developing and as you rightly say at that age you are fairly genderless which make it much easier for HRT to work and develop your pelvis in the female direction. After puberty all development has already happend..

Posted on: April 18, 2008, 06:28:00 AM

Berliegh I've gotten noticeable redistribution in just three months, the most drastic changes are to
my tummy... it's flat now and it's not been that way since I was early 20's and I was in top
shape in my 30's. My butt is also much more rounded.

Amanda

Again, people often make claims but I've yet to see it. I've still not seen a post puberty TS from the back who looks like a genetic female with a huge butt to upper body ratio...

[Alyssa M.]

I've still not seen a post puberty TS from the back who looks like a genetic female with a huge butt to upper body ratio...

Berliegh -- you're starting to sound like Sir Mix-a-Lot! 

Well, here's another unsubstantiated claim for you. I naturally have a somewhat feminine body type (I deviate in having slightly shorter legs, slightly less narrow/curvy waist, and slightly broader shoulders). There's nothing I can do about my bone structure, but LOTS of intense lower body exercise (skiing moguls all day every weekend I can in the winter, 20 mile hikes with lots of elevation in the summer, steep 3000-foot vertical-rise bike rides, etc.) have given me much larger thighs than most men I know, on par with many women. Paired with virtually no upper body exercise (at my skill level, climbing is all lower body too) leaves me with very little fat or muscle on my arms or shoulders. So, yeah, I'm about 10/10 (US) for tops/bottoms. Somehwere in that range anyway. 

I'm sorry, no pics. I just don't have any, and don't have the guts to post right now anyway. 

[MeghanAndrews]

Ya GOTTA remember that your personal experience with HRT isn't universal.
Sorry to stray off topic
My tops and bottoms are the same size... tops smaller sometimes.
~Kate~

Kate, People often say this but where are the photographs and evidence to back it up? I notice you don't even have your own photograph in your profile so we have no idea what you actually look like....

Posted on: April 18, 2008, 06:25:39 AM

Berliegh, surely you've been on this forum long enough to see pictures of Kate when she posts them, right? I'm sure you also saw her comment that "personal experience with HRT isn't universal"? I think the last thing we'd probably all want or expect is for Kate or anyone else to post a picture of their backside on a semi-public forum. It's an individual experience, people are providing their insights, I'm sure you'd like to see pictures but to call someone out for it and basically say it isn't so unless you see pictures is kind of old.

[Berliegh]

i agree with megs.  kate has posted pics before and you never commented on them.

i mean, how do we know your picture is YOU?

maybe we should require a signed affidavit......   

How do you know my pic is me? I'll take that as a compliment.....I have hundreds of pics of me and guess what they all look like me. I'm happy to post a different one in my profile every week and they all look the same but in different place and time. Seriously I'm not much to look at in looks department so I don't know why I wouldn't be me!

I haven't ever seen a picture of Kate but if someone tells me the link I'm sure I'll go and see...

I think I hit a nerve with some of you but I haven't seen any great looking butts on transsexuals.....

Posted on: April 18, 2008, 10:27:03 AM

Berliegh -- you're starting to sound like Sir Mix-a-Lot! 

Who on earth is Sir Mix-a-Lot?

[Anonymouse]

I seem to be a U.K size 12 at the bottom and a 16 on the top which is an opposite ratio to a genetic female who is more likely to be bigger on the bottom than the top. Does anyone else have these problems? and how can I improve my bodyshape and increase the bottom half and decrease the top half?

I'm a UK14 bottom and 18/20 top and so is my mum, she even borrows my clothes. This is really common among women.

After nine years of HRT my waste has got smaller and my chest and hips bigger. I know this simply because of the size of clothes I have worn and the way that they hang. I have never been obsessive enough to take photos or chart the changes in my shape.

You really need to accept that most women don't have your idealised female shape. I'm 6'6" and have no problems being accepted as any other woman and many are jealous of my figure. Just relax and learn to accept yourself without getting so wound up about it.

Ann

[Berliegh]

I'm a UK14 bottom and 18/20 top and so is my mum, she even borrows my clothes. This is really common among women.

After nine years of HRT my waste has got smaller and my chest and hips bigger. I know this simply because of the size of clothes I have worn and the way that they hang. I have never been obsessive enough to take photos or chart the changes in my shape.

You really need to accept that most women don't have your idealised female shape. I'm 6'6" and have no problems being accepted as any other woman and many are jealous of my figure. Just relax and learn to accept yourself without getting so wound up about it.

Ann

You are kidding me? your mum is 14 on the bottom and 18 on the top, that is weird. Also you are 6'6" (that's a a foot taller than I am?). I think someone is having a joke here at my expense? 

[Maddie Secutura]

I didn't know shirts came in sizes other than S,M,L, etc.
I guess I should count myself lucky since I'm larger on the bottom than on the top.  (For comparison 21" thigh, 16" calf, but only 13" bicep and 36" chest).  Currently I think I'm about a size 8 in pants.  But yeah, I've seen a lot of women who are larger up top than on the bottom. 

[Just Mandy]

Umm.... Berliegh... I posted a picture here last week of my lower body... you can find it I'm sure...
I know it's not what you would consider female... or what I would consider female either... but from
where I started... yes there has been drastic re-distribution of fat and yes my tummy is
flat like I said. There is no way it would be flat if HRT had not been doing that. I know my body
well and I've had a typical male abdomen since I hit my twenties. The fat has very magically moved
from there to my butt... and I can only assume that it will continue to collect there. Maybe it's genetics
or maybe it's my training routine (I think HGH has a lot to do with it, personally) but for what ever reason
it does work.

You know I love to come to Susans to read about other peoples lives, I mean we are
all afflicted with this thing called GID and it give's me so much hope to read stories from
all the girls here, especially Kate's though because she shares so many intimate details and provide so much insight.
And yes... I even relate to your stories Berliegh as we share similar sexual issues. I celebrate the success's and cry
with the struggles, I really feel the emotions when they written here. I take something from each post and I use it
to get through my bad times. And....  I know nobody has a reason to be anything less than truthful about things because
that is not why we post here. We post here to share those things so that we can all be better for it. This is
not a contest... who has the biggest butt or who is the best TS. It's about one thing.... getting through
this horrible thing called GID.

I think I hit a nerve with some of you but I haven't seen any great looking butts on transsexuals.....

Berliegh I've gotten noticeable redistribution in just three months, the most drastic changes are to
my tummy... it's flat now and it's not been that way since I was early 20's and I was in top
shape in my 30's. My butt is also much more rounded.
Amanda
Again, people often make claims but I've yet to see it.

In all honesty I think for me what hit a nerve is the fact that I had posted a picture here last week and
it totally felt like you were calling me a liar.

Amanda

[Anonymouse]

You are kidding me? your mum is 14 on the bottom and 18 on the top, that is weird. Also you are 6'6" (that's a a foot taller than I am?). I think someone is having a joke here at my expense? 

I really wouldn't waste my time or yours by kidding you. Why do you think I would?

Yes I'm 6'6" and much of the time I wear heels. Women come in all shapes and sizes thats why we have Long Tall Sally and Tallgirls.co.uk. Some of their stuff is actually too long for me.

Ann

[Alyssa M.]

I think I hit a nerve with some of you but I haven't seen any great looking butts on transsexuals.....

Posted on: April 18, 2008, 10:27:03 AM

Berliegh -- you're starting to sound like Sir Mix-a-Lot! 

Who on earth is Sir Mix-a-Lot?

*sigh*




Well, you asked.



A joke, a joke, it was just a joke!!!

("Baby Got Back" is a very famous old school rap song by Sir Mix-a-Lot from the early '90's.)



(See, I'm with Becky on this one. I definitely don't like big butts. Refer to my profile pic for my ideal body type. Hill, Davis, Rodden, or any other top female climber: they all have rather diminutive posteriors and lithe physiques.)

[lady amarant]

You know Berleigh, no offence, but this is a support site. We are all here to help each other up, to learn, to hopefully make some friends. We're not here to put each other down and make ourselves feel good in the process.

If that wasn't your intention, I apologise, but that is how it comes across. There are fragile people here hon, people who have fought and struggled, with themselves and with society, their entire lives*. They come here to find a safe haven. Words can do a hell of a lot of harm if you do not choose them with care.

~Simone.

*Of whom I count myself one. The last thing I want to do is come here and be attacked. Debate yeah, argue yeah, but I think most of us get more than enough fight in the outside world.

[soldierjane]

It's her thread and she can scare people away if she wants to  

[Berliegh]

You know Berleigh, no offence, but this is a support site. We are all here to help each other up, to learn, to hopefully make some friends. We're not here to put each other down and make ourselves feel good in the process.

If that wasn't your intention, I apologise, but that is how it comes across. There are fragile people here hon, people who have fought and struggled, with themselves and with society, their entire lives*. They come here to find a safe haven. Words can do a hell of a lot of harm if you do not choose them with care.

~Simone.

*Of whom I count myself one. The last thing I want to do is come here and be attacked. Debate yeah, argue yeah, but I think most of us get more than enough fight in the outside world.

I'm not sure what you mean in your post. You need express what you are trying to say more clearly Simone. I wasn't aware that I had put someone down.  We all have different objectives and goals and they don't always match with others. My main objective is to appear as physically female which is why I brought this subject about clothes sizes up. I question things.....is that wrong? and might bring up subjects that are more challenging and may break the comfort zone. A transition is real, it's not a game......

Posted on: April 18, 2008, 11:21:13 PM

It's her thread and she can scare people away if she wants to  

I'm sorry if being honest scares people away....it seems we can't have a debate about subjects someone might think is taboo because it's too close to reality. We have all got faults physically and I am willing to except mine..

[lady amarant]

I'm not sure what you mean in your post. You need express what you are trying to say more clearly Simone. I wasn't aware that I had put someone down.  We all have different objectives and goals and they don't always match with others. My main objective is to appear as physically female which is why I brought this subject about clothes sizes up. I question things.....is that wrong? and might bring up subjects that are more challenging and may break the comfort zone. A transition is real, it's not a game...

I think we all realise it's not a game. People lose family, friends, jobs. They are subject to ridicule and violence. So yeah, it is not a game.

And yeah, we need to be honest with each other as much as possible, because we can't really help each other otherwise, but calling people out on their photographs or lack thereof, or basically accusing them of lying outright about things. That's not right.