Susan's Place Transgender Resources

hey guys,

Now that I've had surgery, I'm drowning in these oversized shirts I used for concealment. I've also never gotten the hang of clothes shopping really. I haven't tried anything on since I was in diapers. I just eyeball the fit, and apparently my eyeballing isn't very accurate. But now that I'm starting to give a damn about my appearance, I realize I need clothes that actually fit. All the pants I've got now all are too long. I'm short and stocky, so it's not like I can get the small men's sizes either. Or the big and tall. I'm also concerned about size changes with the T. I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff just to outgrow it.
So for the shorter guys out there, where do you go?

I met a short man, he used the boy dept at shopko or K mart.  I'm stuck on K mart and wally world. I'm not real short at 5'6" but short enough.

I have to shop at places where there are XS sizes because I hate the look of big clothes on myself and usually Smalls are too big.  I shop mostly at American Eagle, Express, Abercrombie... all those have XS.  Jeans aren't as big of a problem for me since I have hips and don't need a super small size or anything.  But shirts are hard to find so I pretty much just stick to the places I mentioned cos I know they fit.  I'm 5'5 btw

I'm guess for a guy I am short I am 5'6. I shop at Nordstrom and Nordstroms Rack. Also Thrift stores are great for finding smaller guys stuff. I live near a Fred Meyer which sales food clothes everything so I can shop there in the boys department (size 18/20) and teenage boys department size small. Only problem is I am 40 so teenage boys don't work so well. The Nordstom rack has a lot of stuff in my size because no one wears it so when that is the only size they have left they send it three blocks over to the rack. Def. check out thrift store.
Cheers, Myles

I'm 5'6", and 30 length jeans typically fit me pretty well... sometimes they drag a bit, but if I get a slimmer fit, they work well. You can get 30 length pretty much anywhere. However, if you're shorter than 5'6", you could get 30 length and shorten them, or go somewhere like Eddie Bauer or Levi's (to name a couple), where they typically carry 28 and 29 length. My shops of choice are typically Old Navy and Aeropostale, but really only because they're the best clothes I can find that are inexpensive.

SD

I am only 5'2" and like 100 pounds and I shop at places like abercrombie(for button down shirts), American Eagle(for jeans size 28-30) andcheap places like Ac Moore and target for t-shirts.

Its funny about the shirt sizes thing how it used to be that larger shirts make you look more manly before surgery, but more feminine after surgery.  Like I HATE how I look in my bigger shirts now.  I feel like I look like ive got boobs again.  odd anyway.

to the point.
I'm 5'4 (and with short legs at that) but I'm not too "stocky" as it were.  Places I buy pants:
-Kids departments: Seriously look and see if any kids pants will fit you.  One good reason to check is that they are usually about half the price of the "adult" version.  Also I find they fit proportionally better and end up actually looking more masculine on me because my body type is probably much more like a boys than a mans.  In case you're not familiar with little boys sizing its generally 1-20 in even numbers (those are not waist measurements) really anything from 16 husky-20 is a possibility.  If you are a bit on the stockier side of things you'll probably want to go for the 20 husky...
- Gap Kids: same reasons as above... however the sizes (seemingly to me at least) run a bit bigger... also nicer quality pants (my better for "dress" style pants than department stores because their dress pants are typically intended for uniforms while gaps are designed a bit more for nicer occasions ect.)  can get really nice pants for like 10 bucks on clearance

also! if you're able to fit comfortably in these pants, buy a size up... they have

* Kids pants do still end up a bit long on me, but I usually just cuff them a bit.  If youre not a fan of the whole cuffing your pants business I recommend either learning how to hem pants (really its not hard!)  or finding yourself a tailor hems aren't too expensive.

I also own pants from regular stores of course (north face, gap, hot topic, pac sun, k mart... ect. ) same deal really... I really have to just try a bunch of things on... look in the mirror... evalutate the feminizing/masculinizing qualities of said pants and length ect.... jump around a bit to see how they actually lay on me instead of where i happened to button them... and then decide.  Trying things on is really the only way... I've never eyeballed a pants purchase unless I'd bought the same pair/same sorta style from the same company before.

I don't. I just resurrected all of the clothes I had to stop wearing when I got too fat and too, uh, top heavy. ;D

But, seriously...when I was younger, I had trouble finding shirts to fit me. Then I started gaining a bit of weight and began acquiring a closet full of shirts in men's small. I mostly got them from Robinson's and Bullock's/Macy's, with a few online forays into Lands' End, Paul Fredrick, and another menswear company whose name escapes me at the moment.

If I keep losing weight, which I plan to, I'll have to either get smalls and have them tailored, or start shopping for extra smalls.

I'm 5' 6 1/2", by the way. Yeah, gotta point out that extra half inch. Because, you know, size DOES matter. >:-)

Depends. I aint that tall  :D :D :D. I'm 5'6". wear small size shirts. 29 & 30 pants. The gap, old navy. jc penney. sears. macy's. khols. kmart online & target got lots of stuff & cheap. They got good jeans in the boys dept too.

Sorry Guys, but I hope a Sis can help

When I was Bio-male I was so small I had to shop in the boys dept. I'm in Australia so don't know your stores, but it was not uncommon for adult men to shop in the boys dept. Here the smallest Man's waist is about 32 cm (in shops). I'm 28cm. So the only pants I could get were for teenagers. Don't feel embarassed it was quite common for "small" men to shop in the teen areas. I do so in the teen girl sections, as do other smallish women. Now if you are not obviously on the small in stature style, shopping by yourself in the boys section may trigger alarms, damn sight more than a guy shopping in the womens section. The other good service I have had was from specialized male shops, Just Male etc. They are used to odd shaped people (sorry :-*) and carry clothes for the real shapes that people come in. I had to go to a close friends wedding as a guy; they found me pants, shirt and jacket that I could wear. They had a bit of a, very friendly laugh, which put me at ease. BTW I was shopping for the outfit wearing a skirt and jumper >:-). and had to say it was for me :laugh:.

Sorry again for butting in, it's what girls do best :laugh:

Love
Cindy

Kohl's.  I'm short, 5'3" (actually measure 5'3.5" which is an inch taller than I've believed my whole life -- when did I last measure?!) and stocky.  Men's pants you can buy the waist and the length you need, ie 32/30 etc.  Shirts I wear a medium, or 15-15 1/2.  I don't buy anything special.  Haven't yet bought a suit.

And yeah, I hear body shape keeps changing for a while, so don't go crazy yet!


Jay

I am heaps short (about 5.2ft), I usually shop in department stores but in the boys sections. As even a Mens XS shirt looks baggy on me. I fit nicely in a boys 14-16 shirt. The jumper I have on in my pic is a boys 14. Pants arent too bad, as long as they fit around my waist I can find someone to take them up for me, or again I can fit into a boys 16 no worries.

I also like H&M but there is not one in my ity so I check it out when I go to SF. I know this is a stretch but when I travel to Asia I always go to Giodarno there is one at the airport in Hong Kong as well as other places in Asia. It is not expensive and the sizes run really small as they are targeting the Asian market. I stock up on everything when there, T-Shirts, sweaters, pants, boxers everything!
Cheers, Myles

I love the way the stuff looks at H&M, but the quality on the manufacturing side just isn't there, it's almost like its supposed to be disposable. 

I buy a lot of stuff at Goodwill, or a place out here called World Of Work, where I can get the pants I like for work.  Last suit I bought was at a very small, independently owned store where they specialize in suits, and can fit it to you correctly with the in-house tailor.

There used to be an excellent tailor here in town who made beautiful custom suits. I always dreamed of having him make a tux for me...someday, after surgery...someday...no, sorry, back into the closet you go, and I don't mean the suit.

Unfortunately, he died in a car accident several years ago while vacationing out in Arizona or Utah or somewhere. Too bad, he was a true artist. My father-in-law's tux is something to behold.

A good tailor is a fine thing to have.  And I don't know about a tux unless your always slipping off to black tie charity events, but one good suit is a must.

Quote from: tekla on August 09, 2009, 12:51:04 PM
A good tailor is a fine thing to have.  And I don't know about a tux unless your always slipping off to black tie charity events, but one good suit is a must.

Well, I used to have series tickets to the opera, used to go to the symphony, stuff like that. Always dreamed of having the proper body structure for a stunning tux.

I used to go to the opera as a guy. It was the only time I felt really really comfortable as myself. The crowd was mostly fifty and up, and you should have seen those disapproving old biddies staring down their noses at us when my ex and I held hands or got too familiar. The husbands mostly looked the other way.

My partner wasn't too comfortable, either, but he put up with it. I guess he figured that I should have a few days a year to "pretend."

Little did he know, poor thing.

Where can I get a reasonably good ready-made suit in a size 34? Nordstrom? I know that Brooks Brothers only goes down to 36.

Nero, do not ditch your big shirts.  I- and many other people- found that I have to wear larger shirts than they did pre-op after being on t for a while.

For ready made suits (shudder) Hart Schaffner Marx are about the best.

I kind of like this one, only $800
http://www.hartschaffnermarx.com/mensstore/product.asp?s_id=0&prod_name=Charcoal+Suit&pf_id=167-750249&dept_id=1000 (http://www.hartschaffnermarx.com/mensstore/product.asp?s_id=0&prod_name=Charcoal+Suit&pf_id=167-750249&dept_id=1000)

Quote from: sneakersjay on August 09, 2009, 07:16:14 AM

And yeah, I hear body shape keeps changing for a while, so don't go crazy yet!

Jay

I absolutely second that. I've lost 40 lbs in the past 5 months, and I can attribute that quite a bit to being back on T, though I've changed my eating habits a tad as well. I started at a 40 waist, went down to a 38 after 3 months, so went and bought a few pair of pants in 38. Within another month, I was down to a 36, and summer was peaking, so I figured I'd buy some shorts, stupidly thinking I wouldn't get any smaller. I was wrong. Now my 6 pair of brand new size 36 shorts are hanging on me, and I'm loathe to pick up some 34s for fear I'll shrink further. My shirts, mostly XXL, actually make me look bigger right now, as they're basically hanging from my shoulders.

In short, unless you feel like wasting a decent bit of money buying clothes every time your body changes, you may want to wait awhile on your shopping excursion.

SD

Quote from: tekla on August 09, 2009, 11:22:18 PM
For ready made suits (shudder) Hart Schaffner Marx are about the best.

I'm definitely not buying anything tailored until my body settles down...and by then I might have trouble affording a really nice suit. Unfortunately, I'm partial to older styles that aren't current today and that would probably look ridiculous on me anyway. I like some of those sixties styles...is that weird? No, don't answer that.

Too bad the one you linked to doesn't come in my size.

For those of you who are looking for dressier stuff, there is a shop called Short Sizes, Inc. They have been in business for years and can be found online. But even they don't have suits or blazers in a 34...I thought they used to. Some of their shirts go down to a 13 1/2" neck, which isn't too bad but is probably too large for some of us guys.

I did a Google search and typed in "short" and "menswear" and got some hits, but I haven't looked into any of them yet.

I'm partial to older styles that aren't current today and that would probably look ridiculous on me anyway

Clue, they look redic on everybody unless they are in some vintage photo shoot.  The entire point of a good suit is to blend in - if it helps, think of it as a business uniform.  A good one is expensive, but with two pair of trousers it ought to last you more than a decade.  So its an investment.  And if your going to have one made, go to Korea or England, really, they have great tailors.

Quote from: Sebastien on August 09, 2009, 11:45:35 PM
I absolutely second that. I've lost 40 lbs in the past 5 months, and I can attribute that quite a bit to being back on T, though I've changed my eating habits a tad as well. I started at a 40 waist, went down to a 38 after 3 months, so went and bought a few pair of pants in 38. Within another month, I was down to a 36, and summer was peaking, so I figured I'd buy some shorts, stupidly thinking I wouldn't get any smaller. I was wrong. Now my 6 pair of brand new size 36 shorts are hanging on me, and I'm loathe to pick up some 34s for fear I'll shrink further. My shirts, mostly XXL, actually make me look bigger right now, as they're basically hanging from my shoulders.

In short, unless you feel like wasting a decent bit of money buying clothes every time your body changes, you may want to wait awhile on your shopping excursion.

SD

This is why I've been shopping Walmart's clearance rack.  Shirts $3-$7, pants $5-$15  ;D 

Fortunately, (or maybe unfortunately) not being able to find a small enough size isn't an issue for me.  Honestly, I doubt it ever will be.  Even if I get down to my ideal weight, I doubt I'll be smaller than a men's small, despite being only 5'4".  I've always been pretty solidly built, even when I was thin.  And once I get down to a 34" waist I'll even be able to get jeans in a 29" leg, which fits pretty well.

I shop at Wal-mart and Hot Topic for clothes. Too bad Hot Topic's prices are sky high though :(