Hey everyone. I need to get myself a good suit at some point, and will probably get one made-to-measure since I'm "hard to fit" (I'm short), but at this point I'm only about 4 months on T and I don't want to get anything expensive and custom like that until I know my body shape won't be changing too drastically anymore. Does anyone have an idea as to when that kind of thing will level out? My main worry is whether my shoulders will get much broader, since that's one of the most important parts of a jacket to be fitted properly, and a tailor can't really alter that area if the fit is wrong. I know everyone is different, but an estimate would be helpful. Thanks.
This is going to be different for everyone. For most guys, your shoulders don't just randomly explode outwards dramatically - if you're working out or lifting to bulk up, then yeah you'll have possibly substantial gains that can really affect your clothing fit. However, if you're just sitting on your butt and doing nothing - I doubt much will change. For me (and I wasn't working out), my shoulders merely toned up and my traps got a bit larger and more sloped. All my shirts still fit exactly the same as they did pre-T. My muscle development/toning seemed to plateau at about a year and a half.
But if you're planning on working out to bulk up, then that timeline would mean nothing.
My shoulders actually got much broader, even without lifting weights. I'm at just under two years and I've noticed that sweaters I bought about eight months ago are tight in the shoulders. I'd say it was weight gain, but I've lost close to 60 pounds so I doubt it.
I've seen a lot of anecdotal things saying physical changes even out after about the 18-24 month mark. I'm hoping its soon, since I would like to get a new, permanent wardrobe.
I would say stick to stuff on the racks until you get to where you want to be physically. It's spendy to buy tailored suits and when you do buy one or a few, you want to be able to get some use out of them. I'm waiting until after my top surgery, but I already have a small catalog of styles. The plus side is that you can look for the best deals and styles while you wait and then it gives you a goal.
Right now, I go with off the rack. In about a year I'll look at tailored. Only 4 months on T and you won't have had a lot of changes, and the main changes you've yet to have are likely to be in the hips and butt. I worked my butt off working out and in 6 months I've had a drastic change here. If you're not working out a lot then you've still got a lot of changes ready to happen there. I'm certain I still have big changes yet to happen here despite the work so far. These areas can be altered within limits but a good suit fits, not tight but close. If you were to get a tailored suit right now, it's more likely to accentuate female hips and butt. Off the rack you can choose something a little looser for now that works and get something cheap enough that you can keep getting new ones as you change sizes. Unless you're wearing it all the time, if you wear it once this month and then again in another month or 2, there could be a lot of differences and it's going to cost you a fortune to get them altered every time.
Shoulders won't change too much unless you work on changing them. So if you're not lifting weights, that's not as much of a concern.