Changes in Clothing Size?

[Dave Wilson]

I wear a lot of hoodies and gym shorts, I have a suit that cost me a lot more than the average male has to spend on a suit due to my broad shoulders and the tailoring that is necessary because of them. Unless I'm going somewhere I have to dress appropriately for I usually constantly look like I'm going to the gym. But I'm engaged and my fiancée likes my large stature so it works out. Just get big and strong and the rest falls into place.

[Aaron Montgomery]

^this

I figured you'd put on about 50 pounds. Waist will shrink a bit, arms, shoulders, chest and upper back will get bigger. Your quads will grow and you will have to find a different cut of your favorite brand of jeans.

Enjoy the ride! You will have several new wardrobes. All money well spent.

Uh, not sure about the waist size shrinking a bit part. My 35lb of weight gain this year has been accompanied by 4" of gut growth. Depending on your genetics, you'll put fat on your gut, thighs, hips, or maybe you'll get lucky and it all spread out evenly. I can still see my quads, but haven't seen any abs the last 35lb of weight gain.

Clothes shopping when you get more muscular is kind of fun. No more slim fit jeans for me. Nope. Stretchy relaxed fit jeans is where it's at now.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Uh, not sure about the waist size shrinking a bit part. My 35lb of weight gain this year has been accompanied by 4" of gut growth. Depending on your genetics, you'll put fat on your gut, thighs, hips, or maybe you'll get lucky and it all spread out evenly. I can still see my quads, but haven't seen any abs the last 35lb of weight gain.

Attention: YNDTP. A Clarification | Mark Rippetoe

[stuffedsuperdud]

Everyone stand back. The professionals are here.

Shortest answer:
Don't buy clothes in anticipation of how they'll fit later.

Short answer:
What kinds of shirts are you talking about? Some are much more forgiving than others of upper body changes. If you're talking about some sort of rugged outdoor garment, aren't they pretty big and baggy anyway?

Longer answer:
You're not going to turn into Mr. Olympia, but your shoulders and upper back will probably get a bit larger, and if you clear up your gut, your waistline will obviously be smaller. Your chest is dependent on your rib cage more than anything else and probably won't get much larger. You will probably wear the same size t-shirts and polos, only they'll drape better once you get a more masculine inverted-V torso. Your dress shirts are probably going to feel tighter in the shoulders and the neck might no longer fit. If you size up the neck, see if you can't size down the stomach area to avoid a baggy midsection. I've found Charles Tyrwhitt's extra slim fit to be very lifter friendly, as they come with a small waist even when you size the neck up to 17.5", and they're cheap too at $30 a pop if you're clever about discount codes. Suit jackets and outerwear are prooobably going to stay the same size (probably a 40R for you?) but you'll want to look into a suit jacket that has less shoulder padding, or else by the time you press 225x1, you'll look like a linebacker with the thing on.

E&P is terrible right now but the waywt thread probably contains answers for all your questions so go look there.

[Bestafter60]

One of the most motivating aspects of weightlifting is buying new clothes. Initially I lost 20 lbs (down to 185) and bought a bunch of 34" waist pants, size 40L jacket, and 15.5 tailored shirts. Then the gainzzz hit. Fast forward 3+ years and I weigh 235. Waist 38. Just bought a new sport coat size 46 long, shirts 17/36. Really great fit. I'm 64, and 6'4. Donate the old clothes and enjoy the ride!

[msupples]

I also didn't experience the "lose 4 inches of waist size", and my BF went from abotu 22% to 25% based on the Navy calculator, but the proportions improved. Over 6 months, my waist size went up 1 inch, but my suit jacket size went from 38 to 44. My pants size went from 30 to 36, all because of my ass size. My total weight gain was 22lbs. I still wear a slim fit suit, proportionally, I just need a much bigger chest and pants size.

[Aaron Montgomery]

Attention: YNDTP. A Clarification | Mark Rippetoe

If I eat 4k cals/day I'll hold 190lb at 6'1". 4.6k cals/day lets me hold 205. In one thread I'm told I need to weigh 230 to fill out my frame, and in this one you're advocating I eat 4k cals/day to reach 15% bodyfat, which means I'll weigh ~190lb and probably lose the nice gains I've been making.

[Rail]

I'm a 37 y/o male 5'8" tall. My starting weight was 160 and I'm now at 195. Stereotypical hard gainer until I found Starting Strength. I'm currently an early intermediate as I've recently transitioned to the 4 day split (the novice stage took me a while due to some medical issues which required me to stop and start over).

I got fitted for a new suit about two months ago. I went from a 40" jacket to a 46". My waste went from 30" to 32". With such a large difference between waste and shoulders custom suits are the only option, and apparently taking the jacket in for the smaller waste is a bitch so a good tailor is important.

Here's the frustrating part...I thought the size gains would taper off due to the slower weekly progress of intermediate training but it seems the increase in volume is countering the slower progress. I went back to the tailor last week to get an additional suit in a different color. They ended up fitting me in a 48. It's a tad loose but acceptable. So I started to question if an error was made when I was fitted for the 46. Nope, the 46 is now tight and it's only been a couple of months since it fit perfectly.

I've decided to hold off until my size gains start to taper off...Which I expect to be soon. I can't imagine I'm going to get beyond a 48 jacket. That would be ridiculous with a 32" waist.

[stuffedsuperdud]

Super jealous of you guys and your sick suit gains. I wore a 44 when I was 180lbs and barely pressing the bar, or occasionally the rare 43 if they made a jacket in 43, and when I weighed 220lbs and pressed 185x5 (yea yea it's not great, moving on...) I wore.... a size 44 still, with the very occasional jump to 46 in one or two brands. Where did things get tight for you guys to necessitate such a size-up?

[Todd Moser]

FWIW
I'm a 55 y/o male at 5'-9" and 230 lb. My weight has stayed pretty steady over the last few years but clothing has changed some. Waist size is still 36" (was 38 a few years back) but pants are tighter in the seat and legs. It's hard to find a pair that fit well. My casual shirts, tee's and polo's, have gone from XL to 2XL and the last sport coat I bought was a 50 that had to be taken in through the waist. Shopping for a suit is an exercise in futility. Dress shirts went from 17 1/2 to 18. So, yep you'll be needing some new clothes. Just buy them as you grow out of the old stuff. No big deal.