How to Buy New Clothes When You Don’t Like Your Body
If you struggle with feeling confident in your body when shopping for new clothes, this post is for you. After working with women who struggle with body confidence for years, these are my top tips on how to buy new clothes when you don’t like your body.
We’re constantly told our bodies aren’t good enough. As a result, you may feel like you don’t like your body or lack body confidence. You’re not alone.
But when it’s time to spruce up your wardrobe, it’s especially difficult when you don’t like your body. It’s even harder when you pull sizes that you’re not used to seeing.
Whether you’ve outgrown your current closet or want to get some new pieces for a new season, you deserve the feel good when you’re shopping.
Which is why I’m sharing how to buy new clothes when you don’t like your body…
I just did some fall shopping to spruce up my wardrobe. Apparently Abercrombie is making a comeback so I had to check it out for myself because they had a pair of vegan leather pants that seemed perfect for fall and winter (2022).
The second I typed abercrombie.com I immediately was thrown back into middle school Chelsey’s mindset of being intimidated walking into Abercrombie because I was always a LARGE or XL in their clothes.
And I used to feel SO BAD about myself because of this size.
But hey, Abercrombie is one of those stores that loved to prey on the insecurities of young women. Mission accomplished, Abercrombie.
HOWEVER, in between then and now I’ve done A LOT of work on my body image, self-confidence and self-esteem, where size no longer matters to me. (Psst – it’s possible for you too!) I have XS to XL in my closet that all fits my right now body.
Brands don’t have universal sizing structure.
There’s no rhyme or reason as to why certain brands choose to measure their sizes the way they do. If you’re a 6 in one brand and a 10 in another that says NOTHING about you as a person. It’s just how that brand sizes their clothing.
Knowing what I know about Abercrombie, I had the foresight to order up from my usual size. And I felt ZERO GUILT.
I didn’t eat differently or try to squeeze my body into a size that wasn’t for me. I simply sized up because I knew that’s how this brand runs. (Side note – is there a worse feeling than wearing too tight pants all day just because they’re a smaller size?!)
So the pants I ordered arrived at my door and I used my own tips I share with all of my clients…
3 Tips on How to Buy New Clothes When You Don’t Like Your Body
1 . Try on your clothes BLIND
A typical dressing room has wall-to-wall mirrors. Instead of trying on your clothes in front of a mirror, trying them on “blind” means trying on new clothes with NO mirrors around.
WHY? Put on your clothes first to notice how they FEEL versus how they LOOK.
The goal is to FEEL GOOD in your clothes. When you feel good, you look good because you’ll wear whatever you’re wearing with more confidence.
Clothes should FEEL good on your body. Unless you’re a couture model, the goal is to feel comfortable when you get dressed in the morning. Feeling squeezed into clothing just to be a certain size is the antithesis of feeling comfy, in my opinion.
2. Ignore SIZES
Most people have a RANGE of sizes in their closet. There is no universal sizing structure which means each brand has an idea of what “small,” “medium,” and “large” means, but that’s not the same as another brand. This even goes for brands under the same umbrella.
There’s no need to feel bad about your body or yourself because your size is different. Maybe your body has changed. Maybe the brand’s sizing has changed. Either way, clothes are meant to fit you. You don’t need to fit a size just because that’s what you were in high school.
3. Only Buy What FITS
So often we’ll keep something that’s a liiiiitle too tight because you can “lose a few pounds to fit in it.” Or, “maybe I’m just bloated today.”
But think back to the past… how often have you kept these items?
Only buy what fits your here and now body. If your body changes, you can buy other clothes. Even if budget is of concern you can thrift items, sell what you currently have, or go to budget-friendly stores to seek out clothes that fit your new body.
Keeping clothes that don’t fit is a surefire way to struggle with getting dressed. And it’s never fun to be at war with your body before heading out for the day or night.
I hope you find these tips helpful on your next shopping trip! Bookmark this post for later and send to a friend who could use these tips too!
XO