Had the same problem as you; lost over 100lbs and had to buy a completely new wardrobe. You might try a thrift store in your area. You likely won't find anything too trendy, but you'll probably be able to find some basic classics. Button up shirts, slacks, chinos, etc. All for pretty cheap. Then have what you can tailored. Eventually you can put together a wardrobe for pretty cheap that fits you like a glove.

As for jeans, I'm a big fan of 501 shrink-to-fit jeans. Hope that helps.

When I was fat I had the same problem.. Nothing fit right

Now I buy exclusively "athletic cut"... Works great!

Non tailored clothes just look baggy

I've always been a difficult frame to find clothes for - at first it was because I had a big bust for such a young age, then I shot up absurdly tall with big feet, then I had big arms when I was competing in shot put and swimming events year-round, and then I got fat! And even as a fat person, I held it in my thighs and love handles, which meant pants were painful, skirts sat weirdly on my waist, and tops would either be too tight at the bust or hip, and usually hang like a sack from my boobs and over my flat mid-section. Yuck!

But losing the weight wasn't always helpful - although losing the thighs and love handles meant I had better like finding well-fitting bottoms (if they were long enough), and my arms and shoulders aren't as butch as they once were, I'm always going to be busty. When I'm chubby in other areas, my rack isn't as prominent and dominant. Now, if I can find a brand that is made for curves, I have to work hard to find pieces that don't leave me looking like a showgirl! Downplaying the bust is a must if I want any chance of having my students pay attention to what I'm teaching, rather than focusing on other things...

There is definitely some vanity sizing going on with men's clothing these days. I'm six-foot/194lbs, and had to buy a "Men's Small" bathing suit this summer (and no, I wasn't going for that revealing Euro banana sling look). I second Stephen-Aegis on the "Athletic Fit," although I have yet to find that perfect T-shirt which fits in the shoulders and then comes all the way in at the waist (i.e., doesn't make me look like I still have a gut). And then there's the fact that most of my wardrobe is still left over from when I was a couch potato weighing 252...

Your rant reminded me instantly of an article that I just came across.

Why you shouldn't rely on clothing for actual waist measurements.

I was just shopping for a new pair of jeans yesterday at Eddie Bauer, and the ones that fit best were 30x30. (Pre-Paleo, I was a 36x30.) My wife stood there with this look on her face of happiness (for me) and disgust (for me) at the same time. "You need to eat some pizza."

I pointed at the jeans I had on. "These are 32-30's, hon. Every brand measures 'em different." And it's true. A 32 in one store is not a 32 in another store these days, especially with nineteen different "fits" of jeans/pants. Relaxed fit/classic fit/boot cut/carpenter jeans/builder jeans/worker pants...it just means trying on jeans is much more of an issue than it was back when we were younger, and Levis had four or five basic styles.

i have started wearing my 11 year old daughters clothes!

fit great and just doubled my wardrobe

also just bought some kids polo shirts from lands end on sale for me

cheaper!!!

This is incredibly frustrating, and I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem!

I'm down to approximately 30x32, and the only clothing I can find in that size is for hipsters. The problem is that hipsters are skinny with skin-tight pants, and my muscular thighs can't even fit into them! I'm starting to wonder if I will have to get pants custom-tailored for my muscular but lean paleo frame. Right now I am wearing everything in "relaxed fit" which is also extremely hard to find in these sizes.

(This, incidentally, is one reason I've been hesitant to engage in any kind of mass gain program. My thighs can't get any bigger. Really, they just can't.)

I'd say that you have two viable options :

1. Altering your clothes
2. Altering your body

Option 1 is to buy clothes that you like, in a size closest to your desired size, and then have them altered by a local tailor or seamstress. If your budget is tight, focus on your everyday work-clothes for the most bang for your buck.

Of course this is a bad idea for those who are still losing(or gaining) weight og working certain places.(I don't think garbagemen tailor their jumpsuits and overalls).

Option 2 is not a suggestion to visit a plastic surgeon, but to visit the gym. 69 Kg on a 170 cm isn't very bulky and you may consider adding some muscle, to fill out those shirts and pants.

My problem is neck size! I still have about a size 16 neck (not sure what weight lifting regime grew those muscles haha) and dress shirts for men with that size neck are for dudes with bellies much larger than mine. I go for athletic fit shirts or get smaller neck size and never button the top button. Might need to go to Europe to get clothes before their sizes adjust to the obesity eppdemic.

I have grown to HATE clothes shopping.Being 5'3, 34-26-37 makes everything off the rack fit weird.Dresses bag on top,pants becomes low rise whether they mean to be or not, (slide right off the waist to the middle of the hip and bag in the crotch),legs drag on the ground.Not to mention that in women's fashion, you can only choose between"pre teen/teen" "skanky club clothes""soccer mom" or "grandma".Nice,but not office wear, clothes for late 20s/early 30s women like me are very hard to find without spending a fortune.

"How about a "short, skinny, angry" shop? I know, I'll call it Kneebiters!"

Love it! Being tallish, for a girl, I couldn't shop there, but marketing FTW!

Try H & M. Their sizes tend to run small so you just need to buy your size or one size bigger. Costco sucks because they rarely carry anything smaller than medium and I feel their clothes runs big.

I think the issue is that since most people are overweight clothing companies cut their clothes for those people and those of us who aren't overweight get left out. You have to look for ultra slim fits or similar things, which aren't that common. Clothing sizes have also changed to keep up with the increasing obesity of Americans. What used to be a medium is now a large or extra large, what used to be a large is extra large or extra extra large, etc. I think the only real solution is to but things that fit in the essential places (e.g. shoulders for a suit jacket) and find a good tailor.

First world problems

I can relate. It hard for me to find clothes. I am 5'6" and maybe 105 lbs soaking wet. I can sometimes find things in the kids section. My husband has the same issue. He is 5'9" and 150 pounds. Clothes are not made for slender fit people because we are a minority these days.

Ha, I have exactly the same problem. I am 5'7" around 143.

Thrift stores are the same deal, most of the clothing is plus-sized and stuff is less organized so it's even harder to find smalls.

Sometimes you can find non-lame 30x30 or 28x30 stuff in the kids section of better stores but it's expensive and hit-or-miss.

Would be nice if someone sold button-down shirts pre-tailored for guys without wheat-belly, too...

Imagine trying to find 32x38 jeans - those barely exist. Especially now that i've leaned out even more. The best i've found that fit nicely are levis 514 32x36 (i used to do their 559 32x38, but those now too baggy). I have relatively large thigh muscles so i was lucky these jeans even let my thighs fit in. The other problem is many places don't do inseams beyond 32 once the waist is thinner than 32 and i'm still losing a decent amount of abdominal fat, this could be a real problem.

As you can imagine i'm quite tall. Big & tall really usually just means big. sometimes it means big AND tall, but there is very little tall (the stores carry like xlt as the smallest size). sleeves on any shirts outside of fitted dress shirts (or shirts a size too big) are never long enough.

Tall and lean tough as i'm sure is short and lean. Essentially it is leanness (and muscular leanness) that are the real challenges in our society.

Girl Gone Primal: I wear a 30G bra, so I know it can be hard to find clothes if you're busty. Carissa Rose carries tops and dresses made for women with large breasts, as does Bravissima. Neither are particularly cheap, but the cost may be worth it for a shirt that fits well. Hope that helps.

Clothing is made to be so cookie cutter. My husband has a problem with a large waist size (he's working on that) with long legs. Apparently all fat men are assumed to have short legs, so anything 32 inseam and lower is good, but he needs a 34 or 36 otherwise it looks like he's digging for clams. I have the issue of naturally wide hips and really skinny legs. If I find pants that fit in the waist, the legs are baggy. If I find nice slim fitting pants I can't get them over my hips. I wish I could sew to fix these problems, and no, I refuse to wear an elastic waist.

I do a lot of shopping on eBay now. Paleo has given me a body that fits fifties and sixties clothing better than the tortured, convoluted clothing sizes of today. Some of the styles, etc are pretty neat, and I save money and recycle perfectly good clothing. I've even been buying retro shirts for my paleo husband- he gets lots of complements for the fit ( and cool retro look).

The problem is even worse in thrift stores.

I write down my sizes and take a measuring tape in with me. I measure the clothes on the rack.