Today, I'm trying out a homemade binder. It's made of control top panty hose, and despite being tolerably comfortable, it doesn't give me the level of compression that I'd like. I'm going to order a "real" binder sometime soon, but I'm not sure how well it will work. I'm a C-cup married to a guy who loves boobs. :dry: Anyway, I've put on some weight, and by some, I mean 15 pounds. I weigh about 130 now, which is still healthy for my height, but I hate it. All the jeans that fit are too long and make me look like a stump. To all you short guys out there, how do you deal with self-image and clothing? I've become more bottom-heavy, which is increasingly frustrating. I feel like my ass is huge even though, really, I guess it's not that big. Anyway, what do you guys wear? How do you cover curves? How do you deal with the challenges of binding? Thanks, guys. I appreciate your feedback.
With my regular binder, I wear graphic shirts which draw attention away from the chest. Hoodies help too. Pants wise, I wear jeans and cargos. For me, wearing my hoodies can sometimes help to cover up my curve areas (I'm a shorter and smaller torso'd fella).
I have a kind of a big butt too. It makes finding pants that fit an annoying trail. You could buy large pants then just cut the legs. Also different kinds of jeans have different kinds of fits. You can do relaxed fit, but I find that carpenter pants are the loosest. I also tend to wear shirts one or two sizes over. If I don't tuck them in, it gives me a nice baggy look.
I do love me some hoodies. They do hide my hips. Maybe not my chest when they're closed, but when they're open, it helps. ---------- Post added 23rd Jan 2014 at 05:49 PM ---------- I prefer skinny or slim-fit jeans, but they tend to show of my girly legs. Cargo pants seem to work. In relaxed fit jeans, the crotch ends up half way down to my knees. I have a pair of jeans that are long that I roll up. I saw Lucas Silveira wearing cuffed pants, but he's tall. I dunno. I definitely don't do really, really baggy styles.
Layers? I guess if you don't want to do baggy you can do some layers to give you some bulk. It's cold out now too, so it kind of helps with that as well.
Layers are great. That's how I do my shirts. You know, I can't believe I didn't figure this out until you said that, but maybe layering could even out my hips. Hm....
I recently lost a bit of weight because I was sick and living off of crackers and sadness for a week and a half. But I don't recommend that as a method of improving your self image by any means. (I won't lie though, feeling the waistband of my skinny jeans slip down around my hip bones was thriling - now if only I had sexy male hips and thighs for my pants to accentuate...back to the treadmill I suppose) Yeah, so. I wear skinny jeans, and slim fit jeans. I generally shy away from anything too baggy, I feel like it makes my ass look bigger and my legs look stumpier, which at 5'3" is the opposite of what I want. The exception to the rule would be cargo pants, whenever I can find a good fitting pair. I like the extra pockets, and my god are they comfy. The problem with cargos is their tendency to be cut low in the crotch, which isn't an issue if you're a 5'8"+ natal male, but they make me look stumpy unless they're closer cut. There is the dillemma of my curves though - they're obvious no matter what I do, and I feel like I'm really bottom heavy given my height. I deal with it by trying to ignore it. I do have a wonderful pea coat though that helps me so much during these colder months - it's just long enough to hide my curves, and the collar and shoulder details help masculinize my figure. I don't really wear shirts with graphics, but I tend to look for larger graphics when I do. I have a tshirt with a big squared-off woodcut graphic on the front, and it is pretty incredible. I wear button down shirts when I can find ones that fit. I haven't had binding issues yet. For a while I was binding with ace bandages but that got old fast, and I invested in a proper binder. The only issue i do have is that some of my necklines are a bit wider than the straps of my binder. It doesn't always hide well, except with button down shirts. Hoodies ar pretty awesome at hiding curves, but not so awesome at hiding boobs. I wear them open.
Dude, you sound exactly like me! I do a lot of the same things, and actually, the reason I don't like sports bras is because they're cut too close to my neck. That, and the word "bra" just rubs me the wrong way. I noticed, though, that my waist being wider now actually hides my hips a bit. Sure, I feel kind of fat, but my torso does look somewhat more masculine. I would like to go back to 115 lbs, though. Or at least down to 120. :icon_sad: It's probably the Prozac. :dry:
I have trouble with bras also. I own two - one that I won't toss yet because I bought it after I came to terms with my identity but before I started trying to express it, and it's a quality bra and I might need to present as female from time to time until I actually make progress coming out, and the other is a "genie bra" that i bought in case it actually grants wishes and can make me male-appearing (that seems to be not the case though), and also because it's comfortable enough for me to generally forget about it when I'm having non-binding days. I'm not necessarily trying to lose weight at this point, because I'm trying to build up a bit of muscle in my arms and shoulders (my arms are noodles), but I am trying to lose as much fat as I can because every little bit of it on my body sticks to my thighs and it sucks.
:lol: I love your comment on the genie bra. That's great. I know what you mean about the fitness thing though. I'm trying to build up my arms and have actually been making pretty good progress. However, everything I eat goes straight to my ass now.
I know right? It's the worst. I'm hoping when the weather warms up and I can do some cardio, I'll be able to shed some of that. I feel like since I went full vegan, I'm keeping less weight on in general now. But I love carbs, and sadly, they continue to betray me. :rolle:
Yeah, I want to exercise, too, but it's just too damn cold! We've had temperatures in the negatives this year! Being vegan is good. I think meat might be part of the reason my stomach has been so upset. I was a vegetarian for a while off and on. I've been trying to pay more attention to how foods make me feel as opposed to how they taste so that I can stop making myself so heavy and bloated. I mean, my arms are pretty muscular and strong, but my hips. RRRRRRRGH! :bang:
I was also wondering about this: Anyone have any tips on buying dress shirts? Ideally, how should they fit? My shoulders are fairly narrow, so the shoulder seams are a bit low. Sleeves tend to be long. It's pretty aggravating. There's also some extra material on the sides and under the arms when I stand with my arms out to the sides. I guess what I'm wondering is how much is too much?
I buy slim fit dress shirts. They're cut a little closer than the "classic" style, which usually makes them less baggy in the sides and under the arms. I still have the issue of sleeve length though. I roll mine a lot because otherwise they're too long 99% of the time. When I have money I'll probably have them tailored.
I think the classic style is what I have a lot of. I roll my sleeves a lot, too. I'm not a big fan of the short-sleeved ones.
Yeah, I've noticed that sort sleeved ones seem really wide in the sleeves. Maybe it's because I have noodle arms. :dry: I have one, just one, because it's a comparatively decent fit, and I liked the details on it.
Oh, I forgot! Asian retailers. Great for shirts omg. They're smaller than American sizing, which is good news for smaller guys like us! I've only ever bought t-shirts from them so far, but I'm looking into their dress shirts right now. A lot of them have really cool little details too, which is nice. If I buy any dress shirts, I'll let you know what company I got them from and how they fit!
check jack threads the clothes and other things for men is really nice but expensive ,there`s jackthreads.com . and the app in apple app store jack threads. my boyfriend loves it!
Oh, damn, I can't believe I forgot about that! I'm even going to get my first "real" binder from an Asian retailer. I can't believe that slipped my mind! Thanks. This is so exciting!!! ---------- Post added 27th Jan 2014 at 12:54 PM ---------- Thanks, I'll be sure to check that out.
Im 5ft 4 and weigh 135 trying to get down to 120 but anyway I wear women's lee jeans because I haven't found a good pair of men's jeans that fit.I like my jeans to fit a little loose.I usual shop at h&m for shirts because they have extra smalls.