Dress Size Yo-Yo: What to wear when your weight swings

I couldn't resist taking this picture in London, outside a cafe (March 2008)

A few months ago, my UK Vogue arrived with an interesting article title on its cover, which I excitedly flicked to: “Dress Size Yo-Yo: What to wear when your weight swings" (May 2008).

As I read on however, my face fell: 5 pounds weight swing? Long gone are the days since my weight has fluctuated by only 5 lbs. I found that as I’ve grown older, and my lifestyle’s changed somewhat (eg. no longer dancing until 6 am or walking around the city to shop, now replaced by dinner parties and internet shopping), these fluctuations have increased, and in the past 18 months my weight has creeped up by almost 25 pounds (runs & hides in embarrassment)! I will not bore you with how this happened, suffice it to say that not only do I love food, but comfort eating and decreased exercise does not provide a good combination.

As the article didn’t entirely help my ‘predicament’, I paused to think about the changes I’ve made to my wardrobe (I no longer fit 95% of my it) & the way I now dress in order to accommodate my ever-increasing waistline:

Pants/Jeans: With every few kilos gained, I would resist having to buy a new pair of jeans (the building block to so many easy outfits), as I would be optimistic that I would lose the weight, and thought it pointless to buy a bigger pair. I have done so thrice in the last 18 months, and now can’t fit the last pair I bought six months ago. My most recent pants purchase - the Harem pants - are incredible, as they’re so comfortable and stretchy. They're the 'Mumu' of pants really, which can be a dangerous thing, as I may not realise I may be gaining more weight (just when I think I couldn’t possibly gain any more, the scales prove me wrong). Leggings were also extensively used to keep my legs warm (easy to wear under stretchy or billowy dresses), and also kept me oblivious as to exactly how much weight I had gained...

Dresses: The ones I still fit tend to be empire-line or flowy, floaty dresses that are flexible in size. Although I am constantly buying clothes, most often than not I buy them in my ‘normal’ size (again, in denial, and optimistic that I’ll lose ‘recent’ weight gain), so many of them sit in my wardrobe with the tags still attached, whereas some are chosen for their flexible style which I hope accommodates several sizes. I have found that I have been in dresses more often now that I don't fit pants. Length-wise I try to keep it at the knee if possible, but sadly many of my favourite dresses are shorter (especially seeing this last year has been all about short dresses).

Jackets/Coats: Last winter I purchased some incredible coats by Spijkers en Spijkers which will fit me regardless of what size I am, and how many layers I have under it. As a jacket/coat aficionado (my jacket/coat collection is larger than any other 'clothes group'), I have found them particularly useful to throw over an outfit (those that still fit), disguising a multitude of sins, even if it's only a sheer silk chiffon jacket (or cardigan/shrug). This may prove to be more difficult as the weather is warming up.

Shoes: To quote the article: "When I put heels on I feel - as far as I'm concerned, look - 4 lbs thinner". Thank goodness we don't gain weight on our feet! Although sadly, I can no longer zip any of my Costume National boots up...

"My own cupboard looks like a weight induced mood board. Floaty dresses without waists by Dries Van Noten (...) the author writing the article says...seems applicable to me too. I've always gravitated towards clothes that allowed for a 5 lbs weight swing (although not having a 25 lbs swing in mind), favouring billowy sleeves, blousey tops, drapey anything (inc. dresses & tops). Layering has also been key, as well as the use of belts and other accessories. Skirts are also great as they tend to fit a variety of sizes, just sitting at different positions on your waist/hip depending on what weight I currently am at, I especially like full skirts & tulip skirts.

Overall, I feel in some ways I don't dress as 'simply' as I used to, a white tank/tee and jeans no longer look good on me. On the other hand, I also lack the confidence to be over-the-top and take 'risks' like I used to. I was never 'skinny' to start with, but now it is seems more obvious what I can and cannot wear due to my shape & height. Sadly there isn't much I can do about the fact that the weight gain is very obvious on my face too...

Anyway, this is not intended to be a woe-is-me post. I just wanted to share how I've tried to dress to adapt with my weight increase, and would love to hear whether you've had to do so too, be it due to weight loss/gain, haircuts, change in hair colour, etc...

I will work hard on Mr Gingerbread's advice above (see pic) and try to swing my weight back to 'normal', I miss my wardrobe terribly, and hope it misses me too!