The number one rule of fashion should be “Wear Clothes That Fit.” In fact, if there was one item I could hand deliver to everyone on earth, it would be a cloth measuring tape. Why? So you can know your measurements and GET. STUFF. THAT. FITS.

“But doesn’t wearing bigger clothes make me look smaller?” some of you ask.

“Shouldn’t I wear tighter clothing that will encourage me to change my body so that I can look good in clothes?” others of you say.

NO.

NO. NO. NO. NO.

First of all, clothes should always fit YOU, not the other way around. And by “you,” I mean your body, right now, not when you’ve lost ten pounds or done a thousand booty-blast workouts. The quickest way to destroy a thoughtfully put-together outfit is to wear something ill-fitting.

Wearing clothes that fit your body and your personality is so important that there are entire plot points about character and clothing comfort.

Not sure you’re 100% on board with me? WELL BUCKLE TF UP, WE’RE GOING ON A JOURNEY.

Clothes Can Reflect Peace With Ourselves

Rewind your clocks to the first time you ever saw Disney’s Mulan (the animated version obvi). When our hero is getting ready for her meeting with the match-maker, the attendants push her around, tighten her clothes, and pull her hair up so tight I get sympathy headaches watching her.

Mulan is wearing clothes that are not only constricting her body and her movement but also don’t fit her personality. It’s a ruse that she’s playing along with to impress the matchmaker.

Later on in the movie, when she’s dressed like a man, she’s far more comfortable than she was with the matchmaker. Yet there’s still an element of unease because she has to bind her chest and, you know, pretend to be a boy.

It’s only in the last part of the movie when she’s back in an outfit that resembles what she was wearing in the first part of the film, that Mulan seems to be at peace with herself.

Now I’m not saying the clothes are what makes Mulan feel like herself, but rather that her clothes represent what’s going on inside. We as viewers can look at her outfits outside of the story’s context and make our own judgments about the look. But within the context of the story, and how the character moves in her clothing, we can tell something isn’t quite right.

Clothes Will Not Transform You, You Transform Clothes

A far more subtle example of this comes from Better Call Saul. Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman) knows that the clothes make the man. He wears a plethora of weird costumes to pull off different schemes (like his iconic Matlock suits). But because he wears these outlandish outfits with comfort and ease, everyone trusts him.

Part of the reason we trust him is that Jimmy is both outlandish and over the top. He feels himself when he’s playing a character, so his “costumes” work best for him.

The only time we don’t trust him is when he’s not playing it up for dramatics. At the beginning of the series, when he’s trying to live up to his brother’s expectations, he wears cheap suits that are supposed to look expensive. Once he finally gets a job at a law firm, his outfits are not only more expensive but boring. They’re what every lawyer wears.

Once Jimmy realizes he’s not like other lawyers, nor does he want to be, he reintroduces more color into his looks. It looks garish, but it’s honest. Even when he’s doing shady shit, his comfort and discomfort in clothing clue us into his mental state, and we kind of root for him.

How to Dress in Comfortable Clothes That Fit

That dishonesty is what drives the tension in stories, but it’s not something you actually want to bring into your everyday wardrobe. You want to be your authentic self (I would hope), so it’s important to dress comfortably.

How do you find clothes that will work for you? First of all, it’s easier to be comfortable when you know your clothes fit.

Now some of you are the types who want to go to the store and try stuff on. I get that because trying things on is probably the best way to find out what styles work for you. On top of that, you don’t have to go through the hassle of returning items, and it saves more room in a landfill. Hurray!

The downside of this method is that dressing room mirrors are universally depressing. It’s not the mirror you’re used to, and lighting can be really unflattering. That’s one of the many reasons people prefer to shop online and try things on at home. But how do you order clothes that fit?

Do you remember my rant about the measuring tape? That’s where this comes in. Measure your bust, waist, and hips about once a year (anything more and it might become a new way to obsess over your body and we don’t want that). Then check the Sizing Chart available on the website. It’s normally next to, or around, the size options.

Why You Should Buy Clothes That Fit

It’s not that buying clothes that fit makes you seem more authentic. It also looks better.

Hard Facts Y’all: Buying bigger clothes isn’t “hiding” anything. It makes you look bigger than you actually are. Clothes that are too small make you look uncomfortable.

Sometimes the “oversized look” is an aesthetic choice, one that I’ll make on the occasion. But most of the time, it’s a coping mechanism we use to hide parts of ourselves we don’t like. That’s where Dressing Your Assets comes into play and helps us wear clothing that will make us look and feel our best.

Regardless, you should always try to shop your size. Even if you have to shop plus size, petite, whatever you need, save yourself the heartache and shop there.

Finding Your Local Tailor

One of the best ways to make sure clothes fit amazing is to find a tailor. Beyond Google, the best places to look are formal dress shops, dry cleaners, or even a friend of a friend.

You’ll have to spend money depending on how complicated the fitting is. Fitting a jacket or dress, especially a complicated one, is going to be more expensive.

Pants will depend on what you’re doing. Hemming or even taking in the waist won’t be too bad, but if you need a whole make-over expect to pay up. That’s one of the reasons that jeans are the one piece of clothing you should go out of your way to try on. The less you have to do to a pair of pants, the better for everyone involved.

DIY Baby

Cosplayers! Costumers! THIS IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE.

All those sewing skills are invaluable when it comes to clothing. Use those skills to fit clothing to your body, and make it all look class as f*ck.

For the rest of us? There are YouTube Tutorials and websites like SkillShare. Get familiar with your sewing machine. Know your measurements. And understand that your first efforts will be shit. Yet, like anything in life, practice and repetition go a long way.

Final Thoughts

It is so, so important to me that my Heroes are comfortable in what they’re wearing. So please, do NOT sacrifice comfort for a Lewk. Don’t wanna wear heels? Don’t. Burn your jeans? Please be safe. Feeling spandex instead of leather? You Do You Boo.

I hope you experiment, I want you to look good, but never at the expense of your comfort. Fashion is not only about looking good, but feeling good in your body and in your clothing.

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