I just lately began dropping pounds and don’t know what to put on. It appeared silly to spend money on garments till I lastly settled down, however sporting one thing too massive was not solely unhealthy trying, it was additionally unhealthy mentally. Any recommendations? -Paula, Milwaukee

Even earlier than you begin desirous about social messages about weight and bodily magnificence, adjustments in your physique, whether or not intentional or not, are intrinsically linked to adjustments in your temper and sense of self.

Altering your physique form can change your id in essential methods, and since id is partly expressed by clothes, dropping pounds (or gaining weight) can set off a domino impact past simply dimension. It’s additionally about the way you talk who you might be to the world: are you cheerful or unhappy; Whether or not you need to expose your self, disguise your self, arm your self, adorn your self; whether or not you need to turn out to be goth, preppy, subtle, and so forth.

This implies you have to be cautious when buying any clothes associated to your new dimension. Properly, this must be true for any clothes buy, however it’s very true if you’re coping with a distinct model of your self.

You actually need to stay in your physique for some time earlier than deciding the way to current it, as how you are feeling initially could also be completely different than how you are feeling in a while, and as you level out, a wardrobe could be an funding. Each by way of money and time.

However what to do throughout this era?

It is easy to consider quick vogue as a stop-gap repair: That serotonin rush you get if you’re undecided who you might be or how others will deal with you. In any case, it requires much less dedication, and altering your physique won’t solely have an effect on you, but additionally your relationships and the way your pals and colleagues view you. Actually. However in the long term, this stopgap may be a waste in each sense of the phrase.

In response to a research politician, 23% of American girls and 19% of males purchase garments they’ve by no means worn. My guess is that that is partly as a result of if you’re shopping procuring websites at evening or utilizing your telephone on the subway, what appears excellent can even appear uncomfortable and apparent within the harsh actuality of on daily basis. So it will get tossed into the again of a closet or a landfill, by no means to be seen once more.

For options, I requested famend dressmaker and former mannequin Ines de la Fressange what she instructed. “Menswear is the answer to each downside,” she mentioned.

Particularly, she recommends investing in basic tie shirts from the next manufacturers Hilditch and Key (“The pink ones are normally on sale.”) Then you possibly can put on them nonetheless you need: outsized and dishevelled, perhaps with leggings that match a wide range of physique varieties, after which belted, tucked in and even tied up.

Along with the shirt, she recommends sporting a pair of free khakis that may be worn both on the hips or tied across the waist with a belt or scarf, and jacket or unlined coat that may be worn with a little bit polish. . Simply be sure no matter you select is suitable for the shoulders.

Kate Lanphear, T journal’s girls’s fashion director, additionally advocates investing in a jacket, although she recommends pairing it with a knitted wrap skirt that may be adjusted as wanted (precisely what Diane von Furstenberg did) The gown made well-known by Diane von Furstenberg).

The purpose is: these items transcend dimension and supply a baseline from which to construct. When you find yourself prepared.

Your fashion questions answered

Every week, Vanessa solutions fashion-related questions from readers on Open Thread, which you’ll be able to be happy to ship her by way of: e-mail or Twitter. Questions have been edited and condensed.