Pump and Lift, Episode 21: These Used To Be My Skinny Day Pants

These are Gap's Curvy Fit pants in size 14 Petite, and they used to fit me perfectly. Sure, there were times when they were a little snug in the belly and thigh area, but I distinctly remember my lower half looking like this in those pants:

But now, after two years of on-and-off wearing, my Skinny Day Pants now look like THIS on me:

Taken in our hotel room at the Marriott Resorts World Manila, right before the big New Year's Eve party.

I'm still getting used to the thought that my favorite perfect-fitting Gap pants are now my Fat Day Pants. They're not even my Buffet Pants any more, since I've gotten especially picky with buffets in the last few. (Case in point: The only entree I ate during the New Year's Eve party was the prime rib; everything else that wasn't dessert came from the salad and cold-cut section, with a side trip for baked potatoes and garlic breadsticks.)

It's funny, really, because I always thought that Gap was pretty generous in the fit department compared to all the other stores... and yet I never thought that their sizing would be this generous, even for a gal who had "only" lost 20 pounds in the last six months. It's proof that I've now officially reached Size Limbo: the annoying place where the pants that fit around the hips are way too long to walk in, and vice versa.

Come to think of it, the old me would've thrown a tantrum by now, but I try to look at this a different way.

First of all, I can turn this into a win-win situation by not only taking my existing pants to the tailor for alteration, but also by taking fabric to the tailor so that s/he can make new pants based on my measurements and the styles I like. I always say that local tailors and seamstresses in the Philippines are more than happy to work with alterations and customizable clothes; sometimes the total cost for fabric and labor on a pair of pants cost much less than buying the actual pair of pants at the store.

Second, I can also take this as a signal to start wearing more skirts again. I already have a pin-striped skirt that now fits me after years of no longer doing the same, which means that I can wear that to work (or any other place) with tights underneath. Same goes for my formal skirts, too, which are longer and can hide leggings under the hemline.

And third... gosh darnit, if it really is that hard to shop for pants, then I should take it as a sign to start working through the Next 20 already. Tally ho, folks, we're in for a thrill ride!