Interesting times?

Well, it's been an interesting Easter Bank Holiday weekend, in more than one way.

We've bitten the bullet, rolled up our sleeves, and filled six sizeable bags with a around 95% of my lovely hubby's ex-clothes (or should I say, his XL-clothes!). We have kept a few bits and pieces that he can just about get away with wearing still, and a few 'can't bear to part with' old favourites. However, having lost over three stone in weight he's changed a fair bit, to say the least!

Those bags contained coats, jackets, shirts, trousers, belt, tee-shirts, sweaters and about anything else you could name, both summer and winter weights. We dropped everything off at our favourite charity shop for someone else to make use of, and some lucky soul is going to have a field day! That felt rather good - in fact, we were both delighted. That excess weight of his has gone, gone, gone... and it ain't coming home again!

But then it dawned on us. Oh dear. He didn't have a lot to wear after the purge, so we also had to go clothes shopping... this time for size M apparel. We've even had to buy him new underwear! Hmmm, have to admit this particular aspect was rather overdue as the XL ones would barely stay up on his new slender frame. This shopping extravaganza got to be rather costly, but what the heck. Whilst I have always thought my darling looked lovely... in his slinky new outfits he now looks fantastic!

And then, with an amazingly less cluttered wardrobe so I could see what was what, I also took the opportunity to dig out summer clothes I wore last year and to put away most of the heavier weight winter clothes. What happened next came as a bit of a shock.

I tried on one of the floaty dresses I wore (and felt great in) just a few short months ago, back last summer, to find the darned thing was suddenly too big for me. It dangled off my shoulders and did not look at all good. My first thought was that I must be mistaken. Huh? How? What on earth?

This was not what I'd expected at all. If anyone had questioned me, I'd had said I was pretty much much the same size now as I had been last year. Disbelievingly, I tried on a few other bits 'n bobs... with the same result! A strange feeling, this - apparently, I'm completely wrong and it means that I have been totally misjudging the size I am and the way I look... again! Dammit! I thought I'd learned and was much more realistic these days.

I feel a bit of an ass. The winter woolies are deceptive, it seems. I guess they aren't really fitted. Even though the most recent lighter clothes I've picked up have been a UK size 8, I thought this was just the ubiquitous 'vanity sizing' trick once again and I was larger than this. And, to be honest, I've been perfectly happy with it. I didn't ever plan on being a size 8. In fact, a size 10 seemed pretty much ideal to my way of thinking.

OK, a hard look at my summer wardrobe and say goodbye to some of the things I thought would be with me for years to come. More empty bags to the rescue, and another load for the charity shop. As I say, an interesting weekend!