The One With the Shirt

The shirt you see pictured here as a storied past. Well, not so much storied as idle past.

This shirt was purchased over a decade ago. It's a Daniel Cremieux shirt I bought simply because I loved how it looked, a French designed shirt with just the right colors and feel. I didn't try it on, as I figured it was in my size so it shouldn't be an issue.

As I quickly learned, a French XL is definitely not an American XL and it was relegated to the back of the closet. Every time I moved (and this shirt was bought when I lived in Cincinnati) I moved the shirt along, washed it, and hung it back in the back of the closet. I suppose it was a "one day" shirt and just could never bring myself to get rid of it.

This morning I am going through my closet trying to figure out what to wear to a workshop. Since I work from home, my typical daily wear is a t-shirt and jeans or khakis and of course gym clothes, so I haven't worn many dress shirts lately. The ones I have I basically got my last use out of them during my last trip to NJ a few weeks ago when they were hanging off me.

Then I saw this shirt in the back. There was no way this would fit; I bought it over a decade ago and I probably weighed 210 pounds when I bought it and it didn't fit then. I slipped it on, and excitedly buttoned it up. It fit perfectly. I couldn't believe it; the shirt from the back of the closet that was never worn, the shirt whose name should not be mentioned was now buttoned on me and following the lines of my body actually fairly well. I sat down, it was even comfortable when sitting.

It goes to show that body composition is way more of an impact than just weight. A 210 pound Ben from a decade ago couldn't wear this shirt, but a 243 pound Ben from today with more muscle, less fat, and losing weight the right way can.

I finished dressing and went on my way, excited at this new shirt in my wardrobe. For now, I suppose. Who knows how long this one will fit?