I’m so excited! The month of October is finally here! For me, this is the month that officially starts the fall season. I love fall fashion, but I didn’t always feel that way. I used to struggle with the fact that the fall season was synonymous with jean wearing.

For me, the anxiety of, “will last year’s pants fit this year” was paralyzing. I literally would procrastinate until I felt like I was thin enough (i.e. skip breakfast and lunch for the day) before working up enough nerve to try on the largest pair of jeans I owned. It got me thinking.
Why do so many of us struggle with this very same problem every year?

When did shopping for larger sizes become so devastating and intricately linked to one’s sense of accomplishment and self-worth?

For many of us, during the summer it’s easy to ignore a pound or two (or five) of weight gain.

Summer clothes often allow us the room for some extra padding. However, that all comes to a crashing halt when the season for form-fitting jeans return.

Trying on last year’s jeans usually go something like this: we slowly tug the fabric up over our thighs and butt, suck in our guts for dear life as we struggle to zipper them up; the button being optional, and look in the mirror satisfied but slightly disappointed, and tell ourselves, “they’re too tight but I got them on!”

Then, if you are anything like me, you proceed to yank them right back off after this small victory and slip into something more comfortable, like your favorite pair of sweats.

We justify our decision to wear sweatpants with reasons such as; it’s cold outside, my sweats are cute and just so comfortable. Now gaining weight or wearing sweats for that matter isn’t the problem. The problem emerges when people attribute their self-esteem, identity or self-worth to their pant size.

For some people, especially adolescent or college-aged women who are still trying to figure out who they are in the world, they stop living until they can fit back into their old jeans. These wonderful individuals stay stagnant in their sweats as life passes them by, too reluctant or afraid to step into (or buy) the larger pants they have grown into.

My hope is that people come to realize that it’s okay to need to go up a size, it's all part of growing up.