I picked up the last pair of jeans I own and contemplated either sending them to goodwill, or chopping them up to use as fabric for craft projects.

I started noticing how much I disliked wearing tight clothing about 15 years ago. But, for some reason, I still kept buying the same tight uncomfortable clothes for years! I especially justified clothes that looked good, but didn’t feel good, for work and big events. What was wrong with me, I have no idea. Even at my skinniest, I still never felt comfortable wearing tight clothes.

Tight, awkward or uncomfortable clothing restricts the prana (energy flow) in our bodies. It makes us move our body in awkward ways and keeps us from stretching and moving to keep ourselves limber. Over a time, wearing uncomfortable clothes, restricts the body from moving in certain ways and can cause stiffness and inflexibility. I remember feeling TIRED from wearing jeans! The tiredness was lack of prana in my legs and lower regions of my body. Even though these were stretchy jeans, they still literally sucked the life out of me.

And, who remembers the story of the girl who had to go the hospital because her jeans cut circulation off from her legs? Ok, for most of us, our jeans are not that tight, but they still form a sort of compression that makes it hard for the blood to make its way around.

How many times in my life, was I wearing uncomfortable clothes for the day, and the second I got home, I would rip them off! Oh, the relief to be able to move and be free again! I did that for the last time a few years ago before I said to myself, “Kate, don’t you ever buy uncomfortable clothes again!!!”

And, I haven’t.

I know, I know, there are *comfortable* jeans out there. All those jean defenders will all cry. But, no… there are not. There are jeans that are *relatively* comfortable to other types of jeans or tight clothing. But, jeans are tight and stiff. They’re designed to keep their shape and be worn a few times before you need to wash them (eww, by the way). And, they’re annoying. If they’re tight enough to not slide down your waist, then they give you rolls where you had no rolls before. You can’t sit cross legged and you can’t just move around as easily in them. If they’re not tight enough, you spend all day hiking them up. For years, I tried to convince myself that I liked them… but I can’t anymore.

I still want to be able to wear some kinds of trousers though. For example, I cannot imagine every throwing out my favorite chinos. They are so comfortable and I always pair them with my best fake Gucci belt. I have a few replica pieces in my wardrobe actually, and my friends are always so impressed as they can never tell the difference! Wearing a belt also allows you to buy larger sized trousers which I often find are more comfy!

Anyway, back to my point. Short or tight skirts are all the same. You can’t walk properly in them or move around in them without fear of flashing your undies to everyone. Underwire bras, oh.my.God. Get them off of me! If you put a wire, let’s say, around your leg, there’s no way in hell you would think that’s comfortable. But, put a wire under your boob to push it up and somehow that’s ok? Nope… just nope. And, I think high heels are so far off the comfort radar that they almost didn’t make this post.

Even some stretchy material active wear type clothing can be tight and restrictive! I bought some 3/4 length black exercise pants and I actually couldn’t do yoga in them properly. The fabric felt so icky and they were sliding down my butt! I put on my Indian cotton baggy pants and it felt sooooo much better.

Plus, if you have any body insecurities, you feel better in clothes that fit and are comfy! There are physical and psychological benefits to wearing comfy clothing!

Kids, especially, should never wear tight clothing, restrictive clothing.

So, aside from the fact that the clothing has to look good on me, my rules for buying clothes are very simple.

1. Can I sit cross legged easily?

2. Can I squat?

3. Can I breathe easily?

4. Can I cross my arms across my chest?

5. Can I reach my arms up?

6. Can I move in all directions without boobs, cleavage, crotch, buttcrack showing?

7. Is the fabric breathable (always check the tag for the fabric type) and does it feel good against my skin?

If the clothes don’t meet any one of those criteria, I won’t let myself buy it.

Thankfully, after reading articles by Erin Nadler from betterstyled.com I realised that with little research, I was able to find the comfiest but stylish clothes that worked for me. Now, my clothes are so much more comfortable! Yes it is a little harder to shop. But, I no longer have to rip uncomfortable clothing off the second I get in the door! I can move and I can breathe and I feel so comfy throughout the day! And, feeling comfortable helps me from getting tired because the prana is free to flow around my body. And no, I don’t wear a burlap bag everywhere I go! There are plenty of gorgeous and comfy clothes. You just have to look and be a little more picky when trying clothes on. I hope you all ditch your uncomfortable clothes, so you can be free too!