I'm 10 months in and still don't have much chest pain, only a little soreness. I also don't have much chest growth though. Hoping it starts up sometime in the next few years.

Pants! Apart from the pockets (or lack thereof), women's pants are so good. They're tighter, higher, and are really good at emphasizing your hips and various curves. They're also pretty low key, so they don't look out of place on an otherwise masc outfit. I'd say the biggest thing to be wary of is the crotch space, though. Since women's pants have less room down there, your bulge looks bigger if you don't tuck. You should be fine if you tuck or cover it up with a shirt though (as long as it's not windy). I have a decent amount of bottom dysphoria so that kind of thing matters to me, but it might not to you.

That said, I might be a bit biased towards pants because I wasn't able to get my first pair of women's pants until after months of wearing exclusively skirts, so I was really happy to get my first pair of women's pants lol.

Edit: Painting nails is also really good! It's just a nice reminder of your identity (in a good way) every time you look at your hands.

I never used a size chart, so I'm just going by what I feel like my size should be based on trial and error.

That's a good question. It's hard to say because I'm pre-op, and I haven't looked at any size charts, so I'm not sure what size I would wear if I didn't have to tuck. The rule of thumb I've heard is that you should go two sizes smaller than you would otherwise, and I think that's about right, although I might go one additional size smaller

I used Amazon basics, but that's because they were the only boyshorts on Amazon with an XXS small size. You may or may not need something that small, so you might want to experiment with sizes.

Edit: I think the size and material is much more important than the brand.

I think I'm a bit of an outlier with this, but I've tried both Leolines and TomboyX, and I've gotten the best results from just using 2 pairs of XXS boyshorts from Amazon. To reduce skin-to-skin contact, I also like to add on some very wide gusset boyshorts on top, and tuck the sides of the gusset between each leg. I find this very comfortable, very effective, and very cost-effective. I think the best way to figure out what works for you is to experiment and be resourceful. If you constantly test new ideas, your arsenal will slowly grow until you're eventually an expert!

Even though I still don't love how I look, I've finally reached a point where I can occasionally like my reflection, actually seeing a woman. It's hit or miss, but the hits feel really good.