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First photo after arriving at work today. |
| I slept well, which is atypical when I am not home. Except for the night of the thunderstorm, I slept well the whole week. Busy days and the cozy environs of my B&B probably helped. Shaved, showered, makeup applied, I was dressed and downstairs for breakfast by 8:30 AM. With brunch in my near future, I ate lightly and chatted with which ever of my Chicago House sister(s) were also breakfasting (sorry - I can't remember who). Teeth brushed and lipstick fixed, I exited the B&B and walked two blocks to the Crown & Anchor for the Fantasia Fair Orientation Brunch. I wore JCPenney white shorts, Dress Barn multi-color top, Avon white blazer, Avon pink scarf, Payless nude high heels, Napier jewelry and Avon nude bag. Over it all, I wore my Fashion to Figure trench coat. |
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I planned to wear the shorts outfit weeks ago weather permitting. According to the forecast, Monday looked to be a best day of the week temperature-wise, so I figured it was probably the best day for my leggy outfit.
My friends and I sat at a table near the front of the room, but I only paid half attention to the orientation presentation because it would be the fourth time I heard it and it seemed to be very similar to the previous three. Instead, I was more interested in socializing and brunching.
I am a lover of history, so at noon, I joined the throng taking the "Walking Tour of Historic Provincetown." Our guide, Robert Anderson, is an architectural historian and his commentary was revealing as we toured the "heart" of Provincetown.
Most revealing was his assertion that the Chicago House B&B was the birthplace of the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE). After the tour, I asked around and some people disputed that claim, while others seemed to support it. For what it's worth, the IFGE's fundraising project, the Winslow Street Fund, is named after the street where Chicago House is located, so go figure!
The tour ran long, so by the time I hoofed it to the Crown & Anchor for the keynote address, I missed about half of it. Titled "Yellowed and Fading: Searching for Transgender Identity in Vintage Photographs of Crossdressing," it was a fascinating show and tell of Ms. Bob Davis' huge collection of vintage crossdressing photography.
Since I also collect vintage crossdressing images (the more economical digital versions rather than the expensive print versions), I spoke with Ms. Bob after her address. I was curious about her take on the images of World War I and II prisoners of war putting on elaborate shows that included beautiful costuming of the female variety.
Since my idea of a POW camp comes from the film depictions of the World War II camps of Stalag 17 and The Great Escape, I always wondered how the POWs obtained the costuming for their femulations. Did the German military budget include line items for dresses, wigs and makeup for their POWs?
We never came to any conclusions regarding this mystery, but I enjoyed spending over an hour exchanging stories with Ms. Bob and viewing her collection, which included Casa Susanna photos that I had never seen.
I returned to my B&B to freshen up for the Fantasia Fair Town & Gown Dinner. Freshening up included a few minutes napping before I actually freshened my makeup and changed outfits.
For the evening, I wore a dress I had been dying to wear ever since I bought it from ideel a few weeks earlier: a Tahari Arthur S. Levine sheath in royal blue. I accessorized with my black patent high heels from Payless, vintage gold earrings from eBay and a beautiful gold herringbone necklace that I inherited from my Mother. I thought I looked fabulous — whether I did or not, I know I felt fabulous!
I donned my white fake fur jacket, met up with the girls and walked two blocks to the Crown & Anchor for dinner and a show.
I have no recollection of the dinner menu! (Does anybody remember?)
I do remember that I asked Diana to take some photos for the blog and while I was posing for the leggy photo posted here on Wednesday, Luna Maria, Fantasia Fair photographer extraodinaire joined the photoshoot. Luna used a digital SLR camera and I bet her shots came out better than the shots Diana took with my iPhone.
After dinner, there was a one-woman show titled Exact Change performed by Christine Howley. It told the story of Chistine's life-long journey from male to post-op transwoman. It was interesting, at times amusing and I was able to identify with some aspects of it.
After the show, we walked back to the B&B. Since it was early in the week, my feet were still in good shape and I was able to walk the walk in heels.
By the way, every night after slipping on my nightie and before turning in, I massaged my feet with Foot Works Beautiful Overnight Renewing Foot Cream from Avon. I think that regimen helped my feet stand the rigors of walking in Provincetown.
Wearing Diane von Furstenberg.
American soldiers femulating in a German
prisoners of war camp during World War II.
| People ask me if people recognize me when I switch between boy and girl modes. And I answer that I am positive that they don't unless they have seen me in both modes. Sunday, after I arrived in Provincetown, I registered while still in boy mode. Old friends Jamie and Barbara staffed the registration desk and have seen me in boy mode when I registered in past years — so they recognized me and greeted me as old friends do. On the other hand, Marybeth and Emily did not recognize me. Marybeth, who reads this blog regularly, was handing out forms for folks who wanted to be in the fashion show and/or follies. Emily, who stays at the same B&B as I do during Fantasia Fair, was looking for volunteers for various things. Neither Marybeth or Emily had a clue who I was in boy mode on Sunday afternoon. |
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Full disclosure: I wear eyeglasses 24/7 in boy mode, but seldom wear them in girl mode, so that probably has some effect on the lack of recognition.
By the way, Emily volunteered me to collect lunch tickets at a restaurant later in the week.
The previous week was "Women's Week" in Provincetown. There were still a few stragglers strolling through town Sunday afternoon and suddenly I became a little paranoid.
Last year, my aunt and her cousin attended Women's Week and I was concerned that they might have done the same this year. They are clueless about me being a woman, but if they saw me in boy mode walking down Commercial Street, I would have a lot of explaining to do. So I ducked down a side street and walked back to my B&B via Bradford Street, which has very little foot traffic as compared to Commercial Street.
Returning to my B&B, I made the transformation into girl mode for the rest of the week. For the evening, I wore my black jump suit from Fashion to Figure, nude high heel pumps from Payless and jewelry from Avon.
After checking myself out in the mirror more times than I can remember, I grabbed my nude handbag from Avon and walked two blocks to the Saki Restaurant for the Fantasia Fair Welcoming Reception.
The weather was pleasant and I hoped it would hold for the next seven days, but it was not meant to be.
I encountered so many peeps at the reception that it is a blur now, but through the blur I do recall meeting Davina, another Chicago House B&B sister from the UK by way of Brazil (and I thought I had a long trip). Another Chicago House sister, Natalie, arrived along with my ham radio sister, Melissa, and sister blogger Diana. We sisters grabbed a booth before all the booths were grabbed.
For over an hour, the waitstaff served a variety of Japanese finger food that we munched on while discussing a variety of girly and not-so girly topics. Then we all got in line to sample the sushi buffet. Unsuccessful with chop sticks, I asked for a fork and was able to enjoy all the sushi I had buffeted.
Things were winding down and I was tired from the four-hour roadtrip and loading/unloading the luggage, so I said my goodbyes and returned to my B&B at 8:45 PM.
After I removed my makeup, moisturized and slipped into my nightie, I fell fast asleep with visions of femulations dancing in my head.
Wearing Le Redoute.
Femulating in the 1909 Philadelphia Mummers Parade.
Actually, it was a dark and stormy week… at least the meat of Fantasia Fair week. Tuesday through Friday, a Nor’easter blew through Provincetown — not the best weather for strolling around town, but that did not stop the girls from getting out and strutting their stuff up and down Commercial Street.
I was prepared bringing an umbrella and three types of outerwear to keep me warm and dry throughout the week. I probably could have gotten by with just two types of outerwear because I only wore my black sweater coat once. Most evenings, I wore my white fake fur jacket and most days, I wore my blue trench coat.
The trench coat got rave reviews. My B&B owner, Chris, loved the coat and I received unsolicited comments about it (“nice blue”) from strangers while walking around town.
Over-packing, I brought the following items that I never wore: two sweaters, two tunics, one blouse, one corset, one pair of leggings, one pair of shoes and way too much jewelry. I also brought too much makeup and too many boxes of stick-on nails; the set of nails I stuck on Sunday afternoon survived the whole week. I relied on my iPhone for photos, so my Canon camera, its charger, tripod, and computer cable could have stayed home.
On the other hand, I left my light-up makeup mirror at home and missed it, but managed to survive using the mirror and lighting in my bathroom.
My schedule was very full because there were a lot of things that interested me at Fantasia Fair this year and I tried to take in as much as I could. About half the things were at the Boatslip Resort, which was a half mile from my B&B. The other half was at the The Crown & Anchor, which was two blocks from my B&B.
For things at the Boatslip, I carried my heels and wore my 1-1/2-inch Payless wedges for walking and switched to my heels at the thing. For things closer to my B&B, I wore my nude or black patent Payless heels and carried my wedges just in case.
That shoe strategy worked for me most of the time. The only just-in-case times occurred after a couple of particularly busy days walking up and down Commercial Street — my feet could not even stand the short two block walk in heels back to my B&B.
If you have been following along so far, I posted words about my first day, Sunday, at Fantasia Fair and mostly photos for the rest of the week. A lot of interesting things occurred during the week and I plan to to cover them all over the next few posts. And as a preview, I leave you with a list of all the things I did during the week.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
3:00: Registration and Check-in - Boatslip Lobby
6:00 - 9:00: Welcoming Reception - Saki Restaurant
Monday, October 20, 2014
9:30 - 11:30: Orientation Brunch - Miqqi Alicia Gilbert - Crown & Anchor Paramount Room
12:00 - 1:30: Walking Tour of Historic Provincetown: The Heart of Ptown - Robert Anderson
1:30 - 2:45: Yellowed and Fading: Searching for Transgender Identity in Vintage Photographs of Crossdressing - Ms. Bob Davis - Crown & Anchor Cabaret Room
6:30 - 8:00: Town & Gown Dinner - Crown & Anchor Paramount Room
8:00 - 10:00: Town & Gown Show: Exact Change - Crown & Anchor Paramount Room
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
9:00 - 9:45: Guided Vocal Warm-up Excercises - Heather Verdui - Boatslip Room 110
10:00 - 11:30: Style Your Wigs (Bring Your Wigs if you Got 'Em) - Luna Maria - Boatslip Room 114
11:45 - 1:15: Lunch - Post Office Cafe
3:00 - 4:30: Femulate Blog Party - Me - Boatslip Downstairs
6:30 - 10:00: The Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award Banquet 'Wizard of Oz' Theme - Jamison Green & Mariette Pathy Allen - Crown & Anchor Paramount Room
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
10:00 - 11:30: Being Gendered: From the Inside Out and the Outside In; How the Social
Construction of Gender Affects Self - Erica E. Anderson - Boatslip Room 110
11:45 - 1:15: Lunch - Bayside Betsy’s
1:30 - 2:45: Evolution of an Activist: How to Keep Busy Helping Others for Fun and
(almost no) Profit - Jamison Green - Crown & Anchor Cabaret Room
6:00: Dinner: Lobster Pot
8:00 - 10:00: Fashion Show - Crown & Anchor Paramount Room
Thursday, October 23, 2014
10:00 - 11:30: Things You Can Do When You're All Dressed Up - Jan Brown & Me - Boatslip Room 112
11:45 - 1:15: Lunch - Bayside Betsy’s
1:30 - 2:45: The Adventurous Evolution: The Life and Times of Trans* Over the Past Century or So... - Moonhawk River Stone - Crown & Anchor Cabaret Room
3:00 - 4:30: Planning Your Transition - Natasha Wilkie - Boatslip Room 110
6:00: Dinner - Ross’s Grill
7:30: "Just Gender film" - Crown & Anchor Cabaret Room
Friday, October 24, 2014
10:00 - 11:30: Authors' Roundtable - Crown & Anchor Cabaret Room
11:45 - 1:15: Lunch: Crown & Anchor
1:30 - 2:45: Waging a Culture War on Two Fronts - Marci L. Bowers - Crown & Anchor Cabaret Room
3:00 – 4:00: Shopping
8:00 - 10:00: Fantasia Fair Follies - Crown & Anchor Paramount Room
10:00 - 1:00: Late-Night Dancing In Purgatory - Club Purgatory
Wearing Club Monaco.
Actor Stanley Baxter femulating in the 1962 British film Crooks Anonymous.
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(Photo shot by Natalie) |
I finished packing and loading the luggage in the Subaru for a 9 AM departure to Provincetown and Fantasia Fair. The next blog post you read here will come to you from Cape Cod.
Going by my past Fantasia Fair experiences, my days will I be so full that I will not have much time to share words with you here during the Fair, but I promise to post a photo or two or more each day and fill in the details when I return.
Wearing Philosophy by Republic.
Actor John Hubbard femulates in the 1940 film Turnabout.
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My name is Lily Longlegs.
I like the headshot… one of the best pictures I have of my face. It was taken at a step down. The second is at home. Lots of people say I have the best legs - wish they had them - and this shows them off real good not to mention the rest of my body (not bad for a 62 year old)!
Administrivia: You all have sent me a lot of your favorite photos; thank-you and keep them coming (to stana-stana @ sbcglobal.net). I promise to post them all and I will do so in the order received.
Wearing Ann Taylor.
Exy Davis, male model.
| Another co-worker stopped by my cubicle and asked if I was going to dress for Halloween. My response was non-committal. I was not being coy. I just really don’t know if I will dress for Halloween this year. And it’s not like I have to plan ahead for it --- I can decide the night before or even the morning of. By the way, my co-worker plans to dress as a priest for Halloween and suggested that I dress like a nun. The only nun that I would ever consider dressing like is the Leather Nun of comix book fame, but that would be too way over the top for work. If I dress, some variation of business woman drag is more likely. |  |
Wearing ShoeDazzle boots.
A Halloween Princess Diane femulation.
Some things never change! I posted this image the last time I went to Fantasia Fair and its sentiments still apply.
Got one packing chore out of the way. I went through the Stana Jewelry Collection and selected what to take to Provincetown. I know I over-packed, but at least I got that done. Now I just have to pack my clothes.
Checked out the Subaru for the roadtrip. Driving lately felt like the tires needed air and sure enough, one tire was short about 6 pounds.
Did I mention that I hate driving? Actually, the trip to P-Town is not bad --- four hours on decent roads without a lot of traffic during midday Sunday.
Accuweather predicts daytime temps ranging from the mid-50s to mid-60s with nighttime temps no worse than the low-40s. The only rain in the forecast is a “stray shower” on Wednesday. I can live with that!
Wearing Theory dress and Clare bag.
Professional femulator Paolo Ballesteros.
