An Autumn Day in London

By Michelle Bowles

Part 1: Here Come the Girls (and Two Boys, Too)

Four or five years ago, I told a work colleague about my feminine side; a decision I did not take lightly. (Do we ever?) After occasionally discussing this further in subsequent conversations, she said we must go on a girls’ day out for makeovers in London. I, of course, agreed that this would be a very good idea. However, the months and eventually years went by and it never quite happened.

My wife knows my friend (I’ll call her M) and we have met up a few times socially. But my wife did not know that M was aware of my feminine side.

A few weeks ago, M came to our house and the three of us went out for lunch. At the end of the afternoon, we dropped M at the train station for her to return home and as we were saying our goodbyes, she said to my wife, “I want to take X (she didn’t use my femme name; she didn't even know it) for a full makeover at Harrods in London. It would be great if you could come, too.”

This was a bit of a surprise as M obviously thought I had told my wife that M knew. My wonderful and understanding wife just took it in her stride, as she does and said if we could arrange it on a Friday (her day off) she could come.

There was not much said later, but my wife mentioned that she’d come if she could, but didn’t mind if I went with M on my own. Again, M and I tried to arrange it, but with summer holidays and other commitments it didn’t happen until a date came up in late October which M, my wife and I could make.

There were still many things to arrange (how to get there, where to change, etc). M also asked if some of her friends could come. I hadn’t met any of them, but was assured they were really nice people and would be very discrete. I had no problems with this but it did mean things had become slightly more complicated.

My wife couldn’t decide whether to come and asked me what I thought. I said it was entirely up to her, but as I was not sure of what to expect, perhaps not this time and if it goes well, we can do another trip to London in the future. She agreed that this was probably the best option.
M made an appointment at Harrods for the makeover and as the day approached, it seemed to be all systems go.

I had realized there was no way I could change at home as my wife and I were not alone in our house, so I asked M if I could change at hers. She said I could and so the previous night, I got all my things together and put them into two bags ready for the morning. What with showering, breakfast, the journey to M’s and then the 60 minutes or so to get ready, if we were going to get to London at a reasonable time, I’d have to set the alarm at 6 AM.

This was early, but I had no problem and duly arrived at M’s at 7, as we had arranged. It was still quite dark, but this just added to the atmosphere. M answered the door and showed me to a room to change with a bathroom just next to it – perfect, especially as the room had loads of mirrors, flat surfaces and good lighting – what more could a girl want?

There was just one final, embarrassing thing. I needed to tell M about my femme name and also had to ask to be referred to as “she” during the day. She responded, “Oh yes, I meant to ask you what it was.” For the rest of the day, I was Michelle to M, and she referred to me as “she.”

I went to the bathroom for my final close shave and wash, but as I attempted to leave the room the handle fell off the lock and I couldn’t get out. Fortunately, after a few shouts and knocks, I was heard and rescued (I was imagining having to climb out of the window and back in!)

Apart from this minor setback, everything went well in the changing department and I could hear others arriving as I was getting ready. I finished in about an hour, which is good for me, but I had to ask M if she could “sort my hair out.” This is always the most difficult thing for me.

She came in, said I looked fantastic and set about trying to improve my hair, making a pretty good job of it. She offered me a nice (and expensive) coat if I wanted to borrow it. I tried it on, but it was at least a size too small. A scarf was also offered, but although it was really nice, I was worried about feeling overdressed, so I declined it.

The next thing was perhaps the most daunting part of the day. None of M’s friends had ever met me before and I was to be introduced to them for the first time as Michelle. They were in her lounge area upstairs and as I climbed the stairs, my heart was in my mouth; but they just greeted me as they would any female. It was a really nice moment. There were two women and a recently wed male couple; we then chatted for a while before we left for the journey.

It was a beautiful October morning and a day in London was ahead.

Wearing Tory Burch.

Kuba Molęda femulates on Polish television's Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo.