Next door to the quick print shop was a woman's clothing boutique. The print shop and woman's boutique were in the same building, an old Victorian home, and the back rooms of the print shop and the boutique were separated by an unlocked door.
The boutique owner/proprietor was a woman in her mid-50's. Initially, we were just acquaintances, but we became friendlier after she forgot her keys one day and I let her get into her store via the unlocked door that separated our back rooms. After that we chatted almost once a day and became better acquainted.
Over time, I noticed a couple of gents who shopped at her store on more than one occasion, so one day I asked her about her male customers. She quickly responded that they were "transvestites" and that she had about a half dozen male customers who were so inclined.
"That's interesting," was my reply.
Then she added, "You look to be a size 16. I have some outfits in your size that would look lovely on you."
I didn't see that coming! I was very embarrassed and could only manage to squeak out, "Thanks, but no thanks."
"If you change your mind, you know where to find me."
I thought about it often, but never took her up on her offer.
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| Wearing Alice + Olivia (Source: ShopBop) |
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| Alex Mathias, Vadim Oleynik and Artem Meh femulating on Ukraine television's version of Your Face Sounds Familiar. |
That lady had a finely honed sense of "T-Dar" decades before that term was ever coined. I am sure that you regret never taking her up on her offer.
ReplyDeletePat
I do regret it. I probably hesitated because I did not want the "news" to get back to my boss, the owner of the quick print chain.
DeleteStana- Worked in Printing for 45Yrs LOL
ReplyDeleteDiane
My very first job was as a "jogger" jogging comic books and Sunday funnies as they came off the press to stack them onto skids. I worked four summers at the comic book factory usually as a jogger, but one summer as a stereotyper (all union jobs=good pay). Then in between schools, I worked for the quick print shop.
DeleteStereotyper? That sounds so un-PC! :-)
DeleteAs careful as you try to be, there is no way you can avoid outing yourself to some people. The one thing that embarrasses me most, since coming out and transitioning, is when I learn from someone that they already had figured it out. All of that effort I was putting into hiding my gender variance was a waste! It's such a relief to not have to hide anything these days, but it still stings to learn that I wasn't really hiding all the time in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Connie! Been there, done that.
DeleteOur Transgender lives are littered with miss opportunities. Oh, That could have been so much fun!!!
ReplyDeleteI missed the boat too many times!
DeleteAs Rhonda says, we all have opportunities that we missed and smack our foreheads about even now.....
ReplyDeleteGod, that was so my fantasy when I was younger. A kindly, older woman jokingly--but not too jokingly--offering to give me a female makeover. I remember when I was in a high school play, a teacher was doing my stage makeup. When I made some joke about wearing makeup, she told me she had a friend who was a beautician and often did makeovers for crossdressers. The teacher, I'm sure, thought I'd find that amusing. God, I so wanted to ask her for her friend's work number.
ReplyDelete