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| Casually Stana |
Rhonda’s post Feminine Differential – Overt vs. Covert motivated me to write this post.
Rhonda wrote, “For years I hid behind a big wig, long sleeves, and high neck tops in a created, over-the-top, feminine facade. Although stylish, I was the caricature of a man who was crossdressing. Women generally did not dress that way; then or now. However in public, I thought I was being covert (no one is noticing) in my efforts to pass. I was thinking I was blending-in. Likely the only place I did blend-in, was at a crossdressing convention.”
Today, Rhonda dresses more casually: jeans or shorts, t-shirt, and sneakers with her hair in a ponytail.
She wrote, “I am ‘ma’am’ almost 100% of the time without the over-the-top feminine facade now.”
Contrast that with the office girl uniform I usually wear when I go out. I’m hoping that in the minds of civilians I encounter, I am a working woman going shopping after work or grabbing a bite to eat during lunch hour and not a crossdressing man.
Rhonda and I are different. She is full-time and I am part-time.
Being part-time, I wear the office girl uniform because I only get out so often and I want to wear a dress and heels when those opportunities arise. If I was full-time, I would still wear my office girl uniform on occasion, but I would dress more casually most of the time just like Rhonda.
That is exactly what happened when I attended Fantasia Fair, where I was a woman 24 hours a day for a week. During the day, I dressed casually – a top, leggings or shorts and flats to attend the various presentations and luncheons. But during the evening, it was a dress and heels to attend the banquets and shows.
And so it goes.
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| Wearing Venus |
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| Raymond Cordy (wearing boa) femulating in the 1934 French film Mam'zelle Spahi. |
I agree dressing overtly femme rather than covertly is a tranny tell. To me the contemporary civilian population is also more focused on other gender markers that are to numerous to mention; for instance an appropriate waist to hip ratio while wearing shorter women's shorts that can't accommodate the appropriate child bearing woman's hip pads.
ReplyDeleteAngel Amore
The most important thing, whether one is part time or full time, somewhere in between, is to dress in a way that makes one comfortable and happy. That can be dressed up or dressed down. Don't dress for other people, dress for yourself and be yourself.
ReplyDelete-Christina
I do not know what a "tranny tell" means. If somebody were to ask me what motivates me to dress as a woman I cannot offer an explanation. I only wear dresses and do not own a single pair of women's pants. Why? It's only conjecture, but I suppose it has to do with my upbringing; what I saw in my youth. Women did not wear pants in my neighborhood. There was one women, yes one, who wore pants. She drew the negative comments of the women. If a female wore shorts, she was a little single digit girl, who at the proper age transitioned to dresses. So, when my mind clicked it seems natural that my interest was dresses. It does not take much to attract the curious eye at six foot and 200 pounds. I am aware of all the chatter I read on these forums of women in dresses standing out. There is a vast selection of dresses to choose from that are in line of time and place. If I venture forth in the evening, a dress that is appropriate for office and retail works well for the time of day as if shopping on the way home from work. Right now, sun dresses are great. I see many women wearing flowing sun dresses when the temperate is up. And, so on.
ReplyDeleteA "tell" is giving a clue to others about something you're doing. Maybe you always clear your throat when you're bluffing at poker. Maybe there are giveaways when you're wearing women's clothes. For me, check out the side my zipper and shirt buttons are on. If you're paying attention, you'll see both are on the distaff side. If you're not, I get by with my sort-of stealth. Is dressing overtly or over-the-top in itself a tell, or is it drawing more attention to yourself, thus opening yourself to exposing your "tells"?
DeleteI am in the part-time, office uniform court for many of the same reasons you cite Stana. I'd also like to point out that I make no excuses for choosing to dress "up" when I'm out and about. And just because I choose to dress "up" doesn't mean I'm dressing over the top. Ladie's business attire is quite appropriate most of the time and it's my go to ensemble.
ReplyDeleteI can relate, sort of. I have found that, since going full-time in March this year, the vast majority of civilians don't care. The 'Miss' or 'Ma'am' is just as hit-and-miss for me regardless of what I wear. However, I have found that I like office-wear and that seems to work reasonably well when out-and-about - but I am just as at home in casual wear too. Mind you, I tend toward posh-bird (in gutter UK parlance) so make of that what you will. I don't *think* I go hugely feminine or not in my dress - I go comfortable for me and, well, that seems to transmit to civilians around me.
ReplyDeleteAll of which said, I totally understand why when opportunities are fleeting and few, we tend towards the showy and not humdrum or day-to-day. As I have never attended a convention and only been tangentially aware of the 'trans-scene' I always went with what I thought women wore around me, if that makes sense: don't get me wrong, I do lust after bridesmaid dresses and the like, but they are very occasional wear and usually quite pricey.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that the day-to-day wear of women around me was always my aim because, and I didn't want to know at the time, I wanted to be one of them. So the showier stuff, the 'feminine' stuff, was never as much a draw for me (though it remains lovely and dream-like). Or, rather, I took on board women around me and how they viewed it, I guess. There can't be many boys between the ages of 5 and 12 that dreamed of their wedding dress but knew that wasn't the done thing so repressed it completely. :)
I am rambling. Basically, I am trying to offer solidarity and understanding. If I have offended or missed my aim, then, like Puck, assume it is just a dream and that I am a babbling idiot. Then all will be mended (apologies to the Bard for mangling his lofty prose with this awful hodge podge of meaning and intent!).
for what it's worth-I always dress up a bit more than any other woman wherever I am. But I almost always receive a compliment from another woman at the event.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they are all wrapped up in conforming and thus sinking together to the lowest level. Am always tempted to say "If you love my (dress,heels etc) why don't you try it?`--emily
As a part timer, I usually get out only on the weekends. My Saturday outfits are mostly leggings, flats/sneakers and cute tops while my Sunday wardrobe is very "going to shop/lunch after church" wear -- nice skirts and heels.
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