The first bra I ever purchased was acquired at the same time I acquired a wig at Frederick’s of Hollywood. I recall not being fitted for the bra – I assume that the saleslady was not concerned that it fit correctly since I was only going to wear it as part of a Halloween costume. I do recall the cheap pair of foam inserts that she sold me to fill out the bra. I tried to resist, but she was insistent that I needed them
My first girdle purchase (actually an all-in-one) was more interesting. I was working in Kingston, New York, and visited an old-school lingerie shop in boy mode to get fitted for an all-in-one.
I found the store in the Yellow Pages and I checked it out one evening after work. It was located in downtown Kingston, not in a strip mall or shopping plaza, and it looked tiny and inconspicuous… the antithesis of Victoria’s Secret.
For days, I thought about the store and finally gathered up the courage to visit it during a lunch hour. I drove to the store, parked on the street and sat in my car waiting for minimum pedestrian traffic to avoid anyone seeing me entering the store. When all was clear, I exited my car and entered the store as quickly as possible.
A middle-aged lady greeted me. She probably had seen it all, so when I mentioned I needed some foundation garments for my Halloween costume, I don't know if she believed me. And when I suggested that I might need an “all-in-one,” that probably tipped my hand immediately – how many guys knew what’s an "all-in-one?"
Nevertheless, she was very helpful and after measuring me up, she handed me two heavy-duty all-in-ones to try on and said, “Take these to the dressing room, try them on and call me so I can see if they fit properly.’
I did not expect such a hands-on sale, but was glad to have it. I went to the dressing room, quickly stripped down to my briefs and zipped myself into the first all-in-one, but it did nothing for me. However, the second one did wonders and I summoned the proprietor to examine me wearing the second all-in-one.
“Wow, that was quick,” she remarked. I assumed that her other male customers were not as fast as I when trying on their “first” foundation garment.
She checked me out and gushed about my great girlish figure. I tipped my hand again when my face turned beet red in embarrassment. I could not pay for my purchase fast enough and get out Dodge.
By the way, I loved that all-in-one. It was constructed with spring-like metal stays and it gave me a figure like no other. It was my go-to foundation garment for years. I wish I could find one like it today!
For Your Entertainment
With my mobility limited by my bad knee, I have spent a lot of time sitting on my dupa lately browsing the Internet discovering items of interest related (or not) to my life as a femulator. Here are two of my latest findings.
“What dressing up with my Mom looks like::” is a short TikTok video that I think you will enjoy. Be sure to check out the creator’s other videos – she is amazing. (Ah... to be young again!)
“The Who Beatles Medley 82” has The Who of 1982 play two iconic Beatles’ hits.
Rock on!
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| Wearing Bebe |
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| Keith Moon, femulator and drummer extraordinaire |
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| U.S. Congressman George Santos also known as Kitara Ravache |
LOL on the Santos pic! He denies that's him, of course. But since he's lied about just about everything else, that's practically an admission of guilt! :-)
ReplyDeleteAmanda Hawkins
George Santos adds yet another persona to those he has already used to get elected.
ReplyDeleteI find Rago Shapewear works for me. They have extensive sizing and well made garments. I'm older and have a more lumpy figure. I recall you also mentioned that wore them as foundation garments. Thanks you do.
ReplyDeleteRago is my go-to foundation garment purveyor.
DeleteLove my Rago lingerie! I just wish my all-in-one fit properly-the bra lands just below my bust :(
DeleteStana
ReplyDeleteYour foundation shop on main street in Kingston sounds a lot like a place I never had the courage to go into. Henrietta's Corset Shop in Clifton NJ, I drove and walked by numerous times but never had the courage to go in.
I am guessing I would have been met with the same degree of acceptance as you were. As I posted earlier femulators have been around for years and places like this corset shop or wig shops have been quiet allies. To reiterate Barbara at Florence Fashions had men looking for Halloween or bad backs come in for years and they always helped them with empathy.
I have seen Yoya Femulate before she is truly amazing how wonderful to have a supporting Mom like that.
Try to imagine if you and I were born in 2000? We'd be 23 years old now, the opportunities available to us? Instead hiding and sneaking into corset shops?
Barbara at Florence's Fashions in Wakefield, MA is a national treasure!!!
DeleteI love the Formfit lingerie ad. In my youth my mother subscribed to Look, Life and Saturday Evening Post. My attention was always drawn to the advertisements for foundation garments and undergarments. I still peruse the internet postings of those old advertisements. The Sunday newspapers also had those ads, but in black and white. Considering how suppressed expression of sexuality was in the 1950's those ads were just about all there was for a boy to fantasize with, whether a cross-dresser or not. I never had the guts or money to even contemplate going into women's specialty shop. I did do a lot of slow walk byes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teen, my friend’s dad worked for a major lingerie maker as a sales rep. There were boxes and boxes of bras, undies and all-in-ones and everything you could imagine in a room in his house. My friend thought it was horrible. What a wasted experience!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful recollection Stana. I think we all have had a similar experience at some point in our femulating / crossdressing lives. For me, my first girdle purchase was when I was in my late 20's. I was already fairly confident about purchasing bras and panties in guy mode, I actually enjoyed, and still do, letting the salesladies know that I was purchasing them for myself. That being said, I went to a store in Brookline, MA named Lady Grace. Back then they had several stores throughout the state and sold lingerie and foundation garments. Now, they have just one location and focus on mastectomy products. So, I went into the store with the prospect of looking at some open bottom girdles, not necessarily buying one but just to check them out. I had always admired the wonderful images of them in the Sears catalog. I certainly didn't "need" a girdle as I was slim and fit. The store was surprisingly busy when I went in. I could see a few older salesladies assisting customers so I just meandered around and browsed the racks of bra and panties. I noticed that the girdles and all-in-ones were toward the back of the store so I started to head that way. As soon as I reached the first rack of girdles, a young woman tapped me on the shoulder and said. "Good afternoon, sir, I'm Anna, how can I help you today?". She was really pretty and looked to be around the same age as me, which I was not expecting. So, I told her that I was thinking about getting an open bottom girdle but had no idea what to look for, essentially playing dumb. In a blink of an eye, she had me in a dressing room, measured my waist and told me to get undressed and that she would be right back. Following her instructions, I stripped down to my underwear and waited for her to return. She announced herself that she was back and was coming into the stall. She pulled back the curtain and entered with three different girdles, and hung them on the hook. "Let's try this one first." she said unzipping the side of one of the girdles. It was beige, very industrial looking and was just plain ugly. Not what I had in mind at all. She crouched down and held the girdle open, instructing me to step into it. In one swift motion she hiked up the girdle around my waist and zipped me into it. “It’s so tight.” I said. “That’s the point.” She replied laughingly. We repeated this process with the other two options and I was hooked instantly with the third choice. It was a white Rago girdle with no zippers or clasps, just super stretchy material. As I mentioned earlier, I was slim at the time but somehow this girdle gave me some semblance of curves and I loved it. It was then that Anna let me in on a little secret that she always shared with her less curvy customers. She suggested that I put on the girdle and then take some pillowcases and put them inside at my hips to give me a more feminine shape. I thought that was genius. Nowadays we can buy padded panties and such but I still to this day use that little trick to get my girly figure.
ReplyDeleteMany of you discount the bad back excuse, but sadly it can be true. I have a 'floater'. The rib beneath my breast was dislodged from my sternum in a car accident. This a very painful injury - feels like you have a knife stuck in the front and poking out the back. After the ER doctor left, the nurse told me that her husband had done that playing football in high school. Then she told me to do what he was told to do, get a bra to hold your rib in place, 6 - 8 weeks. Padded underwire work best, the more clapses the better. Since it never really heals, it can pop out. Mine has popped out several times.
ReplyDeleteCali
Interesting. I would imagine a long-line bra would work best for this.
DeleteDoing things above my head, sleeping in a bad position, and being bumped in a certain direction can tweak it. Long-line bras and corsets are the best. And must be wired. Helps hold the rib in a consistent position while it scars down. Over the years, I have had several fittings in VS stores (and own many VS bras). I carry a bra when I'm traveling because you never know - I could just fall funny doing one of the sports I do.
DeleteCali
Another thing I haven't seen is that you can't wear the same bra for more than 3 days in a row. The bra needs to air out. So you need to have several if you wear bras for days.