Old Friends

Out of the blue, I received an e-mail asking me if I used to be the "Staci" who frequented meetings of the Connecticut Outreach Society 15 to 20 years ago. I acknowledged that fact and it turned out that the e-mail was from a girl who also attended those meetings way back when.

She stopped attending the meetings because life got in the way, but now she was trying to get out and about again and wondered if we could get together. After a few false starts, we finally managed to make a date for dinner and shopping. So this evening, I will meet up with my old friend and I am looking forward to getting reacquainted.

I was very active in Connecticut Outreach Society for about 20 years and it is amazing how many people I saw come and go through the doors of the society. They number in the hundreds... probably in the five hundreds... maybe more. 

Most were strangers, but would you believe that I knew two of the girls in boy mode long before they showed up in girl mode at our meetings. I knew both through ham radio. All three of us belonged to the same radio club, but none of us had an inkling about our transgenders.

It's a small world after all!

Wearing Bebe (Source: Bebe)

Kate

Wednesday Continued

Membership Director

Wednesday was another day out as a woman and it was wonderful. Here is the rest of the story continued from my previous post.

The Meeting

After dining and shopping at the mall, I drove to the hall where the Connecticut Outreach Society (COS) meets. I was early — about 45 minutes before the 8 PM start time, so I was surprised that there were quite a few vehicles already parked around the hall. Turned out that apizza was served at 7 PM, so most of the attendees showed up early to dine on the cuisine.

There were a dozen attendees. I kind of recognized a few, but the only one I knew for sure was my good friend Diana. However, with my new hairdo, she did not recognize me! LOL

It has been almost seven years since I attended a COS meeting, so I was not surprised that I did not recognize many faces, but I was surprised that there were a few female-to-males in attendance. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but my presentation was intended for a male-to-female audience. The female-to-males would be bored, so I hoped they would at least enjoy the occasional attempts at humor that peppered my presentation. 

Before my presentation, there was some organizational business to deal with including the election of officers. The Membership Director slot was open. I mentioned that because of my blog, I often receive e-mails asking for help and whenever the request comes from a person living in area, I always recommend COS as an excellent place to get support. (The organization has been around for almost 30 years, so it is not going to fly by night.) 

I don't know how many new members I am responsible for, but since I was already doing some of the work of a Membership Director, I might as well do the whole enchilada, so nominated myself for the Membership Director position. But first, I had to rejoin the organization, so I ponied up the annal membership fee ($0) and I was in. The election was held and, ta da, I am now the COS Membership Director!

After the election, I gave my presentation, which lasted about 40 minutes. It was interspersed with questions and comments and my audience truly seemed to be interested in what I had to say.

After the presentation, a few people came by to speak with me including one attendee in boy mode with whom I had an extensive conversation about our mutual trans lives.

The End

The meeting started breaking up around 9:30 PM, so I said my goodbyes and drove home with a new mascara and a new job! My life is seldom boring and I love it!  

Summer 2017 Paris Street Style (Source: The Cut)

Femulator Eddie Izzard (right) with actress Carol Vorderman

Wednesday

Wednesday was another day out as a woman and it was wonderful.

The Hair

I so liked the Sky large cap wig from Noriko that I purchased another in a different color, Kahlua Blast (medium brown base with honey blonde highlights in the front). It is a far cry from the blond shades I have usually been wearing for over ten years. I needed a change and I am very happy with my new hair color.

(It reminds me of the brunette hair style Janet Leigh wore in the film Bye Bye Birdie, which was a big switch from her previous normal blond color.)

The Dress

My JB by Julie Brown shift dress is not “new.” I bought it over two years ago and wore it once, so it is "like new." And the way it looks on my down-sized body is new!

I thought it looked great, but as I left the house Wednesday evening, my wife commented that the dress looked tight. I sort of agreed with her… it was tight in all the right places.

To accessorize, I wore silver jewelry, nude high heels and a darker shade (Utopia) of Berkshire thigh highs than I usually wear to make my legs look tanned. I also wore my new nude Christian Siriano bag from Payless.

The Mall

I drove to West Farms Mall in West Hartford arriving there at 5 PM. I entered through Macy’s, perused a couple of racks of clothing, then decided to get something to eat. Brio was next door and I enjoyed my previous meal there, so Brio it was.

Not too much to say about dinner. I had an excellent meal, their “Pesto Chicken & Quinoa Salad.” My waiter was respectful, willingly took my photo with and referred to me as “Miss,” so he got a big tip!

I returned to Macy’s after dinner and found the Lacome counter in order to buy a new tube of their Hypnose Drama mascara. It is the best mascara I have ever used and my tube was nearing its end, so it was time to restock.

The Lacome sales rep was very helpful when I asked her about the best way to apply mascara to lower lashes. Forever, I have been using the tip of the mascara wand to lightly graze the lower lashes. It is a hit or miss proposition and the results are OK, but not great.

The sales rep showed me a another way. She took a cotton swab, bent it into a V-shape, applied a little mascara at the bend and said to use the bent swab to apply mascara to the lower lashes. The procedure made sense. When I returned home, I tried it and it worked a lot better than the way I had been doing it.

We conversed a bit more about makeup, she complimented mine and gave me some free samples when she rang me up.

I still had time to kill before the support group meeting began, so I looked through the racks again and found a beautiful white dress that I thought was made of white lace, but upon closer inspection, I saw that it was actually composed of white flower appliqués. I found one in my size and took it to the dressing room to try it on. In the dressing room, I sized up the dress and concluded that it was too small in the bust area and would never fit me, so I did not bother struggling to try it on.

It was time to exit the mall and make the short trip to the meeting hall to present my transwoman makeup tutorial for my old support group.

The Meeting

I will continue my story in my next post.

Wearing Jonathan Simkhai dress, Sergio Rossi sandals, Miansai bracelet, Odette earrings (Source: Intermix)

Actor Alex Newell

New Do

Just got home from my night out as a woman and before I go to bed, I want to post a photo that my waiter took while I was dining at Brio. I'll have more to show and say about my night out in my next post.

Out Wednesday

Wednesday evening, I will attend the meeting of the Connecticut Outreach Society (COS) where I will do my makeup presentation for transwomen.

COS ushered me out of the closet in the late 1970s and I was very active in the organization for over 20 years. It has been a few years since I last attended a meeting, so it will be a reunion of sorts for me and the organization that helped me be me. I'm looking forward to that as well as looking forward to wearing a new dress and new hairdo!

Wearing Bebe (Source: Bebe)

Cory and Kenny femulated for Opposite Day at Celeste (TX) High School in 1989 (Source: Starla)

From My Room

After Prepping and Primping

Prepping and Primping

Saturday night, I attended the annual banquet of the Connecticut Outreach Society at the Four Points By Sheraton in Meriden, CT.

After I woke up Saturday morning, I began getting ready by attacking the hair on my legs, arms, shoulders, back, and breasts with Nair, while avoiding the armpits, neckline, and nipples, which I learned the hard way do not get along with Nair. After Nair removal, I attacked those other parts with a gel shaving cream and manual Gillette Fusion razor.

After completing body hair removel, I ran my normal Saturday errands until 2 PM, when I returned to prepping for the evening out en femme.

It began with a close shave of my face and neck using a gel shaving cream and the Fusion razor, followed by a moisturizer, primer, and powder foundation.

Next, I sculpted my cheekbones and added blush.

I removed stray eyebrow hairs and used an eyebrow pencil to fill in and shape my brows.

I used a new smokey eyeshadow quad from Avon and was very happy with the results. Then I topped off my eyes with a black powder eyeliner and Avon's new "SuperExtend Extreme" mascara.

The night before, I watched The Seven Year Itch on TCM and decided I would femulate Marilyn Monroe's red lip color by using a red lipliner and red lipstick.

After making up my face, I sprayed it with a makeup setting mist.

Six hours later, I was done.

Only kidding. It actually took about an hour to makeup my face, which is about a third of the time longer than normal, but I wanted everything to be perfect for Saturday night.

Next, I slipped on my wig, and worked on my hairdo. 

Hair set and sprayed, I then dressed: a Spanx wannabe below my breasts and a strapless bra over them, nude pantyhose, and my to-die-for evening gown. Accessories included pearl earrings and bracelet, a glitzy silver/black purse, and a black silk scarf wrap.

I put on Kiss stick-on nails and Chanel No. 9, snapped a few photos, and left home at about 5 PM.

Checking-In with My Fashion Consultant

For the drive to the hotel, I wore slingback three-inch heels, but at the hotel, I slipped on my ShoeDazzle satin peep-toe platform pumps with ankle strap and rhinestone-dotted 1-inch platform and 6-inch heel.

My good friend (and fashion consultant) Patty wanted to see my outfit, so I stopped at her house and let her see what I had wrought. She was impressed.

We chatted awhile, then I left to continue my journey to the hotel two miles away.

The hotel parking lot was nearly full, but I found a spot and then spent about ten minutes switching shoes, which is not easy to do in the confines of a Subaru Outback.

Despite the full lot of cars, there were no humans outside or inside except for the transwomen staffing the banquet check-in table outside the ballroom.

Checking-In at the Hotel

Ham radio sister Melissa was checking in when I arrived, so we caught up on our recent pasts, I bugged her to take my picture (more than once), and we sat at the same table along with old trans girlfriends Laura (nee Wendy), Alice, Alice's spouse Doris, Michelle, and new trans girlfriends Denise and Idano.

I bought a drink and socialized with old friends and new: Deja, Diana, Jan, Janice, and Sylvia. I also met three girls who attended the event because they read about it in this blog: Diane from Long Island, Stacey from New Haven and her girlfriend Jen, who lives just down the road from me (small world!).

After 90 minutes of hobnobbing with many of the 54 attendees, we sat down to eat. The meal was typical hotel fare, but it did not matter much to me because I eat like a bird when I am girdled.

Freshening Up in the Ladies' Room
After My Act of Sheer Folly

My Act of Sheer Folly

After dinner, there were awards for deserving members of the support group, a comedienne who laughed at her own jokes, and the annual Follies.

In the past, four to six people usually performed in the Follies, but lately it has been just Deja and me. She sings and plays guitar (both very well) and I lipsync (just so-so).

This year it was just Deja and me again, but instead of lipsyncing I decided to sing The Beach Boys song "In My Room."

I wrote about that song earlier this year.

"If ever there was a song about teen transgender angst, 'In My Room' was it. I am sure Brian Wilson did not have crossdressers in mind when he wrote the song, but almost any youth with gender issues could identify with the lyrics of that song."

I own The Beach Boys Stack-O-Tracks album, which contains the instrumental tracks (no vocals) to 15 of their hits including "In My Room," so I had the perfect musical accompaniment to my not-so-perfect singing voice.

I copied the song onto my iPod over a month ago and began practicing during my daily commute. After a few days of that, I concluded that singing that song with my inadequate voice would bore the audience, so I decided to change the lyrics to make it more interesting.

After a few writing attempts, I came up with new lyrics and I practiced every day even during my drive to the banquet Saturday night. But as I sat waiting for the comedienne to finish her act, I began to get stage fright. Going over the lyrics in my head, they suddenly did not sound right. I was close to breaking out in a cold sweat when Deja called me up to the front of the dance floor to perform.

I pulled myself together and was ready to give it a go, but then there was a malfunction with the DJ's equipment. She could not get audio from the track I had given her and suggested using the karaoke version of the song, which she had on hand.

I was unsure about using the karaoke version, but I had no other choice, so being a trooper, I said, "On with the show." But then she discovered the error of her ways and got my track to work. I was relieved and sang my heart out with the following lyrics:

     There's a world where I can go and try on women's clothes,
     In my room, in my room.

     In this world I wear a bra and support pantyhose,
     In my room, in my room.

     Do my hair up and my makeup, even shave my gams,
     Do my nails, wear high heels, I'll look very glam.

     Now it's dark and I can sneak out dressed just like my Mom
     From my room, from my room...

I got laughs from the audience after singing the very first line. That knocked the stage fright out of me and I received a nice applause at the end.

The Rest of the Story

Deja sang three songs after me, then the DJ played requests and the boys and girls danced the night away.

I talked the night away instead and had a wonderful time connecting with old and new friends.

Fashion Note 1: I had no trouble walking in the six-inch heels, but a few times, standing in place, I had to catch myself from falling forward. No - I was not inebriated; I had one alcoholic drink the whole night.

Fashion Note 2: I had more trouble getting tangled up in the long skirts of my evening gown. Despite that, I received a lot of compliments regarding the gown.

I did not wear a watch and was very surprised when I asked the time and found out it was 12:15 AM. Shortly after, I said my goodbyes and drove home.

I so enjoy being a girl.

In My Room

That's me singing my version of "In My Room" at the Connecticut Outreach Society's annual banquet last night. My thanks to the lovely Jan Brown for the photo.

I will post a full report here about last night's adventure real soon now.

Going Out

After I post this, I will begin getting en femme for the Connecticut Outreach Society's banquet tonight.

I promise to post photos and words about tonight in a day or two.

My Prom

In school, I did not date much. I interacted easily with girls on a day-to-day basis, but when it came to dating, I did not interact successfully.

Looking back four decades later, I realize that interacting with girls on a day-to-day basis was easy because I was so feminine, I was really a girl. However, dating girls was difficult because I had to act like a male and that was so foreign to me that I was lousy at it.

When I attended my high school's prom, my sister had to set me up with her best friend as my date. That date went fine because I already knew my sister's friend well; it was as if we were two girls out on a date. The only problem was that one girl had to wear a tuxedo.

I have been trying to make up for that wardrobe disfunction ever since.

I consider my support group's annual banquet as my do-over prom. It gives me an opportunity to dress to the nines in the correct wardrobe and be a prom queen for one night.

My do-over prom is Saturday night and you bet I am looking forward to it.

Stana Has a Random Moment

If you are stuck in a wardrobe rut, Ginger Burr has a solution on her Nurturing Beauty Style Secrets Blog today: 3 Key Steps to Creating Visual Interest in an Outfit.

I don't have a middle name, but I kind of like the name Jacqueline. I came up with that after a woman at the True Colors Conference last Saturday said that the dress I wore looked like something Jacqueline Kennedy would have worn. I like that.

Over on The Huffington Post, Greg Voakes writes that a "Study Finds Increasing Support for Transgender Rights in the U.S.," which is good news indeed.

Looking forward to a big night out next Saturday when I will get dressed to the nines to attend the annual banquet of the Connecticut Outreach Society. Did I mention that I will be performing during the Follies portion of the banquet? I have lip-synched to tunes in past banquet Follies, but this year I plan to do something completely different. Stay tuned for a full report after the fact.

That was Tina Fey gracing my Wednesday post, Passes with Glasses. I like her glasses so much that I may order a pair like hers from Firmoo.com. By the way, they have a sweet deal for first time buyers: free frames.

Last night I dreamed that I wanted big breasts. Awake, I never desired big breasts, so go figure.

What’s in Storrs for Me on Friday

On Friday, I will be returning to my alma mater, the University of Connecticut, which is the site of the True Colors Conference this weekend.

The Conference focuses on the needs of LGBTQ youth and their allies and thousands of young people and adults from around the country will be in attendance.

I have conducted workshops in the past at the Conference, but I did not get my act together in time this year, so no workshop for me. However, I will be staffing the booth of the Connecticut Outreach Society (COS) throughout the day (that’s me in the photo at the booth in 2009).

If you are attending the Conference, please stop by the booth and say "Hello."

Time Flies

It seems like I just finished my Christmas shopping and here it is, March 5, with less than four weeks to go before the big T event of the year in this part of the world.

On the evening of Saturday, March 31, I will be attending the annual Connecticut Outreach Society (COS) banquet at the Four Points Sheraton in the Meriden, CT with about 75 other trans ladies and their guests.

I bought a new evening gown and pair of shoes for the event. I picked out the song I will perform during the entertainment portion of the banquet. And I mailed in my check to confirm my registration. So, I am all set and look forward to the gala gal affair.

I hope you will join me at the banquet; I guarantee that you will have a great time. For more information and a downloadable registration form, visit the COS website and click on the big red link.

'Tis the Season (More or Less)

Me at banquet, 2004

Around these parts, all the T-girls start making plans to attend the T-gal gala event of the year: the annual banquet of the Connecticut Outreach Society (COS).

Two months from now (more or less), on March 31, yours truly will be tripping the light fantastic at the Four Points Sheraton in the "Silver City," Meriden, CT with about 75 other ladies of the trans persuasion.

Between the usual dinner and dancing, there will be an awards presentation and stand-up comedian Tammy TwoTone will perform.

I always have a great time attending the banquet and I am sure that this year will be no different and maybe even better!

For more information and a downloadable registration form, visit the COS website and click on the big red link.

Banquet Tonight

Tonight is the biggest transgender social event of the year in this area: the Connecticut Outreach Society's annual banquet. I will be attending with bells on.

About 2 PM, I will drop everything to get ready for the banquet. A close shave, a warm shower, and makeup application will take about an hour, maybe a little longer because my makeup will have to be perfect for the big event. Then I will get dressed, do my hair, and take a few photos, which should take about a half-hour.

My goal is to be out the door by 5 PM. Then I drive 30 minutes to my friend Patty's home to show her my outfit. Finally, a 5-minute drive to the hotel hosting the event and the fun evening begins!

You can expect a full report and photos here in a day or two.

Retrospective

Just for fun, I decided to compare what I wore to the Connecticut Outreach Society banquet in the past. I was surprised to learn that I have attended 12 banquets and to see how many different looks I managed to pull off!

I hope you will enjoy the banquet photo collage I put together. It represents the following years:

• Top Row:1997, 1999, 2001, 2002

• Middle Row: 2003, 2004, 2005,2006

• Bottom Row: 2007, 2008,2009,2010

(Click on the photo to enlarge the image.)

Banquet Time Is Here Again!

After my makeover before last year's banquet.

Connecticut Outreach Society's annual banquet is Saturday evening. It is the biggest trans social event of the year in these parts and draws 50 to 75 trans people, their supporters, partners, admirers, etc. every year. A good time is had by all.

This year's after-dinner speaker is Ethan St. Pierre. I have not seen or heard from Ethan since Fantasia Fair, so I am looking forward to seeing him on Saturday.

I also look forward to seeing my favorite fashion consultant, Patty, before the banquet. She lives near the hotel and if our schedules are in sync, I usually stop by before the event to show off the results of her advice.

When I was less outgoing a few years ago, the banquet was a very big event for me. It was a rare opportunity to get dressed to the nines and socialize with my "girlfriends," who were similarly attired.

I was so closeted back then that I rented a room at the hotel, arrived in boy mode, and changed into girl mode in my room. When I was ready to make my way down to the banquet hall, I would look through the peep hole of my hotel room door to make sure no one was around. Then I would open the door slightly to see beyond what I could not see through the peep hole.

If all was clear, I would walk down the hall and hope that I would not encounter any civilians in the hallway or worse, in the elevator.

In the lobby, I would scurry as fast as my 4-inch heels would permit me to the banquet hall, check-in, and stay within the hall's confines until the event ended. If, heaven forbid, Mother Nature called, I would slink to the bathroom that the hotel designated for our kind of "girls."

Those days are long gone.

Now I dress at home, drive a half-hour to the hotel, walk the walk through the parking lot and lobby proudly strutting my stuff with no thought about avoiding civilians, male or female. During the banquet, I will repair to the lobby if the music is too loud to gossip with the girls and if Mother Nature calls, I use the most convenient ladies' room, not necessarily the one designated for our kind.

And the banquet is no longer the end-all and be-all event of the year for me. I am no longer stuck attending trans-only events; I relish all opportunities to really be myself out in the real world. But I still forward to the banquet to visit with friends, old and new.

March En Femme

The worst of winter is over. Spring is less than three weeks away. And this young (at heart) girl's thoughts are all about getting out more en femme now that the weather is compatible. (I don't know about you, but I find it daunting to drive a car with a manual transmission on icy roads while wearing 5-inch stilettos.)

March is very promising.

The local support group, Connecticut Outreach Society, hosts the transgender social event of the year in this area: their annual banquet on the 26th in Meriden. A cocktail hour, dinner, after-dinner speaker Ethan St. Pierre, awards presentations, live entertainment, and dance music provided by a DJ is an excuse for this girl to don her prettiest dress and join the fun.

I had two cocktail dresses in mind to wear to the banquet, so last night, I tried them on to decide which to wear and how to accessorize. They both looked nice, but one was not dressy enough for the "transgender social event of the year." The other was dressy enough, but I had worn it to two dressy events I attended in the fall and I did not want to be seen wearing it again so soon after those events.

So I rummaged through my wardrobe to find something else to wear. I found a dress that I bought at Dress Barn back in December 2008 that I never wore out in public because I thought it looked better on the rack than on me. But, what the hay, I tried it on.

The dress has a ribbon belt and whenever I tried it on in the past, I wore the belt. Last night I forgot about the belt and the dress looked completely different. In fact, it looked beautiful and it is the dress I will wear to the banquet.

Like I said, the banquet is the trans social event of the year in Connecticut. If you are in the area and interested in spending an evening socializing with some of the classiest ladies in the Tri-State area, consider attending the banquet. (Here is the banquet registration form.)

I hope to see you there!

Out Tonight

This girl is going out tonight.

First stop will be the mall where I want to buy a new bra at Victoria's Secret and makeup at Sephora.

Second stop will be a meeting of the Connecticut Outreach Society (COS).

At Fantasia Fair last week, my long-time friend Robin, who is the COS program director, invited me to attend the meeting. It will feature image consultant Ginger Burr, who will talk about our female presentations.

It should be a fun and informative night out.

femulating in february... not so much

I have gone the whole month without one femulation. And I don't expect to femulate anytime before the month is over unless there is a great gender epiphany and my family and employer inform me that they are ok with me en femme from now on. But that ain't gonna happen!

I blame the weather for my lack of Februray femulation. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

March is more promising on the femulation front.

On the 12th, I will attend the True Colors Conference, where I will be presenting my "Femulate" workshop. When I am not presenting, I will be working at the Connecticut Outreach Society's booth.

On March 20th, I will attend the annual banquet of the Connecticut Outreach Society, where I will eat, drink, dance, lip sync, and schmooze en femme.

I am so looking forward to March.

trans event of the year next Saturday

The local trans event of the year is next Saturday when my support group has its annual banquet and awards dinner. This is a glamorous event with 50 or so ladies in attendance all dressed to kill in evening gowns and cocktail dresses.

The evening includes dinner, speeches, awards, dancing, and entertainment.

I usually participate in the entertainment portion of the program lipsynching to some obscure tune from the distant past. Last year, I lipsynched to a relatively unknown Leslie Gore song called "Sometimes I Wish I Were A Boy," an unrequited love song sung by a boy dressed as a girl singing about a girl who wished that she could occasionally be a boy. Talk about gender-bending!

This year, my gender-bending will be limited to lipsynching to a song that is usually sung by male performers.

I usually wear cocktail dresses to the banquet and this year probably will be no different. I am 75% sure of what I am going to wear, but with a week to go, you never know what old treasure I might find in my closet.

And needless to say, a full report with photos will appear here. (The accompanying photo shows me dressed up for last year's banquet.)

By the way, if you are in the area, there is still time to make plans to attend the banquet. Go here for more information.