Unbared Legs

Susan King, Femulate Contributing Editor of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame writes about how we clothe our legs.

In the 1960's, I remember how wearing my mother's stockings and garter belt felt so good and along with her shoes, were my first foray into "crossdressing."

Now it seems that stockings are out of style unless it's a formal affair or a dress code requirement. That's too bad because I love wearing them. I still wear tights and legwarmers in the winter, but I have a drawer full of stockings that I have not worn in a decade. I should throw them away, but I can not.

I do remember in the 1980's through the 2010's, wearing off-black sheer stockings, not only in the house, but out in public. Hopefully, stockings will come back in style, but I doubt it as woman are dressing more casually everyday.

(Stana's Two Cents: If you have legs that look good without hosiery, then go for it. As for me, I am "old school" and always wear hosiery and probably always will. Although my legs look good without hosiery, they look better with hosiery and better is better.)  

Here is a nice infographic of all the different types of legwear.

Wearing Madeleine.

Gender role reversals at Delta (Ohio) High School in 1998.
(Thank you, Starla, for the image!)

Your Face's Crowning Glory

This is the seventh in a seven-part series of posts written by Femulate Contributing Editor Susan King of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame. Susan describes how to determine your face shape and then, how to put that information to good use.

Some of us girls are lucky that we can use our own hair when out. I am not one of them.  I have the worst case of male pattern baldness which started while I was in my 20's.. So I am destined to be a wig wearer.

Once I put on my hair, I see my feminine self. My wig makes the outfit and overall look. You can use your hair to change the frame of your face. Wearing the correct wig style with the correct face shape in a must.

Below is a great infographic that shows how different hair style work with different facial shapes. And here is a short and concise video that does a very good job of explaining hairstyles based on your face shape.

New York City street style, Fall 2016.

Scott Baio does his makeup in an 1983 episode of television's The Fall Guy.

Best Brows for Your Face

This is the sixth in a seven-part series of posts written by Femulate Contributing Editor Susan King of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame. Susan describes how to determine your face shape and then, how to put that information to good use.

The correct eyebrow look can make or break the feminine face. An easy male vs. female marker are
the eyebrows. Of course, an Adam's apple and your voice can be easy giveaways, along with poor eyebrow maintenance.

In the 1990's, I did not have the money (raising children) or the time (children dance class and work) to have an electrologist work on my beard, so I had my eyebrows done. Within one year, I had my eyebrows permanently arched.

No one said anything while I had this done. Years later, my youngest daughter stated that she hoped to have eyebrows like mine when she grew up. I just smiled and told her, she probably will.

I really like my eyebrows and use an eyebrow pencil to define them. The correct eyebrow style will define and feminize your face. Matching your eyebrows with your face shape has a tremendous impact.

The chart above shows the best eyebrow shape for your face. Some of the differences are small but its worth it. This short video also does a good job of explaining eyebrow types based on the facial shape.

Wearing Ann Taylor.

This image is from a womanless beauty pageant, probably at the high school level. I posted this image because it reminds me of me at that age. I was overweight and feminine in high school. As a result, I was rejected by females and derided by males. I escaped from that world by visiting the closets of my mother and sister to release the girl in me. If my school had a womanless pageant, I might resemble the girl above and enjoy every minute of the occasion just as she seems to be doing.

Foundation of Your Face

This is the fifth in a seven-part series of posts written by Femulate Contributing Editor Susan King of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame. Susan describes how to determine your face shape and then, how to put that information to good use.

Foundation is an important makeup requirement for most of us. As males, we probably did not take care of our skin, plus we have facial hair and large pores. I remember learning how to apply beard cover and trying to match the correct foundation color to my skin. It was difficult, time-consuming and required a lot of practice.

I began wearing foundation in the early 1990's with the help of a Mary Kay representative whose husband was a crossdresser.

In the last few years, I learned how to contour and highlight my face to give it a less male look. Contouring requires adding darker tones, while highlighting requires adding lighter tones to your foundation. It helps create a certain appearance that either reduces male traits and/or accentuates female traits.

Applying foundation, blush and contouring is done based on your face shape.

The picture shows how contouring, highlighting and blush should be applied to create a more feminine look.

Below is a more detailed description for each of face shape. Once you review what is best for your face shape, then practice...practice....practice.

Incorporating some of these items into your makeup routine will have a big impact in your appearance. If you feel comfortable, try a makeover at a department store makeup counter (M·A·C or Clinique), a store (Ulta Beauty or Sephora) or a salesperson from Avon (Stana!) .

I have had two makeovers in the past 12 months One at a Clinque counter and second one at Ulta Beauty. I learned a lot from the Ulta lady as she was younger and showed me how to highlight and contour using difference foundation colors. This technique slightly reshaped my face and looked amazing. I now use two different foundations and I like the new look.

Round

• Contour: Apply to the edges of the face, from the temples to the jawline and in the hollows of the cheeks
• Highlight: Apply to the center of the hairline to the center of the forehead, down the bridge of the nose, the cheekbones under the outer corners of the eyes, and the center of the chin
• Bronzer: Apply to the edges of the face, from the temples to the jawline
• Blush: Don't apply blush on the apples of your cheek; this makes your face look wider, but instead sweep upward to give your face a lift, do the 'duck face'

Pear

• Contour: Focus mostly on the sides of the face from about the ears down
• Highlight: Apply under the eyes to the temples, bridge of nose and under your nose, forehead (but instead of going vertically, apply your highlight in horizontally) and chin 
• Bronzer: Apply to your jawline to slim jaw 
• Blush:  Apply blush along the cheekbones toward the temples or fuller area of the cheeks

Oval

• Contour:  Apply lightly along the hairline and temples and under the cheekbones
• Highlight: Apply to the center of the forehead, down the bridge of the nose, from the brow bone to cheekbones in a C-shape, and the center of the chin 
• Bronzer: Apply bronzer in the shape of 3 at the sides of your face 
• Blush: Don't apply blush on the apples of your cheek; this makes your face look wider, but instead sweep upward to give your face a lift, do the 'duck face'

Oblong/Long

• Contour: Apply to the entire hairline at the top of forehead, hollows of cheeks (make the 'fish face' to find) and bottom of chin 
• Highlight: Apply above cheekbones (a little higher than where you put blush)
• Bronzer: Apply bronzer to entire hairline at the top of forehead and on your jawline 
• Blush: Apply blush to apples of the check and blend toward the ear, almost create a horizontal line across the face

Heart/Inverted Triangle

• Contour:  Apply to the temples, the sides of the cheeks, and the chin 
• Highlight: Apply to the center of the hairline to the center of the forehead, down the bridge of the nose, above and below the outer edges of the brows, the chin just below the lower lip and to the sides of the mouth
• Bronzer: Apply to the sides of the forehead and slightly lower your cheekbones 
• Blush: Avoid applying blush too high and instead apply it slightly lower than the cheekbones or you can apply a small amount on the apple and blend it out, but remember to leave a gap at the cheekbones. 

Rectangle/Square

• Contour: Apply to the temples and from the hollows of the cheeks to the jawline
• Highlight: Apply to the center of the hairline and the center of the forehead, above and below the outer edges of the brows and the center of the chin
• Bronzer: Apply to the sides of the forehead and jawline 
• Blush: Don't apply blush on the apples of your cheek, this makes your face look wider, but instead sweep upward to give your face a lift, do the 'duck face'

Diamond

• Contour: Apply to the sides of the face starting at the temples moving down to just pass the hollows of of cheeks, no further 
• Highlight: Focus on the forehead, the cheekbones under the outer corner of your eye, and chin (apply highlight horizontally)
• Bronzer: Apply to the outer edges of the cheeks and temples, avoid the middle face 
• Blush: Apply to upper most part of your cheeks and blended toward your temples

And most importantly, feel beautiful because you are beautiful.

Wearing Fate.

Yasumasa Morimura

Top Off Your Look With a Hat

This is the fourth in a seven-part series of posts written by Femulate Contributing Editor Susan King of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame. Susan describes how to determine your face shape and then, how to put that information to good use.

I do not wear hats because I must wear a wig and I think that the circumference of my head with a wig is too big. But I have learned that the opposite maybe true, if you wear the correct hat (style and size). As in the previous post, its about the shape of your face. You can change the shape of the face, feminize your face by adding a hat with curves/movements and you can add to your overall image and style.

I have very limited knowledge of hats. Here is a great article about hat styles and their history. Seventeen different styles are discussed in a very concise format.

Here is a short video on how to measure your hat size.

Lauren Valenti from Marie Claire describes the best hat styles for the major face shapes.

The goal is to slim the forehead to make it appear more narrow. Any brimmed style that is medium in length will achieve this.

You'll want something with a little width and a shorter crown that will balance out the length of your face. A medium-sized floppy, cloche, crusher, or bucket style would work best.

You can pull off pretty much any style. Go for something cool and more fashion-forward like a fisherman cap or boater style.

The goal is to create length, so something with a tall crown will give you that height you need. Look for medium to long brim fedoras, porkpies and trilby styles. Avoid anything low to the head and rounded — this will only accentuate the roundness.

You'll want to soften the angles. So anything with a curved silhouette will do the trick. Floppy's, cloches, or bowler styles will help to round out your features.

I am going to try some hats next summer. This summer was so hot and I need to find cover from the sun. I hope you add a hat or two to you wardrobe.

Happy shopping!

Wearing Scarlett (top).

Femulating South Korean pop star Kangnam

Glasses for Your Faces

This is the second in a seven-part series of posts written by Femulate Contributing Editor Susan King of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame regarding how to determine your face shape and then, how to put that information to good use, for example, how face shapes and hairstyles get along. 

In yesterday's post, I provided ways to determine your face shape. This is important because, knowing your face shape will help you choose items that can feminize your appearance just enough to make a difference. Over the next six posts, we will discuss some of those items and how knowing your face shape can help you make better buying decisions. 

Today's post will discuss eyeglasses and the correct eyeglasses to wear based on your face's shape.

Not everyone is an eyeglass wearer. I have worn glasses since I was about 7 years old. I could never get my head around contact lenses and putting something in my eye. I have enough trouble putting glaucoma eye drops in every night. 

Back in the 1990's, I had two pairs of glasses. One when in boy mode and a second pair when out as Susan. My current pair are woman glasses. I went shopping for glasses (including the eye exam) in "Femboy" mode and it did not take long for the clerk to show me female glasses. I wear these glasses all the time and no one ever mentions anything about my glasses.

When it comes to finding the perfect fitting glasses, a lot depends on your individual face shape. Different frame styles can either play up or play down your unique facial contours, so learning what works best for you is key. Whether your face is round, square, heart, oval or triangle, the following guide highlights what you should and should not focus on when it comes to shopping for the perfect glasses.

Round Shape

Square/Rectangle Shape

Triangle

Heart

Oval/Oblong

(Source: Coastal.com)

Here is a nice infographic showing seven face shapes with suggested frames... 

And a video that discusses which frames work with which facial shapes. 

Along with your face shape, there are three other characteristics to remember about your glasses:

Contrast — "The shape of your frame should contrast the shape of your face, so if you have rounder features, you want more angular glasses, and if you have more angular features you want to soften them with more curved shapes."

Proportion — "In general, you want your frames to be in proportion with the rest of your face. It's different when you are shopping for sunglasses, which tend to be larger for greater coverage, but what looks good as a sunglass will not necessarily look good in optical."

Color — "Choose a color that compliments your features. Black is always good for highlighting and outlining your eyes. Glasses that contrast the tone of your face and hair will stand out more, but it's up to you how much of a statement you want your glasses to make."

(Source: Harvey Moscot, the fourth generation owner of 100-yr old optical brand MOSCO)

I hope this helps for those who need glasses and have decided against contact lenses.


Good luck and have fun shopping!

New York City street style, September 2016

Goan Fragoso, male womenswear model

Cures for Gender Dysphoria

By Susan King, Transitioning into Tomorrow

Five things I do when my gender dysphoria kicks in and I am locked in the closet.

1. Take some time to pamper myself like take a bubble bath, shave my body hair, watch TV while giving myself a manicure

2. Create a pretty outfit on Polyvore.

3. Build a nice board on Pinterest.

4. Read a book. I am currently reading books with transgender or woman lead characters. I love SF books, so I am trying authors of SF books with female leads. I have tried fiction books with a transgender theme. But I have not found the right author.

5. Snuggle under a nice soft blanket and watch a comedy with a female lead. I get some popcorn and a diet soda (water now) and enjoy.

These five things do not always work. But I will  try one of them when I am stuck in the closet.

How do you handle your gender dysphoria?

Wearing Trina Turk.

Wanda Zambella, mid-20th Century professional femulator

Dressing Apples

By Susan King, Transitioning into Tomorrow

Many of us have an apple shape. Part of having an apple shape is having great legs and a statuesque look. We just are a little squishy in the middle.

My question is "how to find the right dress for an apple shape?" This is a nice video with some answers and good tips.

Wearing Komarov.

Alex Newell femulates on television's Glee (2009).

Shapewear for Your Body

By Susan King

This is another guest blog post by my friend Susan, who is the author of her own blog, Transitioning Into Tomorrow.

Many of us girls require shapeware to get that perfect silhouette. Below is a nice Infographic guide assist in determining which type of shapeware works best with your body type. 

Wearing ModCloth.

Pammy Rose, UK transgender beauty queen