First I look at the purse

I admit to being a shoe whore, but now I am becoming a bag hag, too.

Purses/pocketbooks/handbags were those things that clearly separated the boys from the girls. Slip on your high heels, grab your purse and you are out the door as a woman, not some boy pretending to be a man.

I had a small collection of bags. Most were inexpensive bags that I purchased at JCPenney, Payless, Fashion Bug, etc. The only designer bag I owned was a B. Makowsky satchel that I bought for $80 at a consignment shop (it cost $250 new).

Then my daughter Christmas-gifted me a Kate Spade bag. And when she moved to an apartment last month, she gave me two Coach bags and two Jessica Simpson bags that she never used and did not want to take along to her new digs.

Since then, I acquired two more Coach bags!

Not only have I become a bag hag, but I am also a bag snob, because when I go out now, I will only wear a designer bag!

I call that "progress." LOL

Wearing Moda  Operandi (Source: Moda Operandi)

Womanless pageant contestant before and after (Source: Pinterest)

Life, Look & the Saturday Evening Post

Since semi-retiring, my daily routine has no routine. This blog has suffered as a result.

When I was working, the first thing I did before starting work was to write the next post for the blog. Now that I am not working, my daily schedule is so fluid that regularly writing a new blog post each day is not happening. Hopefully, I will get better as I get used to my new life.

And so it goes.

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My daughter and I were discussing feet yesterday after she noticed that I wasn’t wearing socks in boy mode, which has been my warm-weather routine for a few years now. 

One thing led to another and I mentioned how my footwear did not fit right lately. All my shoes seemed loose — so loose that my feet were slipping around inside my shoes when I walked causing me to walk more weirdly than usual. The only shoes that fit well were a pair I recently bought at Payless, which was a half-size smaller than my “normal” size.

My daughter suggested that since I lost weight (10 pounds), my feet lost some weight, too.

Of course — why didn’t I think of that! Which also explains why my girl shoes have felt more comfortable lately.

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My favorite nude bag had seen better days. I bought it from Avon about five years ago and it became my go-to bag whenever I wore nude heels.

The inside of the bag was as good as new, but the outside of the bag was worn out. Cleaning it helped a little, but it had some blue worn spots that cleaning only made worse. It was time to shop for a new nude bag.

I visited all the online suspects and found just what I was looking for at Payless: their “Lianna Tote” designed by Christian Siriano. It is a classy looking bag with lots of room inside to hold all the contents girls like us need when we go out. 

Its list price was $49.99, but it was on sale for $34.99 and to sweeten the deal, I had a coupon, which knocked the price down to $27.91. So, Stana’s got a brand new bag!

Wearing Veronica Beard dress, Alexandre Birman sandals, Odette bracelet (Source: Intermix)

Chelsea Manning

Stana's Got a Brand New Bag

My co-workers have seen me as a woman the last three Halloweens in a row in addition to two other Halloweens around the turn of the century. If they looked closely, they also may have seen me wear items of woman's clothing on days that do not fall on the last day of October including lady's shoes, hosiery, slacks, jeans and tunics. If they had X-ray vision, panties, bras, and girdles would also be seen on occasion.

If the weather is bad or if I have a doctor's appointment on a workday, I work from home. This necessitates carrying my laptop home everyday.

My computer bag is now carrying its third laptop. It is showing its age and features a broken zipper and a handle which is going to give up the ghost any day now.

When I received a new laptop a few weeks ago, I mentioned to my boss that I could use a new computer bag, too. She told me to buy a new one and expense it.

I began shopping for a new computer bag and was surprised that on the Staples website, there are  computer bags offered for men, women, girls and the unisexed. (Why not "boys" is the subject for another blog post.) Naturally, I checked out the women's computer bags and found a few that were decidedly womanly.

I thought about it for a day or two and finally ordered a women's computer bag that looks more like a woman's bag than a computer bag (see image above). I look forward to carrying it to work!

Alison St. John

Shopping Spree

Tuesday morning, the weather forecast looked foreboding especially for someone who hates to drive in the snow. I figured my all-wheel-drive Subaru would get me through any white stuff that tried to ruin my day, so I went forward with my plans.

The temperature was supposed to be in the 30s all day long, so I dressed appropriately. I wore a blue Victoria's Secret sweater dress that I bought years ago on clearance, but had never wore because I was not sure it looked good on me.

I don't know why I thought that because when I put it on Tuesday morning, I thought it looked fine. Maybe losing weight since I bought that dress made a difference. Along with the dress, I wore my unmentionables, nude hosiery, black booties, silver jewelry, black bag, fake lynx fur coat and the short auburn wig I wore last time out.

I was out the door at 9:45 AM; it was snowing lightly with no accumulation on the ground. I drove to Tonkin's Wigs in Waterbury and arrived just before owner Kathy Tonkin opened the shop.

Kathy has always done me right and I trust her to find the perfect wig for me. She asked if I had anything in mind.

I replied that I liked the auburn wig I was wearing, but wanted something longer.

The first wig Kathy found for me was in the ballpark, but not a home run. The second wig was a grand slam. It is a "Kiera" from Tony of Beverly in the color "wineberry" also known as “chestnut red.” The wig is a little bit retro and a little bit mod.

"Kiera is a fashion forward mid-length. The Hollywood wave. A modern interpretation of lush layered curls. The angled bangs are styled smooth for a cool contrast."

I loved it and did not need to try on another wig. Kathy styled it, I paid for it and wore it out the door.

Next stop was Goddess Plus Size Consignment. I had been in the shop twice in boy mode with my wife when she was looking for a new bag. Now I was solo, en femme, also looking for a new bag, but not just any bag --- I wanted a designer bag.

I perused the display case containing the designer bags that the store had for sale. A black bag caught my eye and I asked the saleswoman to take it out of the case so I could examine it.

It was a B. Makowsky satchel for $80 (it cost $250 new). I examined the bag closely and it was brand new. It still had a B. Makowsky advertising booklet inside, as well as a cloth bag to protect it during storage. I decided to buy it.

Then, I perused the clothing racks and found two dresses that I liked. I took them to a dressing room to try them on.

The first dress I tried on was a New York & Company sleeveless zebra print with ruched sides along the skirt and ties to tighten or loosen the ruched sides, which in effect, shortens or lengthens the hem. It fit perfectly and looked ok in the dressing room mirror, but I wanted to look at the dress in the semi-circle of mirrors that the store had outside the dressing stalls.

I stepped out of the stall, walked to the semi-circled and twirled slowly to see the dress at all angles. The saleswoman thought it looked great on me and I agreed. And it only cost $6!

The second dress was a Dress Barn black sequins sleeveless cocktail dress with a $39 price tag. It also fit well and looked good in the dressing room mirror, but I wanted to see it in the semi-circle of mirrors, too.

As I twirled slowly in the semi-circle, the store owner said my arms looked perfect in the dress. No one had ever praised my arms before! Then she added that my legs were perfect, too.

I bought both dresses and the bag and was very pleased with my shopping experience.

I have no idea if the folks at Goddess knew I was trans, but the store has a reputation of being supportive of the trans community and the staff treated me like a lady. The store has a wide range of clothing in plus sizes, as well as shoes, bags, jewelry and other accessories.

I highly recommend visiting Goddess if you are in the Waterbury area. And while you are in the Waterbury area, I also highly recommend Tonkin's Wigs --- Kathy Tonkin has a great eye for knowing which wigs and colors look best on you and like I said earlier, she has never done me wrong.

The snow was now falling more heavily and accumulating on the ground, but not the road, so I continued on to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven to do outreach. About half way to New Haven, the snow transitioned to rain and all was right with the world as far as I was concerned.

First I Look At the Purse

Maybe it's just me. Maybe it has something to do with the environment or the era in which I grew up. But in my mind, a purse, clutch, handbag, pocketbook, etc., is the defining part of an outfit that indicates that you really mean business with regards to presenting femininely.

I can wear a wig, dress, heels, full makeup, earrings, necklace, bracelet, pantyhose, tampon, bra, girdle, panties, etc., but until I add a purse to my outfit, only then do I feel that I am really femulating.

Without a purse, a guy in a dress still has a lot of freedom, especially in his upper body, to move and motion in a manly manner. Hand him a purse and that is a mare of a different color. She now has to move and motion differently; she must consider her purse at all times and move accordingly.

"Moving accordingly" means moving like a lady, that is, she must carry herself like other lady's who are carting a bag.

While you are at it, carry a nice bag. A designer bag is to die for and shows the other girls that you are really concerned about your feminine appearance.

A designer bag does not have to bust your budget; the consignment shops are full of like-new designer bags at cut-rate prices.

So, get a nice bag and carry yourself and the bag like a lady.

And happy femulating!

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Here are a couple of how-to's on the topic of carrying handbags:

• Couture Allure Vintage Fashion

• it's all in the bag