Plan C

The dress I bought to wear to the Hamvention awards dinner was not compatible with any of the bras I own. The problem was that the straps of the dress did not cover the straps of my bra and the visible bra straps ruined the look of the dress.

Plan A was to wear the dress without a bra.

Plan B was to take the dress to my local lingerie shop and buy a bra that would work with the dress.

Then I came up with Plan C.

As you may or may not know, I am an Avon lady and while perusing the recent Avon catalog, I found something that might solve my problem: Body Illusions Seamless Smoothing Cami, which claims to smooth the midsection and back bulge and slim the entire waistline. It also had a roll-resistant hem and adjustable straps.

Its thin adjustable straps and $12.99 price tag sold me, so I ordered it on Sunday and it arrived yesterday.

Right after dinner, I tried it on. It looked too small out of the box, but stretched easily to fit and mold my full figure. That was all good and well, but would it work with the dress?

I slipped on the dress, zipped it up and examined the results in the mirror. After a slight adjustment to the cami straps, it was perfect!

I was so happy with the cami that I plan to buy another, as well as purchase a Body Illusions Bodysuit.

Wearing Cushnie Et Ochs dress, Sophia Webster sandal and Edie Parker clutch.

Celebrity makeup artist Andrew Sotomayor

I'll Be Brief

My foundation wear these days consists of a Bali cami torset top, which is a cami with the front cut out to allow me to wear whatever bra I wish (usually something from Victoria's Secret). Below I wear a Bali high-waisted brief.

I have been very satisfied customer of these Bali Spanx clones, however, something new (to me) has appeared on the shapewear horizon. Bali has combined their cami torset top and high-waisted brief into one single piece of shapewear: the Bali Powershape Torset Body Briefer (see photo).

Avon has begun selling this new product and I ordered a sample. I will let you know how it works out as soon as I can.

 

Get Back Fat

The weather forecast for today did not look promising (a "wintry mix"), so I was in no hurry to get up and get out of house. In anticipation of the weather, I did my normal Saturday morning chores yesterday, so I had a leisurely Saturday morning for a change.

I took advantage of the free time to try on some outfits while wearing the new shapewear camisole I purchased to deal with my back fat issues.

The cami looks too small, but it stretches to fit and smooths out my back fat. Instead of a roll of fat, my back was now flat. (By the way, my dress size is usually Misses 16 and the size XL cami fits me fine.)

I tried on a few dresses I had worn in the past where my back fat was evident and I was very pleased with the difference. I tried on a few dresses I had not worn yet and the results were the same.

Bali makes the cami. I bought it through Avon. It is similar to this one except that the one I bought through Avon (see photo) has narrower shoulder straps, no lace inserts, and was $25.

If you wish to buy the Avon version, you cannot buy it online (I searched high and low and cannot find it on their website). You will have to buy it through an Avon representative. (The cami appears in the Campaign 3 sales book as shown here.)

I am so satisfied with my purchase that I ordered a second one.

To Do: One Down, Ten To Go

I have already accomplished one of the eleven items on my January 1st To Do List: get rid of my back fat

I learned how at Fantasia Fair back in October when I attended the "Essence of Style: Image Consulting" workshop run by Hera Navassardian. During the workshop Q&A, I asked how to get rid of back fat.

One of Hera's assistants, who also femulates on occasion, explained how she does it: she hides it using shapewear.

I made a mental note.

I recalled the mental note when I tried on the Victoria's Secret sweater dress I bought myself for Christmas. It fit like a glove and revealed my back fat.

Coincidentally, the new Avon catalog was selling a Bali shapewear camisole that let you wear your own bra, while claiming that it "Flattens tummy, smoothes back… solves dilemmas."

I ordered an XL in black.

When it arrived, I thought I was going to need a bigger cami, but it stretched to fit and worked as advertised: my back fat was gone!

I am going to order a second one in beige.

nighty night, part 2

Good news is that the cami and tap sleep set that I ordered from Avon fit like a dream and I look forward to wearing them while I dream at Fantasia Fair.

nighty night

I am an Avon lady, i.e., I sell Avon products.

Last night, it was time to turn in my biweekly Avon order and as usual, before I do, I browse the catalogs and brochures to see if there is anything I need.

During my browse last night, I noticed the sleepwear on sale and I realized I have nothing to wear when I go to bed during the week I will be attending Fantasia Fair where I will be en femme 24/7. I could wear a pair of my boy mode pajamas, but that would ruin the mood of being female 24/7, so instead of pajamas, I will be wearing the lovely pleated cami and tap sleep set pictured here.

I’d walk a mile for a camisole

I plan to go out en femme Wednesday evening to attend my support group’s final meeting before the group’s two-month summer hiatus. I plan to wear a black dress that I’ve worn before and from past experience, I know that the loose V-neckline of that dress will reveal the top of my bra.

If I wear a black bra, then no problem; my bra will blend in with my dress. However, if I wear a white or beige bra, I will want to hide my bra, so I will wear a camisole over my bra/under my dress to camouflage my bra.

Camisole camouflage (or “cami camo”) addresses a variety of fashion issues. As I wrote in my top 30 things every crossdressing man needs in his wardrobe to emulate a woman, "buy one camisole or better, buy two: one in black and another in white. I own a half dozen because they can solve so many personal wardrobe dilemmas."