Keep on Figurin'

Recently, I received compliments about my girlish figure and questions about how I achieve it. 

My natural body shape and your natural body shape are probably different, so what works for me may not work exactly the same for you. My natural body features B cup-sized breasts (44B in the bra department) and womanly hips (when I reduce my waist size). My natural body lacks a shapely derriere – it is as flat as a pancake. I am 6 feet 2 inches tall and weigh 190 pounds. With all that to work with, here is how I work with it.

About a year ago, I wrote about how I achieved my figure. Since then, being quarantined gave me a lot of time to experiment with new things, so almost all the shapewear I used a year ago has changed.

From top to bottom, I wear a bra, corset and padded panty and over it all that, I wear Spanx. These are the exact items I wear with links to my favorite lingerie store, Amazon:

👗 Playtex Love My Curves Feel Gorgeous underwire full coverage bra 

👗 frawirshau satin lace-up boned underbust corset

👗 Rago Style 915 high waist padded panty with soft control

👗 SPANX Oncore open-bust panty bodysuit

Getting dressed, I put the corset on first. It reduces my waistline by a few inches and reveals my womanly hips that were hidden by male disguise. 

Next, I put on the padded panty. Its “soft control” flattens my belly and its rear padding adds shape to the flatlands of my butt. It also provides coverage for the corset’s hardware. 

I tuck my boy parts as I slip on the padded panty. Sometimes, the padded panty keeps the boys at bay, but sometimes it doesn’t, so I usually wear an undersized pair of high waist panties for added security.  

Previously, I wore a longline bra to help flatten my midsection, but that is overkill while wearing a corset. So now I wear pretty bras like the Playtex Love My Curves or Victoria’s Secret Bombshells that I currently own. 

Over everything, I wear the SPANX. It has a front cut out to expose whatever bra I am wearing. Meanwhile, it smooths out any uneveness that may occur between the bra, corset and padded panty. And like the padded panty, it helps to hide the corset’s hardware.

Voila! That is how I achieve my girlish 44-36-44 figure.

With that achievement under my belt, I often wear tight, body-con dresses (“if you got it, flaunt it”) and I never worry about my shapewear giving away my secrets to success because it is invisible.  

Wearing Bebe

Tallulah Bankhead with three chorus “girls” in the play The Garden of Eden, circa 1927
(Thank-you, Mikki)

Thrown for a Loop

Back in May, I purchased a corset online for $12.99. At that price, I did not know what to expect, but I was so happy with my purchase that I bought a second one in a different color.

I am not a corset expert, so I have a question that I hope that you corset experts can answer. Along the top hem of the corset, about 8 inches on either side of the vertical row of metal closures (the busk) are two loops. What is the purpose of the two loops? 

If I was wearing the corset upside down, I might think that the loops were intended for the attachment of garters. If that was their purpose, there should be matching loops on the back of the corset, too, but there are none.

I thought that they might have something to do with a bra, but I can’t fathom what that something might be.

I'm stumped. If you know the answer, please unstump me.

UPDATE: The consensus is that the loops are intended for attachment to a clothes hanger.

Wearing Guilty of Glam

U.S. servicemen femulating in a German prisoner-of-war camp, circa 1943.

What Else I’m Underwearing

I realized that my previous post was incomplete after receiving this comment: “No hip pads?”

In addition to the longline bra, corset and padded panty, I wear a SPANX Oncore Open-Bust Panty Bodysuit to smooth and sculpt my body, i.e, to put the icing on the cake that my other shapewear had created.

Also, to be complete, I usually wear Berkshire thigh highs. Occasionally, I will substitute the thigh highs with No Nonsense sheer-to-waist pantyhose if my hemline is very short or if I am wearing a romper or shorts. HUE opaque tights are another leg wear option.

Getting back to the hip pads comment, my response was “No hip pads. The foundation garments I wear reduce my waistline so that it appears I have hips and a 42-34-42 figure, more or less.”

My “more or less” equivocation haunted me all morning. I had not taken my measurements in years – certainly not since I lost weight, nor since I began wearing the current combination of shapewear. 

To sate my curiosity, I slipped on all my shapewear, took my measurements and took them a second time because I was surprised by my initial measurements. Turns out I was little more voluptuous than I thought – my measurements are 44-36-44.

Wearing Boston Proper

Carl Switzer femulating in a 1937 Our Gang comedy Mail and Female

What I’m Underwearing

Self-portrait in pencil (2008)

I am always trying to improve my presentation. Losing 25 pounds last year made a big difference, but also required that I purchase new foundation garments because the undies I had been wearing were now too big. So a review of what I am currently underwearing is in order.

From top to bottom...

My bra size did not change. Maybe because what I was wearing was too small and now fits just right. I wear a longline bra to keep my tummy in check and recently switched from a Rago to a Carnival longline bra. I switched because the Carnavil is a front closure bra, whereas the Rago is a back closure bra. The front closure is just so much easier to deal with especially with a longline bra. Caveat emptor: the Carnival runs small and I had to order one band size larger (42B instead of 40B).

My derriere was not very shapely before the weight loss and was even more lacking after the loss, so I decided to experiment with padded panties to improve things down under. I found the Rago High Waist Padded Panty to be the solution for me. It adds a nice curve to my derriere where there was none before and it also acts as a girdle to flatten my tummy.

Under the bra and padded panty, I occasionally  wear a corset – the occasion being whether or not the outfit I am wearing is “body conscious” (“body con”). Corsets can be expensive, but I found a very inexpensive one that works for me – Frawirshau satin underbust corset that only costs $12.99! (It is so inexpensive that I bought a second one!)

So that’s the shape I’m in these days.

Wearing Marta Ferri  

Christian De Sica femulates in yet another film, Amici Come Prima, a 2018 Italian comedy.
You can view the film’s trailer on YouTube.

Putty in My Hands

My body is like putty. With my large collection of shapewear, I am able to mold my "baby fat" into a reasonable facsimile of a feminine figure.

When I was more weighty, I had a pretty good handle on what shapewear to use to rearrange the furniture, but now that I am quickly approaching my goal weight, what worked before no longer works as well when I was a full-figured gal. Twenty-five pounds makes a big difference, so I have been experimenting with different combinations of bras, girdles, corsets, waist cinchers, Spanx, etc. to create a female figure out of my less voluptuous bod.

I don't want to lose much more weight because then I will have too little fat to mold. I will probably settle with losing two or three more pounds and then maintain my weight.

By the way, it has been interesting how my body lost weight. It seems that most of my weight loss was in the trunk of my body, so now I look leaner and my wife has taken to calling me "skinny." On the other hand, the size of my breasts has not changed and my girls still fill a B or C cup depending on the style and/or brand of bra that I wear. But with the weight loss of my torso, I can feel my girls bounce...  something that wasn't there when my torso was fuller. (And I love it!)

Wearing Unique Vintage (Source: Unique Vintage)

The always classy and beautiful Rhonda of Rhonda's Escape fame.

Progress

Katy Perry

Paolo Ballesteros femulates Katy Perry.

Get Curvy

Recently, people have commented positively about my figure and Billie asked, “I would like to learn your secret to a wonderful and very womanly body!”

Over 50 years of femulating, I have tried various methods to achieve a girlish figure. I will not bore you with that history; instead, I will concentrate on my current modus operandi for getting curvy.

From top to bottom, I wear a bra, waist cincher, and panties. Over the bra and waist cincher, I wear a shapewear cami and over the panties, I wear a shapewear brief.

Waist Not Want Not

I wear a waist cincher to reduce my waistline by a few, but noticeable inches. My waist cincher is so old that the brand name tag is unreadable and I don't remember the brand, but it is nothing unusual. It is a dead ringer for this 12-inch long, front hook-and-eye closure Maidenform waist cincher that is available from JCPenney's, Kohl's, Macy's, etc.

Occasionally, I strap on my heavy-duty underbust corset if I think I will need a little extra curvature, but normally, my waist cincher is all I need.

For the Girls

Victoria's Secret claims that their Bombshell push-up bra will add two cup sizes. It is heavily padded to accomplish that feat. Since I am blessed with small, but decidedly female breasts, wearing a Bombshell bra makes my girls outstanding in their field without anything extra.

I am sold on Vicky's Bombshell bra and that is the only kind I have bought since they were recommended to me by a saleswoman at Vicky's. I think you will be happy wearing a Bombshell, but  if you are flat-chested, you probably need to wear a breast form to fill out the cups of the Bombsell. (Later, I will describe how to make your own breast forms.)

For the Boys

I wear panties under a Bali shapewear brief, although the shapewear manufacturers' claim that panties are not necessary "because they all make shapewear with a cotton crotch or an accessible crotch."

That being said, I wear panties to help manage my boy parts down under. I tuck and the panties help keep the tucked parts in place. I have had less success maintaining tucks wearing shapewear without panties, although your mileage may vary.

Whereas the panties keep my boys in check, the Bali shapewear brief flattens my tummy and rounds up my cheeks to achieve a more attractive and more feminine shape.

Smoothing Things Over

Over the bra and waist cincher, I wear Bali's cami torset top. It is a cami with the front cut out to allow you to wear whatever bra you want. Meanwhile, it smooths out any uneveness that may occur between the bra and waist cincher and it also eliminates the back fat that has long been an issue that I thought I would never conquer.

I tuck the shapewear cami into the shapewear brief to keep the cami from riding up.

Voila! That is how I achieve my girlish figure.

There are a lot of layers and they can warm you up, but I solved the overheating issue by wearing short skirts! Short skirts and a fab figure are a winning combination!

Back to the Girls

I mentioned above that I don't wear breast forms because my natural B cups sitting comfortably in a Bombshell bra are more than adequate. But if I am wearing something revealing that will show off cleavage, I use breast forms to help create that cleavage.

In the past to create cleavage, I used surgical tape to squeeze my breasts together then added makeup to enhance the squeeze. It was very effective, but removing the tape was very painful and often resulted in skin abrasions and minor bleeding that took days or weeks to heal.

I now use a painless method to create cleavage ― a combination of a Victoria's Secret Bombshell push-up bra and breast forms, which is just as effective as taping and a lot more comfortable.

I insert a breast form into a bra cup with one hand, lift my breast with the other hand and place the form under my uplifted breast. The uplifted breasts create the cleavage and the heavy padding of the Bombshell bra holds everything in place just like the surgical tape had done so in the past.

I have gone whole evenings without my girls moving out of place, but if there ever is any slippage, I can quickly lift my breast(s) back in place when I have a private moment (like in a stall of the ladies' room).

Makeup For My Girls

After my girls are in place, I add makeup, applying two shades of bronzer or powder. A dark shade adds depth to the shadows of the cleavage and a light shade enhances the front of the breasts to make them look more outstanding.

I apply the darker shade in the space between my breasts and sweep the powder upward and outward, creating a V-shape along the “natural” curve of the breasts, then I blend the powder until it looks like a shadow and not a strip of powder.

A little goes a long way, so don’t overdue it. You can always add more dark powder if needed; removing it is more difficult.

I apply the lighter shade to the front of my breasts and blend it back towards, but not all the way to the dark shade.

DIY 

I made my own breast forms using a female impersonator's recipe: birdseed in a sock. (I actually used dried green peas instead of birdseed.)

1.  Use birdseed or dried green peas to fill a thin sock (not a thick heavy sock) to the cup size you desire.

2.  Tie off the sock as close as possible to the ball of seed or peas.

3.  Trim off any access sock and fold the remainder over the knot. Under a bra, the knot does a good job of femulating a nipple.

I made my forms over 30 years ago and they are still holding up.

And so it goes.

Wearing JustFab.

Peter Outerbridge (right) in the 1999 Canadian film Better Than Chocolate.

Beneath It All

Circa 1963, my mother wore bras and girdles, so they were my foundation garments of choice when I began femulating. (I really had no choice; Mom wore bras and girdles, so that is what I borrowed when I femulated.)

When I mustered up enough courage to purchase my own foundation garments (in person at Frederick's of Hollywood and JCPenney), I stuck with bras and girdles (like mother, like son). However, since I was more Rubenesque than my mother, I bought longline bras and waist cinchers to supplement the girdles.

That combination of foundations suited me well for a very long time.

Then I discovered Spanx shapewear and its copycats. I packed away the girdles and waist cinchers and switched to a variety of Spanx-like shapewear, typically the Bali and Hanes brand knock-offs because Avon sells them and since I am an Avon rep, I can buy them at a discount.

In addition to losing the heavyweight girdles, I also packed away the longline bras because the Bali and Hanes shapewear permits me to wear regular bras like the cute, sexy bras sold by Victoria's Secret ("Hello, Bombshell").

Occasionally, I strap on my heavy-duty corset-like waist cincher if I think I will need a little extra curvature, but normally, Bali or Hanes and Vicky are all I need.

I'd love to hear what you all are wearing beneath it all. (Does anyone still wear a girdle or has everyone switched to Spanx?)

Foundations of Femulation

I have always been voluptuous, buxom, full-figured, whatever; I have never been fashion model thin or even close to it.

So foundation garments are my friends. They shape and mold my flesh into a womanly figure to help sell my femulation.

I have been femulating for about five decades and during that time, I have tried a variety of foundation garments.

Early on, when I was borrowing lingerie from my mother, bras and girdles were my mainstays. Mom owned a variety of girdles, but stuck with one style of bra, i.e., the traditional white, shoulder-strapped, rear-fastening style.

I tried them all and had my favorites. When I began shopping for my own foundation garments, I stuck to bras and girdles like Mom owned ("like Mother, like Son").

That is until I visited a lingerie shop in Kingston, NY. The little lady who ran the shop probably had seen it all, so when I mentioned I needed some foundation garments for my Halloween costume, I don't think she believed me. However, she was very helpful and after measuring me up, she suggested a heavy-duty all-in-one and handed me two models to try on.

The first all-in-one did nothing for me, but the second one did wonders. The proprietor insisted on examining me wearing the all-in-one and after giving me the once-over, she gushed about my great girlish figure. I enjoyed the compliment, but I was a little embarrassed and could not pay and get out of the shop fast enough.

I was sold on all-in-ones and wore them until they more or less stopped selling the heavy duty models. The lighter duty models were still available, but just did not have the same molding and shaping power of the heavy duty models, so I had to find something else.

I experimented with different things and finally found a combination that approximated an all-in-one: a longline bra, a high-waisted brief girdle, and a corset-style waist cincher. That was a heavy duty combination that, at times, was uncomfortable, but it worked and I stuck with that combo for a dozen years.

Spanx came along and I was intrigued, but I did not indulge in that modern line of shapewear until Avon started selling Bali's Spanx clone. With my Avon rep discount, I decided to try a high-waisted brief.

Wow!

Shapewear had come a long way; the Bali brief did a better job than the trio of foundation garments I had been wearing. Initially, I wore longline bras with the high-waisted brief, but after getting fitted for a "Bombshell" bra at Victoria's Secret, I dumped the longline bras and began adding Bombshells to my wardrobe.

Recently, I added Bali's cami torset top to the mix. It is a cami with the front cut out to allow you to wear whatever bra you wish. Meanwhile, it smooths out your back and eliminates the back fat that has long been an issue that I thought I would never conquer.

It took a half century, but I am finally all set! I now have a very womanly figure sans hormones or surgery.