Tuesday Shorts

Over the weekend I received an advertisement email from ShopBAZAAR, which featured the image above.

There are a lot of mixed messages being sent in that image. I studied it for awhile and I am not sure what to make of it.

Is the model male or female? Is ShopBAZAAR selling this outfit to boys or girls or both?

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This year, Groundhog Day is the same forward or backward, more or less... 2020 0202!

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Why did Jennifer Lopez wrap herself in the national flag of Brazil at the Golden Globes Sunday night?

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Commenting on a short suit I wore, Pat wrote, “I simply love your outfit and thinks your legs are gorgeous! I’m also a tall girl and reluctant to wear heels because of it, but you’ve now given me courage!”

I wrote back, “Thank you for the kind words. My mother often remarked that with my shapely legs, I should have been a girl!” (Guess what, Mom?)

“Anyway, my attitude regarding heels is that being 6 feet 2 inches tall, wearing flats or heels is not going to be the deal breaker as to whether I pass or not.”

As a result, I wear the highest heels that I can stand!

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Don't be shy! Ask me anything and I promise to respond honestly. However, I reserve the right to respond to snarky questions with snarky answers.

So, don't wait. Click on the "send me e-mail" link under my photo in the right column and ask away.

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I want to publicly thank Linda. Every New Year, she kindly sends me a disc containing all the new and old stories, about 15,000 files in all, posted on Fictionmania. So thank you, Linda!

Wearing ModCloth

Masahiro Matsuoka (left) femulates in Japanese television's Kaseifu no Mitazono, which according to IMDB, is about Kaoru Mitazono, a professional housekeeper who is the best in the field and loves to pry into dirty secrets of every household. But Mitazono has secrets, too. One of them is that he is a cross dresser.

Go West, Young Woman

Since the demise of the Payless shoe store chain, I have received emails asking what do I do now to put new shoes on my feet.

I miss Payless. Their prices were very reasonable, they had stores everywhere and they carried shoes in larger sizes to fit ladies like us.

On the other hand, their sizes were inconsistent. I recall trying on shoes at a local Payless and finding shoes that fit me in three different sizes! That is not a big deal if you shopped in the store, but that made shopping online a crapshoot. Luckily, they had an easy return policy – you could ship returns back to Payless or return them to a local store.

Those days are gone with the wind. So, I took Horace Greeley's advice: Go West, young woman! That is, Go Nine West to be specific.

Actually, I have been purchasing shoes from Nine West for years; just not as often as Payless.

Nine West has a couple of things going for it. The quality of their shoes is very good, whereas the quality of Payless shoes occasionally failed. Their sizes are very consistent – I never had to return a Nine West purchase because the shoe size was unfit (or for any other reason). And like Payless, they have shoes for ladies with larger feet.

On the other hand, they have few, if any, local stores. (There was a Nine West store in a local mall, but not anymore). Also, their prices are higher than the Payless experience. But, they always have sales and I just wait to purchase that shoe to-die-for until it goes on sale.

And so my feet go.

Wearing Nine West

Massimo Bellinzoni (left) in the 1992 Italian film What A Night (Nottataccia).

Godzilla Vs. Frankenstein

When I was five years old, my Mom took my sister and I to the State Theater in Waterbury to see Godzilla, King of the Monsters! 

When we arrived at the State, the line of people buying tickets extended from the theater up East Main Street and around the corner onto Brown Street. Mom did not want to wait in line with two youngsters in tow, so we took the Baldwin Street bus back home and returned a few days later to see Godzilla when the line was shorter.

That film gave me nightmares for years! Especially the scene where a throng of people climb a hill and lo and behold, Godzilla shows up at the top of the hill!

I recalled this while watching Godzilla: King of the Monsters on New Years Eve. This is the 2019 entry in the Godzilla saga and having seen a lot of other entries in the saga, my expectations were not high. Surprisingly, the film was very good. The film brings back a couple of my favorite monsters (Rodan and Mothra), its soundtrack uses music from the first Godzilla film and the climactic battle of the monsters takes place in Fenway Park!

Thinking about my Godzilla nightmares, I also recalled that my Mom told me that she had nightmares for years after her mother took her to see Frankenstein when she was a youngster.

Like mother, like daughter!

Wearing Brahmin

Akihiro Miwa

Modi Operandi

Happy New Year!

Wearing Badgley Mischka

Guy and Gal, circa 1968

The Organized Woman

What I Did On My Holiday Vacation — Part 1

I was on vacation the last two weeks and one thing I wanted to do during that time off was to get my girl organized.

There were two fronts that I had to address: my makeup box and my closet.

Years ago, I bought the largest fishing tackle box I could find to store my makeup. Despite its size, every couple of years its contents grows and it becomes difficult to close the box, so a little house cleaning is in order.

The box reached that point recently, so I sat down with the box a few days before Christmas and had at it. Following advice like this from Good Housekeeping, I tossed any opened mascaras and liquid eye liners. 

That alone freed up a lot of space, but then I closely examined the various cosmetics that I purchased, used only once or never (glittery blue eyeshadow!) I was surprised how much there was in that category and I tossed most of it leaving even more space in my box for new makeup acquisitions.

I also tossed most of my makeup brushes and replaced them with a new set. This was a wash space-wise, but it was something that I had to do because the brush bristles were straggly and no longer very useful for precise makeup applications. 

Whereas, the male side of my closet clothes rack has not grown much recently, the female side has grown by leaps and bounds and now occupies more space than the male side. And all the clothes, male and female are packed so tightly that moving an item to or from the rack is difficult.

I went through most of the clothing on the rack and discarded about ten items, but that did not make much of a difference — things were still tight.

Years ago, my wife and I stocked up on “Super Hangars” (as in the photo above) at the dollar store and I used them for my male tops, but I never used them on the distaff side of my clothes rack.

Why not? I don’t know, but the time was right and I used them to hang all my female tops and bottoms, but not dresses because the dresses lowest on the Super Hangars would interfere with the shoe boxes stacked four high on the floor below the clothes on the rack.

The Super Hangars did the trick. It gave the clothing a little breathing room and it also organized my womenswear. (While re-racking, I also organized everything by color as any organized woman should!)

Back to work drag.

Cristian Castro dressed up for Genitallica's Quiéreme music video (2014).

Carol's Favorite Photo (of Carol!)

This picture is important to me because it was the first occasion (March 2013) that I was out and about in public as Carol. Before this (for about 50 years), I’d been limited to secretive behind closed curtains efforts and the occasional quick trip round the block. Also it expresses the real me, not a fashion plate, rather someone comfortable in casual clothes, more interested in feeling like a woman than looking like a woman.

Obviously I had a mentor present, encouraging me and taking the photos. Thank you Ophelia. The boost to my confidence on this outing allowed me to enjoy many more solo efforts since.

In response to my open invitation to send your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo, I received a lot of photos and stories that I am posting in the the order I received them. My invitation still stands, so don't be shy, send me your photos!

Wearing Wyatt.

Ed Anderson, recording engineer, posing as Miss Big Pink on the cover of 

The Basement Tapes, a 1975 LP by Bob Dylan and The Band.

Marlene's Favorite Photo (of Marlene!)

I don't think I have a favorite photo to share, really; I like many of mine very much! But I do think you might like to see this. I have been growing my hair out for a few years now and it's just starting to get long enough to use on its own. Here it is, with a fresh professional color and quick styling (and new glasses suitable for boy or girl mode).

In response to my open invitation to send your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo, I received a lot of photos and stories that I am posting in the the order I received them. My invitation still stands, so don't be shy, send me your photos!

Wearing Boston Proper.

Alex Bekker, model.

Modi Operandi

Happy New Year

Actor Alan Cumming in British television's The Runaway (2011).

Happy New Bra!

Elle e-mailed be about checking off another item from her bucket list.

One of my bucket items, and yours as well, was getting a bra-fitting. I did it!

Actually, I was not totally committed to the idea until my daughter said, "Just do it."

Totally drab in a T-shirt and my Gloria Vanderbuilt jeans Glorias (running shoes), I asked the nice lady in Nordstrom if I could get one. She could not have been nicer and said, "Of course."

She grabbed a tape measure and we went to the men's dressing room and like any other woman, she measured me and said she would return with some samples.

When she returned with a 42C, I was amazed always thinking I was a 48B. I had brought along some inserts, but the ones she brought were much better. She put me at ease and we had a nice girly conversation about women's breasts, about bras in depth and about how 90% are wearing the wrong size. We also talked about all her trans customers.

I left with a nice little number and the inserts. A fine bra it is that fits like a glove. A good bra will cost more than the usual, but the fit is amazing.

All in all, we are our own worst enemy when it comes to fearing this. Women are, like you have said, fascinated by us.

Wearing Ann Taylor.

Womanless beauty pageant contestant.

High Heel Hacks

I love wearing high heels, so I really appreciate these five genius high heel hacks from WhoWhatWear:

☞ How to figure out if shoes will be uncomfortable before you buy them. 

☞ Why you should not drive a car while wearing heels.

☞ Seven tricks to help you walk more gracefully.

☞ A simple trick that lets you wear even your highest heels painlessly.

☞ How investing in a really good pair of designer heels will ensure you're more comfortable. 

You will find the high heel hacks here.

Wearing Alice + Olivia.

Actor Darren Trumeter on television's The Whitest Kids U'Know (2007-2014).