Getting Fit

In the past, I have complained here that after losing weight, many of my shoes are loose. 

Elegantly walking in heels is difficult if your stilettos are loose. I have tried various inserts to pad out my loose shoes, but they do not help much. They work if your shoes are slightly loose, but if your shoes are a size too big, then they are useless. The only fix is to purchase new shoes in a smaller size. 

Brick and mortar Payless is long gone and there are no stores around here that carry shoes in sizes that my feet require, so online shopping is the only option. But I have been leery about that option because I am not sure what size I need. I assume size 11-1/2 or 11 would fit, but who knows!

Online Christmas shopping last week, I decided to do some shopping for myself and at the top of my wish list were heels that fit. I searched Amazon and found a pair of patent leather stiletto pointed toe 2.5-inch mid-heel pumps by a company called Odernee.

I decided what they heck and ordered the heels in the nude patent color size 11 and they arrived two days later. I tried them on and was happy with the fit. They are comfortably tight and will not fall off my feet. 

And I was so happy with my purchase that I ordered another pair in black patent. (By the way, the shoes come in a huge variety of colors.)

Wearing Ann Taylor

A German professional femulator, circa 1910.

Brick and Mortar with Compassion

Curves by Rago

By Paula Gaikowski

Florence Fashions brings one back to a time when femininity was a true art played out in the fashions of the day. Every lady had her own dress and lingerie shop – a place where she was welcomed, advised and fussed over. Whether it was a formal gown or a dress for work. it was there she would find the right dress, shoes and foundations.

Florence Fashions was founded in 1965 on Main Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. It wasn’t long after they opened when a nervous and self-conscious gentleman walked in and asked for a girdle that might help his (clearing throat sound) “bad back.” Florence was happy to help and the word soon got around that there was an understanding and kind lady who would help girls like us. By 1978, The Tiffany Club of New England was formed and Florence Fashions began advertising in their newsletter.

Over the years, Florence Fashions has maintained their original identity as a lady’s dress and lingerie shop. Barbara has taken over from her mother and still provides a charming and delightful shopping experience. A true enclave of femininity and glamour. In that way, it differs from other stores that cater solely to the transgender community. 

The day I wandered into the store, I was greeted warmly and asked for help finding a new wig. Barbara went right to work asking questions, looking at my photos and lining up possibilities. We tried on scores of wigs. Her enthusiasm made me feel relaxed and I enjoyed the experience even more. I contrast this with other boutiques and transgender specialty shops that seem frustrated when after three wigs you haven’t made a decision. She was having as much fun as I and it was contagious. I finally found the one I wanted. 

Just as I was getting ready to check out, I noticed a rack of Rago shapeware! Yes, I blame Stana for this one. After she raved about her Rago longline bra and Rago high-waisted girdle, I just had to have one, too!

Barbara prodded me to try some on – mind you, it didn’t take much persuasion. The next thing I knew she was handing me girdles and bras, zipping me up and hooking me together in a whirlwind of activity. I finally was measured and correctly fitted for a bra. I finally found the set I always wanted, a high-waisted girdle and black longline bra, both in black. 

Before we were done, Barbara insisted, \I try them with breast forms and with my wig. We even tried on a few dresses. I was overjoyed, never have I been treated with such respect and dignity when shopping for women’s clothes. 

Those of you who live here or travel to New England, I highly recommend a trip to Florence Fashions. Although specializing in bra fittings, the store offers all manner of clothing from sportswear to classic gowns. The shop itself is replete with wigs, breast forms and lingerie. The well-stocked aisles display towering stacks of finery for all women. You can be assured that along with a new look, you are sure to leave with bit more dignity and self-confidence in who you are.

(Rago is now offering 15% discounts to Femulate fans and readers. Just use the stana15 discount code when making a purchase from the Rago website.)

Wearing Boston Proper

Femulating in India

Got Links

Zoe emailed me YouTube links to a 2002 television show titled Dog Eat Dog, in which contestants spend a day with each other competing in various physical and mental challenges. The links that Zoe sent me are for three challenges in which the contestant must pick out the real woman from a group of six “women” (the other five are femulators).

Some of the femulations are fantastic and I guessed wrong on all three challenges as to who was the real women! Here are the link to the three challenges: One, Two, Three

👠👠👠

Sara emailed me a link to a CNN article about how more and more men are wearing skirts.

On a related matter, Velma sent me a link to an LGBTQ Nation article about Christians targeting women who wear pants! (I imagine their heads would explode if they encountered a femulator wearing a pantsuit!)

👠👠👠

Sally complained that suddenly she was unable to post comments to this blog. I suggested some possible fixes and it turned out that the Google Chrome web browser was a culprit. 

Sally wrote, “Turns out, the problem was Google Chrome. I attempted a test comment using Microsoft Edge and had no problem. I did a little research regarding Chrome and others have the same problem occasionally when trying to add blog comments. One recommendation was to clear my Google cache. That didn’t work. However, I navigated to your blog using Google's Incognito mode and was able to post a comment without issue.”

And so it goes.

Wearing Paige

A gurl can't have too many shoes!
(Coccinelle suggested by Penny)

Red-Handed

Home alone, I was trying on Mom’s clothing when I heard the garage door open – Mom had returned from shopping much earlier than I expected. 

I had some time to switch from girl mode to boy mode because we had a manually operated garage door, which meant that my mother had to open the garage door, walk back to the car, drive the car into the garage, get out of the car, close the garage door, then gather up whatever she had purchased and carry it upstairs (the garage was under the house).

I managed to switch modes and return Mom’s wardrobe to its original state before she climbed upstairs to our living quarters. I was pretty pleased with myself because I had dodged the bullet. But a few minutes later, after Mom entered her bedroom, she asked, “Stanley – why are my shoes out?”

Nuts! I forgot to put her high heels back in her closet!

I had to think fast. Back then, I was drawing a lot – a cartoonist in the making – so my very lame excuse was that I borrowed her shoes because I was drawing shoes and I needed a model.

She bought it and I was very relieved. But years later, I discovered that she knew about my crossdressing and I imagine that the high heel episode was just more evidence of my secret.

Mom never confronted me about my crossdressing, although on countless occasions she asked, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

I realize now that she was reaching out to me, but I was a clueless idiot and always said, “No,” which I will regret forever.

Wearing Figue

Crossdressing couple, circa 1910

Better Late than Never

This has been a busy week with four medical appointments for me and my wife (one for me and three for my wife). Since I am my wife’s chauffeur and nurse, I was involved with all four appointments including one that lasted over five hours. As a result, I am a little behind answering emails and posting blog posts (e.g., this post is 12 hours late).

Fall fashions are popping up on all the clothing websites. I love the fall fashions, but hate fallen leaves! Check out the fall offering from New York & Company in the Femulate Her spot below. Is it Stana-worthy or should I save my money? 

I love the fact that Rago is now offering 15% discounts to Femulate fans and readers. Just use the stana15 discount code when making purchases from the Rago website. By the way, the discount was unsolicited; Rago contacted me to offer the discount, so we must be doing something right!

Fall also means that Fantasia Fair is coming soon. That annual event takes over Provincetown, Massachusetts for a whole week in October (October 16–23 this year) to celebrate transgender lives with workshops, presentations, talent and fashion shows, banquets, etc. I attended four times and had the times of my life, so Fan Fair comes highly recommended from this lady!

Wearing New York & Company

Wow!

Perfect Storm/Store

My favorite clothing store (Roz & Ali nee Dress Barn) went out of business in 2019. The pandemic arrived about the same time the last Dress Barn store shuttered its doors. It was a perfect storm. 

I dared not venture out to the malls amid the pandemic to find a new favorite clothing store. So I was back where I started from – shopping remotely, online rather than mail-order like in my old closeted days.

Venus became my new favorite clothing store. Their styles were attractive as were their prices. My only complaint was that delivery was slow. So spoiled by Amazon Prime, a two week or more wait for a Venus purchase was unbearable. Truth be told, Venus has improved their delivery and my most recent Venus orders arrived in one week.

Daughter bought a dress at Target for my wife for Mother’s Day. It was a Made in China brand called Zesica. My wife liked the dress, so when her birthday approached, I decided to buy her another Zesica dress. But instead of driving cross town to Target, I found Zesica on Amazon and purchased two dresses for her online.

As I wrote here two weeks ago, she was very pleased with my choices. Then she asked me if I had purchased any for myself. I said, “No.” The dresses I bought my wife were very nice – better than I expected, so I visited Amazon and ordered two dresses for myself. 

Before I placed the order, I tried on one of the dresses I gifted my wife to get an idea what size to order for myself. Her medium-sized Zesica fit me, but was too tight, so I figured XL would be right for me. 

Near instant gratification, the dresses arrived 36 hours after I placed my order. I immediately tried them on and they were too big. So I revisited Amazon, ordered the same dresses in size Large and started a return for the two XL dresses. (Amazon returns are easy – just drop off your return in a UPS drop box, UPS Store or Kohl’s. I chose Kohl’s because I knew I would be passing right by a Kohl’s after my next medical appointment.) 

 

Near instant gratification again, the Large-sized dresses arrived soon after placing my new order. They fit perfectly and I wore the leopard print on my girl’s night out on Thursday. 

Shopping online with Amazon Prime is a good deal especially with their easy returns and their “Prime try before you buy” option. Amazon is my new favorite clothing store! 

You probably know that I am a big fan of Rago shapewear. Their bras and girdles are the only brand of unmentionables I wear these days. And girls who have followed my Rago recommendations are happy and shapely customers. 

The folks at Rago are aware of girls like us who favor their shapewear and as a result, Rago is now offering a 15% sitewide discount to Femulate fans and readers. Just use the stana15 discount code when you shop at the Rago website. How cool is that!

Wearing Rue La La

Selina Powers, professional femulator, circa 1965

I Like Honey

Honey Caroline, professional femulator

Over a year ago, I mentioned that I use Honey, an app that works with your web browser. Whenever you are ready to pay for an online purchase, Honey interrupts the transaction and automatically searches for any applicable coupon codes. It invariably finds free shipping and usually finds other applicable coupon savings, too. I saved a lot of money since I began using Honey and I highly recommend it to anyone who shops regularly online. 

In addition, there is Honey Gold, which are reward points you rack up while shopping at some of your favorite online stores. 

To tell you the truth, I did not pay much attention to Honey Gold. I noticed that I was collecting reward points after certain online purchases, but I did not think much about it until I received an email informing me that I had over 7000 points and that I ought to consider redeeming the points for gift cards. Each 1000 points garnered a $10 gift card, so I redeemed 7000 points and received a $70 Amazon gift card! Sweet!

You too can save money on your purchases and collect reward points. Just click on this link to accept my invitation to join Honey and you will be able to save money online, too.

Zach Villa (left) femulating in the 2015 film Honeyglue.

Avon Calling

I am an Avon Lady or more politically correct, an Avon Representative. I have been selling Avon products for over 25 years. 

You probably noticed the banner ads for my online Avon Store that I have been posting here for the past few days. I decided to open the store to help Femulate readers obtain what they need online, have it shipped directly to their home and avoid dealing with civilian merchants, who may or may not be sympathetic. Shopping in my store, you have a trans-sister as a merchant, who will answer all your questions with a sympathetic and knowledgeable ear.

If you are not familiar with Avon products, we sell everything that a lady needs including cosmetics, nail polish, fragrances, skin and hair care products, jewelry, clothing, footwear, shapewear and more.

In addition to being an Avon Lady, I am an Avon customer and have been using Avon products for over 30 years. My makeup regimen is almost exclusively composed of Avon products, as are all the skin care products I use. As they say, the “proof is in the pudding” and after using Avon products for over half my adult life, I think I look presentable for a 70-year-old femulator. 

So, here is the link to my Avon Store. I hope you will visit, look around and maybe find something you can use. 

Wearing New York & Company

Harland Williams (right) femulating in “Mr. Headmistress,” a 1998 episode of television’s The Wonderful World of Disney.

Honey

Nine West Bliss Pointy Toe Pump
in metallic paint snake print

I shop online a lot. Not just for clothes for milady, but for just about everything else.

When I pay up, I always look for a coupon code (via Google) to save money. Sometimes I am successful, but most of the time, I am not. Then along came Honey.

Honey is an app that works with your web browser. Whenever you are ready to pay up, Honey interrupts the transaction and automatically searches for any applicable coupon codes. It invariably finds free shipping and usually finds other applicable coupon savings, too.

For example, I had my eye on a pair of heels (photo above) that Nine West was selling for $89. I checked the website everyday hoping that the heels would go on sale and Sunday morning, they were on sale for $49 (plus shipping and sales tax). That was good enough for me, so I added a pair to my shopping cart and proceeded to check out. Honey kicked in, did its thing and saved me $15.68! Instead of $89 plus shipping and sales tax or $49 plus shipping and sales tax, the heels only cost me $42.88 total!

I was a very happy shopper and I recommend Honey to everyone who shops online. Click on this link to accept my invitation to join Honey and you will be able to save money online, too.

Wearing Agua

Pretty Artur Chamski femulates Helena Vondrackova on Polish television’s Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo (Your Face Sounds Familiar). You can view the video on YouTube.

My Boston Proper Problem

I wrote here about my Black Friday purchase from Boston Proper. I also made a second purchase from Boston Proper on Cyber Monday.

Both dresses arrived here this week and both ran small. I returned the Cyber Monday dress for a refund. Besides being too small, I did not like how its collar looked on me, so I did not bother exchanging it for a larger size.

I loved my Black Friday purchase and it actually kind of fits, but I wish I had ordered a larger size because the snap that keeps the dress closed pops open if I breathe the wrong way. One size larger would have alleviated that problem, but I cannot exchange the dress for a larger size. When I purchased the dress, unbeknownst to me, it was considered a “Final Sale” and as such, it is not returnable according to Boston Proper policy.

So what are my options?

My first thought was that if I lost more weight, it would solve the popping open snap problem.

My second thought was to take the dress to a tailor and have a button hole made and a button added. I figured the button would do a better job keeping the dress closed than the snap did.

I planned to take the dress to my tailor today for that purpose, but I had a third thought while tossing and turning in bed this morning: VELCRO®. I already have plenty of adhesive-backed VELCRO® strips on hand. I think it will do the job – maybe not as well as a button, but certainly better than the snap. I have nothing to lose, so I will try it and if that does not work, I will let the tailor have at it.

Lessons learned: (1) Boston Proper dresses run small and (2) pay close attention for Final Sale notices. (I never saw the notice until I tried to exchange the dress online yesterday.)

And so it goes.

Wearing New York & Company

Nancy was the first Femulate reader to send me her posing pretty Christmas card!