Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts

Thursday, February 26, 2026

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A Bra in Your Future, Part 2

Once bras stopped feeling foreign, something predictable happened: men began to notice the results.

Support changed posture. Lift altered outline. Fabric trained the eye. What had begun as comfort quietly became contour—and contour, once noticed, invited preference. Men who had worn bras long enough to forget them started seeing their chests not as problems to minimize but as features to manage, refine, and, eventually, enhance.

At first the changes were subtle. A lightly padded cup here. A firmer band there. Men told themselves it was about balance—about how a jacket hung, how a blouse draped, how a knit top stopped collapsing inward. But mirrors are persuasive. So are compliments. And soon the question was no longer why wear a bra? but why not look better in one?

Just as women once did, men learned that size could be curated.

Push-up bras appeared in men’s departments, marketed in sober language: “definition,” “presence,” “upper-body harmony.” Inserts followed—foam, silicone, gel—sold as modular tools rather than indulgences. A man could choose how much projection he wanted that day, the way he chose shoes or a watch. The chest became adjustable, expressive, intentional.

And then came surgery—not as a shock, but as an escalation.

Breast augmentation for men entered the conversation through familiar channels: confidence, proportion, self-actualization. Surgeons spoke clinically about balance between shoulders, waist, and hips. Men spoke privately about finally liking what they saw from the side. As with women before them, what began with a few pioneers quickly normalized. Once results were visible in offices, on screens, at social events, the taboo collapsed. Bigger was not compulsory—but it was available. And availability reshapes desire.

Clothing had no choice but to follow.

Men’s tops were refashioned with deeper darts, more forgiving stretch, and engineered support zones. Button-downs were redesigned to curve outward instead of pulling flat. Knitwear celebrated volume instead of hiding it. Necklines shifted—first modestly, then deliberately. A scoop here. A softened V there. Cleavage, once unthinkable on male bodies, became optional display: tasteful for some, proud for others, provocative for those who enjoyed the attention.

Importantly, nothing was mandatory. That was the trick. Choice made everything acceptable.

With breasts accepted, the fashion industry looked downward.

If the chest could be shaped, why not the waist? Girdles reappeared in men’s cuts, rebranded as “core tailoring.” Waist cinchers promised posture and polish. Corsets—never called corsets at first—offered long lines, smooth transitions, and a return to the hourglass logic fashion has always loved. Men learned the pleasure of being held, guided, narrowed, lifted. Silhouettes softened, then curved.

The male body, once defined by straight lines and denial, became sculptural.

None of this was framed as loss. That narrative didn’t sell. Instead, it was framed as completion. Men weren’t abandoning masculinity; they were refining their presentation in a world that rewarded elegance, adaptability, and visual fluency. Feminization wasn’t announced—it was styled.

And perhaps the most telling change was this: men stopped hiding.

They adjusted straps openly. They discussed cup shapes. They compared results. What had once been secret became social. Pride replaced apology. Like women in the past, men learned that visibility created norms, and norms created freedom.

In the end, the transformation wasn’t about bras, breasts, or curves at all.

It was about permission—permission to take up space differently, to be shaped rather than squared off, to be admired not despite softness but because of it. Once that permission was granted, fashion did what it always does when given a new body to work with.

It celebrated it.



Source: JustFab
Wearing JustFab


John Ritter
John Ritter femulating on television”s Hooperman (1988).


(A Mad magazine funny modified extensively for femulate.org)

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

A Bra in Your Future

Men wearing bras in the near future isn’t a gimmick. It’s the logical outcome of several converging trends. If you strip away the knee-jerk cultural reactions, the reasons are practical, economic, aesthetic, and social.

Bodies Change, Garments Follow

Modern male bodies are not the bodies menswear was designed for a century ago. More men have softer chests, wider hips, and less rigid upper-body muscle definition due to lifestyle changes, hormones in food chains, aging populations, and medical realities (weight fluctuation, gynecomastia, post-surgery recovery).

Bras solve real problems: support, comfort, posture, temperature control, and skin protection. Clothing always adapts to bodies not the other way around.

Comfort Beats Symbolism

For decades, men tolerated discomfort because “support garments” were coded as feminine. That stigma is eroding fast. Compression shirts, shapewear, and athletic supports already do bra-adjacent work just under different names.

Once men realize a bra is simply a more efficient tool for chest management, the symbolic resistance collapses. Comfort wins every time.

The Workplace Is Feminizing Its Norms

As women continue to dominate professional and managerial roles, workplace aesthetics shift with them. Dress codes already emphasize polish, smooth silhouettes, and layered garments over bulk and stiffness.

In that environment, bras function as professional equipment not sexualized objects. Just as men adopted skincare, tailored fits, and grooming routines once associated with women, bras become part of “looking put together.”

Fashion Cycles Always Reclaim the Forbidden

Fashion thrives on inversion. What was once taboo becomes chic precisely because it was forbidden. Designers are already experimenting with visible lingerie elements on male bodies, not as parody, but as refinement.

Once high-status men wear bras openly (actors, executives, public figures), the item flips from “transgressive” to “aspirational” almost overnight.

The Redefinition of Masculinity

Masculinity is no longer defined by rejection of femininity. It’s defined by adaptability. Younger men are growing up without the reflexive fear of “looking like a woman.” They see femininity as a resource, not a threat.

In that context, a bra isn’t emasculating. It’s neutral. Sometimes even empowering—because it signals confidence and self-possession.

Economic Inevitability

The apparel industry follows money. Women’s lingerie is one of the most sophisticated, profitable segments in fashion. Extending bras to men, properly designed, sized, and marketed, is inevitable.

Once major brands normalize men’s bras as everyday undergarments (not novelty items), adoption accelerates rapidly.

The Bottom Line

Men will wear bras for the same reason women once started wearing trousers:

They work

They’re comfortable

They fit the lives people actually live

History shows that when social roles change, clothing follows. The near future isn’t about men “borrowing” women’s garments. It’s about the quiet disappearance of the line that said support, structure, and softness belonged to only one sex.



Source: Ann Taylor
Wearing Ann Taylor



Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider femulating in television’s Men Behaving Badly.

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

What’s Old is New Again

I’ve received many kind words about the photos I’ve posted here recently and I’m grateful for the compliments.

Those photos are from a boatload of old en femme photos I have that are in fair-to-poor condition–especially the Polaroids. For years, I hesitated scanning and sharing them on the blog because they carried the scars of time: faded colors, soft focus and all the limitations of the cameras and film we had back then. I made a few attempts to rescue them in Photoshop, but the results never quite brought those moments back to life.

Then I had the idea to let AI try its hand at restoration. With a simple prompt like “clean up and improve the quality of this image,” something unexpected happened. Polaroids began to resemble modern digital photos and old Kodachromes regained the contrast and color I remembered when I first held them in my hands.

Not every restoration worked. I’d guess about half succeed, but when one does, it feels like opening a forgotten drawer and finding a memory you thought was gone for good.

The image accompanying this post is one I restored last week. It was taken at a Halloween party in 1976, when I was 25 years old. I had long assumed the original was beyond saving, so seeing it renewed came as a genuine shock.

Youth really is wasted on the young. I’m wearing very little makeup in that photo—just lipstick and mascara—and yet, looking at that image now, I can’t help but think: I looked amazing!



Source: Stylewe
Wearing Stylewe


Ștefan Bănică
Ștefan Bănică femulating Kate Hudson on Romanian television’s Your Face Sound Familiar.

Monday, December 26, 2022

Post-Christmas Post

For tomorrow’s post, I am posting a Someday Funnies caption about panicking when I could not find my car keys in my purse. This actually happened to me once when I was  in Dayton, Ohio, to attend my ham radio group’s board meeting the night before Hamvention.

After the board meeting, everyone scattered to return to their hotel rooms throughout the Dayton area. As I was about to scatter, I searched through my purse trying too find my car keys and came up empty. I began to panic since I was 750 miles away from my second set of keys!

After panicking for about 15 minutes, I finally dumped the contents of my purse on a table and, voila!, my keys were in the contents.

I learned my lesson and after that episode, I always stored my keys in one of those zippered or buttoned pockets inside most of our handbags. 

For my Christmas Day post, I created a retro Christmas card in honor of the girls of Casa Susanna. My card was based on the card designs used by some of the girls at Casa Susanna back in the early 1960’s.

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend! One more to go!   



Source: Joie
Wearing Joie


Grace
Grace under the Christmas tree


Julie Elliot
Julie Elliot celebrating the holidays at her home in Aberdeen, Scotland

Friday, December 23, 2022

I Don’t Blend and I Don’t Care

Many wise transwomen recommend blending if you are trying to pass. (I’ve occasionally recommended that myself.)

The theory says that if you dress like the other women in the environment you plan to be in, that is, if you blend in with the other women, you will lessen the chances of bringing attention to yourself, thus increasing the chances of successfully passing yourself off as a woman.

For example, if you are going grocery shopping, then jeans and a top would be your choice of apparel for blending in most places as opposed to a bodycon dress and stiletto pumps.

I have tried blending and it seems to work, but blending is boring. When I dress en femme, I want to dress EN FEMME, if you know what I mean. I dress to be noticed not to be ignored. If I wanted to be ignored, I'd dress en homme.

As Lucille Sorella wrote in her Femme Secrets blog, “As a genetic woman, the last thing I want to do is blend in! I wear makeup, style my hair, and dress fashionably because I want to stand out in a crowd. I believe it’s a natural feminine desire to want to be noticed.”

As a transwoman, I feel the same way. 

I am also at an age that I dress to please me and don’t care what other people think.

And perchance I have to go to Stop & Shop to buy a few items while I am en femme, I just think of myself as another working girl dressed appropriately for the office, but overdressed for grocery shopping during her lunch hour or on her way home from the office.

Works for me.



Source: Rue La La
Wearing Rue La La


Christina
Christina at a Tau Upsilon Tri Ess Meeting, Christmas 2008.


Marcie
Marcie at an entrance to the Galleria in North Dallas, Texas.

Thursday, December 22, 2022

70 Years Ago

Seventy years ago on December 1, Christine Jorgensen’s sex change made headlines on the front page of the Daily News and probably kicked off the modern transgender era, although the term “transgender” did not exist back then.

I was just a toddler at the time, but fast forwarding 20 years found me in the audience of University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Auditorium hanging on to every word spoken by Christine Jorgensen, who was presenting a lecture at my school.

I was taking Journalism 101 and our professor randomly assigned stories to us budding reporters and I just happened to get the Christine Jorgensen assignment. As a closeted crossdressing 21-year-old, I was thrilled, but had to feign disinterest so as not to give anything away!

I attended the lecture and was in awe of the woman, who used to be a man. I had seen photos, but had never encountered a trans-person in person, at least, not to my knowledge. Seeing Christine up on the stage giving her talk was my first trans-encounter and it was a very positive experience. There was no doubt in my mind that Christine was really a woman and it gave me pause that maybe I was one, too.

Thank you Mikki for reminding me about this anniversary.



Source: New York & Company
Wearing New York & Company


Virginia
Virginia (from France) standing next to the Christmas tree she had just decorated.

Brandy
Brandy relaxing and contemplating what might Santa bring.

Monday, December 19, 2022

Yet Another Girl’s Day Out

On Friday, I posted the story about attending my former employer’s Christmas luncheon en femme after I had retired. They invited me back again the following year, so as a follow-up to Friday’s post, I am telling the rest of the story today.   

Thursday (December 20, 2018), I attended my former employer’s Christmas luncheon party.

I wore my Julia Jordan gunmetal fit-and-flare dress, Dress Barn off-black pin-dot tights and Nine West metallic platform pumps. Instead of accessorizing with silver jewelry as I originally planned, my wife suggested I wear something colorful for the holidays, so I wore a red necklace and red earrings.

As I began to fill my old tired-looking black handbag, my daughter gave me an early Christmas present: a red Kate Spade handbag! I was so surprised and happy with her generous gift that I almost started to cry, but I held back my tears so as not to ruin my makeup.

I left the house and drove to the banquet hall hosting the luncheon. Usually I wear my heels when I drive, but the platform pumps are about a half-inch higher than my usual footwear and that half-inch or so made it difficult to manipulate the three pedals under the dashboard, so I wore flats to drive and switched to heels when I arrived at the banquet hall.

I entered the hall and when I checked my coat, the three women staffing the front of the hall said they loved my outfit. One said she wanted to buy shoes like mine.

I found a seat at a table with my former co-workers and it was just like last year’s Christmas luncheon when I wrote, “It was as if I showed up in boy mode.” Folks greeted and chatted with me like old times. The fact that I was presenting as a woman made no difference.

I realize now that it did not matter if I showed up in boy mode or girl mode. Rather, it mattered that I showed up in Stan mode. In a dress or slacks, I am the same person that my former co-workers knew for 20 years and I think most of them were glad to know me just as I was glad to know them.

👠👠👠

All my previous femulations among my co-workers was with blonde hairdos, so when I showed up as a brunette on Thursday, some people did not recognize me.

While standing in line for the buffet, the co-worker in front of me remarked that she had no idea who I was because I looked so different as a brunette. She added that I looked gorgeous as a brunette.

👠👠👠

Although I had a great time celebrating the holidays with my former co-workers, it was also a little depressing to hear the news I missed during the past year. One co-worker’s son committed suicide, another co-worker was diagnosed with colon cancer and the company is being sold (again), which may result in my division disappearing.

👠👠👠

Good news is that I reached my weight loss goal this week. Bad news is that I now have a closet full of shoes that no longer fit. I had no idea that losing weight would result in reducing my shoe size as well as my dress size.

I plan to go through my collection and see what fits and what doesn't fit. Every cloud has a silver lining, so I assume I will also find shoes that were too small six months ago that now fit.

I discovered my shrinking foot problem when I tried on the Nine West metallic platform pumps a few days before wearing them out. They were very loose and after a few steps, I would lose one shoe or the other.

Being a stubborn fashionista, I was determined to wear those shoes with my new dress to the Christmas party, so I inserted heel liners in each shoe. The liners helped and I did not lose a shoe throughout the day, but often I had to clench my foot when it felt like a shoe was not going my way. So they are destined for the “do not fit” division of my shoe wardrobe.

By the way, I have not been invited back again to my former employer’s Christmas luncheons. It is probably due to my losing touch with my former co-workers, as well as management changes after the company was sold.


Source: New York & Company
Wearing New York & Company


Cyrsti (left) at Christmas dinner with her wife Liz.
Cyrsti blogs at Cyrsti’s Condo.


Paula Gaikowski toasts to Happy New Year.