Black Velvet (Not Friday) On My Mind Again

Remember the Black Velvet whisky advertisements featuring beautiful women wearing black velvet outfits (usually evening gowns).

"The first Black Velvet Lady, Patricia Victoria Miller, was introduced to the world in 1969 as an advertisement tool for Black Velvet. Since that time, such famous names as Christie Brinkley, Cybill Shepard, Kim Alexis, Cheryl Tiegs, Micah Wylde, and Kelly Emberg have all been Black Velvet Ladies." (Source:  Wikipedia)

Out of the blue yesterday, I received an e-mail from Stephen who wrote, "I recall reading that one of the models in a Black Velvet ad was actually a male. Is that true?"

That was news to me. I had never heard that urban legend and I wonder if there is anything to it. Stephen admitted that he did not recall the source of the story.

Does anyone have any information regarding this?

 

  

My friend Dianne from South Africa.

 

Wearing Parker (dress), Salvatore Ferragamo (bag),
Rachel Zoe (shoes), and Stella McCartney (glasses).

End of Feminine

Jenifer asked, "What do you think will become of femulate, when there is nothing female left to emulate. We all seem to be in jeans and T-shirts these days. As a 40-something girl, I find it very had to pass or blend in with my female counterparts as they are either slobs in leggings and baggy tops or trying hard to be 18 again in skinny jeans and crop tops.  A few of my female friends don't even own a dress or skirt. There is just no elegance left."

I guess this is where we separate the girls from the boys who just want to dress like girls.

The boys who just want to dress like girls will continue to seek out and wear the feminine styles from the last century. In the future, it may become difficult to buy those styles off the rack and the boys will have to resort to buying from specialty shops to buy their dresses, skirts and shoes just like the sissy crowd does today.

On the other hand, the girls will dress like cisgender girls no matter what cisgender girls are wearing. That is, to a point; tastes vary and some girls will not wear certain styles no matter how popular they may be. And whether all girls will abandon "feminine" styles completely remains to be seen.

Personally, I have yet to femulate in jeans and a baggy top because I seldom femulate in scenarios calling for very casual wear. However, if I lived full-time as a girl, I am sure jeans and baggy tops would be a part of my wardrobe.

And for what it is worth, I have shopped for women's jeans, but could not find any that fitted properly. Also, I do own and wear woman's slacks in a variety of styles, so I do not shun bifurcated womenswear per se.

 

   

Actor Sean Bean femulates in British television’s Accused, 2012.

 

Wearing Equipment (sweater), Current/Elliott (pants), Rag & Bone (belt),
Diane von Furstenberg (shoes) and Golden Lane (clutch).

The Good Wife

Being a good wife is no fun!

One thing or another has kept me in trousers lately. I thought I could get out en femme this week, but with my daughter home slowly recovering from her accident and our transportation options down to one vehicle, I do not want to leave my wife and daughter home without wheels while I go out and have a good time in heels.

In this regard, the blog is a blessing as it helps me be en femme virtually when I cannot be en femme actually.

 

American soldiers femulating on stage in 1944.

 

Model Suzy Parker, circa 1955.

Boy’s Day Out – Part 2

By Michelle

While most adventure stories on Femulate concern days out en femme, Michelle’s story is about a day out en homme.

A Day at the Races?

Back to the “boys’ day out.” I then described the event where the photos were taken and the story of how I bought the wig – too much detail I imagine, but after many years of waiting, the floodgates had opened and I wanted to talk.

Here is a link back to the Femulate.

I first found Femulate earlier this year after I was surfing the net and found the post by Carolyn about her “Royal Ascot Adventure” going dressed to this annual big hat extravaganza in Southern England (I think that some horses are involved, too).

I explained to my mate that my next project is to go there in 2014, but there are many logistical problems of doing so. For instance I don’t want to be a center of attention, so going with a group of TVs is not really an option for me. As those are the only people I know who I could go with, going on my own would be the only option available, which is fine (if scary) as I don’t mind my own company.

I was not really fishing for offers (or was I?), but he said if I wanted somebody to go with, he would accompany me. Wow again!

Since then, I have thanked him for this offer, partly for him to have a “means of escape” from that offer if he wanted one, but he has confirmed he meant it. Next June is a long way off and there are many hurdles to overcome. One is how I would explain having shaved legs for the following few weeks of summer.

I really felt that I had rediscovered my best friend and we had really confided in each other on a number of issues. We discussed a whole range of other things, too. We returned to our cars on the “Park and Ride” bus and had a small drink in a nearby pub as we both had decent drives home to do. I thanked him for letting me talk about what had been happening in my life, and said I think I needed to do that as he could more understand where I was coming from. I said especially thanks for letting me show him the photos, but I warned him that he was lucky; normally if a TV offers to show you some photos, you will normally have to sit through more than two. Most importantly I joked that “great shoes” was the correct response.

He said he sometimes knew the right things to say and that he felt honored that I had trusted him enough to show them to him.

Leggy Blonde

Before I finish, here’s a “careful what you wish for” moment.

My friend had been very honest and said that I was not the first person he had offered the Silverstone ticket to (his son was otherwise committed for one).

Pretending that I was offended by this and appealing to our joint sense of humor, I said I wasn’t happy to be the recipient of his ticket cast-offs, but in the circumstances, I suppose I’d better go.

He replied that he was glad I could come as he was running out of “leggy blondes” he could ask to go with him.

During our picnic as I showed him the photos included in this article, I had to smile to myself. The person he saw in the pictures was blonde (if not a true one) and at 6’ 1” with a 34” inseam, she’s definitely leggy, too. It could have been so easy to grant his wish! However, I think certain other attributes he might have expected would have been absent.

In all seriousness, it wouldn’t really have been the right place for attending en femme – a bit too much testosterone at motor racing events. About 90% of the spectators were male and apart from staff, I don’t think I saw a skirt being worn all day and certainly not the place for any kind of heel. However, I’m sure I would have encountered no difficulties had I’d chosen to do so as everyone seemed well behaved, but dressing to blend into the background would have been the order of the day.

As I drove home at the end of the day, I felt both elated and relieved that I had managed to offload some of the things that I had wanted to say for many years. Unfortunately, I now wanted to tell other people about the conversations I’d had with my mate, which was not really possible. Now, if I can sort out the logistics before next June, and do a bit of homework on horse racing (I know nothing), Royal Ascot remains a possibility, although certainly not a probability. I think I may have just the shoes, too!

Posh frocks and big hats, here I come!

 

Actor Paulo Gustavo (left) femulating in Minha Mãe é uma Peça : O Filme, a 2013 film from Brazil.

 

Wearing Le Redoute.

Boys’ Day Out

By Michelle

While most adventure stories on Femulate concern days out en femme, Michelle’s story is about a day out en homme.

Can You Keep a Secret?

The attached photo is one of the few taken of me en femme which I am happy with and don’t mind showing; the rest are for “my eyes only.” It was taken at a charity ball last autumn and had a new lease of life recently. Let me tell you the story.

I have a best mate, who I have known for over 35 years, although we have lived some distance apart for most of that time. We met up for a meal around 12 years ago; the conversation turned to music (a mutual passion) and he said he missed our teenage days when we could go for a dance at the local disco.

I informed him that I still did – to which he inquired where do you do that? I had waited for an opportunity to tell him about my other half – was this it? I hesitated, drew a deep breath and asked, “Can you keep a secret?”

He replied, “Yes.”

I explained that I was a crossdresser and that a group of us met monthly for a disco in the large back room of a pub.

He was quite taken aback and said he didn’t have the slightest idea about me. I felt relieved about that. What would have been very embarrassing was if he had said something like, “I guessed as I’d noticed traces of mascara on you in the past.”

The conversation moved on and he said he felt pleased that I had trusted him and said he would tell me a secret about him, which he then did. What was it? I can’t tell you – it’s a secret! All that I can say is that it wasn’t that he also crossdresses.

To this day he is the only male I have told about my alter ego.

Great Shoes
 
Time moved on and the subject was never really mentioned again – in fact, if the conversation ever strayed in that area, he would swiftly step in to move it in another direction or so it seemed.

More recently, he had been concerned about various issues, which he was very keen to tell me about. As with the confidential information I had told him, I felt pleased that he trusted me enough to tell me these things. However, some of these were quite heavy and involved long conversations, normally on the phone, in which I did at least 95% of the listening.

Let’s just say it got quite draining at times, but he has always been appreciative of the time I gave him and the occasional comments I offered. And to quote the song, “That’s what friends are for.”

The more I listened about his life, the more I wanted to tell him more about mine, such as the fact that I now quite regularly go out “in public” including pubs, meals and shopping trips. He was still under the impression that I only went to the same non-public disco and an occasional TV weekend away. I bided my time.

Recently he offered me tickets to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – a real “boys’ day out.” I took him up on his offer. It was the first time we had met up in many years without family or friends around, probably since that meal 12 years ago, which makes me think he may have been wary about setting up another opportunity in which he wouldn’t know what I would come out with.

At the start of the day we chatted and after a while he brought me up to date with developments in his life, but said that he was very aware that he had hogged conversations recently, so he kept his update short.

I asked if I could tell him about some of the things that had happened to me and my friends. I started with the tale of my good friend who just over a year ago, went “en femme” full time.

To my surprise he listened and asked relevant, interested questions; this was a little unexpected, but I feel that he had come to terms with things in his own life, which may explain it. During the course of the day he asked more about my friend and her situation in a very positive way; this did not surprise me because he is a non-judgmental person – unlike me.

As we ate our picnic, I took the final step when I asked “Do you mind if I show you some photos of me?”

I had put these into my wallet, but didn’t want to force the issue. He said he didn’t mind at all. I only had two (can you imagine that – a TV with only two photos to show!?), which I handed over to him.

He looked and said, “Amazing,” and “I never would have guessed that was you,” and finally, and I think most surprisingly, “Great shoes!” Isn’t that what every girl (transgender or cisgender) wants to hear? Wow!

Actually, the photos don’t show off my 5-inch killer silver heels in silver that I bought for only £8 in a sale and… ooh sorry, I got distracted – oops!

Showing pictures is always a tough one – once you’ve done it there’s no going back. The person you show them to will never quite see you as the same person again. However, this reaction was off the top of my hoped for reactions. I could have gotten “No, I don’t want to see them,” which I could understand and respect or much worse, like laughter or even disgust. I would have thought the latter unlikely, but you can never tell.

Apart from my wife, there is one other person who knows about me: a work colleague. I have taken in photos to show her, but never thought the time was appropriate to “bring them out.” Would she be interested in seeing them, but doesn’t want to ask? If I showed her would she look at them, but be embarrassed as she does not really want to see that side of me? Yes, showing photos is a big step – what do you do? Comments on this matter would be most welcome.

(“Boy’s Day Out – Part 2” will appear here on Tuesday.)
 

 Male bride, circa 1900.

 Wearing Le Redoute.

How to Keep Your House Hubby Happy

 

Layla and Caroline.

 

 

 

Wearing Le Redoute.

Such Pretty Eyes

Typically, I gas up the Subaru at Stop & Shop after grocery shopping. The cashier for the gas concession is usually one of four people.

Today, a 30-something woman was working the cash register. I have dealt with her on about four occasions during the past few months. She is always business-friendly, but today, as I returned to the cashier booth to get change from my gasoline purchase, she remarked, "You have such pretty eyes!"

I was in boy mode, wearing glasses and almost blurted out, "You should see them when I wear makeup." But I was so taken aback by her compliment that all I could get out of my mouth was "thank-you."

Queen of the Nile

Jay Black (above) impressed her classmates at Denver’s Lincoln High School back in 1987 when she showed them how to walk like an Egyptian. Jay’s photo is just one of over 100 new femulations handpicked by Starla from online high school yearbooks.

As usual, I uploaded the new photos to the Yearbooks collection on flickr and you may view the photos in two ways:

Method 1: Open one of the Yearbooks sets (A through Z) and you will find the newest uploads at the end/bottom of the set. (The oldest uploads appear at the beginning/top of the set.)

Method 2: Open this photostream and you will find the newest uploads at the top of page 1. The uploads get older as the page numbers get higher with the oldest uploads on the last page.

By the way, the contents of the Yearbook A through Z sets are organized according to school name, for example, the photos from Sacred Heart High School would be in the Yearbooks S set.

 

Actors Aaron Holland, Laura Korn, Peter Mavrik and Ed Jones (femulating Lana Turner) in 2013 stage production L'mitations of Life.

 

Wearing DailyLook.

Feel like a man. Wear a bra!

Folks are raving about this advertisement featuring a male model named Itisak Wuttanawat modeling a Wacoal Mood Boost-Up bra. Wuttanawat femulates through the first third of the ad, then in the remainder of the ad, he defemulates to reveal that - surprise  - he is really a guy.

What's the point?

Andrej Pejic femulated to model a new Hema push-up bras for print advertisements back in 2011. The point of those ads seemed to be that if the bras worked so well for a guy, just think how well they would work for a gal.

That may be the point of the Wacoal ads, too. But considering what I wrote on Tuesday in my Follow the Money post, wouldn't it make the accountants at Wacoal happy if in addition to gals, guys bought their bras to wear, too?

By the way, the new Hema bras sold out in all sizes four days after the Pejic ad campaign began!

 

A faction of fellows femulating 100 years ago.

 

 

 

Wearing Gabby Skye (Stana loves this dress!).

It’s the law

“That’s the way it is and you will just have to get used to it,” she explained.

“But I prefer to wear girl’s clothes,” I pleaded.

“I know, sweetheart, but now it’s against the law for boys to dress like girls.”

“But I don’t know how to wear boy’s clothes,” I responded.

“Well, I’ll help you,” she said.

Most boys were already wearing boys’ clothes, but I was a stubborn little boy and would turn on the tears whenever she suggested I begin dressing like a boy. Until now, my tears had been successful, but they would not help me anymore because today the anti-female impersonation law went into effect, which ruled that boys had to dress like boys, not girls.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it,” she insisted.

Boys I knew who were already dressing like boys did get used to it after awhile, and many of them even liked it.

“Now take off your clothes and I will help you get dressed,” she said.

“And that's an order,” she added.

I quickly removed all my clothes and put them in a pile in the middle of the bedroom.

Next she handed me the first item of boy’s clothing to put on.

“Tell me if you need any help,” she proffered.

One-by-one, she handed me another item of boy’s clothing to put on and surprisingly, I needed very little help.

She insisted on showing me how to put on the pantyhose because, “You don’t want to run your very first pair.”

Other than that, I only asked for her assistance twice: to help me close the hooks on my bra and to zip up the back of my dress.

 

Contestants femulating in a recent Miss Relay for Life womanless beauty pageant.

 

Wearing Brahmin (purse).

Like Father; Like Daughter

Call me "Jamie."

That is not my real name; it’s the name I go by when I dress up like a boy.

I dress like a boy because I am a crossdresser. I prefer male clothing to female clothing. In addition to the wearing male clothing, I try to act like a boy, too. I want to be masculine, not feminine.

I want to be able to go out in society and pass as a male, but my female characteristics are difficult to disguise, so passing is a tough goal to achieve. However, I will keep on trying to improve my presentation because I know it can be done.

Lots of crossdressers have Internet websites where they display photos of themselves crossdressed and many of the photos are very convincing. These females look just like boys, so I know passing is possible. I may not be able to fool all of the people all of the time, but it would be nice if I could fool some of the people some of the time.

Also, there are websites that provide information on how to pass as a male. These websites describe how to walk, talk, and act like a boy; how to style your hair to look like a boy; what undergarments to wear to achieve a male form; etc., etc. There are also online stores that cater to crossdressers where you can buy everything you need to "express your masculine side."

My crossdressing started around the age of puberty. I don't know where the idea came from; it just popped in my head while I was in the bathroom getting ready to take a shower and there was one of Dad's suits hanging on the shower curtain rod. I don't know why it was there; I assume it had been washed and was hanging there to dry.

Whatever the reason that suit called my name and I could not resist trying it on. Dad’s suit fit me like a glove. I felt so masculine wearing it and I could not take my eyes off myself preening in the full-length mirror mounted on the bathroom door.

Suddenly, I felt very guilty and was worried that I might be caught, so I slipped out of the suit as quickly as possible, hung it back on its hangar, and proceeded to take a cold shower.

After that, I often dressed in my Dad's and brother's clothes whenever I was home alone.

I prefer my brother's clothes because he is only two years older than I, so he dresses like a boy my age dresses, whereas my Dad's clothes are more adult, i.e., clothing that an adult male wears.

But Dad's wardrobe includes items that my brother's wardrobe does not, so when I crossdress, I borrow items from both my Dad and my brother. For example, my brother has no suits, whereas Dad has six suits and I guess after that first crossdressing experience in the bathroom, I have a thing for suits.

My favorite suit is one Dad wears when he and Mom go out to a fancy restaurant or to a dinner party. I like it because it has a more youthful look than his other suits, which are more conservative, i.e., the kinds of suits you wear to the office or to church.

Dad claims that that suit is a "shun nell knock-off," whatever that means? The fabric of the suit is a rosy pink boucle with blue undertones. It has a cropped jacket with four buttons and four pockets and a pencil skirt that’s 20 inches long.

Dad also has a matching pair of pink pumps with a 4-inch stiletto heel. Dad looks so masculine in that outfit! And, wow, my Dad has great legs; he sure shows them off in that suit with its skirt about four inches above his knees, wearing off-white pantyhose perched on those 4-inch pumps.

Dad is a beautiful male. He is a platinum blonde and always looks great no matter what hairdo he wears. His makeup skills are excellent, too, with huge eyes and full pouty lips.

I emulate Dad when I crossdress. Sometimes when I apply my makeup just so, I even look a little bit like him.

Follow the Money

On almost a weekly basis, Juan reveals yet another male womenswear model at his The New Male Fashions for the Alternative Man blog.

Reader Bill recently asked my opinion about this trend and I was happy to give him two cents' worth.

The oft repeated reason for using males to model female fashions is that the fashion houses want models who are tall, thin, and do not have much of a girlish figure, i.e., models who resemble boys. So why bother searching for girl models who resemble boys when you can hire pretty boy models to do the job at lower wages.

I suspect that there is more to it than that.

In addition to males modeling womenswear, the fashion houses have been showing menswear that borrows heavily from milady's closet.

This two-pronged attack on menswear is an attempt by the fashion houses to acclimate the general public to the notion that it is acceptable for boys to dress like girls. (Yay! Good for us!)

The peacock-phobic argue that there have always been designers who tried to feminize men's clothing. That they are an aberration and the feminized clothing never catches on.

I argue that it is no longer an aberration. It is no longer just one or two designers --- Juan's blog documents countless designers showing feminized styles for males.

And it is catching on. Celebrity and civilian males are wearing feminized menswear and in some cases, womenswear. (My visits to New York and Boston and college campuses in Connecticut confirm this; there are boys who are dressing feminine in public.)

Meanwhile, women are dressing less feminine. I cannot recall the last time my wife wore a skirt or a dress, much less buy one. My daughter is not far behind my wife in that regard. Same goes for the women I work with; they very seldom wear skirted garments. When I do outreach, the female college students often comment when they see me all dolled up that they don't own a single dress or a single pair of heels!

Since the sales of feminine items to females is weakening, the sellers are more than happy to sell feminine items to males to take up the slack in sales to women. So it is in their economic interest to encourage boys to dress like girls.

A dollar is a dollar is a dollar, whether it comes from a male wallet or purse.

 

Male model Vd Dolgolevets modeling menswear and/or womenswear.

 

Wearing Tibi.