Girls’ Night Out Last Night

My girls’ night out last night was fun!

(That’s me in the photo just before I left the house.)

I met Diana at the Real Art Ways parking lot. She left her car there and I drove our mini-carpool to downtown Hartford to dine at Vito’s restaurant.

We found a parking place on the street right in front of Vito’s and when we entered the restaurant, we discovered that we were the first diners of the evening.

Our beautiful waitress, Ashley, addressed us as ladies and she could not have been more pleasant. I had their “Fiocchi Pasta,” which is
stuffed with four cheeses and pears in a sweet and spicy cream sauce. It was excellent.

The restaurant was very quiet. We were the only diners most of the time; a few diners finally trickled in just before we left the premises.

The last time I dined at Vito’s on a Thursday evening a few years ago, the place was near capacity attendance, so the contrast was stark. However, a party of 40 had reservations last night, so I expect things got livelier after we departed.

Back to Real Art ways for their monthly “Creative Cocktail Hour” and we were first in line to pay to enter.

We bought drinks, viewed the artwork that was on display, then we staked out a table where we sat, chatted, and people-watched for about an hour. A few old friends came by and we renewed acquaintances.

Then we bought another round of drinks (non-alcoholic, by the way) and went outside on the patio to get some fresh air.

One of my blog readers recognized me and introduced herself as a daily reader and fan of the blog. I was happy she stopped to say “hello,” because it is always great to meet one of my readers in person.

The trans crowd was not. Last few times I attended the “Hour,” there were usually a dozen or so transgirls present. Last night, I counted six including myself. Go figure!

Throughout the evening, I noted my interaction with the civilians. Males would look at me and nothing more. On the other hand, if I caught the eye of a female, she would invariably smile and I would returned the smile and if she was close enough, I would say “hello” and she might return the greeting, but nothing more.

As our evening wound down, we sat on a wall-length bench outside the main exhibit area next to a female couple. After awhile, Diana decided to leave, but I wanted to hang on for a little while longer, so I remained seated.

Shortly thereafter, while one member of the female couple was off doing something, the other female engaged me in conversation. Turns out she is the partner of the woman whose art exhibit had opened last night. They are from Brooklyn and we chatted about NYC and Connecticut, etcetera, etcetera.

We had a pleasant chat for about 15 minutes. As we were running out of things to talk about, I decided it was a good time to gracefully exit the premises because it was approaching my bedtime and I had to get up at 5:45 AM. So I excused myself, thanked her for the conversation, and worked my way through the crowd to my Subaru awaiting me outside.

The evening out was superb and I look forward to my next outing en femme.

Girls’ Night Out Tonight

Hartford is the destination for my girls’ night out tonight where I will meet my friend Diana for dinner at a restaurant downtown. After dinner, we will enjoy an after dinner drink (or two) at Real Art Ways’ monthly Creative Cocktail Hour.

It should be fun and I am looking forward to another opportunity to be en femme.

My Story – Part 1

When the Shoe (High Heel) Is on the Other Foot

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Failures in Femulation : Bad Hair Daze

This is the first in a series about the major errors femulators make in their presentations that detract from their femulations, in my humble opinion. In addition to pointing out the\ errors, I will explain how to avoid and/or correct them.

Caveat emptor: I have no formal training in the arts related to femulation. However, I do have over 45 years experience practicing those arts and have become so adept at them that I pass more often than not.

Inexpensive wigs are attractive to femulators because they are inexpensive. Their attractiveness ends there because a cheap wig by any other name is still a cheap wig.

When you wear a cheap wig, there is no fooling anyone that the hair on your head is fake. And when people see that you are wearing a wig, they might examine you more closely and find other clues that give away your natal gender.

I have owned a few cheap wigs in my time and I have photos wearing those cheap wigs that convinced me to go upscale in the wig department. “Upscale” meant spending $99 rather than $49 for a wig.

It was an improvement, but not good enough. A $99 wig was still relatively inexpensive for a wig (it was just more expensive "cheap" wigs).

Also, I did not know what wig was best for me. I tried different styles, different lengths, and different colors, but always avoided blond shades and short lengths.

I avoided blonds because I thought that blond was oh so drag. All the boys who wanted to be girls wanted to be blond girls.

Also, I avoided short lengths because I thought my head was too big to be properly covered with a short wig.

A trip to a pro convinced me otherwise.

Annually, a local wig shop hosts a meeting of my support group. A few years ago, I was the hostess, which meant that I showed up early to bring the refreshments. I had no intention of buying a wig; it was just another opportunity to be out en femme, so I was happy to be the hostess and not necessarily a wig customer.

We had an excellent turn-out and new wigs were flying out the door throughout the evening. As things were winding down, the wig shop owner, Kathy, said it was my turn. She sat me down at a mirror and went to the back room to fetch a wig she thought would be perfect for me.

A few minutes later, she returned with a short blond wig.

I thought to myself, "Oh no; she's is making a mistake."

She pulled the wig over my head, finger-combed it a bit, and then let me look in the mirror.

In a very soft voice, I said, "Oh, my god!"

The wig looked absolutely fabulous on me and I did not think twice about purchasing it.

That wig (“Ryan” by Noriko) cost about $333, but it was worth every penny. It pushed my femulation skills up a few notches.

I lost count how many times people complimented me about my hair and how many times those same people were shocked to find out I was wearing a wig. (I never received such reactions wearing my $99 wigs.)

So the bottom line is (1) seek out a professional wig seller for advice concerning the best wig color, style and length for you and (2) be willing to spend much more than $99 for a wig.

The Million Dollar Question

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Boys' Girls' Night Out

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It’s not underwear anymore… it’s lingerie

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The Highness of Heels

I love high heels.

The majority of my shoes are high heels and most of my heels are three to four inches in height.

I am very adept at walking in high heels.

I never had a problem walking in heels. From the first day I started wearing heels when I was a teenager, I took to them like a duck takes to webbed feet. I only wish that all my heels were as comfortable as I am walking in them.

That being said, the fall shoe styles have been showing up in the usual places on the Internet and I am in awe at the highness of this fall's heels. I cannot recall such a proliferation of heels over four inches in height (except maybe on the fetish shoe sales web sites). Lots of 4-1/2 heels and some topping the 5-inch mark on such non-fetish web sites as Spiegel, Newport-News, Metrostyle, Payless, Norstrom, Macy's, etcetera, etcetera.

The "new arrivals" at Newport-News (pictured above) are typical. From left to right is their patent stiletto platform pumps" with a 4-1/2-inch heel, a T-strap sandal with a 4-1/2-inch heel, a cutout ankle boot with a 5-inch heel, and a sequined platform pump with a 5-inch heel.

I really like the cutout ankle boot, but can I handle a 5-inch heel? One thing for sure: at 6'7", I would be outstanding in my heels!

Stop Sam the Clam Caligiuri

I do not mix politics with this blog unless it has a direct connection with transgender issues, so bear with me as I step onto the soapbox today.

Yesterday, Connecticut State Senator Sam "the Clam" Caligiuri won the Republican primary for the Fifth US Congressional District of Connecticut.

I live in the Fifth Congressional District that Sam the Clam would like to represent and I also live in the Connecticut State Senate district that Sam the Clam currently represents, so I have been following his political career closely over the years.

Sam the Clam would never get my vote because his political views represent the worst of the teabag wing of the GOP (Gang of Privateers). Normally, I would just cast my vote against the guy and not get into a discourse here or anywhere else about why I voted against him, but Sam the Clam is special; Sam the Clam has his guns sighted on the trans community and he must be stopped.

Sam the Clam has consistently voted against state legislation that protects the rights of transgenders.

In May 2007, the Connecticut State Senate passed the gender anti-discrimination bill by a 30-4 margin (it died in the State House of Representatives). Sam the Clam voted against it. He also voted against the bill when it came up for a vote in his committee (the Education Committee).

Based on his track record, Sam the Clam will vote against the protection of transgender rights if he has an opportunity to do so in the future. So, we must stop him from having another opportunity.

On the other hand, the man Sam the Clam is running against, Congressman Chris Murphy, has been a consistent supporter of transgender rights and deserves the support of the trans community of the Fifth Congressional District of Connecticut.

Please Stop Sam the Clam and vote for Chris Murphy.

So why "Sam the Clam"?

Strike One

When Sam was running for State Senate, he happened to be campaigning outside the local IGA one day when I happened to be grocery shopping. On the way into the IGA, I took his campaign literature and perused it while I shopped.

I noticed that nowhere in his campaign literature did it mention which political party he represented. This was during the darkest days of the Bush-Cheney administration and GOP candidates everywhere were trying to distance themselves as far away as possible from the frat boy in the White House. Sam the Clam was no different.

On the way out of the IGA, I asked Sam what party he represented because his campaign literature was lacking that information. Sam clammed up, refused to answer my question, and proceeded to ignore me.

Strike Two

When the the gender anti-discrimination bill was up for a vote, I wrote Sam a heartfelt letter asking him to support the bill.

I did not get a response until many months later. His response avoided the issues. Instead, he apologized for losing my letter and being unable to respond to it in a timely manner.

I did not have to wait for strike three; after strike two, Sam became "Sam the Clam" as far as I was concerned.

More Opportunities

Always on the lookout for opportunities to be a complete woman, I have added two new dates to my calendar.

Next Thursday, I plan to take the afternoon off to dine at a nice restaurant in downtown Hartford and after dinner, swing over to the monthly Creative Cocktail Hour at Real Art Ways.

About a half-dozen years ago, a group of us girls decided to break ground by attending the Creative Cocktail Hour. Since Real Art Ways was an artists' enclave, we figured the atmosphere would be diverse enough for us transgirls to fit in, so we took a chance. Turned out that we were accepted with open arms.

The Hour has become a regular place for transgirls to go and be seen every third Thursday and you can count on a dozen or so of us to show up every month. Truth is, I have not attended The Hour in over a year and I am looking forward to getting reacquainted.

My next opportunity is a one-day photography seminar that I will attend next month in Hartford. It is 10 AM to 5 PM event with a one-hour lunch break.

In addition to other tasks, I am also the on-staff photographer here at work, so I am attending the seminar to help improve my photographing skills.

One more thing... I heard a rumor that my workplace is doing something Halloweeny this year. If that's the case, I plan to costume up as something girlish (and maybe ghoulish) for that event.

Pinned by Mrs. P

All is not perfect with my new "Chanel" suit.

It fits fine, but the skirt is not a "flatterring straight shape" as advertised (or as pictured right). It flares out from the waist and is much wider at the hemline than the waistline. It looks nothing like the skirt of a traditional Chanel suit, which in my opinion is more like a pencil skirt.

The suit was so inexpensive that I decided to invest a little more money into it and get it altered to my liking.

I Googled "clothing alterations" in my area, which resulted in a bunch of shops that I knew nothing about. So I began reading their reviews.

I was sold after I read with this review:

"Mrs. P is such a joy to work with. She is funny and passionate, and she is very talented with her work. She takes her business very seriously, and she doesn't give customers the 'run around.'. I had never been to a seamstress before, and the garment I brought her was extremely delicate. She took amazing care of me and my dress, and she always kept me informed of what she thought should be done. What's even better is that she doesn't play games: she will tell you what your options are, and what she can and can't do. I highly suggest Mrs. P's Tailor Shop to everyone."

The shop is less than 3 miles from work, so I stopped by today during my lunch hour.

The description of Mrs. P in the review was right on the money.

I told her what I wanted and she pinned the skirt to make it narrower.

She assumed that the skirt was for my wife and I corrected her.

Without missing a beat, she told me to put it on so she could pin it up exactly like I wanted it. Good thing because when I tried it on after her first pinning, it was not as narrow as I wanted.

She pinned it up again and it was better, but still not where I wanted it. She said she could make it narrower, but I may have a little difficulty walking in it.

Yes! That's what I wanted, so she pinned it up again and I was happy.

Mrs. P was very accommodating and she said I could have it on Friday if I needed it for this weekend, but I told her there was no rush, so she will have it ready for me on Monday.

May 14, 2010, Dayton, Ohio

Boys Will Be Girls and Girls Will Be Boys

Vintage Pattern Patter 2

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Vintage Pattern Patter

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Memory Lane

While poking the Internet looking for trans-related stuff, I occasionally come upon images from Deviantart. Weeks ago, when I viewed my umpteenth Deviantart trans-related image, I decided to check out the web site for myself and in doing so, I found a motherlode of trans-related art, photos, and texts. (For example, a search on the word "crossdress" on Deviantart turned up over 11 thousand items!)

Anime, manga, role-playing, cosplay, etc. dominate Deviantart. Since I am not very familiar with those worlds, some of the references escaped me, but crossdressing is crossdressing and I appreciate the trans-related Deviantart works nonetheless.

After spending hours browsing Deviantart, I decided that my favorite work is a piece created by rocketdave titled Memory Lane. Its caption reads, “As he feared, introducing his girlfriend to his mother results in the revelation of certain aspects of his childhood he would have preferred remain buried.”

Memory Lane appears at the top of this blog.

Thursday Hot Pants

For the sake of variety, I bring you Thursday Hot Pants (instead of Thursday Shorts).

Bad News: Again, I tried on the dress I bought at Macy's on Monday and decided to return it for a refund. It was a bit tight in the bustline afterall and for the amount I paid for it (full retail), it had better be a perfect fit.

Good News: Dress Barn called and the dress I fell in love with (the midnight blue leather-like sheath) arrived at the my favorite Dress Barn store in my size. I picked it up during lunch and now I can't wait for the right occasion to wear it out.

By the way, the receipt for the dress says its "Retro Satin Portrait: Charcoal," so I assume "Retro Portrait" refers to its retro portrait collar and charcoal is what I called "midnight blue" (I was never very good with colors). Except for the color, my new dress is very similar to the dress pictured right.

Lash News: I went through all the photos that I took Monday trying to find one that displayed my amazing eyelash growth best. The best of the bunch is at the top of this post. It really does not do my lashes justice, so next time I makeup my face, I plan to get a better photo.

A Bad Fit

Meg of Call Me Meg blog fame asked me if I had seen the Slate article about the summer camp for transgender kids.

I had not, so I read it and was in awe.

Meg's comment about the article was "It makes me wonder how my life would've been different..."

For me, I don't have to wonder.

If there had been a transgender camp for kids when I was young and if my parents had sent me to that camp, I have no doubt that I would have lived my life as a woman.

Instead of transgender camp, my parents sent me to Young Marines camp where I did not fit in and was shunned by my fellow Young Marines and the elders who ran the organization.

I guess it was my parents' attempt to make a man out of me, but I hated every minute of being a Young Marine because it was such a bad fit. I tried to be a good soldier, but I just did not fit in.

I would have preferred joining an organization like the Boy's Auxiliary of the Girl Scouts where I would have flourished, but such an organization only existed in my dreams and I had to suffer as a Young Marine until I quit.

To Be Complete

Yesterday was another wonderful day out en femme and it began on a very positive note.

It was the first time I wore a full application of makeup since I began using the ANEW Lash-Transforming Mascara + Serum from Avon. A “full application of makeup " means at least two coats of mascara (because I always miss a few eyelashes applying the first coat).

After the second coat, I couldn't believe my eyes! No exaggeration: my eyelashes were so full and long that it looked like I was wearing false eyelashes. Even without mascara, I could tell that the lash serum was working, but I had no idea to what extent it was working until yesterday. Wow!

I was out the door about 9:15 AM wearing my short black bubble skirt, black and white animal print blouse, black and white strappy high heel sandals, suntan pantyhose, silver jewelry, and a black and white purse.

The skirt was most definitely short exposing about six inches of leg above my knees. Some people will say that I was not dressing for my age. Those people are correct, I was not dressing for my age, rather I was dressing to feel good. It was a beautiful summer day and the day made me feel young again, plus I have nice legs, so I said to myself, "You go, girl" and I did.

Throughout the day, I did not receive a discouraging word about my appearance. On the contrary, one of the students at outreach wrote in her comments, "Stana looked great!" and one of the other outreach presenters wrote on Facebook that I looked "stunning."

An uneventful 30-minute drive found me on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University, but the parking lot where I usually park was closed, so I had to try the next parking lot, which is manned by manly security guards, who I would rather avoid, if possible, when I am en femme.

I pulled up to the security kiosk and one of the security guards saddled up to my Subaru, "Can I help you, Ma'am?"

In my breathiest voice, I explained my parking needs. (I find that speaking with my normal voice in a breathy manner is very effective for femulating.)

He was very solicitous and I think he would have parked the car for me if I had asked!

I parked the car, checked my makeup in the rear view mirror, and exited. I had about 40 minutes to kill before class, so I poked around the campus looking for a photogenic spot where I could set up my camera with a 10-second timer and pose for a few self-photos.

I found a hallway in a classroom building with a colorful mural background on one wall and benches on the opposite wall where I could set up my camera. I took a few photos (like the one accompanying this post) and headed to the classroom to do outreach.

We had six presenters for outreach for a Human Sexuality class of ten students. We six each gave a brief bio and then we broke up into three groups to do Q&A with the students.

Don't know if it was a lack of caffeine or the mid-summer "why am I in school during the summer" blues, but the students did not have many questions averaging just one question per group. So we talked more about ourselves and our experiences, hoping that our words would draw some more questions out of the students, but it didn't.

Personally, the Q&A was disappointing, but I hope our words helped the students get a better understanding of the citizens of the Trans Nation.

After outreach, Professor Schildroth and four of us presenters dined at a restaurant on Whalley Avenue in New Haven. Last time we ate there after outreach, one of the presenters mentioned to me that while we were seated in the restaurant, the whole restaurant staff came out to gawk at us. (I missed it because my back was to them.)

So, I was on the alert for anything untoward, but no one seemed to pay us any mind… not the staff or the other diners. The waiter referred to us as "guys," but he did that at the other tables he waited which also had female diners, so I assume he was not making any statements about us.

The food and conversation were very good and we parted ways about 2 PM.

There are a lot of shopping opportunities on the route back home, so I decided to take advantage of those shop ops.

First stop was Dress Barn in Hamden. I poked around and found a very interesting number: a simple sheath dress with a cross-over of material at the bustline. What was interesting was the material: a soft midnight blue colored material that looked like leather (for $39, I know it was not leather).

The largest size on the rack was 14, but it looked like it might fit when I held the dress up to myself in the mirror. So I was off to dressing room to try it on.

I slipped the dress on and it was gorgeous! Its soft leather-like material clung to my curves and its hem was just above my knees, but I could only get the zipper up half way. Darn!

So my next stop was another Dress Barn 15 minutes up the parkway. This particular Dress Barn is my usual Dress Barn, where I am known en femme and en homme.

I searched the store and could not find the dress. A saleswoman came to my aid. I described the dress to her and she eventually found one (and only one) on the rack, a size 10, but she saved the day by telling me she would get one in my size and give me a call when it came in.

While I was searching, a 20-something female customer was checking me out and smiled at me when I caught her eye. Later, I saw her with another 20-something female customer; both were checking me out and both smiled again when I caught their eyes. Were they checking out the "tranny" or admiring my fantastic fashion sense? I like to believe the latter, so that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

My next stop was Macy's in the Meriden mall. When I was shopping there with my wife ten days ago, I saw some items that caught my eye, so I wanted to check them out en femme.

Macy's was very quiet (except for the click-click-click of my high heels on their wooden floor) and I had the dress department to myself. I perused all the racks and found a dress that retro (and you know how I like retro).

I tried it on, it fit, and I bought it, but now I am having buyer's remorse because when I looked at the snapshots I took trying on the dress in the dressing room, it looks too tight around the bustline. So I will try it on again at home and decide whether to keep it or not.

After Macy's, I called it a day and what a wonderful day it was! When I dressed in the morning, I felt so euphoric and that feeling stayed with me throughout the day. Dressing completed me and it was wonderful to be complete.

Monday shorts

I am out en femme today, doing outreach in the morning, dining out for lunch, and don't know what (maybe shopping) in the afternoon.

My New Suit Again

Contrary to what I wrote here on Friday, the "Chanel suit" did not "fit perfectly."

I tried it on quickly Thursday evening just to see if it was big enough. It was and I assumed it was a good fit.

I tried it on again Friday evening with a bra and girdle on underneath and the jacket and blouse were too big (the skirt was fine), so I ordered the next smaller size and shipped the two too big items back.

My Outreach Wear Again

Contrary to what I wrote here on Friday, I am not wearing a white short-sleeved T and a black pencil skirt with a wide black patent belt today.

I changed my mind (a woman's prerogative) and in consideration of this year's long hot summer, I am wearing something more comfortable, that is, something looser and not so clingy. (A photo or two will appear here as soon as possible.)

Didn't the his and hers bra and panties give it away?

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"Wow!"

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Shorts

My New Suit

My "Chanel suit" arrived in yesterday's mail from Jessica London and it fit perfectly.

It helped that the jacket and skirt were separate sales items, so I was able to order the jacket in one size and the skirt in another size.

My top and bottom are not the same size. My top is bigger, so if I buy a dress or a suit that is not composed of separate sales items, I order the size that will fit my top, which often results in room to spare in the bottom.

I’ve thought about padding my bottom to fill in the spare room, but I have not resorted to that yet.

Outreach Wear

I'd love to wear my new suit when I do outreach on Monday, but the suit is tweed and fully lined, so it would be much too warm wear it now, (The temperature around here has been in the 80s and 90s for most of the month with humidity all over the place.)

Instead, I plan to wear a white short-sleeved T and a black pencil skirt with a wide black patent belt. I will accessorize with my black and white bag and black and white high heel sandals. I will have a photo to post here early next week.

Femulate Her and The Femulated Images

Regular readers of this blog know that every day I change the "Femulate Her:" and "The Femulated:" images in the left sidebar. However, I liked the current combination of Heidi Klum and Chris Williams so much that I decided to leave them be for another day.

And thank the Goddess, it's Friday!

Opportunities Redux

Last week, I wrote about upcoming opportunities to go out en femme.
The first opportunity was to go out one day during my mini-vacation.

Lately, my wife has been frustrated shopping for clothes and thought that she might have more success at consignment shops. I offered to take her to the consignment shops in the area and asked her if she would mind if I accompanied her en femme so I could better enjoy the consignment shopping experience.

(For a long time, I have been plotting on how to get my wife to get to know Stana better. One way I came up with was to go out shopping together as girls. I have been sitting on this idea for a long time trying to get the courage to spring it on her.)

Amazingly, she had no problem with me dressing en femme to go shopping with her. She was only concerned that I should wear clothing that I could take off and put back on easily when trying on clothing at the shops.

Our plan was to hit the consignment shops on Tuesday.

Monday afternoon, my daughter's car died. AAA towed it to our mechanic, but he said he would not be able to look at it until Tuesday.

My daughter needed her car for her job. So Tuesday, we had to wait around for the mechanic to fix her car and when fixed, I had to drive my daughter to the garage so she could get the car for work. That meant I could not get dressed en femme until I returned home because my daughter, although very supportive, does not want to be seen locally in public with Stana.

By the time the car was ready, it was too late and we cancelled out plans to go shopping. I did not feel badly about missing the opportunity to go out en femme. The shopping trip was insignificant, but the fact that my wife agreed to go out with me en femme was very significant.

But What About Me?

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Only a Real Man

Simplicity Male Dress Patterns (circa 1965)

A Dream Come True

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Nice Suit (Nice Price)

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I am a fashionista, that is, "a woman with a penchant for shopping and a natural flair for combining both current and vintage fashionable trends."

Yeah, that description fits me to a tee or should that be "T"?

I love the classic fashions from the past like the "Chanel suit," a timeless classic introduced way back in the mid-1920's. It is still for sale today and I would love to own one, but I would have to spend about $5000 for a new Chanel suit off the rack, which is a little out of my price range. So I keep an eye out for Chanel suit knock-offs.

Jessica London had one for sale (photo right) earlier this year for $145 ($90 for the jacket and $55 for the skirt).

I seriously considered ordering it, but I was reluctant to spend even that amount of money and forgot about it.

Thursday, I received a new catalog from Jessica London and the suit was in the clearance section for $45 ($25 for the jacket and $20 for the skirt). That was more to my liking, so Friday morning , I ordered the suit on line along with the ivory satin blouse they were showing with the suit (the blouse cost $13).

Minutes after I completed the order, I received an e-mail offer Jessica London: $25 off any order over $50.

My suit and blouse order totaled $58 (excluding shipping), so I called customer service, explained what had happened, and they granted me the $25 discount. So for $33 (excluding shipping), I bought a Chanel suit knock-off and satin blouse.

They shipped my order on Friday and now I anxiously await its arrival.

"Nice shirt, by the way."

Back in the spring, when I informed Human Resources that I am transgender, I actually informed the HR Director of the division of the company that employs me. The HR rep for our location was out on that day and the Director, who happens to have her office in our building, was sitting in for our local rep.

Let me tell you about the our local HR rep. She is a drop-dead gorgeous blond in her late 20s. She seemed to be friendly with some co-workers, but she was always aloof with me.

For example, whenever I encountered her and said "Hello Mandy," she rarely said, "Hello Stan." Usually just a cold "Hello" and sometimes not even a "Hello."

Things changed dramatically after I came out to HR. The HR Director informed our local rep about my transness because I am our local rep's direct "problem," not the HR Director's problem.

Anyway, after coming out to HR, our local HR rep became downright friendly and she never misses calling me by my name when we exchange Hello's.

Today, I wore a shirt that has a blue floral print. I bought it in the men's department of Wal*Mart, so I know it is a male shirt. However, there is no doubting its floral design and some guys might shun such a shirt as being too feminine or at least, too diverse.

Anyway, I ran into our location HR rep today, said "Hello Mandy."

She replied, "Hello Stan" and then she added, "Nice shirt, by the way."

I was very surprised by her compliment and thanked her for it.

Go figure.

Maybe she feels that I am safe now. I am just one of the girls and no longer one of those guys who would like to bed her.

And so it went.

Opportunities

I went to Dress Barn in drag to check out their 50% clearance sale. The Dress Barn staff knows me en femme and en homme and greeted me like an old friend.

Sadly, the pickings were slim and I did nor find anything of interest in my size. There were some new fall items on display that caught my eye, but I was looking for summer wear because I have some summertime opportunities to go out en femme coming up.

Next week, I am taking a mini-vacation and on whatever day I am free of family obligations, I will go out en femme. Not sure what I am going to do, but whatever it is, it will be as a lady.

The following week, I will be doing outreach for a Human Sexuality class at Southern Connecticut State University. This is the same outreach gig that I have been doing for years, however, this is the first time I've done it during the summer; all the previous gigs were during the fall and spring semesters.

Next month, I may attend another ham radio convention en femme. Unlike the Dayton Ohio Hamvention I attended in May, which is an international event attracting 20 to 30,000 attendees, next month’s event is a regional convention, the biennial New England ham radio convention in Boxboro, Mass, which attracts about 1,000 attendees. I have made no definite plans yet, but it is on my radar.

Transsexual Model Bares All in French Vogue

According to Broadsheet in Salon, “When Givenchy's head designer cast his personal assistant, Lea T., in a print ad for the brand, it sparked a frenzy of interest. Calls for interviews and modeling gigs began pouring in.French Vogue, the hipper sister of American Vogue, is running a profile of the Brazilian model alongside a nude portrait in its upcoming issue. But this isn't your typical tale about the feverish discovery of a new face in high-fashion -- because Lea just happens to be a transsexual.”

Please read the rest of the story here.

Life in the Gynocracy

Pat e-mailed me a link to a Newsweek magazine article that asks, "What if men everywhere had to conform to beauty standards set by women?"

"We sure spend a lot of time talking about ideal female beauty—and why women spend so much time obsessing about it. But what if we lived in a world where women had always been the kings, the presidents, the bosses (and, thus, the arbiters of beauty)? Perhaps we’d call it a 'Gynocracy'—a place where superficial women would set the standards for attractiveness, and men would have to conform to them."

You can read the rest of the article here.

Role Reversal Reading

Back in March, I wrote a four-part series here titled What Will Men Wear When Women Wear Trousers?. It described how male and female roles have changed during the past 100 years and what will happen if they continue to follow the 100-year trend, i.e., a complete role reversal with women becoming the "new men" and men becoming the "new women" of the 21st Century.

After posting that series, I discovered a couple of blogs that were on-topic;

Patti's Male Femininity & Gender Role Reversal, which follows and advocates the current trends in role reversal.

Eve's Boys in the Pink, which describes the progression of the role reversal through the remainder of this century.

Restocking My Warpaint

I love experimenting with makeup.

A few years ago, I bought a makeup collection from Sephora that included a huge variety of eye, lip, and cheek colors. Although I use other makeup, the Sephora collection is my go-to makeup.

As a result, I have used up some of the colors. Also, since makeup does not improve with age, I thought I'd buy a replacement collection real soon now.

Since I am a Sephora Beauty Insider, I receive regular e-mail offers from them and their latest e-mail had just what I was looking for! Sixty-five colors; a $150 value for only $29.50. How could I resist!

If you are a femulator who wants to experiment with colors, I recommend buying this collection. And unlike a lot of the collections you will see for sale everywhere during the holidays, the Sephora collection is quality makeup that is a pleasure to use.

I recommend Sephora highly. You can select three free samples with every order, free shipping for orders over $50, and if you become a Beauty Insider (which is free), you earn points to get more free stuff. For example, my Beauty Insider points are getting me a free Lancome mascara with today's order.

In store, they are very trans-friendly. I've shopped en femme in their Manhattan and West Hartford (CT) stores and all my Sephora shopping excursions (including two makeovers) have been very positive. So, go for it, girls!

Eyelash Experiment Week 5

After five weeks of using the Avon eyelash growth stimulator, I am very happy with the results. Even without mascara, my eyelashes look longer and fuller than they looked before I began using the serum. With mascara, they are amazing!

In my case, patience paid off. After two weeks, I was not thrilled with the results, but into week three and beyond, I began noticing a difference. By week five, there was a big difference.

So, if you desire fatter eyelashes, I recommend Avon's eyelash growth stimulator serum.

News Is Good News

Murphy's Law... as soon as I deleted the Womanless News sidebar due to a lack of womanless news, I get some womanless news. So the Womanless News sidebar returns!

No News Is Bad News

I deleted the Womanless News sidebar because there is a dearth of news. When some womanless news occurs, the sidebar will reappear.

Theodore femulates in a Gryphon 'Mercury' embroidered silk dress, wig by Jon Renau, and makeup by Stana

Click on the image for a better color rendition.

Art of Femulation

Throughout my life, drawing and sketching has been an outlet for me being transgender.

When I was a kid, I began drawing as soon as I discovered the business end of a pencil.

In my early teens, when I became fascinated with femulation, my drawing started serving a purpose. When I could not crossdress (which was most of the time), I drew pictures about crossdressing as a release for my frustrated femulations.

Over the years, I have used ballpoint pens, fountain pens, rollerball pens, crayons, colored pencils, and markers for my trans-drawings, but a simple pencil and eraser were my usual tools until I bought a Macintosh computer in 1985.

Now my computer is my primary drawing tool, although I still use a pencil occasionally (see above right) to keep my penciling skills toned.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you cannot help seeing my trans-artwork on display here. I don't know if you readers prefer reading what I write or seeing what I drew.

For me, drawing is fun, while writing is hard work. As a result, I have a big backlog of trans-art, but almost no backlog of trans-words. The daily content of this blog reflects that.

Now go put on a dress!

Nicholas femulates in a 3.1 Phillip Lim cheetah jacquard minidress with hair and makeup by Stana

Click on the image for a better color rendition.

My Horoscope

For her amusement, my wife reads the daily horoscope from the local newspaper. If I am within earshot, she will read mine aloud to me.

Yesterday was such a day. Here is my horoscope (and yours if you are a Pisces):

Let others get to know the real you. Being authentic is more likely right now. Others might be startled, but once they relax, they will enjoy the person they get to know.

Those are insightful and truthful words.

I have found that whenever I come out to people about my transness, most are surprised or startled, but after the words sink in and they interact with me, they seemed to enjoy the new (to them) me. 

Peacock

Last night, I watched Peacock, a 2010 film starring Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, and Susan Sarandon. I knew nothing about this film going in except that Murphy crossdressed in it; after his great crossdressing performance in Breakfast on Pluto, I thought I would give Peacock a look.

It was a very interesting film and held my attention from beginning to end. It really was not a film about being trans, although there are trans elements in the film that many of us can identify with.

I am not a psychologist, nor do I play one on television, so I am not sure what to call the mental condition that Murphy played in the film. I guess he had a multiple personality disorder (distinct male and a female personalities) and his deceased abusive mother was the cause.

Murphy's femulation was very good. As a female, he/she passed and none of the other characters in the film figured him/her out. In reality, I think that someone might have put two and two together, but that did not occur in this story.

One thing that bothered me about Murphy's femulation is that he/she wore male underwear (a T-shirt and briefs) under his/her female clothing. In my humble opinion, someone with his/her disorder would wear female underwear when he/she was in female mode, but that is just my opinion.

The underwear issue did not ruin the film for me and I recommend Peacock to all.

Brandon femulates in a Dolce&Gabbana polka dot dress, Noriko Millie wig, and makeup by Stana

Click on the image for a better color rendition.

Millard femulates in a Dolce&Gabbana pleated bottom, cap sleeve dress, Noriko Brooke wig, and makeup by Stana

Click on the image for a better color rendition.

In His Shoes

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Making Ladies

Making Ladies is a song performed by Scissor Sisters. Although they recorded the tune about three years ago, I heard it for the first time last night.

It sounds like an advertisement for a male-to-female transformation salon and I like it.