When I Was Hip

Exactly 43 years ago today, I was sitting in a pasture on Max Yasgur's farm listening to Canned Heat.

My Favorite Thing

I went out en femme yesterday.

I wore the brown "draped brooch shift" dress and necklace that I bought at Dress Barn in June. I accessorized with my simulated snake skin bag and peep-toe slingback heels (see the first photo).

I learned something new yesterday: perfumes stain.

When I finished dressing, I dabbed on some Chanel Eau de Cologne No. 22. A couple of drops got away from me and landed on the hem of my dress. I assumed the drops would evaporate, so I didn't think anything of it.

Hours later, I noticed that the perfume drops had left stains on my dress. (I hope they come out in the wash.)

Dressed and out the door at 9:45 AM, my first stop was the Ann Taylor store in West Farms Mall in Farmington. I saw some attractive dresses on their website that I wanted to see in person.

Entering through Macy's, I walked through half the mall to get to Ann Taylor. On my way, a few women smiled and some said "Hello," a few guys looked my way, and no one pointed and shouted, "She's a man," so I felt confident about my femulation.

I entered Ann Taylor and a "saleswoman" greeted me and pointed out the racks of dresses that were on sale. (I put saleswoman in quotation marks because the two women working in Ann Taylor yesterday looked like high school kids to me. I realize they were not that young, but their ages were a lot closer to high school age than mine!)

The saleswoman loved my shoes, but admitted that shoes like mine hurt a lot. We discussed the perils of high heels, then she complimented my necklace. (Yesterday, I received a lot of compliments for my necklace.)

I noticed that all the dresses in the store topped out at size 14, whereas larger sizes are available online. Eyeballing the size 14s, they looked like ample size 14s, so I found three dresses to try on.

I managed to slip into all three dresses and close their zippers. The dresses were gorgeous and would look very nice on me if they were one size larger (or I was one size smaller). As is, they were just a little too tight, so I left Ann Taylor empty-handed and disappointed.

I decided to walk to the other end of the mall to JCPenney. They have a huge dress department and I almost always have shopping success there. I spent about an hour in JCPenney looking through the dress racks and trying on my finds.

During the hunt, I was very surprised to find the exact same Dress Barn dress I was wearing for sale. I had assumed incorrectly that Dress Barn and JCPenney did not sell the same lines of clothing, so I learned something new twice yesterday.

My hunt ended with two dresses making the final cut, a purple ruffle dress ("Flowing ruffles add a feminine flair to this sheath dress in a comfortable matte jersey") and a sleeveless black/teal color-block sheath ("Bold colorblock print adds a modern twist to this classic silhouette.").

Trying on a dress makes all the difference in the world when shopping. I knew the ruffle dress would look good on me assuming that it fit, whereas the color-block sheath was one of those dresses I was not sure about. I grabbed it as a "what-the-heck" pick since I was going to the dressing room to try on some other dresses anyway. Turned out it was one of the nicest dresses (on me) that I tried on yesterday. So, you never know.

I took my finds to the cashier and she asked if I wanted to use my JCPenney credit card.

I said I wanted to pay cash.

She asked if I had a JCPenney credit card.

I said I did, but have not used it in years.

She tried to convince me to sign up for a new credit card and get a 20% discount on all my purchases that day.

I knew I would have to show a photo identification to apply for a new card and I was a little reluctant to out myself whether or not the cashier had already figured me out. But the 20% discount was hard to resist, so I relented.

As I handed the saleswoman my driver's license, I commented that I looked a little different than when the license photo was taken.

She glanced at the license and then said something to the effect that my hairdo was now much bigger.

For a fleeting moment, I wondered if I had not outed myself afterall and that she thought that the license photo just showed me, a woman, with a short female hairdo. But there is a big letter "M" next to the "Sex:" on the license that is a dead giveaway.

I'll never know what she thought, but whatever the case, she was very pleasant, treated me politely throughout our encounter and that's alright by me.

After leaving the dress department, I passed the jewelry department and checked out the earring racks for those rare hard-to-find clip-ons. There were a handful and I found a retro style pair that I purchased with my new 20% off credit card.

A saleswoman rang up my purchase and mentioned that they were getting in some more clip-ons from Monet.

I told her I would be back and I am sure I will be.

My day out as a woman was going very well except for one thing: I felt lousier as the day progressed. By the time I exited JCPenney, I had an intense headache and was so tired that I could have taken a nap right on the spot.

I decided to call it a day if I did not feel any better by the time I walked the length of the mall back to Macy's where my chariot awaited me. I stopped briefly at a couple of stores along the way, but more or less made a bee-line to Macy's.

I did not feel any better, but I thought the fresh air might help. It was now raining, so I sprinted to my car as quickly as my high heels would permit me and regrouped.

It was hot and stuffy inside, so I turned on the ignition and cranked up the air conditioning. The AC did not help; I did not feel any better, so I decided to return from whence I came.

Upon my return, I took a short nap (I rarely nap during the day unless I am ill). I felt a little better afterword.

Before I returned to boy mode, I took some photos wearing my new dresses. (You can compare me with the models on the JCPenney website in the second and third photos. By the way, I did not cut off the model’s head --- JCPenney did it)

I was disappointed that it was a short day out en femme, but it was a day out en femme and that is a wonderful thing!

I highly recommend it to everyone.

Out Today

I am going out en femme today.

This is a spur of the moment decision, so I have no specific plans except to spend the day as a woman.

I have no idea what adventures await me, but I am confident that I will have a wonderful time.

Face Time

That's my face on Facebook.

After over a year's absence, I have decided to try Facebook again.

"Stana Stana" is my Facebook name; www.facebook.com/stana.stana.3 is my home page.

I will be on the road most of the day today, so catch you later!

Stana's Fashion Trands: Preppy Shoes

I like these shoes from Payless. Known as the "Kimmie Mary Jane Pump," it has a 2.5" heel.

I own a similar pair in black from Payless and they are very comfortable. Maybe I should own a pair in brown ("cognac") and be very preppy!

By the way, Payless is a transgirl's friend.

They sell shoes in sizes that our dainty feet require (up to size 13, frequently in wide widths).

They sell shoes that are relatively inexpensive, which is important if you have to budget for two wardrobes.

Payless is trans-friendly. I have never been hassled in any Payless store trying on women's shoes whether I was in girl mode or boy mode.

And they are everywhere --- Payless stores seem to be in every strip mall around here.

Half the many shoes I own are Payless. I own Payless flats, mid heels, high heels, platform heels, strappy sandals, and boots and I seldom have had a complaint --- most are all-day-long comfortable.

If you have never shopped Payless, plan to do so and you will be pleasantly surprised.

The Importance of Being Lady Bracknell

Since it is Lady Bracknell Week in The Femulated slot, Anne N sent me a great article from the Daily Mail titled "I just love being a woman..."

The article describes how actor Gyles Brandreth lived as a woman full-time 24/7 for two months last year to prepare for the role of Lady Bracknell in a UK production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

He wrote, "Above all, I am discovering that the essence of being a woman is being aware of others... I don’t believe women are naturally more intuitive or sensitive than men. They just seem that way because they look and they listen more carefully than men do and consequently they see more and hear better.

"I want to cross the male-female divide and step inside the mind of a woman because it’s an interesting place, and full of surprises. But I only want visiting rights, though, I don’t plan to live there permanently."

I’ve heard that before!

You can read the entire article here.

Frequent Flier

Today, I am happy to present a guest post by a “daily reader of Femulate,” Paula Gaijkowski. I am sure you will identify and sympathize with her words; I know I did.

I’ve been up since 4 AM, an early flight, I tell everyone it’s so I can get there in time to prepare for my meetings the next day. If they knew the truth they would be surprised, or perhaps “shocked” would be a better word.

The airport has energy, a vibe, a current of movement and change. People are in a state of flux, business deals, money made and lost, love found, divorces, farewells, reunions, new babies and trips homes for a funeral, a river of life. I watch them, businessmen and women, grandparents on a visit, tourists, college students, and the visitor whose brief return is over. But I mostly focus on the women; in them I see myself.

You see that’s my secret. How I envy them and long to be a member of their sorority. The anticipation in me grows; soon I think I’ll join them. I will shed this facade of masculinity that I have been forced to wear. I’ll leave this city, this life, and role behind. I sigh and close my eyes trying to sleep as the plane lifts off. It will be a busy day, I’ll need my rest.

The baggage claim, the rental car bus, the ride to the hotel, it’s a different city, but the same routine. I smile and exchange pleasantries with the hotel clerk.

“Welcome” she chimes, “Are you in town for business or pleasure?” she asks.

I hesitate slightly before responding, “Actually both, I have a meeting tomorrow but today I’m meeting one of my sisters for and lunch and shopping.”

I laugh to myself, If she only knew what I meant by “sister.”

The hotel, is quiet and empty; everyone is out and about. As I ride the elevator up, my enthusiasm and expectation grows. I push the huge suitcase down the hall the wheels sticking on the carpet. Finally we arrive at the door. I insert the card, it clicks and we are in. I toss the suitcase up onto the bed. It opens, and out from underneath the slacks and BVDs I pull a black bag, I lay it across the bed and unzip it.

It’s good to see them again, my purse and the pink makeup case, a pair of pumps, several skirts, tops, bras, panties, pantyhose and jewelry. A sales receipt spills out from my last trip. It’s from Nordstrom. Oh, yes, I remember now, it’s from the M.A.C counter. I had bought new foundation. The sales associate, her name was Lisa, was so friendly and helpful.

“Thank you Lisa,” I say to myself.

I read the date it was over a month ago. That’s too long… much too long.

I let the warm water of the shower melt away any uncertainty. That part of me from that now distant city protests “Why are you doing this? You’re foolish! You’re a man, a husband, a father!”

But I don’t listen to that voice anymore, I know better now. The feminine scent of the shaving cream and the unveiled smoothness of my legs calm me. I feel her take hold inside me.

I dry myself off, then spray on some perfume, I breath the aroma in, the scent is satisfying, almost like a drug, I feel it trigger certain parts of my brain, as if they were dormant, but now are called to life, they burst forward igniting senses and desires no longer forced hidden.

I become a little hurried now. As I put on my foundation garments, a female silhouette takes shape in the mirror, the padding and forms do their job. I feel a slight disappointment that I need them at all. My eyes go to juncture of my thighs, the curvature of my lower abdomen, it looks so female. Maybe, I think, someday… it will be.

I sit down and start my makeup. I‘ve become practiced, better than most women, the foundations goes on with a M.A.C brush. Oh, yes, I think, I have all the tools. Then I apply powder. I brush it off softly creating an even matte finish; next I contour, then I highlight.

Slowly I trace the brows; their arch brings another hint of femininity to my face. This time they came out perfect, I’m pleased.

The eyes are important; I take my time getting them just right, the shadow, the liner and finally the mascara.

The lips are next. I trace a cupid’s bow with the lip liner bringing my upper lip closer to my nose, an important feminine feature. I finish with two shades of lipstick; my lips take on a fullness and depth. Some blush, and then a touch-up and I’m done.

Not bad, I think, but there’s still more. I clip on my earrings, a gold bracelet, a watch, a diamond engagement ring, and on the other hand a birth stone. Today I’ll be wearing a skirt with a red jacket. I step into the skirt, pull it up and then zip it. It fits nicely. I smooth it running my hands over the curves on my hips. Then I slip a dark blouse over my head I pull the buttons close over my bust, yes, my “bust,” I muse; I like the way they look. Next, I put on my jacket.

Finally the icing must go on the cake, I lightly place the wig on my head; “boys have short hair girls have long hair” I mouth these words softly.

I step toward the mirror; there she is “Paula,” a huge smile flashes across my face, a giddiness takes over, a sense of relief. I primp in the mirror then pack my purse, credit cards, license, cash, and room key. I primp in the mirror again. My nails! I forgot my nails, it takes a few minutes, but they’re pretty, a press-on French manicure --- just the right feminine detail.

I check my purse again. I’m nervous, there’s a bit of trepidation as I stand in front of the door. Faintly I hear his voice pulling me back. “Noooo I shake my head!"

I look in the mirror, she smiles at me. You can do this. I’m out the door; there is a sense of wonder I’m doing it. I ride down in the elevator, the doors open and I’m in the lobby. I walk over and grab a bottle of water from the market. I ask the clerk softly, “Can you put this on room 314?”

“Sure” she smiles, “Anything else Ma’am?”

“Ma’am,” I say to myself, yes, she said Ma’am --- my heart sores.

I’m out the door and the cadence of heels on the pavement announces a woman is here. I’ve escaped, if only for the day, but I’m free and I’m flying!

Stana’s Fashion Trands: A Closet Update

Added to Stana’s Closet 
Ponte Heart Print Dress from Julian Taylor (via ideeli)

Solid ponte knit sleeveless dress with a wide scoop neck, center front and back heart-printed panel, buckle detail over left shoulder and hidden back zipper closure. Not lined. 35" long.

Added to Stana’s Closet
Belted Crepe Knit Dress from Julian Taylor (via ideeli)

Crepe dress with cap sleeves and V-neck, bold print and solid side panels, side elastic detail on waist seam, optional skinny belt with studs. Not lined. 38" long.

May Be Added to Stana’s Closet
Palm Jacket and Stretch Flounce Skirt from Ann Taylor

jacket - Wear-now style: a fresh take on suiting makes a chic summer statement in noteworthy neutrals inspired by natural textures. Pair with an embellished top for an irresistibly feminine touch. Front hook-and-bar closure. 3/4 sleeves. Besom chest pocket. Front flap besom pockets. Lined. 20" long.

skirt - A ruffle hem imparts a delightfully feminine flounce to this alluring skirt, finished with a hint of stretch for a truly flattering fit. Hidden side zipper with hook-and-eye closure. Lined. 18" long.

Visiting a New Salon

I needed some storage containers for stuff stored in the garage, so I went to the nearest discount store during my lunch hour on Monday.

Leaving the store, I noticed a sign in the window of the hair salon next door advertising a special: on Tuesdays, they cut men's hair for $12.

I needed a haircut and although I am not really a man, I can pass for one, so I returned to the salon on Tuesday.

I had never been in that salon, so I did not know what to expect.

My hairdresser was a vivacious middle-aged woman named Staci. It turned out that we grew up in the same neighborhood and although she is ten years younger, we knew some of the same people.

I almost mentioned that Staci used to be my femme name, but I decided to save that for another time.

After she finished doing my hair, she asked me if I'd like her to do my eyebrows. No hairdresser ever offered that service before and I gladly acquiesced.

She quickly buzzed each brow with an electric razor over a comb and saved me the trouble of trimming my brows.

Her hairdressing skills were excellent. I gave her a generous tip and I plan to patronize her salon again in the future.

Hung Up On Hangers

I have bought a lot of clothes online from Spiegel and Newport News in the past, but now I can’t recall the last time I made a purchase from either outfit.

In the past, Spiegel and Newport News offered different lines of clothing; the Spiegel line was more expensive and usually of better quality than the Newport News line.

“Since 2004, Spiegel and the women's fashion catalog Newport News have operated under the name Spiegel Brands, Inc.” (source: Wikipedia)

During the past few years, the lines have been merging. I first noticed the merger in their footwear offerings; shoes Spiegel sold were also available from Newport News and vice versa. Now it seems their clothing lines are merging, too. As a result, Newport News' offerings are as expensive as Spiegel's offerings.

That doesn't bother me and is not the reason I stopped buying from Spiegel and Newport News.

Besides buying more in person in brick and mortar stores, the other reason I have not been buying from Spiegel or Newport News is because I do not like the way they display their clothing.

In the past, they showed models wearing the clothing they sold. Today, they show most of their offerings without models; their clothing looks as if it is on invisible hangers.

I don't know about you, but I prefer to see the clothing modeled by models, not wire hangers because I get a much better idea of how the clothes look on a real person when they are worn by a real person.

Buying from a catalog that does not use models is like buying clothing off the rack without trying the clothing on before purchasing.

Sure I know that the body of a model in the Victoria's Secret catalog in no way represents my body, but at least I can see how the clothing is supposed to look on a real person and gauge how it might look on me. Whereas clothing displayed on a hanger in a catalog tells me nothing except how it will look hanging in my closet!

Fashionista Trivia

How many fashionistas remember when Newport News was known as Avon Fashions?

The Importance of Femulating in Earnest

Regular Femulate contributor, Aunty Marlena e-mailed me about a femulation in a 2011 New York City production of The Importance of Being Earnest. In it actor Brian Bedford played the Lady Augusta Bracknell.

The Importance of Being Earnest with a crossdressed cast, Washington, D.C. 2010

I thought that was cool and I searched online for an image of Mr. Bedford in the Lady Bracknell role to use in The Femulated sidebar of this blog.

I was surprised to discover that over the years, males have often played Lady Bracknell. Online, I found 18 other productions of the play in which a male actor played Lady Bracknell. And I even found a 2010 Washington, D.C. production in which all the roles were played by the opposite sex (see photos)!

As a result, I will feature the better Lady Bracknell femulations in The Femulated slot all this week.

Stana’s Fashion Trands: Fringed Boots

I love these new fringed boots from ShoeDazzle!

Named "Callia" and available up to size 11 in red or black, this fringed faux-suede ankle boot has a 1.25" platform, 4" heel, and side-zipper.

And there is “Maki,” a faux-suede peep-toe ankle bootie with tassel accents and back zipper. It has a 0.5” platform and 3” heel and is available up to size 11 in black, brown, and purple (I love the purple).

I can’t decide which to buy --- Callia or Maki!

I'll Be Brief

My foundation wear these days consists of a Bali cami torset top, which is a cami with the front cut out to allow me to wear whatever bra I wish (usually something from Victoria's Secret). Below I wear a Bali high-waisted brief.

I have been very satisfied customer of these Bali Spanx clones, however, something new (to me) has appeared on the shapewear horizon. Bali has combined their cami torset top and high-waisted brief into one single piece of shapewear: the Bali Powershape Torset Body Briefer (see photo).

Avon has begun selling this new product and I ordered a sample. I will let you know how it works out as soon as I can.

 

Prehistoric Femulate

Out of the blue, I received an e-mail asking that I moderate a comment for a short-lived blog that I started almost two years before I started Femulate.

I was very surprised that that blog was still on the Internet, which makes me wonder what else is still on the Internet that I have forgotten about. (Archive.org’s Wayback Machine might have some other forgotten gems.)

If you are interested in viewing my prehistoric blog, here is the link: http://staci-staci.livejournal.com/

Chickenman

He's everywhere! He's everywhere!

This is my story about X, the fast food chain that sells chicken and whose owner has come out against same sex marriage.

Up front, you should know that I will not be boycotting X since it is highly unlikely I would ever patronize X because...

1) The closest X is over 70 miles away in New Jersey.

2) I seldom eat fast food. I think the last time I indulged was on my Dayton roadtrip in May.

If you have been reading this blog long enough, you will recall that three summers ago, I attended a four-day weekend creativity workshop in Manhattan. I spent over four days 24/7 en femme in The City and it was an epiphany for me. You can read about it here.

There were about 20 people attending the workshop. Most of the attendees were from the teaching, writing, and art fields, however, there were three guys who were ducks out of water: they were managers from the Atlanta home office of X.

Back then, I had never heard of X and I knew nothing of its owner's regard for the LGBT community. These three guys made it clear that they did not want to have anything to do with me. Whereas, the other attendees interacted with me throughout the workshop, these guys avoided me.

The only time any of the three interacted with me was when I was paired up with one of them during a workshop exercise. That one was polite, but all business. After the exercise, he would at least say “Hello,” but his two companions continued to avoid me.

That was my only contact with X, but it left an impression on me and the current brouhaha does not surprise me.

Lana, Gore and Stana

Yesterday, I referenced a report on The Huffington Post about the transition of film director Lana Wachowski (photo right).

Today, I refer you to a commentary about Lana’s transition written by Andrew O’Hehir on Salon.

Titled “Lana Wachowski’s quiet coming-out party,” it is well worth reading.

***

In other trans-related news, Gore Vidal, the author of Myra Breckinridge, died yesterday at the age of 98 86.

Oh, how well I remember reading Myra back in 1968 when I was a young budding femulator. The book was an eye opener and funny, too.

“The Matrix” Director Transitions

According to a report by Cavan Sieczkowsk in The Huffington Post today, “the director of The Matrix and the highly-anticipated film Cloud Atlas has become the first major Hollywood director to publicly come out as transgender. Lana Wachowski revealed she has transitioned while promoting her new film.”

Read the whole story here.

Waistline Deducting

My waistline is not apparent in boy mode. My bust, waist, and hip measurements are nearly equal.

Shapewear is my friend in girl mode. With shapewear, my bust and hip measurements increase a little and my waistline shrinks a little.

In yesterday's post about fall fashions, I mentioned that "under the cover of fallwear, women like us can use all sorts of shapewear and tape (surgical and duct) to mold our bodies into more feminine figures."

If I wear something low-cut and want to show cleavage, I use surgical tape to bring my girls closer together. It is very effective as can be seen here, and is painless until I remove the tape (OUCH!)

For a smaller waist, I depend on shapewear. Some shapewear is more effective than other shapewear in this department, but in all my years of femulating, nothing beats duct tape for reducing the waistline and flattening the stomach.

I used duct tape for waistline and stomach reduction about 15 years ago. Back then, I wore a longline bra and high-waist girdle and wrapped the duct tape over the girdle and bra for an amazingly small (for me) waistline.

Since the tape never touched my skin, it came off painlessly at the end of my femulation. The only problem was that the tape left a sticky residue on the girdle and bra that was impossible to remove completely. This necessitated ducting each time I femulated, otherwise the tape residue would stick to the clothes I was wearing. Since I did not want to duct my gut every time I femulated, I abandoned the trick and resigned myself to a thicker waistline.

Until now.

Online, I found a solution to the problem. Before applying duct tape, apply a layer of plastic wrap, then apply the duct tape over the plastic wrap. Using this method avoids the sticky residue; it also allows you to apply the plastic wrap-duct tape combo directly to your skin if you want to go without shapewear altogether or if you want to wear the shapewear over the duct tape to fine tune your figure.

By the way, it is best to use one continuous strip of duct tape for each go around your waist. Place the first strip of duct tape at the narrowest part of your waistline and apply the subsequent strips above and below the first strip.

I have used as few as three and as many as five strips of duct tape around my waist. Your mileage may vary to achieve a gorgeous hour-glass figure.

Avoiding Fall Fashion Failures

Fall fashions are my favorite.

I am not a summer person. I don't like the heat, hate humidity more, and dread summerwear because the clothes of summer are too revealing.

It is not that I mind showing a little skin, but it requires a lot of hair removal. For example, when I wear a skimpy bikini to the beach, it requires hours of depilation.

I prefer autumn. The clothes are less revealing and require less prep in the hair removal department. Also, under the cover of fallwear, women like us can use all sorts of shapewear and tape (surgical and duct) to mold our bodies into more feminine figures.

Although I prefer fall fashions, that does not prevent me from having fall fashion failures.

Don't you hate it when you see a dress on the rack that you like, try it on in the dressing room, conclude that it looks fab on you in the mirror image, pay for it, take it home, wear it out and then see photos of yourself wearing your fab find and discover from the photos that the dress looks awful on you?

Luckily, I found an article on Stylist that may prevent fashion faux pas this fall. In Fall Dressing for Your Body Type, Karen Klopp writes that the key to fashion success is "to embrace your body type and pick clothing that will flatter it, not fight it!" And her article tells you how to do it.

My body is apple shaped, that is, "fuller on top and in the midsection and slimmer on the bottom." The photos accompanying this post are what Ms. Klopp recommended for the apple-shaped.

I particularly like the DVF dress dress on the right, but with a $398 price tag at Nordstrom, I will shop for something similar.

Kate, Spence and Stana

My wife was watching a Katherine Hepburn film yesterday and she wondered if Kate had any kids.

I said I didn't know, but I mentioned that she was gay.

My wife retorted, "What about her affair with Spencer Tracy?"

I said Tracy was gay, too. The "affair" was something cooked up to cover up their real sexuality.*

Then we discussed how it is different today and how people are coming out all the time these days.

Wife said, "Not everybody. Would you go to work dressed as a woman?"

I replied, "Sure I would."

She had nothing more to say.

* Source: Bowers, Scotty (2012). Full service: my adventures in Hollywood and the secret sex lives of the stars. New York: Grove Press.

Lucky Guy

How Do You Shave?

I am always looking for better ways to get things done.

Face shaving can be a deal maker or breaker for a successful femulation. You could be dressed to the nines with a perfectly coiffed do and expertly applied makeup, but if your beard is visible. it ruins the femulation.

Currently, I use a Gillette Fusion manual razor with Edge shave gel to start the day. A new or nearly new blade in the razor gets me a very smooth shave that I have been unable to better using other products.

On those days when I am en femme 24/7, I touch up in the late afternoon or early evening with a Norelco rotary head electric razor. I use it without removing any makeup, then I touch up the makeup, which is a lot faster than removing my makeup, shaving, and then reapplying my makeup.

Assuming you are not one of those lucky girls who had electrolysis, how do you shave when you get ready to go out en femme? What products do you use? Do you use any tricks to to achieve absolute gorgeousness?

Please share your shaving modus operandi in the Comments section below.

Womanless Pick of the Week

Yeah. I know. You all are asking, "Where's last week's pick?"

Or, for that matter, the week before that?

Sorry.

Some weeks, the pickings are so slim that I can't pick.

And some weeks, I forget!

In either case, you can receive a full refund at the box office.

So, without further ado, this week's womanless pick of the week comes courtesy of Aunty Marlena, i.e., the 2011 edition of the People Unlimited Charities' Womanless Beauty Pageant.

By the way, People Unlimited will hold the 2012 edition of their womanless beauty pageant on Saturday, September 22 in Scottsdale, AZ.

Another by the way, in their ads for the events, People Unlimited call it a “womenless” beauty pageant, but everywhere else, they refer to it as “womanless.” Go figure!

The Other Side of My Closet

Janie's blog post today inspired me to write the following.

One side of my closet is fresh and vibrant, the other side, not so much.

On one side of my closet, new items appear regularly and old worn-out items are replaced.

On the other side of my closet, there is dust on some items; old worn-out items are not thrown out unless absolutely necessary and are seldom replaced.

Guess which side of the closet is which?

The girl side of my closet is growing, while the boy side remains the same. It has gotten so crowded on the girl side that I moved all my special occasion dresses to an unused corner of my wife's closet.

My collection of shoes and bags is getting out of hand, too, and I am storing some of those items in my wife's closet.

I have not bought anything new from the men's aisles since late last winter and that was on the occasion of my regular undies purge in which I throw out all of my boy panties and camies and replace them with a fresh set.

Although the boy side of my closet is old and neglected, I buy new items for the girl side all the time.

It's like I'm getting ready to live as a woman full-time.

Search Me

Reva suggested I add a search function to the blog.

Good idea!

Blogger has a gadget for that and I added it to the blog last night (at the top of the right sidebar).

Still More High School Yearbook Femulations

Starla passed along 76 new images for the Yearbook Femulations collection, which I uploaded to flickr today.

The following Yearbook sets have new images: Yearbook A (9 new), Yearbook C (3), Yearbook D (7), Yearbook E (6), Yearbook F (2), Yearbook G (1), Yearbook H (3), Yearbook I (1), Yearbook J (4), Yearbook K (1), Yearbook L (8), Yearbook M (4), Yearbook N (1), Yearbook O (5), Yearbook P (4), Yearbook R (3), Yearbook  S (6), Yearbook T (4), Yearbook U (1), Yearbook V (1), Yearbook W (2).

There are two ways to view the newest additions:

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 my 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 Hard Knox High School would be in the Yearbooks H set.

Enjoy!

Fun at the Sun

Friday, I went to the Mohegan Sun casino to play slots and have fun.

It was a miserable drive from my home to the casino with heavy rain falling the entire trip. The bad weather and slowed traffic added almost 30 minutes to the normal 75-minute trip.

I arrived at the casino at 11 AM and found it busier for midday weekday than it has been in awhile. Either the economy is better or a lot of vacationers abandoned the nearby beaches of Long Island Sound for some dry indoor activities.

I played quarter slots for the first 90 minutes and was down about $10. After lunch, I switched to two-cents and one-cent slots and my luck improved. By the time I quit and headed for home, I had $248 more in my purse than when I arrived!

People-wise, I had one very interesting encounter. When I ate lunch --- a glass of seltzer and a salad topped with grilled chicken --- I sat at the bar rather than at a table in Big Bubba's BBQ because I wanted to check out all the breweriana on display behind the bar.

Half way through eating my salad, I had a new real life experience! A middle-aged guy sat next to me, ordered a beer, and began chatting with me.

I cleared my throat, spoke softly and held up my half of the conversation.

After about 10 minutes, I emptied my glass of seltzer and the guy asked me if he could buy me a drink.

"Where was this going?" I wondered. I did not want to find out, so I played the spoken-for card.

"No thank-you," I said, "I'm happily married."

"Is your husband here?" he asked.

"What difference does that make?" I asked.

"Well, he is a very lucky guy."

"Thank-you," I said.

"It was nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you, too," I returned.

With that, he paid his bill and left the restaurant.

Wow!

There is nothing else unusual to report except that I noticed a few guys checking me out throughout the day. I interacted with other people, both male and female, customers and casino staff alike, and everyone treated me like a lady.   

The only negative thing about the day is that I forgot my camera. The accompanying photo is from my trip to Dayton in May. I basically wore the same outfit to the casino as in the photo. The only difference is that I wore a different pair of leggings; same color, but with lace-trimmed cuffs instead of zippered cuffs.

It was another wonderful day!

Up $248

I went to Mohegan Sun casino yesterday.

Played quarter, penny and two-penny slots.

Went home $248 ahead!

I will write more about my day later.

Casino Bound

I am going to the casino today. Wish me luck!

My First Emulation-Worthy Femulator

As a young femulator back in the mid-1960s, I did not have any femulators to emulate.

On the big screen, there were Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot, but they dressed in 1920s flapper styles --- an attractive style, but difficult for this young girl to emulate during the Jackie era. 

On the small screen, Milton Berle made an occasional appearance en femme, but his femulations were strictly for laughs; they were clownish and often ugly --- nothing this girl wanted to copy.

The New York newspapers occasionally had ads displaying professional femulators at Club 82 and I so wanted to dress in showgirl drag like the girls at 82, but let's be practical.

There were no femulators that dressed like women dressed in the mid-1960s... no one I could look up to for inspiration.

Finally, one evening watching television in 1964, I saw a great femulation of a mid-1960s woman on a new episode of The Munsters --- of all places! In that episode, character actor Cliff Norton played a cop who disguised himself as a woman (see photo) in order to trap a guy who was accosting women in the park at night.

Norton's femulation left an impression on me for a very long time. He was not a beautiful woman, but he passed and more importantly, he was dressed like a mid-1960s woman in the styles I knew and loved and wanted to wear.

(The title of The Munsters episode is "A Walk on the Mild Side" and you can view it online in a number of locations; just search on "'The Munsters' 'A Walk on the Mild Side'" and you will find it. The femulation occurs near the end of the episode in case you want to fast-forward to it.)

This Transwoman Supports Obama

I seldom discuss politics here.

Weeks ago, I added the Trans United for Obama button to the blog without a word. The button spoke for itself; if you wanted to know more, click on the button and it took you to a website where you could learn more.

Today, I received the following e-mail.

I really do not like your placing an Obama button on your home page. There is no real freedom down the road of that ideology and I am opposed to this president and his snuffing out of individual initiative and honest dealing.

Even if we disagree, why turn your site into a political commercial -- as if there were only one way to see things. That is the common arrogance of the left.

I guess it is time to explain why I added the Trans United for Obama button to the blog.

I support candidates that support me or my cause; always have, always will. I am transgender and my cause is equal rights for transgenders.

Consider the records of President Obama and the presumed GOP presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.

More has been accomplished by the Obama administration for transgender rights than all 43 other presidents combined. Those accomplishments include:

• Ending the Social Security Administration’s gender “no-match” letters and allowing for true gender passports.

• Ensuring that transgender Americans can receive true gender passports without surgery.

• Establishing guidelines to help protect transgender federal employees from discrimination in the workplace.

• Making sure transgender veterans receive respectful care according to their true gender through the Veterans Health Administration.

Former Governor Romney's administration and friends in Massachusetts have less than a stellar record regarding transgender rights.

• In 2006, Romney’s administration blocked publication of a state antibullying guide for Massachusetts public schools because officials objected to use of the terms “bisexual’’ and “transgender’’ in passages about protecting certain students from harassment.

• As a reporter for the Boston Herald, Eric Fehrnstrom, now Romney's "most trusted" adviser, gleefully outed a Massachusetts transgender woman, Althea Garrison, ending her political career.

• Unlike the Obama campaign website, no where on the Romney campaign website is there a mention of transgenders. However, in my opinion, Romney's championing a Federal Marriage Amendment to the Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman does not bode well for an expansion of transgender rights under a Romney administration. 

President Obama supports my cause, Governor Romney does not, so I support President Obama.

Enough said.

I Want To See This Film

 

Laurence Anyways is a 2012 Canadian film that tells the story of impossible love between a man and a woman after the man decided to have a sex change, according to IMDB.

The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival where Suzanne Clément won the Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress. The film was also awarded with the Queer Palm Award at the festival, according to Wikipedia.

After watching the trailer, I want to see the film.

Thank you Accro for alerting me about it.

Makeup Glasses

Dear Stana,

As I get older, I find it tougher and tougher to see what I'm doing when it comes to applying my makeup. Putting on my glasses doesn't help for the obvious reasons of not being able to work around the lenses. Unfortunately, contacts are out for a number of reasons as well.

I've tried a couple of the hand-held magnifying mirrors but they seemed to have far more distortion than actual useable area. I quickly gave up on them. Do you know of anything larger out there -perhaps a full size magnifying vanity- that hopefull wouldn't have so much distortion? Obviously, we all age and not all of us can (or choose) to wear contacts. So there must be a solution somewhere.

Thank-you,

Monica

***

Hi Monica,

Makeup glasses are my solution to the problem. These special eyeglasses come in a variety of styles.

One style consists of an eyeglass frame with only one lens that you flip from one eye to the other. When you make up your right eye, you flip the lens over your left eye. When you make up your left eye, you flip the lens over your right eye.

Another style has two lenses. You simply flip the lens down and out of the way of the eye you are making up.

In some models, the lenses are available in a variety of stengths. If you do not know which strength you require, go to a pharmacy that sells reader eyeglasses and try on different strengths to see which one is best for you, then order the makeup glasses in that strength.

Various companies make makeup glasses; Google "makeup glasses" and you will find a variety. Here is an example that costs only $3.99.

Since I do not need makeup glasses (yet), I have no real life experience using them and cannot recommend one brand over any others, but I hope that helps.

Best Wishes,

Stana

***

Need advice concerning femulation or other crossdressing-related matters, then e-mail me and I will happily give you my opinion on the matter. My e-mail address is stana-stana at sbcglobal.net.

Still More Yearbook Femulations

Marion County High School, Jasper, TN, 1985

This photo of two "girls" represent one of the 45 new photos that Starla unearthed from online high school yearbooks and that I added to the Yearbook Femulations collection on flickr.

Enjoy!

By the way, if anyone has photos of their own high school femulations that they would like to share here, please pass them along and share I will.

If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say

How do you respond to a compliment? With a gracious thank-you or with a self-deprecating remark?

I am so guilty of the latter, whereas I know I should just smile and accept the kind words.

Image consultant Ginger Burr addresses this very matter in her recent blog post "Watch Your Language."

I read it, I get it and from now on, you will hear nothing but thank-you's from me.

Are You Junoesque?

Andi sent me a link to an article titled "The Top Ten Best Things About Being Tall." It referred to tall women; I enjoyed reading it and identified with many of the items on the list.

After reading the article, I began exploring the website that was the source of the article: The Junoesque. It is written by two sisters, Elayna and Myiesha, who are 6'3" and 6'4" respectively, and much of its content is applicable to tall girls like us.

The sisters write about fashion and the life experiences (both good and bad) of tall women in the 21st Century.

I think you will enjoy the website, so make plans to visit it soon.

Frock

Frock is an online magazine billed as "Your Quarterly TG Lifestyle Magazine."

I just skimmed the 80 pages of the current issue and found interesting articles that I will return to read later. I think Femulate readers will also find Frock to be of great interest.

Subscriptions are free and it doesn't get better than that, does it?

Live It

If you are part-time, why aren't you full-time?

If being a woman is such a good fit for you, the gods obviously intended that you live on the feminine side of the gender continuum (even though they erred during the installation of the plumbing).

The plumbing is a handicap, but don't let it handicap you from living the life you were intended to live.

I know I should practice what I preach, but I have an excuse, although I do live as a woman as often as I can. And you may have an excuse that is just as legitimate as mine, so you are excused.

But to the rest of you who have no excuse, you are not excused.

If you've got it, don't flaunt it --- live it!

Computer Maintenance

I am performing computer maintenance, so I was unable to update the blog last night as I usually do. Please standby. We will be returning to our normally scheduled programming shortly.

T Sims

The only computer game I play is pinball, however, I am familiar with The Sims and dabbled with it for a few weeks long ago.

Browsing the net, I happened upon a website called Transgender Sims, where you can "Get into the great world of being a girl, and treat your male sims with hot style and fashion only girls could have before."

There are 1,500 registered members and the website is so interesting that it may motivate me to do some Sims femulations.

Not Your Father’s Toolbox

Read How To Put A Makeup Kit Together. By the way, I use a huge tackle box for my makeup kit.

How Tall?

Charlene Wittstock aka Princess Charlene of Monaco (photo right) is 5'10" tall.

Savannah Guthrie, the new co-host of NBC television's Today is also tall.

How tall?

I added Ms. Guthrie to the Famous Females of Height List awhile back at 5'10". With her Today promotion, I double-checked her height and discovered that she has grown taller!

Depending on who you believe, she is 5'11", 6'0", or 6'1" tall!

For what it's worth, Today co-host Matt Lauer is 5'11" and in photos of Lauer and Guthrie together, Lauer seems to be the same height as Guthrie or taller. Assuming that Guthrie wears high heels on the show, that would maker her shorter than Lauer’s 5’11”.

Go figure!

High School Dress-Up

This 1962 image of the “girls” at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas, attending a womanless Valentine’s Day event with their dates is one of 34 new high school yearbook images I just added to the Yearbook Femulations Collection on flickr.

A big Thank You goes out to Starla for continuing to unearth these vintage femulations!

Sunday On My Mind

I got a late start today.

I watched most of Saturday Night Live last night, so I did not get to sleep until 1 AM.

I was up at 6 AM to feed the cats and back in bed at 6:05.

I slept until 8 AM. Shaved, showered, moisturized, fetched the paper, walked the dog, made breakfast, ate breakfast, cleaned the litter boxes, did the laundry and before I knew it, the clock struck 12!

An e-mail yesterday got me thinking about the Sundays when I was a young girly boy dressing in my Sunday best to go to Mass and wishing that I was wearing my sister's Sunday best and not mine.

On the way home from Mass, Dad would stop at the newsstand to buy the New York papers and comic books for my sister and I. Typically, I would pick out some costumed DC superhero offering and my sister would pick out something from the Harvey line - Little Audrey, Dot and Lotta - something girly that I would eventually read, too.

Tammy e-mailed me a link to an article on The Huffington Post about the upcoming gender swap issue of Archie Comics. The article includes links to other articles on the topic of gender diversity in the comic book world.

It was interesting. I don't buy comic books anymore, but I may buy Archie next month.

Also, I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons.

T-Bits

T Family Law

Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy by Jennifer L. Levi and Elizabeth E. Monnin-Browderis is now available in Kindle and Nook electronic format.

I love reading, but books and magazines take up space, so I have gone electronic. I am switching all my magazine subscriptions to electronic format as they come up for renewal and I am getting electronic versions of any new text-centric books I purchase (like Transgender Family Law). For the time-being, I am sticking with print editons of any new graphic-centric books I purchase.

I don't own a Kindle or a Nook, but I do have free Kindle readers installed on my Mac laptop and iPod Touch and they work for me.

T Empress

My friend Jila mentioned to me that she heard that a Roman Emperor was transgender. My first thought was Caligula, but after researching the matter, I discovered that Elagabalus was the Emperor in question.

According to Wikipedia, Elagabalus enhanced his natural good looks by the application of cosmetics. He was described as having been "delighted to be called the mistress, the wife, the queen of Hierocle" and was said to have offered vast sums of money to any physician who could equip him with female genitalia.

T Prom Queen

Connor Ferguson, an 18-year-old male-to-female transgender student at Trenton High School in Trenton, Ontario, Canada, says being named prom queen was the cherry on top of her high school education, according to a report in the The Belleville Intelligencer.

Taming Zipper Teardrop Pull Tabs

Dear Stana,

I certainly could use a technical article on methods of zipping up stubborn and hard-to-reach zipper tabs on my dresses and gowns. I think you posted an article containing some tips and makeshift "zipper helper" devices in the past. However, some of my dressier frocks and gowns have those pretty (but annoyingly useless) tiny tear-shape zipper tabs. I haven't figured out any device that works well on those.

If you have nothing to do today (LOL), maybe you could do your first fashion technical writing on this topic. (Of course, I'm just kidding about you having to work on a holiday -- you do SO MUCH wonderful work for all your readers, that you deserve a day off). Thank You.

Love,

Sheila



Hi Sheila,

My zipper helper appeared in the post titled "A Single Girl's Best Friend."

In that post, I described my homemade zipper helper, which is simply a piece of string and a big safety pin. I attach the safety pin to the zipper pull tab, loop the string through the closed safety pin, and pull the string up to close the zipper."

I recommend using thick string or twine. Thin string or thread may break while zipping up.

Also, pull the zipper up slowly to avoid opening the closed safety pin.

Regarding those tiny teardrop zipper pull tabs, the evening gown I wore back in March had a teardrop pull tab, but I was able to use my homemade zipper helper to zip up my gown.

Since a teardrop pull tab has no hole for attaching the safety pin, I attached the safety pin through one of the two "holes" provided by the swivel points of the pull tab (see the accompanying figure). It worked like a charm.

Love,

Stana


Need advice concerning femulation or other crossdressing-related matters, then e-mail me and I will happily give you my opinion on the matter. My e-mail address is stana-stana at sbcglobal.net.