Happy Birthday, Heather Graham

Honolulu’s Blue Note, “where boys will be girls,” circa 1950.

Miroslava Duma, editor at Buro 24/7.

Your Wish Is My Command

I received a great response to my call for topics that you readers would like me to write about or expand upon. Thank-you!

There are so many things to cover that I will be busy for days addressing your questions and suggestions. So without further adieu, let me begin.

Got My Back

Jan Brown wrote, "...a while ago, you alluded to a tool (razor) to shave your back without help. Could you please explain more with pictures."

The tool is the Mangroomer and instead of reinventing the wheel, I direct you to the Mangroomer webpage that does a very good job of describing the device with numerous photos and a video.

By the way, the current Mangroomer is not your father's Mangroomer. It is an improved model that has features that the older model I own lacks like a longer reach and a rechargeable battery. 

Got My Voice

Belinda wrote, "I would be interested whether you have done anything about your voice, and if so what. I know that my voice generally gives me away, but generally women are more social especially with other women. I feel inhibited though, but I don’t feel natural trying to speak girlishly. I would be interested in your experiences."

Many years ago, I bought Melanie Anne Phillips VHS video course "Melanie Speaks," which was intended to teach you how to speak like a woman. I watched the video and was duly impressed, but finding free time to practice with the video at home was a problem. So I copied the audio portion of the course to a cassette tape and practiced during my 35-minute commute to and from work every weekday.

In no time, I got the hang of the course and the voice that came out of my mouth was scary... in a good way! I sounded like a natural born woman!

The only problem was that I felt "silly" using my new voice when I was en femme. Isn't that ridiculous? Here I am, a 6-foot-2 femulator dressed to the nines, but speaking like a woman made me feel silly!

To avoid feeling silly, I convinced myself that I could get away using my natural male voice when I was en femme. Since my male voice is not decidedly masculine and I am soft-spoken, I usually got away with it. So I took the easy way out even though I knew I could do better.

All that was before I realized I was really a trans-woman and not a "plain vanilla crossdresser" as I used to refer to myself. As a trans-woman, I felt that it was time to get more serious about my voice and I now use the female voice I found using the "Melanie Speaks" course.

I am getting better all the time, but occasionally I forget myself and lapse into my old ways. So I must continually make a conscious effort to speak all the time the way Melanie taught me.

Monday, Monday, Can’t Stand That Day

Femulating French soldiers putting on a show during World War II.

 

Wearing L’wren Scott.

…or the Woman

Happy Birthday, Alan Cumming

Actor Alan Cumming femulating in British television’s The Runaway, 2011.

 

Wearing Spiegel.

Take For Granted

When I write about my experiences out en femme, I take some things for granted because I have gone out en femme so often and am very comfortable doing it.

However, I may be letting you readers down because I am leaving out those things I take for granted. I don't want to do that, so if there is anything you would like me to expand upon, please let me know and I will gladly write about it. Also, if there are any topics you would like me to address, I am very willing to consider your suggestions.

Please leave your wish list as a comment below or e-mail it to me directly via stana-stana @ sbcglobal.net. I look forward to hearing from you.

Meanwhile, I leave you with a photo of me wearing the other dress I purchased at DressBarn on Wednesday.

Happy Birthday, Anne Jeffreys

Circa 1930 male and female dressed as female and male, respectively.

 

Wearing New York & Company.

Wednesday Woman Continues

(Continued from yesterday's post.)

Leaving the mall, I had a ten minute drive to the offices of the organization for whom I freelance.

I worked full-time in those offices over 30 years ago before I began freelancing. Most of the people I worked with then are long gone, but the receptionist is the same friendly woman who I first met back in 1978 when I started work there --- my first professional job after graduation.

She greeted me like an old friend despite the changes on my side of our relationship. We chatted about old times, how things had changed and retirement (hers is imminent, mine not so much).

My editor arrived in the lobby and we went to lunch at a nearby pub. We both ordered chicken pot pies and they were delicious. Over lunch, we talked about business and the hobby we write about. Time passed quickly.

(By the way, my editor has been fully aware of my trans life for a few years now and Wednesday is not the first time she has seen me en femme. In fact, we have had a couple of girls' nights out together in the past.)

Passing in a restaurant is easy as compared to passing while walking through the mall. Once you are seated, you blend in with the other diners. Height is my giveaway, but when I am seated, I look as tall or short as any other woman. Our waitress referred to us as "ladies" and so it went.

After lunch, we drove back to the offices and my editor gave me the nickel tour. Things had changed since I worked there three decades ago and I was anxious to see what was new.

During the tour, we encountered only one other person I knew from the good old days. I am in e-mail contact with this woman a couple of times each month and we have an excellent working relationship. She was happy to see the new me and I was happy to see her.

I enjoyed the tour, thanked my "guide," and exited.

The afternoon was still young and I decided to go shopping again. I drove to the strip mall across the street from West Farms Mall and visited DressBarn.

I found two dresses that I liked and took the two dresses in two sizes to the fitting room. One dress fit in the smaller size (see photo) and the other dress fit in the larger size --- go figure!

I bought both dresses and went home relishing another great day out en femme.

National Opposite Day is Today!

Jimmy Fallon femulates Taylor Swift on his Super Bowl post-game television special, 2012.

 

Wearing Prabal Gurung for Target Collection.

Wednesday’s Real Life Experience

It was so cold on Wednesday! The temperature never reached 20 and the wind chill made it worse. (The wind chill on Mt. Washington was 
-85 degrees. Can you imagine?)

I dressed for the weather. I wore my purple knee-length, long-sleeved sweater dress, diamond-patterned tights, booties and white fake fur jacket.

I arrived at West Farms Mall shortly after it opened and went straight to Macy's to look for the "perfect dress" that I saw there a couple of weeks ago. I quickly found it in my size and took it to the fitting room along with two other dresses that looked lovely.

The perfect dress fit, but did not look perfect. The other two dresses were even less so. I decided to abandon Macy's and walked to JCPenney at the other end of the mall.

I found four dresses in the JCPenney racks that I took to the fitting room. One dress looked fabulous on me, but I could not zip it up all the way and sadly it was not available in a larger size.

Two of the other dresses were so small that I could not get them on at all. The fourth dress fit and I kind of liked the way it looked on me. But after considering it, I decided not to settle; I could do better. So I exited JCPenney and walked back to the Macy's end of the mall where my car awaited me.

Although I was dressed for the weather outdoors, I was way overdressed for the "weather" inside Macy's and JCPenney. It was uncomfortably warm in the stores. Shedding my fake fur jacket helped a little, but not enough and I was anxious to get out into the fresh air again. And as it was, time was of the essence --- it was time to meet my editor for lunch.

But before I get into that, you may wonder about my real life experience in the mall. I am so used to being out en femme that I don't even think about it, but the e-mails I receive indicate that some of you wonder about it.

Even though the mall had just opened, it was busy --- not Christmas season busy, but there was a lot of foot traffic, all adults because school was in session.

I usually avoid eye contact with males --- don't want to encourage them --- but I did eye catch a half dozen or so checking me out as I walked through the mall.

On the other hand, I watch females more closely to see how they react. Three or four smiled and said "Hello" as we passed each other in the mall. I noticed a few other females looking me over --- trying to figure me out I suppose.

No one, male or female, acted negatively to my presence. No one was outraged and no one laughed. I think most people just perceived me as another middle-aged woman in the mall, which works for me.

(To be continued)

Happy Birthday, Andrew Ellicott

Femulating fashion model Andrej Pejić wearing a cross-dress.

 

Wearing Emilio Pucci.

Out Wednesday

I should be seated with my editor at a restaurant ordering lunch when this is posted.

Before lunch, I planned to shop for a red dress to wear to an upcoming Valentine's Day dance.

I saw the perfect dress in Macy's a couple of weeks ago, but did not have the time to try it on. So I planned to return today and see if it is "me." If not, there are other red dresses and other stores in the mall that sell red dresses. 

After lunch, my editor will give me a tour of the facilities and I will meet some of my virtual co-workers.

It should be a full day en femme. And I will submit all its details to you real soon now.

Happy Birthday, Gail O'Grady

Femulator Vincent McDoom, French model and television presenter.

Wearing Rachel Zoe.

Fanny and Stella are Fellas

Gwen alerted me to a new book about the crossdressing scandal that rocked Victorian Great Britain. Fanny and Stella: The Young Men Who Shocked Victorian England is the title of the book and here is Amazon.com's description:

"The flamboyantly dressed Miss Fanny Park and Miss Stella Boulton are causing a stir in the Strand Theatre. All eyes are riveted upon their lascivious oglings of the gentlemen in the stalls. Moments later they are led away by the police. What followed was a scandal that shocked and titillated Victorian England in equal measure.

"It turned out that the alluring Miss Fanny Park and Miss Stella Boulton were no ordinary young women. Far from it. In fact, they were young men who liked to dress as women. When the Metropolitan Police launched a secret campaign to bring about their downfall, they were arrested and subjected to a sensational show trial in Westminster Hall.

"As the trial of 'the Young Men in Women's Clothes' unfolded, Fanny and Stella's extraordinary lives as wives and daughters, actresses and whores were revealed to an incredulous public."

It sounds like a very interesting read. February 7 is the book's publication date.

Happy Birthday, Christopher Masterson

Actor Christopher Masterson femulating in television’s Malcolm in the Middle, 2003.

 

Wearing L’Agence.

Lovely Laddies

Starla does it again and digs up another fine collection of high school yearbook femulations. 

It was difficult picking one HSFMLTSBFT (High School Femulator Most Likely To Still Be Femulating Today) from this bevy of beauties; any of the pretty "girls" pictured above may still be femulating today. Maybe they all are!

Anyways, I uploaded the 49 new images to flickr and you can view them as usual:

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.

This is No Name-Calling Week

Scott Barrie, professional femulator, circa 1910.

 

Wearing Spiegel.

Forced Diversification

Happy Birthday, Dorothy Provine

Actor Hutch Dano femulating in the 2010 film Den Brother.

Wearing Rebecca Taylor.

Poodle Envy