Doing Girly Things

Lisa sent me three more Ask Me Anything questions and I decided to have a go at them before going into vacation mode.

1. Do you dream that you are a woman or do you dream that you are crossdressed and wake up wishing you had dreamed you were a genetic woman instead or something else?

Up front, I want to state that I seldom remember my dreams.

That being said I used to have dreams that I was crossdressing. Sometimes I would complete the transformation, but usually my transformation would be interrupted and never completed.

My dreams transitioned about two or three years ago and now I dream that I am a woman. Crossdressing no longer plays a part. Recently, I even dreamed that I was breastfeeding!

2.  What type of "normal" activities do you do en femme?  For example, do you go to salons?  Get you nails done?  Anything else "girly"?

I have never gone to a nail salon mainly because it would be a waste of money since most of my en femme outings are single days or nights out. For those short outings, my pre-glued stick-on nails are more economical.

I have thought about getting my nails done for multi-day outings and since you brought it up, I made a promise to myself to get my nails done the next time I am out for an extended stay.

Shopping is probably my girliest activity. I love doing the malls, browsing the racks, trying on clothes, trying on shoes and putting outfits together.

I also enjoy getting makeovers. I seem to average one a year and I love having a cosmetics professional have their way with me as I relax and take it all in.  

3.  You seem to only be quasi in the closet meaning it probably would not be hard for some people to figure out you are TG. Does that concern you or are you content to let things take their course?

It does not concern me at all. In fact, if anyone is curious enough to ask, I will tell them the truth, but no one has ever asked.

I have dressed en femme at work for three Halloweens and have worn bits and pieces of woman's clothing to work at other times. If my co-workers have not figured it out by now, I am very disappointed in their observation abilities.

In fact, most of the women and some of the guys I work with have had conversations with me that clearly indicated that they knew I was a T-girl. And that is ok by me.

Logan Keslar femulating on stage in La Cage Aux Folles, 2010.

Wearing Sue Wong.

Femulate Lite

I am taking some vacation time this week, so Femulate might be a little light and even invisible the next few days.

Sometimes, you don't have to ask

People occasionally ask me where I find a particular image that I have used in the blog. If I remember the source, I usually code the source information with the image so that if you mouseover the image, a pop-up will appear indicating the source.

On target

The photo at the top of this post was taken by a shopper at Target. Makes me wonder what is hanging on the racks in the Men's Department at that particular Target!

 

Tom Martelle, professional femulator, circa 1925.

 

Wearing 3.1 Phillip Lim.

Stuck with Lemons, Then Make Lemonade

Victoria wrote, “Your comments about gynecomastia have been very interesting.  I developed a rather extreme case as a kid. I've always wondered if that had some impact on my gender-orientation development.”

My response:

I feel there is a connection. This is just my opinion --- I am not a doctor, but I play a nurse on television.

Gynecomastia is “caused by an imbalance of the hormones estrogen and testosterone." (Source: Mayo Clinic)

The excessive estrogen may cause other "problems." So, if you have gynecomastia you may be inclined to be more feminine in other ways because extra estrogen is involved. In other words, gynecomastia is not the cause of the other gender issues, rather what causes gynecomastia may cause other gender issues.

That being said, they can feed off of each other. If you have gynecomastia and the extra estrogen is feminizing you in other ways, you might accept and embrace being feminine and thus, reinforce your femininity.

Does that make sense?

 

Actor Michael Callam (left) femulating on television’s Love American Style, 1971.

 

Wearing IRO.

Femulating in Grayscale

When the Bobbsey twins played dress-up, Nan's taller height was the only way to differentiate her from her sister Bert.

 

Five fashionable girls in Paris, 1960.

 

Wearing Nina Ricci, 1960.

Back to School

It won't be long before the kids are back to school and once back, they will be hatching plans to dress the males as females for a variety of womanless functions, all of which bypassed me in my school days, gosh darn it!

Looking forward to those womanless school days, Starla sent me another batch of femulators that she discovered in online school yearbooks. I thank her again for her finds - 100 in all - and I have uploaded them to the yearbook femulations gallery on flickr.

You may view the new images in two ways:

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

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

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

 

Frockin’ around the Christmas tree.

 

Wearing DailyLook.

$10 Dress Sale Today

I just bought three dresses for $10 each from Ultimate Outlet. The original prices for the three were $189, $159, and $139… $487 total. (That’s the $189 dress in the photo.) The sale is today only. The link to the sale is here.

Shopping Tall

Michelle Persad writing for The Huffington Post offers the best websites to buy clothes for tall women. That means she is writing for most of us, girls!

I concur with her about JCP, Nordstrom, and Victoria's. I don’t know about her other recommendations because I have not shopped them, but I will now!

The slide show accompanying the article displays 19 tall female celebrities (yes, they are all on my Famous Females of Height List) followed by some fashion tips for tall ladies like us. The tips include a couple of Stana Standards: "Do go for oversized accessories as your frame can pull it off" and "Do stick a pair of tights under dresses that are too short."

Speaking of my Famous Females of Height List, here are some new additions:

5'8" – Dina Korzun - actress - film, Cold Souls

5'10" – Jennifer Coolidge - actress - film, Best in Show - source: Crystal Stephens

6'3" – Gwendoline Christie (see photo) – actress – television, Game of Thrones - source: Bonnie Scott

6'4" – Cupcake Cassidy – stripper – source: Trish Mifflin

 

Miss Glamouresse contemplating her restroom choices.

 

Wearing DailyLook.

Man of the House

The following Ask Me Anything questions are about my relationship with my wife. There are a lot of questions, so I will be brief and to the point in my answers.

Emily: Are you the husband at home in a conventional role?

Yes, I am the “conventional” man of the house.

Dani: Assuming you and your wife still make love together, do you do it as a man and a woman? Or as two women?

Physically, as a man and a woman. Mentally, as a woman in my mind. I have no idea what is going on in my wife's mind.

Pat: Does your wife completely accept you as a femulator?

Rhonda: How much does your spouse accept Stana in her life?  In other words, does she go out with Stana, buy Stana gender appropriate gifts, and do you (as Stana) and she socialize with other TG/CDs?

My wife accepts the fact that I am a femulator, but she does not embrace it completely. She does not go out with Stana, does not buy Stana gender-appropriate gifts, and does not socialize with my trans acquaintances.

However, if she sees something trans-related in the newspaper or on television that she thinks might be of interest, she will call my attention to it. Also, whenever we go shopping, she encourages me to shop for Stana, too.

Rhonda: As a follow-on question, have you and she agreed on limits to Stana's activities? If so, please share.

We have not agreed to limits, but I have put my own limits on Stana's activities; instead of being en femme full-time, I am en femme much less often.

Rhonda: Also, if so, does she waiver and occasionally want less Stana in your and her relationship?

My wife would be happy if Stana was completely eliminated from our lives.   

Lisa: I am wondering if it is concern for your entire family's feelings that motivates you not to go full time.

Absolutely. My wife married a man. I am committed to her and my marriage and try to fulfill that role as a husband as best as I can.

Lisa: I always put my wife and family first, so my second question is whether you think some TG people are being self-centered for failing to take into account the needs and feelings of their loved ones.

Again, absolutely. The spouse is often forgotten and left behind in the dust.

 

A femulating boy and her girlfriend.

 

Wearing ABS by Allen Schwartz.

Mechanics Femulated

Beth sent me the photo above which she took while vacationing in Burlington, Vermont, last week. The sign was in the window of a bicycle shop.

It is a little difficult to read because of the reflection on the window, so here is the information of interest:

	WTF!
	Women - Trans – Femme
	Bike Repair Nights
	Open bike shop for non-male identified folks interested in bike mechanics...

By the way, Burlington is a very diverse city, rated one of the best places to live and Beth noticed a few transwomen during her stay in the area.

The subject of bicycle mechanics is a perfect lead-in to today's “Ask Me Anything” question, which is on the topic of femulation mechanics.

Allison asked, "What do you use for breast forms and hip and rear padding, if anything?"
I don't use anything.

Topside, I am naturally endowed. A combination of too many female hormones and/or a touch of gynecomastia has "blessed" me with a pair of breasts that nearly fill a B-cup. I usually wear a padded bra from Victoria's to fill out the rest of the cup.

Below, I use no padding. I cinch my waist with some kind of foundation garment and my narrowed cinched waist creates the appearance of having hips and a feminine figure.

Viewing my photos, I see instances that adding hip and rear padding would improve my appearance, but it is not a deal-breaker, so I have not done anything about it.

By the way, my boobs were the source of a lot of abuse growing up. Combined with my natural feminine mannerisms, my life was hell at times. Luckily, it all worked out in my favor as I grew older and realized I was a woman.

 

A young man femulating circa 1900.

 

Wearing a “Charlie Brown dress” from La Redoute.

At Home

"Ask and you shall receive" as I found out when I wrote, "Ask me anything." The questions are still trickling in and I always welcome more as I slowly try to answer them all.

Emily and Sheila asked related questions, so I will answer them in the same blog posting. 

Sheila wrote, "When you go out en femme locally (outreach, group meetings, shopping, etc.) and have dressed at home and return home dressed, does your wife or daughter ever see you en femme?"

My wife and daughter often see me en femme when I go out.

Typically, my wife will give me the once over and note any issues with my outfit. In the colder weather, she invariably comments that I will be very cold because my outfits are skimpy.

On the other hand, my daughter always compliments me on the way I look.

Their reactions reflect their fashion sense. My wife is very practical in the way she dresses, whereas my daughter is a fashionista. Like father, like daughter.

Emily asked, "How do you maintain your relationship with your wife; she seems to be aware of Stana or do you have to keep it away from her? It seems from your blog that you do not dress at home, but you do have a huge closet of clothes; how does it work out?"

I do dress at home (to go out, not to hang around the house en femme), so my wife is very aware that I femulate. She would prefer that I did not, but she knows what I am and accepts it.

We three share the same walk-in closet; my girl and boy clothes share one rack in the closet with some spillage of my eveningwear to a second rack. My wife uses the other four racks.

Stana needs more space, but I do not want to encroach on my wife's territory. As a result, my boy wardrobe keeps getting smaller and smaller!

 

Actor Garrit Guadan (left) femulating on stage in Twist, 2007.

 

Wearing DailyLook.

Still Learning After All These Years

Cosmetic queen and makeup maven that I am, I still learned something when I read "101 Ways To Make Your Eyes Pop" on Daily Makeover.

Dustin Hoffman learned something when he played Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie, according to a recent interview.

I learned a lot that maybe I did not want to know when I read "Counterpunch and the War on Transgender People" on Jacobin.

Some good news: Friday the 13th falls on a Saturday this month! Also, I will get back to answering your Ask Me Anything questions next time we meet.

 

The blue brothers, circa 1960.

 

Wearing Alberta Ferretti.