Mary wearing Ann Taylor.
Muxes of Juchitán, Mexico.
The story behind the photo is that I took an opportunity to visit a makeup artist/photographer for a makeover and photoshoot several years ago. I had never been seen by anyone else while dressed until the day of the makeover/photoshoot.
First Amanda did a fabulous job of making me look like a woman. I didn't recognize myself.
Second, she opened her closet to me an allowed me to select from an extensive wardrobe that she had collected over the years.
Once I was dressed in the borrowed clothes we started the photoshoot. It was exciting, but also very tiring. It's hard to continue to smile when your feet are hurting from the shoes you are wearing and some of the foundation garments you are wearing start to chafe your skin. However, those trifles were more than made up for by the quantity and quality of the photos that Amanda took.
After we tried several different costumes it was time to go home. I dressed in an outfit of mine and after having several photos taken, I made a huge decision: I decided to wear that outfit home. I had to travel approximately 85 miles back to my home and I did the whole trip dressed up as a woman. It was exhilarating and dangerous ― dangerous because I kept checking myself out in the rear-view mirror during the trip. I loved it.
I've had Amanda do my makeup a few times, but that first time was the start of my new life of being who I am more than I had ever done before.
I hope you like the photo.
In response to my open invitation to send your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo, I received a lot of photos and stories that I am posting in the the order I received them. My invitation still stands, so don't be shy, send me your photos! And by the way, there are currently 17 girls' photos in the queue.
Wearing Bebe.
Professional femulator extraordinaire Laverne Cummings, circa 1965.
Tuesday evening was the local Avon representative Christmas party. I took Tuesday afternoon off to do some things around the house and then get ready for the party.
My getting ready routine was different on Tuesday due to the dress I was planning to wear. It had a very narrow collar and I found out the hard way when I tried the dress on that it was impossible to get my head through the collar without smudging my makeup and soiling the dress.
So I dressed first and then did my makeup. To prevent my makeup from getting on my dress, I wore a big old T-shirt over the dress and I tucked tissues in around the collar of the dress. It worked perfectly; I got my makeup to go where I wanted it to go and not where I did not want it to go.
I was ready early. The party was at 6:30 PM and it was only 4:30, so I decided to go to Serphora at the Brass Mill Center mall in Waterbury to buy a gift card for my daughter.
Brass Mill Center was a new venue for this girl. I was born and raised in Waterbury and have family, friends and acquaintances there, so I usually avoid going en femme in my old hometown.
I am sure no one would recognize me as a woman, but they might recognize my car and its distinctive license plates. But since it would be dark by the time I arrived at the mall, I figured it would be safe, so I drove to Waterbury.
The parking lot was packed ― no surprise considering the time of year, but I scored a spot near a mall entrance, entered the mall and walked to the Sephora section of JCPenney.
It was all for naught. The gift cards that they sold could only be used in a Sephora store that was imbedded in a JCPenney store. Since my daughter shops in a variety of Sephora outlets, as well as online, that would not do. So I returned to my car and drove to the site of the party.
By the way, while I was walking through the mall, guys were checking me out, which was quite flattering for this very mature woman as well as a big ego boost, so my mall visit was not a complete loss!
I arrived at the party at 6:30 on the dot. I checked in and found a seat with a group of women, who I did not know, but welcomed me to join them.
As in the past, I was probably the nicest dressed woman in the room of approximately 50 women. Most were dressed in neat slacks and tops, while some were dressed not so neatly and in my opinion, did a poor job of representing the company they represent.
The woman who invited me to sit at her table lived in my town and was very friendly. We chit-chatted about where we live, about the business of selling Avon and about the cold temperature of the hall (and wasn't I freezing in my sleeveless dress?).
The party started with our district manager making a presentation recognizing the sales leaders. In the middle of her presentation, my cell phone rang ― a call from home about a health emergency that necessitated me leaving the party and going home to attend to the emergency.
I was upset that I had to leave the party just as it started, but I was even more upset about my family health emergency. My family has had one health issue after another for over a year and we are all getting very tired of it.
It was a short night out en femme, but a short night out en femme is better than no night out en femme!
Wearing New York & Company.
By popular demand, another photo of actor Ben Porter in the 2004 film School of Seduction.
I attended the local Avon representative Christmas party Tuesday evening, but am composing this Tuesday morning, so as I write this, I don’t know what happened at the party yet! Perhaps I will have time to post a photo from the party before I go to bed Tuesday night. If not, as Ms. O’Hara would say, “Tomorrow is another day.”
Anyway, I am a big Buddy Holly fan and awhile back, I bought “Rave On” – a Buddy Holly tribute CD on which various contemporary artists recorded Buddy Holly songs in their own style.
I had the MP3 queued up on my Apple Victrola the other day and after hearing She & Him’s version of Oh Boy!, I fell in love with that group’s female vocalist and wanted to hear more. So I started sampling other tunes by She & Him, liked what I heard and eventually purchased all five of their albums!
Curious about who was She & Him, I explored the Internet and quickly discovered that the female vocalist of the band is actress Zooey Deschanel.
I had no idea!
Wearing Bebe.
Britney Smith in her Christmas dress.
Have you noticed lately the ads on television for law firms willing to sue pharmaceutical companies whose drugs caused boys to have Gynecomastia? Personally, when it comes to Gynecomastia, it has been a cup half empty or cup half full scenario.
In my youth, the cup was half empty.
My peers abused me and bullied me because I was a feminine boy, which was bad enough. Revealing my breasts would just give my abusers more ammunition, so I avoided participating in any activities that involved going topless because when I did go topless, it did not always go well.
For example, I will never forget a game of touch football at a family picnic. I was unlucky enough to be on the skins team and my breasts were bouncing around during every play and became the object everybody's attention. When one of my uncles made a crack that some of the players needed bras, I was so embarrassed that I had to hold back the tears.
However, as I got older and began to embrace my womanhood, I learned to appreciate my feminine body. When I wore a revealing blouse, I discovered the joys of Gynecomastia ― add some push-up bra inserts and a little makeup and my breasts rivaled many women's breasts.
Today, I am proud of my breasts. They bring me joy because they so represent being a woman and I am proud that I am a woman. Even when I am in boy mode, I just have to touch my breasts to remind me that I am a woman and it brings a smile to my face.
So, as an adult, the cup is half full (actually, the cups are nearly full).
By the way, the photo above was taken after I got dressed to attend the Avon representative Christmas party in 2012. I missed last year's party because of a snowstorm, but the forecast is good for tonight, so I will be attending the 2014 installment of the Avon rep Christmas party this evening.
Wearing DailyLook.
Professional femulator Terry Durham, circa 1973.
This picture is from last year when I was on a business trip to San Diego. I had a whole day to spend as Paula. It was a wonderful day that filled me with so much joy. The outfit I was wearing came together perfectly. I was a size 16 and felt so pretty wearing a houndstooth skirt and sweater.
Everywhere I went that day I was called “Ma’am.” I just felt so pretty and female. In this picture, I was at the M·A·C store at the Fashion Valley Mall. I was surrounded by other women and felt so accepted and a part of their world. I spent about an hour with a young woman working on a winter look for my eyes. She had never met a transgender person before and I spent the time telling her my story. She asked me a ton of questions. “Are you gay?” “What does your wife think?” “How old were you when you started?” And, of course, the well-known, “Are going to get the operation?” She was a sweetheart and we hugged when parting.
Afterwards, I headed over to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. There was a queue for tables so I sat and waited amongst dozens of diners. I busied myself with my phone and sat there with my legs demurely crossed.
As I was sitting there, I remembered reading the Geocities pages of a girl back in the 90’s who always went to Cheesecake Factory en femme. I remember thinking, “There’s no way I could ever, ever do that!” But here I was, proving there is hope for everyone.
“Ms. Gaikowski, your table is ready.”
I was seated at a table and in front of me was a huge mirror that gave me a view of the restaurant. I’m always curious what others think of my presentation, so I kept scanning the room looking for the stares or whispers. Happily, I didn’t notice anything like that. Finally, I relaxed and I sat there gazing with wonder into the mirror at the woman across from me.
I guess what was all so exhilarating and exciting is that for most of my life I never thought I would ever leave the house dressed as a woman. I lived with such fear and shame that the thought of being accepted and treated respectfully as a woman seemed foreign and unattainable. Only a few short years ago in 2009, I was afraid even to buy makeup.
I truly treasure exchanges like this and it is with heartfelt sincerity that I say that I treasure and feel privileged to be addressed as a woman.
In response to my open invitation to send your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo, I received a lot of photos and stories that I am posting in the the order I received them. My invitation still stands, so don't be shy, send me your photos! And by the way, there are currently 20 girls' photos in the queue.
Wearing DressBarn.
Actor and professional femulator Christopher Morley.
I Christmas shop for my family and my family Christmas shops for the male I pretend to be for my family. But no one Christmas shops for the woman I really am, so I have to Christmas shop for her myself. Which is not a bad thing because I know what she wants, know the sizes she wears, and therefore, I will never be disappointed by a self-gift.
Recently, I received a cash award at work for a successful project that I worked on, so I decided to reward my female self with some extra gifts this year.
A girl can never own too many panties and mine are starting to show their age, so I bought some high-leg brief panties from Victoria's Secret.
Also, I want to introduce more womenswear into my boy wardrobe, so I bought four pairs of pants from DressBarn --- two pairs of dress slacks that I can wear to work and two pairs of denim jeggings that I may be able wear to work. I am not sure about the jeggings; they may be too feminine for boy wear, but I don't have any jeans for girl mode, so now I do.
In the last century, I bought a set of silicone push-up bra inserts that I used to enhance my cleavage when I wore something that exposed my girls. They worked great until I inadvertently poked a hole in one with a safety pin. It leaked and was ruined.
Since then, I used homemade inserts when need be. But I missed the silicone inserts, so I sprung for a pair (from Original Looks) that was highly-rated on Amazon.
Also on Amazon, I bought some fishnet stocking stuffers: some slide-on foam cushion backs for my clip-on earrings and earring converters to transition pierced earrings to clip-ons.
I thought I was done self-gifting, then along came an e-mail from WigSalon advertising some new Envy brand wigs. Usually, I just briefly glance at such e-mails and then move them in the trash, but I noticed that they had a new wig similar to the my hairstyle du jour, but in a large cap size.
Truth be told, I have a large head, but a large collection of average cap size wigs. As a result, my wigs are forever trying to jump ship and I am forever pulling at them to keep them on board.
Look around and you will not find too many large cap size wigs and none in a style that I like, so I never owned a large cap size wig... until now. Shari from Envy in sparkling champagne will soon grace my head. You can be sure I will take a selfie of Shari ASAP.
Wearing Madeleine.
A mid-20th century professional femulator.