Throwback Thursday: Not As Stuck

Susan of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame suggested that "it would be interesting if you repost some of your older posts and then comment on them as Stana 2015. Has your life, appearance and/or thoughts changed since then?"

I like Susan's idea and since she suggested that I revisit my December 12, 2007 post, "Stuck At Home" as an example, that is what I am going to do.

Here is the original post:

My dear friend Diana often e-mails me to ask if I would like to go out en femme with her. I turn her down more often than I accept her invitation.

Diana is single and lives as a woman full-time. I am married and live as a woman part-time.

Most of the time, I am in male mode because my wife married a man and prefers me in boy mode. She dislikes it when I am in girl mode and to keep the peace, I agreed that I only do the girly thing on a limited basis.

I am in male mode most of the time also because my employer hired a man and might not be too happy if I showed up at work in a dress and heels on days that don't end the month of October.

When Diana wants to go out, she opens the door and she is out (lucky girl!). When I want to go out, it is more complicated. I need two hours at a minimum to transform from boy mode to girl mode. And if it is an evening outing, that means leaving work early to get ready.

Since there are a number of complications in my girl life, I have to pick and choose my en femme outings and as a result, I have to turn Diana down more often than I would like. I just hope she doesn't get tired of my rejections and stops asking!

Here is my 2015 take on that 2007 post:

The situation is basically the same with my wife. When I am with her either at home or away, I am in boy mode. However, when I am away without her, girl mode is always an option.

The situation at work has changed for the better since 2007. I came out to Human Resources, my manager, my supervisor and a few of my co-workers. Most were surprised, but my supervisor having witnessed most of my Halloween office girl "costumes" said she was not surprised. The powers that be at work have encouraged me to dress appropriately for my transgender, but I have not taken them up on that yet because I have hesitated talking to my wife about it.

Regarding my need for "two hours at a minimum to transform from boy mode to girl mode," that has also changed for the better. I can usually get ready in an hour more or less assuming that I have maintained a hairless status for my body parts that show.

And my appearance has changed for the better. I am definitely more expert at makeup application and I believe that my fashion sense has improved a little, too. (By the way, the accompanying selfie was taken a few days before I wrote that 2007 post.)

Finally, Diana is a very good friend and still asks me to join her on en femme outings despite my many rejections.

 

 

 

Wearing Valentino.

 

 

 

Not your father’s men’s club meeting.

Lack of Womanless Veterans

I was very surprised by the response to Saturday's post asking if any readers had participated in a civilian womanless beauty pageant, fashion show, wedding or other event. I did not post anything new on Sunday and Saturday so as not to take attention away from my Saturday post hoping that it would draw more responses from readers who were womanless veterans. Yet, I only received two responses! Insearchofme participated in an adult prom fundraiser. She "was all girly, loved it. Raised some money and had a great time." Lisa was a veteran of something similar to a womanless event. When she was about 8-years-old, she attended a day camp that presented the musical Oklahoma. She was one of the chorus of boys made up like girls that sang I'm Just A Girl Who Can't Say No. "Don't know how I looked, but it felt great and started me on this long road..." Personally, I have been in three womanless fashion shows, but all three were under the auspices of a transgender organization. I never participated in a womanless event sponsored by a civilian organization, but I would have jumped at the opportunity if one ever came my way. And I would still do so today.

Liz Winters interviews Stana during the Fantasia Fair Fashion Show in 2008.

 

 

 

Wearing Rebecca Taylor.

 

 

 

Three femulators from the 1935 Philadelphia Mummers Parade.

Chrissy

On Saturdays, I am a housewife in boy mode. I do the laundry, dust and vacuum and go grocery shopping. This past Saturday, shopping for groceries was more interesting than usual.

After I filled my shopping cart at my favorite grocery store, I headed for the cashiers and got in the shortest line. While I unloaded my cart, I noted that my cashier was new. (I have been shopping at this store for over a year and recognize most of the personnel who work there, so I usually recognize any personnel who are new.)

Initially, I thought the cashier was a 20-something male. He was a large person, over 6 feet tall and 200 pounds. He had a short unisex hairdo and wore an oversized top that hid any gender clues that might have caused me to think he was female.

After I finished unloading my shopping cart, I was able to pay more attention to the cashier. I noted then that he was wearing more bling than you typically see on a cashier, male or female: large glittery silver earrings and a matching silver necklace. Then I noticed that his eyebrows were plucked and shaped into thin arches. And finally I saw his name tag which read "Chrissy."

Now I was sure that my cashier was not a male. But due to my initial impression that she was male, I thought she could be a transwoman. When she finally spoke, I was convinced she was trans. Her voice was feminine, but still had masculine traits that gave away her birth gender.

I could be wrong, but having gone around the transgender block a few times, my trans radar is pretty good and I am sure she is a transwoman. Of course, I said nothing to her about my thoughts, but I hope to see her again next Saturday.

 

 

 

Street style during New York Fashion Week, February 2015.

 

 

 

Central Mississippi Medical Center’s womanless beauty pageant contestant.

Any Womanless Veterans?

Occasionally, I have brought your attention to various events in which civilian (non-trans) males dress as females to participate in womanless beauty pageants, womanless fashion shows, womanless weddings, and womanless etceteras.

In almost every womanless event, there are one or two "girls" participating who are outstanding... so outstanding that you wonder if it was their first time... rather than being a civilian, are they actually one of us. Or they may be first timers, but their experience releases their inner girl and they so enjoy being a girl that they become one of us.

Those thoughts have become urban legends around here and I wonder if there is any truth to them. So are any of you readers past participants of a civilian non-trans womanless event?

If you were a beauty queen or a fashion model or a bridesmaid in a civilian womanless event I would love to hear and share your story and photos (I just know that you have photos.)

Or is there really nothing to our urban legends?

Wearing Versace.

Model Alex Wetter.

Michelle's Favorite Photos (of Michelle!)

Hi Stana... greetings from the UK...

I am an avid follower of your site... keep up the great work.

Please find attached my favourite picture. I'll be honest, it may not even be my best picture... I have many that certainly look more professional and more amazing, all of which were taken during visits to transformation services... no, the reason this is my favorite is that it is the first time it was all my own work... hair, makeup, clothes, etc., etc... and also my first venture outside into the world

I hope you like it as much as me.

Michelle Norton (UK)

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 fave foto!

Wearing Torn by Ronny Kobo.

Comedian Terry Sweeney femulates Nancy Reagan on television's Saturday Night Live (1985).

Being Catty

Sunday, I flipped the night away between the Grammy Awards on CBS and the Saturday Night Live Rewind on VHF1 Classic.

Old lady that I am, I don't care for most of the music presented during the Grammy Awards and I watch the program mostly to see what the girls are wearing.

Rhianna got rave reviews for this gown, but I did not like it one bit. It looked like she was wearing bubble wrap and way too much of it to boot.
I also did not care much for Justin Bieber's dress, but it was nice to see him expressing his feminine side again.
On the other hand, I liked Beyonce's gown. It was very classy, but it is not something I would wear (I don't like my drag to drag).
My favorite was Taylor Swift's outfit. It was so Stana... definitely something I would like to wear! And so it goes! (I’ll be Catty again after the Oscars.)

 

 

 

Wearing Versace

 

 

 

Florin Ristei femulates singer Elena Gheorghe on Romanian television’s
Te Cunosc DE Undeva! (Your Face Sounds Familiar!).

Battle of the Bulge

Too often, I am surprised to see a photo of a lovely trans lady spoiled by an unsightly bulge below the waistline.

I am sure that sometimes a visible bulge is intentional, that is, for whatever reason, the "lady" wants viewers to know that she is really a he. On the other hand, most trans ladies prefer that the bulge be invisible.

If you wear a garment with a pleated or flouncy skirt, then hiding your boy parts is usually not a concern. Pleats and flounces hide the bulge, but nearly all other womenswear require attending to the bulge.

The ultimate solution is to have those parts surgically removed.

But if you are not ready for the ultimate solution, there are other ways and they involve tucking those parts out of sight and maintaining the tuck. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, so I point you to wikiHow's tucking instructions.

Personally, I have never used tape to maintain a tuck. For my preferred method of staying tucked, scroll down the wikiHow page to "Tucking Without Tape."

The tape-free method works as long as the garment you use to maintain the tuck is tight enough. Surprisingly, I found that a gaff performs a poor job. I bought a gaff in the last century and was unimpressed with its staying power. Maybe 21st Century gaffs are better ― I dunno.

On the other hand, I have had a lot of success staying tucked by wearing panty girdles and spandex bikini-style panties (not at the same time, and the tighter, the better).

And so it goes (and hopefully, doesn't show).

Wearing Belle De Jour.

Beautiful womanless beauty pageant participant.

Davina's Favorite Photo (of Davina!)

Hi Stana,

I had been wondering whether I should contribute a photo to your Femulate readers' favorite photo feature and I finally decided on what to send. 

This photo was taken during Esprit 2014, which is the transgender event held in Port Angeles, Washington, in mid-May every year. One of the things that visitors to Port Angeles can do is to take the ferry across to Victoria, British Columbia, for a day trip and it seems to have become a regular event among Esprit participants. 

This year, the plan was to visit the world-famous Butchart Gardens just outside the city. I joined the group (there were eight of us) in a slightly apprehensive frame of mind because this would be far and away the most committing trip en femme that I had ever done considering the fact that I would be crossing an international border. However, I needn't have worried. 

In both directions, the officials were courteous and welcoming. The weather that day was wonderful: blue skies and hot sunshine. We strolled around the gardens, mingling with the other visitors. We also indulged in the traditional high tea, where we were addressed very properly as "ladies" (we were all in our best summer frocks precisely for this occasion). At one point during the day, one of my companions managed to capture this smile on my face, which somehow sums up the day. 

Esprit has certain features in common with Fantasia Fair, but the scenic setting is much more spectacular. I can thoroughly recommend Port Angeles as a tourist destination!

Best wishes,

Davina

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 fave foto!

Paris street style, Fall 2014.

Womanless beauty pageant contestant.

Alice's Favorite Photo (of Alice!)

Choosing a favorite photo of myself is actually quite difficult. I have a few photos that I quite like, but over the past few years, two fairly significant things have changed how I view my own photos.

First, in 2011, at age 42, I stopped wearing wigs after working out how to fudge my hairline. After that, I found that I just wasn't all that keen on older photos where I was wearing a wig.

Then in 2012, I decided to challenge myself to try to pull off the 1950s pinup style. There were several reasons, including that it adds a lot of hair styling options and high stiletto heels are a perfectly acceptable part of the look, even when wandering around a shopping center. ;-) Fairly soon, I found that I wasn't all that keen on older "plain" photos.

Ironically, in spite of having many, many photos where I was wearing high heels, my favorite photo at present is a seated selfie taken at the salon when I went for my fortnightly nail appointment. Yes, even in boy mode, I always have my nails long with acrylic overlays to protect them and painted usually bright red to go with my favorite pinup outfits

I like this photo so much that it's now the profile photo on my boy profile on Facebook!

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 fave foto!

I'd wear that to work this spring!

If she came in third, imagine what the winner of this womanless beauty pageant looked like!

Remembering Tom Swift

This volume rests on my virtual bookshelf next to my Hardly Boys and Nancy-Boy Drew books.

 

 

 

Wearing Madeleine.

 

 

 

Concern surrounds this womanless beauty pageant contestant because she is bra-less.