Femulate

Friday, June 17, 2016

Gamulating

Fashions come and go and then they come back again. If you are old enough (like me), you have witnessed it yourself.

My mother taught me to wear hosiery (stockings or pantyhose) whenever I go out, so that's what I have done all my feminine life.

I have nice legs, but they are not perfect and hosiery hides some of the flaws. Hosiery also helps keep my legs warm when the weather does not, so I have never considered going without knee-highs, thigh-highs or pantyhose.

But as I went along on my merry way, I did not realize that younger women were abandoning hosiery and going out with their legs bared. I guess if you got it, flaunt it, but until I read somewhere that pantyhose sales were plummeting, I had no idea.

But pantyhose may be making a comeback, thanks to Princess Kate. The Princess has legs to die for and she wears hosiery most of the time, so some women have taken notice of that fashion fact and are gamulating Kate.

Fashion writer Alison Syrett is one of those women and she wrote about her experiences for Good Housekeeping in an interesting article titled "I Tried the Secret Behind Kate Middleton's Flawless Legs."

The article confirmed my feelings about wearing hosiery, but if you are unsure about baring or adorning your legs, I recommend reading this fun article.

Wearing StyleWe.

Yes, she was a boy in Atlantic City in the mid-1960's.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

out yesterday

I wrote the following over eight years ago. It is amazing how some things never change; then again, some things do!

I went out en femme yesterday.

I ran late, so I had to forgo my shopping plans and drove straight to the university where I did outreach at two Human Sexuality classes.

I want to look my best when I do outreach, so I usually dress up and yesterday was no exception. I wore my favorite dress (the leopard sash-tie wrap dress that I bought from Newport-News), favorite shoes (the Joy Baby Doll Pumps I bought at Payless), black tights, and my short white fake fur car coat. Needless to say, I was overdressed compared to most of the females (students and professors) on campus; I looked like a visitor on campus and that's what I was.

Females were in the majority in both classes; each class had about 25 students with two males in the earlier class and six in the later class.

Usually, the later afternoon class is less energetic, but that was not the case yesterday. Both classes were enthusiastic and asked a lot of questions. The second class even applauded us at the end!

Coincidentally, the two same questions that were never asked before came up in both classes:

One was, "How do you hide your genitalia?"

My answer was right out of my Wednesday blog: I wear a panty girdle to keep my genitalia in check. As I wrote on Wednesday, I tried a gaff, but discovered that it was very uncomfortable and that my male parts would escape frequently and required regaffing. The panty girdle did a much better job keeping those parts in place and was much more comfortable.

The other question was "Do you do hormones or have you had surgery?"

The answer was "no," but I assume the students asked because they thought I might do hormones and had surgery because they thought that it looked liked I had, which means I looked more womanly than the average guy in a dress. So, I took that question as a compliment.

After the first class, we walked to the Student Union for a bite to eat. I missed it, but everyone else commented on how another professor checked me out as we passed him in the hallway. I hate it when that happens and I miss it!

The women in the first class loved my shoes and after the class, a number of them asked me where I bought them. Also, the woman working the Dunkin' Donuts shop in the Student Union where I bought coffee and a flatbread sandwich complimented me on my retro necklace. I thanked her and pointed out my matching retro earrings.

I was tired by the end of the day, but surprisingly my feet did not hurt because my Baby Doll Pumps are so comfortable even with a three-inch heel.

It was another wonderful day out en femme and as always, I look forward to the next opportunity to be the woman I sometimes am.

Lucille Ball in 1941.

Julian Eltinge in the 1914 film The Crinoline Girl.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

If Only...

Wearing Nicole Miller.

Lon Chaney (left) in the 1925 film The Unholy Three.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

The Women of Transvestia

Thanks to Linda, I recently gained access to 36 back issues of Transvestia published during the time that Virginia Prince was editing the periodical (1960 to 1980).

Transvestia was written by its readers and I am fascinated by the first person accounts contained in the magazine. Reading them, I realize how some things never change. The women of that era had the same fears and emotions that we have today.

Their experiences differed from ours because in that era, society abhorred crossdressing. In most places, you could be arrested for crossdressing. As a result, women were very closeted and only the very brave went out among the civilian population.

In addition to the first person accounts, I absolutely adore the photos that accompany the stories.

This was the era in which I was developing as a young woman, so I have an affinity for the fashions that the women wear in the photos. They usually are in their "Sunday best" because they are photo shooting with film and likely will only take a few shots, which they will sneak on a roll containing innocuous family photos. Unless they had a darkroom, they had to take the film to a camera shop or drug store to be developed and printed. Therefore, they had to look presentable so as not to arouse the suspicion of any civilians handling the film.

By the way, I know one woman who built her own darkroom so she could shoot and print photos of her feminine self to heart's content. I'm sure she was not alone.

In honor of the woman of Transvestia, I am posting a selection of their photos here today and in the future. I hope you will find their images as wonderful as I do.