When in Versailles...

Yesterday, I purchased the Kindle edition of A Treasury of Royal Scandals for $1.99. I figured that there had to be a few femulators in the book and sure enough, I hit pay dirt: Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, who was the brother of France's King Louis XIV.

According to the book, Philippe was gay and "was forever dressing like a woman" and "loved putting himself on dazzling display, sashaying his way through the gilded halls of Versailles."

When I read that, I recalled featuring a photo from the French television series Versailles that I featured in the Femulator spot back in October 2016. The photo showed actor Alexander Vlahos in female garb.

At the time, I assumed that Versailles was fiction and the writers included some crossdressing to spicen things up. Little did I know that the actor was portraying an real historical figure, Philippe, Duc d’Orleans.

Live and learn.

Whereas Alexander Vlahos' portrayed Philippe as a tall, thin femulator, the book claims that Philippe was actually "short and pot bellied.”

By the way, the only other femulator I could find in the book was France's King Henri III, but that's another story.

Wearing Cinq A Sept dress and Francesco Russo sandals (Source: Intermix)

Alexander Vlahos (left) portrays Philippe, Duc d’Orleans in the French television series Versailles.

Late Nights

Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Röhm)

Since I stopped working last summer, my body clock has shifted.

When I was working, I was up at 5:30 AM and in bed at 10 PM (unless there was an episode of Law & Order that I had not seen that was on at 10).

After leaving the workforce, I began staying up later and later each night reading and writing, while the television blasted in the background (just in case an episode of Law & Order that I had not seen shows up).

So these days, I am in bed between midnight and 1 AM and up and at 'em at 7 or 8 AM depending on when I went to bed. This schedule serves me well when there is a late Red Sox game on the television, for example, like last night, when the Sox ended the Yankees' season at 11:35 PM. Or when there is an episode of Law & Order that I have not seen.

Getting this post back on track, I decided that Serena Southerlyn (played by Elisabeth Röhm) is the Law & Order Assistant District Attorney I would most like to femulate. So now you know!

Wearing Boston Proper (Source: Boston Proper)

Jim Beudin femulates on the "Sweeps" episode of television's Law & Order.

Bunny Stana

My photo in Monday's post generated a lot of comments and e-mails. Although I have been showing off that photo like forever, it seems that some readers were unfamiliar with Bunny Stana and wanted to know more.

Your wish is my command, so here is a rerun of an old post that tells everything you wanted to know about my Playboy bunny costume.

Dear Stana,

I like your site and check it often. On your flickr picture gallery, there are many pics of you, but I wanted to ask about one where you are dressed in what looks like a black waitress outfit from a Playboy Club. You look absolutely fabulous. It must feel wonderful. I was wondering about it though; where you got it; if it is from a Playboy club?

Regards,

Fred

Hi Fred,

Thank you for the kind words!

Like every boy, I wanted to be a Playboy bunny when I grew up. Didn't happen, but the next best thing was to be a Playboy bunny on Halloween.

Halloween 2004 was my target for joining the girls in Hef's bunny hutch, so I began searching the Internet for bunny costumes.

Occasionally, authentic Playboy bunny costumes turn up on eBay, but they are prohibitively expensive, not to mention that they are never available in Size 16 Tall.

There were a few bunny costumes available on the Halloween costume web sites. All resembled the real Playboy costume in one way or another, but none were authentic enough for me and again, size was an issue.

I am a do-it-yourself kind of girl. In the past, I assembled many Halloween costumes from scratch, so I decided that if I wanted to achieve authenticity, I would have to build my own Playboy bunny costume.

With summer winding down, there were clearance sales galore on swimwear and I found the perfect item for my costume at the Newport-News web site: a black sequins maillot-style swimsuit. I don't recall the size or the price, but when it arrived, it was a perfect fit and I was well on my way building the costume.

I already had shoes that matched: a pair of black patent high heel pumps.

The bunny ears, tail, tuxedo cuffs and collar with bow tie were relatively easy and inexpensive to acquire. Various Halloween costumers sold kits that paired the ears with the tail and the cuffs with the collar. They were so inexpensive that I bought two kits each just in case I had a costume malfunction.

The hardest items to find were the fishnets and rosette name badge.

I owned fishnets, but none that had a fishnet pattern all the way up to the waistband, which is what I needed to cover my legs from toe to hip. One more time, size was an issue, but I finally managed to find a pair online that fit my very long gams.

After visiting a number of craft and party stores, I found a rosette name badge at a local party store. All I had to do was add my own name to the badge, which I did using a font on my computer that approximated the original bunny rosette name badge font.

I had a collection of foundation garments to experiment with in order to achieve a bunny-like figure while keeping the foundation garments out of sight. After considerable experimentation, I went with a corset-style waist cincher to achieve the narrowest waistline and a legless panty girdle to flatten my tummy.

I went bra-less since the swimsuit had a built-in bra. I inserted my largest homemade birdseed falsies in the cups of the swimsuit and used surgical tape to bring my "girls" together to add some cleavage.

Voila! I was a now a Playboy bunny and my costume was a hit at my support group's Halloween party that year.

I am very proud of that costume and I hope I will have the opportunity to wear it again someday real soon now.

Best Wishes,

Stana

Wearing New York & Company (Source: New York & Company)

Jan Cina femulates Madonna on Polish television's version of Your Face Sounds Familiar.

Our Holiday

Bunny Stana

Halloween is coming soon!

Some people call it the "crossdresser's holiday" because it provides a free pass for crossdressers to dress as women and get away with it.

It is also a cause for celebration for many crossdressers if Halloween was their first time out in public en femme.

Halloween 1969 was my first public appearance as a woman. At that point in time, I had been crossdressing frequently (whenever I was home alone) for about five years and my girl was about to explode if she did not get out.

I assembled a costume that would not be too outrageous, that is, I stuck with male undies instead of borrowing my mother's bra and girdle. But I did borrow my sister's purple sheath dress, black mid-heel Mary-Janes, black tights, beige wool cap and brunette wig. I don't recall if I borrowed makeup or bought my own. In either case, after five years of practice, my makeup skills were probably too good, but I did my best anyway.

I was desperate to go out en femme, but I did not have anyplace to go! Halloween parties were not as prevalent as they are today and I was too young to go bar-hopping, so I borrowed my mother's '65 Dodge and visited a few friends and relatives.

The visits were a blur. But I do remember one aunt dubbing me "Stasha" and I recall regretting that no one took my photograph. But I had the time of my life and ever since, I have tried to celebrate the holiday as a crossdresser should.  

This year, I ordered the parts for my Halloween costume and assuming that the sizes and colors are correct when delivered, I will have a cool costume to wear later this month.

Wearing Ann Taylor (Source: Ann Taylor)

Brothers/sisters Max and Charlie Carver femulate The Shining twins for Halloween 2013.
(Thank you, Chrissy for this find.)

Someday Funnies

Wearing Haney dress and Jimmy Choo pumps (Source: Intermix)

Three old white men femulating Republican U.S. Senators.

Red Day Femulations

Get Real Dept.

I was fascinated (and a little jealous) reading about two transgender real estate agents in Texas. The article concentrated on the successes of the two transwomen, but glossed over the problems they experienced.

One agent "admits that she has faced some difficulties as an openly trans real-estate agent, but says her positive experiences have outweighed the negative ones." I can envision the problems she faced, but I wish the article did not leave that to the readers' imagination and instead, recounted some of the difficulties.

Nonetheless, the article was inspiring and rekindled my dreams about rejoining the workplace as a woman. The truth is that I have no fears about working as a woman; the only thing holding me back is selling the idea to my spouse. And there's the rub.

Houston real-estate agent, Kelli Lines

The Usual Gang of Idiots Dept.

I received e-mail from readers who were not familiar with horror films and wondered about the significance of the twin gurls on the cover of Mad magazine featured here on Wednesday.

The twins were characters in the 1980 film The Shining starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. If you follow this link (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/mediaviewer/rm4033227008), you can see a photo of the twins as depicted in the film.

Wearing Apparis coat, Tara Zadeh bag, Helmut Lang pants and Tibi shoes (Source: Intermix)

Filip Dizdar femulates Tajči on Croatian television's Your Face Sound Familiar.

Losing Leg Hair

My skirt's not too short – my legs are too long!

I avoid shaving my legs with a razor blade and shaving cream or gel because it is too time-consuming. My legs are too long... 36 inches each to be exact and it takes forever.

Early on, I discovered the wonderful world of chemicals. Nair and Veet were my hair removing chemicals of choice. They did the job quickly and thoroughly. And after using them for over four decades, they permanently removed a lot of my leg hair. As a result, using chemicals now is overkill.

So every morning, I attack the leg hairs that toughed it out. After I shave my face and neck with a top-of-the-line Norelco rotary head electric razor, I do a portion of my legs. One day, I will shave my knees, the next day, my calves, the next day, my thighs, the next day... well, you get the idea. As a result, when I get all dolled up to go out en femme, a quick touch-up with my Norelco is all I need to be femininely smooth.

By the way, I use the same routine to keep my arms, shoulders and breasts hair-free.

Wearing Bebe (Source: Bebe)

Kelly Mantle femulating in the 2014 film Confessions of a Womanizer.

On newstands now

Mad #4, December 2018

Wearing Brooke Daniels (Source: Brooke Daniels)

Paul Lynde femulating in the 1966 film The Glass Bottom Boat.

Wear a Bra!

Responding to my invitation to Ask Me Anything, Jenn wrote, "My question is about wearing a bra. My wife and many close female friends are known to comment about how they can’t wait to take off their bra. Of course, as a crossdresser I can’t wait to put one on! Knowing that you dress much more often (and longer) than I do, what do you think about your bra?"

Whereas fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg once proclaimed, "Feel like a woman. Wear a dress!" I say, "Feel like a woman, Wear a bra!"

Is there any garment that defines womanhood more than a bra? Fashion forward fellows may dress like women from head to toe, but they don't wear bras. Only women and femulators wear bras.

On occasion, I have femulated without wearing a bra because I did not have the correct style bra to go with a particular dress or top I was wearing and since I am already well-endowed for a guy, going bra-less was not a deal breaker. However, I prefer to wear a bra when I femulate.

Early on, I wore some ill-fitting bras. The band was too small and/or the shoulder straps too short and like Jenn's lady friends, I could not wait to take off my bra.

After too many misfits, I decided that the only way to get a bra that fits is to get a professional bra-fitting at an intimate apparel shop or in the lingerie department of a department store.

Your mileage may vary, but I have been fitted for bras in both girl mode and boy mode in both venues and have never been turned away. In fact, the women performing the fittings were very helpful and seemed pleased to have a male join their bra-wearing sorority.

If you are unsure about which bra-selling venue to seek out for a fitting, you can always call ahead and ask. Also, during the holiday season, guys shopping for intimate apparel gifts is common, so walking into a lingerie shop in boy mode is not that unusual this time of year.

My niece worked at Victoria's Secret for awhile and the saleswomen were used to fitting both men and women, so don't be shy – go for it, girl!

And if your bra is the correct fit, you won't even know you are wearing one!

By the way, when you were growing up, did your Mom call it a "bra" or a "brassiere?"

Wearing 3.1 Phillip Lim sweater, RTA skirt and Marni bag (Source: Intermix)

Nadia Russo

A Step in the Right Direction

Oslo Grace wearing Francesco Russo

Genderless Heels

Looking for a pair of stilettos in a men’s size 12? French shoe designer Francesco Russo has got you covered. The Italian shoe designer has launched a capsule collection called ‘A-Gender’ which, as the name suggests, offers genderless heels, loafers, and boots that go from a women’s size 5 to a men’s size 12, or an IT35–IT45. Aside from being inclusive, the shoes are beautiful — especially the heels with a d’Orsay opening.

A release for the collection made the case that this is not a mere publicity stunt. It read, “Provocation is not even an option. The project stems from the awareness of the world we live in as humans.” The designer elaborated for Vogue, “It’s not a polemic, it’s not political. It’s simply how society is moving forward. I think it’s in our duty as people who produce product to respond to the world.”

For the campaign, Russo cast transgender, non-binary model Oslo Grace. The collection is now available in stores for a limited run, but hopefully there will be more extended shoe-sizes to come from the label.

(Source: The Cut)

Wearing New York & Company (Source: New York & Company)

Oslo Grace, transgender model