First I look for the purse

Maybe it's just me. Maybe it has something to do with the environment or the era in which I grew up. But in my mind, a purse, clutch, handbag, pocketbook, etc., is the defining part of an outfit that indicates that you really mean business with regards to presenting femininely.

I can wear a wig, dress, heels, makeup, earrings, necklace, bracelet, pantyhose, tampon, bra, girdle, panties, etc., but until I add a purse to my outfit, only then do I feel that I am really femulating.

Without a purse, a guy in a dress still has a lot of freedom, especially in his upper body, to move and motion in a manly manner. Hand him a purse and that is a mare of a different color. She now has to move and motion differently; she must consider her purse at all times and move accordingly.

“Moving accordingly” means moving like a lady, that is, she must carry herself like other ladies who are carting a bag.

While you are at it, carry a nice bag. A designer bag is to die for and shows the other girls that you are really concerned about your feminine appearance.

A designer bag does not have to bust your budget; the consignment shops are full of like-new designer bags at cut-rate prices.

So, get a nice bag and carry yourself and the bag like a lady.

And happy femulating!

(By the way, Couture Allure Vintage Fashion has a how-to on the topic of carrying handbags.)

Double dating in matching dresses

More Feminine

Ever notice that in photos of femulators with their spouses, the femulator often dresses more "feminine" than the spouse?

Such is the case in my life.

In the last 10 years, I probably added 50 dresses to my wardrobe. In that same time period, my wife added two dresses to hers.

I own scores of high heels. My wife owns none.

I use lots of makeup. My wife uses none.

I wear lots of shapewear. My wife wears a bra.

Etcetera.

Source: Intermix

Linda Chang

All men will wear dresses after all

My recent post titled “All men will wear dresses” talked about an article in the British edition of GQ magazine that predicted, “In 30 years time, the gender-fluidity movement will have progressed to the point that men are not only allowed but encouraged to wear dresses and skirts.”

Maybe, maybe not.

But images like the one on the right make me think that there might be something to GQ’s prediction. The photo shows actress Elizabeth Hurley (right) and her son Damian (left) in a lacy pink dress, girly bracelet and a hairdo just like Mom’s!

The Hurleys are not alone. Google “celebrity children crossdressing” and you will discover many celebrities who are OK with their sons dressing in feminine finery.

How many will continue dressing pretty as adults remains to be seen? But my guess is that unless they are forced to stop dressing pretty, they will continue to do so. For example, Earvin "Magic” Johnson's son EJ Johnson and Will Smith’s son Jaden are celebrity sons who continued to dress pretty as adults.

Some may be transgender, but the others just like to dress pretty and will influence fashion-conscious civilian males to dress pretty, too.

As fellow blogger Juan once wrote, “Gentlemen, put on your skirts and high heels, fetch your purses, and head to the future.”

Usually, I Photoshop ads to remove the ad copy. But ads like the one above contain so much verbiage that no amount of Photoshopping will help and I discard them. However, the model in this Metrostyle ad is absolutely gorgeous and deserves to be seen despite the ad copy.

Damian Hurley

Femulating Failure

It works!

I learned quickly that there are a number of advantages to sitting to urinate. So much so that I sit to pee in boy mode, too.

In boy mode a few days ago, I sat to pee as a good girl should and as I dropped my drawers, my iPhone slipped out of my back pocket into the toilet bowl! I retrieved it as quickly as possible and dried it off as best as I could. I thought all was well until I made a phone call – there was no sound emitting from the phone!

I soon discovered that there was water in the headphone jack and the iPhone interpreted the water as an inserted headphone plug. Thus, the iPhone defaulted to headphone mode; it was sending audio to the headphone jack instead of the speaker.

I messed around with the phone for an hour trying to get the water out of the jack, but no luck. I dreaded taking the iPhone apart again, so I decided to first try a trick that worked in the past with my daughter's drowned iPhones: put the phone in a bed of uncooked rice to absorb the moisture.

Happy to say, when I retrieved the phone from the rice bowl the next morning, all was well with my iPhone!

And I learned my lesson: from now on, I will leave my iPhone in my purse when I sit to pee.

Wearing Sophie Et Voila

Ross Adams femulating on British television’s Hollyoaks.

Loving Honeylove Shapewear

By Bobbi R

Hi Stana,

With your recent weight loss, you probably will not be using this shapewear, but there are a few of us larger “girls” that may benefit from their use. 

The company is called Honeylove.com. I happened upon their website and their offerings looked very interesting especially with my figure issues, which are a flabby lower tummy muffin top and saggy tush.

My initial purchase was the Super Power Short. It has a large X tummy panel and a very high waist. It also has a high waist that goes all the way up to my bra band. Now I no longer require a longline bra. 

The downside is that it's difficult to put on. It is very tight initially, but becomes less so each time you wear it. Gently work it up, centering the X panel over your tummy and suddenly your tummy and muffin top are gone. And, after a few minutes, the initial tightness goes away and you will feel firm and sleek. 

After donning a pencil skirt or bodycon dress, you'll be a convert – your outfits will look great. In fact, the first time I wore it out to a girls' night out dinner, I received many compliments on my appearance and after several hours of wear, it remained comfortable to the point that I forget that I was wearing shapewear. 

It has a split crotch to make trips to the ladies' room relatively easy. The rear “BoostBands” provide a little welcome boost. However, at the end of the day or evening, when getting undressed, you'll feel really soft and flabby... at least I did. 

I also tried the Queen Brief. It provides excellent support especially when wearing shorter skirts, but it can be worn with all outfits.

Depending on which size you select, click on the link to show the garment in your size. The styles are relatively expensive, but in my opinion, are worth the cost as the results speak volumes and you will definitely feel great in all your outfits. Honeylove's guarantee makes it worthwhile to try the different styles. The company's guarantee is either you like it or simply return it for a full refund.

Anyway, as the old saying goes, “nothing ventured nothing gained” definitely applied. When you have an opportunity, check out the website and their offerings.

Wearing Venus

Someday Funnies

Wearing Venus

Filippo Timi femulating in the Italian film Favola.

A Deal I Could Not Refuse

I am always on the lookout for images to use in the Femulate Her slot below. Online clothing retailers are an excellent source for those images and I have some favorites that I visit on a regular basis.

Some of the retailers keep tabs on what I viewed on their website and a day or two after a visit, I will receive an email reminding me of what caught my eye. Such is the case after a recent visit to Boston Proper.

I liked a certain dress, but the price ($169.50) was way too rich for my blood. Next day or two, I received an email from Boston Proper reminding me what I viewed on their website. My response was “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Boston Proper was persistent and I received another email or two trying to temp me to buy the dress. My response was still the same – no thanks.

Earlier this week, Boston Proper informed me that they had reduced price of the dress. Visiting their website, I found that the dress was now $84.98 – half the original price.

I was tempted – so much so that I put the dress in my online shopping bag, but I hesitated to close the deal. $85 was more than I usually spend on one dress and perhaps, I could get a better deal if I waited a few days for Black Friday.

Wednesday evening, I received an email from Boston Proper announcing the particulars of their Black Friday sale: 40% off and free shipping! Wow! The $170 dress I longed for now cost only $51.

It was a deal I could not refuse and the dress is now on its way to my front porch.

By the way, the promo code for this sale is THANKS40 and it is good until midnight Sunday.

Wearing Boston Proper

Three Strikes You’re Out

Winner of the Best Talent Award at the 2019 TCHS Womanless Beauty Review.

On the Road

By Brenda

For many of us. crossdressing or femulating offers us a chance to express ourselves. Unless you have outed yourself to your spouse or family, it can be very difficult to get better at it by practicing your makeup and presentation skills.

Business travel offers an ideal environment to enjoy the art of crossdressing without the fear of getting caught by those who know you personally.

Airlines have made it more problematic with bag fees to accommodate “her luggage.” With careful packing, you can get away with just a carry-on, but that would entail a TSA pass through that could  pose a problem. Car travel offers a trunk full of shoes to choose from, but departing en femme could be risky. Hotel desk agents typically don’t really care how you check in, so a driveway to check in adventure is very possible. [Stana adds, on countless occasions, I have checked-in in male mode and checked-out in girl mode (or vice versa) and it has never been an issue.]

If you plan ahead, there are local crossdresser groups that have outings that might coincide with your stay to allow you to venture out with others limiting any anxiety of where to go or what to do.

Even if you cannot go fully dressed, the hotel offers a chance after a day of business meetings to practice your makeup skills, which is crucial to proper presentation. I find that even civilians can get the foundation color wrong, but they can get help from the cosmetics counter. I am still not confident with trying that in either gender mode, so I have used my colors when I had a proper makeover done and have experimented when that base color was discontinued. I was able to try a few wig styles and makeup ideas to arrive at a look I felt good about.

Many large cities offer makeover services and I urge you to try them because you will have a very safe environment to learn from a master in the art, offer proper color choices and have a better wig collection to choose from. You must have an agenda of where to go afterwards. ATM machines are popular and shopping malls are safe. You will cruise right by the front desk when you get back to your hotel and sashaying up to your room is easy and will bring great confidence.

I took the plunge for a proper makeover after being disappointed so many times by my lack of skills in makeup application. This is key to femulating well. So pay attention when getting this done and even take notes on the actual products being used.

I was so thrilled with how I looked and felt, I ventured out in the world with my held up high. However, I was very scared about getting caught in my neighbourhood. Doing this in a far off city would have been ideal. The makeover process really turned things around for me because I was able to really really see how well I could look giving me a lot of confidence to venture out as truly myself.

Some Tips

Makeup is key and takes practice. Press-on nails are your friend

TSA has not been an issue... not even asking me why I have four pairs of heels in my carry on. But for makeup, the checked bag will have to be planned.

Dressing your age or your chosen persona is also important to blending in. I feel comfortable as a middle-aged business woman in a two-piece dress suit with suitable heels. Leave the stripper heels and shiny PVC dress in your room, as it will attract unwanted attention.

I enjoy cooler weather when my foundation doesn’t run and wearing more layers makes me too hot. I don’t know how woman really do it in hot muggy weather.

Explore the local thrift shops in both modes to find things to wear. I have found the staff to be helpful and even complimentary. And shopping malls are so busy these days, no one will be on the lookout for crossdressers, so you can enjoy your time without fear.

Local support groups are also wonderful. I did enjoy a night out for dinner at a trans-friendly restaurant and wasn’t worried about trying to fake my voice. I had a great time and really felt myself.

Of course, in-room femulations don't require much in the way of makeup, but at least have nails and lipstick to complete your look.

I have ventured out and felt so good that I rode the subway around the city and realized that no one took particular interest of a woman making her way home from work after a bit of shopping.

On one trip, I was able to a experience a rainbow and not only did I feel sexy, but also felt truly as myself – not as a crossdresser, but as someone that could live life this way full-time. My goal is to live my life as Brenda for several days as a start.

Bon voyage en femme!

Wearing New York & Company

Bill Kaulitz

Trump’s War on Transgenders Marches On

“We are being systematically erased from the government websites… one page at a time.” 

Read all about it on Diana’s blog.

All men will wear dresses

Palomo menswear collection, Fall-Winter 2019

The British edition of GQ magazine published an article titled “What will men wear in 2048?” by Teo Van den Broeke. What follows is an interesting excerpt from the article.

Having called your wardrobe moves since 1988, GQ dons its mystic robes to predict what the fashion of the future looks like...

...

7. All men will wear dresses

In 30 years time, the gender-fluidity movement will have progressed to the point that men are not only allowed but encouraged to wear dresses and skirts. And I’m not just talking about “manly” kilts and tabards, either. Rather, massive, flouncy Molly Goddard-style party frocks that make the best of our legs, feel light on the shoulder and are brilliantly breezy around our bits.

I rarely encounter males in skirts or dresses in my neck of the woods. More often, I see males in female garb that is not skirted, like the male sales associates I have seen working in retail around here, one in a grocery store and two in women’s clothing stores.

On the other hand, femulating males in skirts and dresses is a more common occurrence.

And so it goes.

Wearing New York & Company

Łukasz Zagrobelny femulates Shirley Bassey on Polish television’s Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo.

Someday Funnies

Wearing Ann Taylor

Audrey from New Jersey circa 1960, a Transvestia Magazine girl