Brick and Mortar with Compassion

Curves by Rago

By Paula Gaikowski

Florence Fashions brings one back to a time when femininity was a true art played out in the fashions of the day. Every lady had her own dress and lingerie shop – a place where she was welcomed, advised and fussed over. Whether it was a formal gown or a dress for work. it was there she would find the right dress, shoes and foundations.

Florence Fashions was founded in 1965 on Main Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. It wasn’t long after they opened when a nervous and self-conscious gentleman walked in and asked for a girdle that might help his (clearing throat sound) “bad back.” Florence was happy to help and the word soon got around that there was an understanding and kind lady who would help girls like us. By 1978, The Tiffany Club of New England was formed and Florence Fashions began advertising in their newsletter.

Over the years, Florence Fashions has maintained their original identity as a lady’s dress and lingerie shop. Barbara has taken over from her mother and still provides a charming and delightful shopping experience. A true enclave of femininity and glamour. In that way, it differs from other stores that cater solely to the transgender community. 

The day I wandered into the store, I was greeted warmly and asked for help finding a new wig. Barbara went right to work asking questions, looking at my photos and lining up possibilities. We tried on scores of wigs. Her enthusiasm made me feel relaxed and I enjoyed the experience even more. I contrast this with other boutiques and transgender specialty shops that seem frustrated when after three wigs you haven’t made a decision. She was having as much fun as I and it was contagious. I finally found the one I wanted. 

Just as I was getting ready to check out, I noticed a rack of Rago shapeware! Yes, I blame Stana for this one. After she raved about her Rago longline bra and Rago high-waisted girdle, I just had to have one, too!

Barbara prodded me to try some on – mind you, it didn’t take much persuasion. The next thing I knew she was handing me girdles and bras, zipping me up and hooking me together in a whirlwind of activity. I finally was measured and correctly fitted for a bra. I finally found the set I always wanted, a high-waisted girdle and black longline bra, both in black. 

Before we were done, Barbara insisted, \I try them with breast forms and with my wig. We even tried on a few dresses. I was overjoyed, never have I been treated with such respect and dignity when shopping for women’s clothes. 

Those of you who live here or travel to New England, I highly recommend a trip to Florence Fashions. Although specializing in bra fittings, the store offers all manner of clothing from sportswear to classic gowns. The shop itself is replete with wigs, breast forms and lingerie. The well-stocked aisles display towering stacks of finery for all women. You can be assured that along with a new look, you are sure to leave with bit more dignity and self-confidence in who you are.

(Rago is now offering 15% discounts to Femulate fans and readers. Just use the stana15 discount code when making a purchase from the Rago website.)

Wearing Boston Proper

Femulating in India

Someday Funnies: Earning Your Bona Fides

Wearing Eloquii

The Modern Couple

Knee Knews

Stana's Knees

I went to an orthopedic doctor last month regarding my knee problem and he said the options were a cortisone shot, a gel shot or knee replacement surgery. My insurance would not cover the gel shot unless we tried the cortisone shot first, so I chose the cortisone shot because knee replacement surgery would have me laid up for two weeks and since I am Nurse Stana for my wife, I thought we could put off surgery until she gets better.

So the doctor drained the swollen knee, but he did not like the fact that the liquid he drained was cloudy. The liquid went to a lab for analysis and I went home without a cortisone shot.

The lab found nothing wrong, so I revisited the doctor on Monday and a physician’s assistant drained my knee and gave me a cortisone shot.

By the way, I was in semi-girl mode wearing woman’s (no fly) shorts and recently shaved legs. No one cared or even noticed as far as I can tell.

I did not notice much improvement right after the shot, but as the day progressed, my knee felt better and after a good night’s sleep, the improvement was amazing. It felt like 2021 all over again when I was able to go on my daily mile hikes and get up out of a chair with no issues. 

I don't know how long this improvement will last, but right now, I am very happy with the results.

Wearing Sea

Nancy Ng on the catwalk at Fantasia Fair with Miqqi Gilbert MC’ing the show.

Nancy is a long-time reader of Femulate and Miqqi ran the show at Fantasia Fair for years. (Miqqi is a professor at York University in Toronto, where she is totally out.)

Someday Funnies: Calendar Be Damned!

Wearing Boston Proper

Eve Taylor, Femulate reader

Got Links

Zoe emailed me YouTube links to a 2002 television show titled Dog Eat Dog, in which contestants spend a day with each other competing in various physical and mental challenges. The links that Zoe sent me are for three challenges in which the contestant must pick out the real woman from a group of six “women” (the other five are femulators).

Some of the femulations are fantastic and I guessed wrong on all three challenges as to who was the real women! Here are the link to the three challenges: One, Two, Three

👠👠👠

Sara emailed me a link to a CNN article about how more and more men are wearing skirts.

On a related matter, Velma sent me a link to an LGBTQ Nation article about Christians targeting women who wear pants! (I imagine their heads would explode if they encountered a femulator wearing a pantsuit!)

👠👠👠

Sally complained that suddenly she was unable to post comments to this blog. I suggested some possible fixes and it turned out that the Google Chrome web browser was a culprit. 

Sally wrote, “Turns out, the problem was Google Chrome. I attempted a test comment using Microsoft Edge and had no problem. I did a little research regarding Chrome and others have the same problem occasionally when trying to add blog comments. One recommendation was to clear my Google cache. That didn’t work. However, I navigated to your blog using Google's Incognito mode and was able to post a comment without issue.”

And so it goes.

Wearing Paige

A gurl can't have too many shoes!
(Coccinelle suggested by Penny)

Red-Handed

Home alone, I was trying on Mom’s clothing when I heard the garage door open – Mom had returned from shopping much earlier than I expected. 

I had some time to switch from girl mode to boy mode because we had a manually operated garage door, which meant that my mother had to open the garage door, walk back to the car, drive the car into the garage, get out of the car, close the garage door, then gather up whatever she had purchased and carry it upstairs (the garage was under the house).

I managed to switch modes and return Mom’s wardrobe to its original state before she climbed upstairs to our living quarters. I was pretty pleased with myself because I had dodged the bullet. But a few minutes later, after Mom entered her bedroom, she asked, “Stanley – why are my shoes out?”

Nuts! I forgot to put her high heels back in her closet!

I had to think fast. Back then, I was drawing a lot – a cartoonist in the making – so my very lame excuse was that I borrowed her shoes because I was drawing shoes and I needed a model.

She bought it and I was very relieved. But years later, I discovered that she knew about my crossdressing and I imagine that the high heel episode was just more evidence of my secret.

Mom never confronted me about my crossdressing, although on countless occasions she asked, “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

I realize now that she was reaching out to me, but I was a clueless idiot and always said, “No,” which I will regret forever.

Wearing Figue

Crossdressing couple, circa 1910

Better Late than Never

This has been a busy week with four medical appointments for me and my wife (one for me and three for my wife). Since I am my wife’s chauffeur and nurse, I was involved with all four appointments including one that lasted over five hours. As a result, I am a little behind answering emails and posting blog posts (e.g., this post is 12 hours late).

Fall fashions are popping up on all the clothing websites. I love the fall fashions, but hate fallen leaves! Check out the fall offering from New York & Company in the Femulate Her spot below. Is it Stana-worthy or should I save my money? 

I love the fact that Rago is now offering 15% discounts to Femulate fans and readers. Just use the stana15 discount code when making purchases from the Rago website. By the way, the discount was unsolicited; Rago contacted me to offer the discount, so we must be doing something right!

Fall also means that Fantasia Fair is coming soon. That annual event takes over Provincetown, Massachusetts for a whole week in October (October 16–23 this year) to celebrate transgender lives with workshops, presentations, talent and fashion shows, banquets, etc. I attended four times and had the times of my life, so Fan Fair comes highly recommended from this lady!

Wearing New York & Company

Wow!

Someday Funnies: Our Gurl’s All Grown Up!

Wearing Boston Proper

Femulating Jack Vidgen (right)

Perfect Storm/Store

My favorite clothing store (Roz & Ali nee Dress Barn) went out of business in 2019. The pandemic arrived about the same time the last Dress Barn store shuttered its doors. It was a perfect storm. 

I dared not venture out to the malls amid the pandemic to find a new favorite clothing store. So I was back where I started from – shopping remotely, online rather than mail-order like in my old closeted days.

Venus became my new favorite clothing store. Their styles were attractive as were their prices. My only complaint was that delivery was slow. So spoiled by Amazon Prime, a two week or more wait for a Venus purchase was unbearable. Truth be told, Venus has improved their delivery and my most recent Venus orders arrived in one week.

Daughter bought a dress at Target for my wife for Mother’s Day. It was a Made in China brand called Zesica. My wife liked the dress, so when her birthday approached, I decided to buy her another Zesica dress. But instead of driving cross town to Target, I found Zesica on Amazon and purchased two dresses for her online.

As I wrote here two weeks ago, she was very pleased with my choices. Then she asked me if I had purchased any for myself. I said, “No.” The dresses I bought my wife were very nice – better than I expected, so I visited Amazon and ordered two dresses for myself. 

Before I placed the order, I tried on one of the dresses I gifted my wife to get an idea what size to order for myself. Her medium-sized Zesica fit me, but was too tight, so I figured XL would be right for me. 

Near instant gratification, the dresses arrived 36 hours after I placed my order. I immediately tried them on and they were too big. So I revisited Amazon, ordered the same dresses in size Large and started a return for the two XL dresses. (Amazon returns are easy – just drop off your return in a UPS drop box, UPS Store or Kohl’s. I chose Kohl’s because I knew I would be passing right by a Kohl’s after my next medical appointment.) 

 

Near instant gratification again, the Large-sized dresses arrived soon after placing my new order. They fit perfectly and I wore the leopard print on my girl’s night out on Thursday. 

Shopping online with Amazon Prime is a good deal especially with their easy returns and their “Prime try before you buy” option. Amazon is my new favorite clothing store! 

You probably know that I am a big fan of Rago shapewear. Their bras and girdles are the only brand of unmentionables I wear these days. And girls who have followed my Rago recommendations are happy and shapely customers. 

The folks at Rago are aware of girls like us who favor their shapewear and as a result, Rago is now offering a 15% sitewide discount to Femulate fans and readers. Just use the stana15 discount code when you shop at the Rago website. How cool is that!

Wearing Rue La La

Selina Powers, professional femulator, circa 1965

Someday Funnies

Source: td2031 at https://www.deviantart.com/td2031