More Stuff: Accessories

By J.J. Atwell

More Stuff

Let’s talk about accessories in today’s Stuff. In an earlier installment, I mentioned a friend Gigi who I often correspond with about various things.  Today’s installment of Stuff is one suggested by her about items she referred to as “statement accessories.”

Accessories?

First I should explain just what “accessories” are for the purpose of this column. I’m using that term to mean pretty much everything besides the actual clothes/shoes that we wear when crossdressing. Things like a bag, necklaces, earrings, bangles and maybe something in your hair. Selecting the right accessories is something that helps complete your look. Of course, you need to start with the basic outfit, so go ahead and pick that out. I’ll wait.  

OK, Got the Outfit - Now What?  

So now that you have your outfit, how do you accessorize? Of course, this depends on what you have available and where you will be going.

I tend to go for casual, blend-in looks when being JJ. Take a moment to look at my avatar at the top of this page. Notice the lariat-style necklace and how it does several things. It compliments the rest of the outfit, which is a grey cardigan over a white shell and I’m wearing black skinny jeans with it. The necklace is made of a metallic black and silver twisted together. It hangs smoothly from around my neck and dangles down to draw attention away from my face (one of my worst features) and adds to the illusion of a long neck. 

Once I decided on the outfit and the necklace, it was time to finish off the outfit. I didn’t want my other accessories to work against the impact of the necklace. That would result in several different items competing for attention. So instead of big, dangly earrings, I went with a small set of pearls. Instead of big, clunky bangles, I went with a simple bracelet. My watchband might have been a bit too much as it looked like a black hair scrunchie, but I had limited options, so I had to make do. 

At this point I’m sure a lot of you are saying, “I would have done…” Yes, your sense of style is probably different from mine. I tend to be very conservative in my femme look. One of these days though, I’ll go a bit more flamboyant in my look. I intend to talk more about accessories in a future post so stay tuned! And send me your thoughts about accessories please.

I’ll be back

I’ll be back with more Stuff in the next installment. Comments are welcome either here on the blog or by email to Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com. JJ is always looking for more stuff, so let me know what you would like to read about.

Wearing Boston Proper

Recently deceased Tom Smothers femulating in a 1965 episode of television’s You're Only Old Once.
Thanks to Trish for this femulation alert.

Better Late Than Never

I have been running late for about a year now. Health issues (mine and my spouse’s) really put a crimp in my life in 2023. Even the holidays did not go as planned as my wife ended up in the ER again followed by a short stay in the hospital. So today’s post is about a week late.

I just want to thank everyone for their support this past year. Your positive comments and emails often made my day in 2023.

Also, I want to thank the readers who wrote posts for the blog. These sure came in handy this past summer when I was running to the hospital everyday to spend time with my spouse. The blog would have been empty otherwise.

I finally want to thank the readers who contributed to my Coffee Break. I really appreciate the monetary contributions from those readers who valued this blog enough to put their money where their mouth was, so to speak. Your contributions helped to keep the lights on.

So good riddance, 2023, and welcome, 2024!

And so it goes.

Wearing Boston Proper

Finding Your Fabulous

Navigating the Art of Makeup at MAC

By Paula Gaikowski

For many people exploring the world of crossdressing or transgender expression, navigating the art of makeup can feel like a daunting task. Fear not! One of the best resources for beginners is a visit to a MAC cosmetics store. 

While I admit to a personal bias here, my experiences across the country, from Massachusetts to California, have been consistently positive. The staff at MAC is known for their genuine support and understanding of the transgender and crossdressing communities.

To delve deeper into this welcoming environment, I recently embarked on a research mission for the Femulate community, specifically focusing on makeup consultations and makeovers at MAC stores. I contacted locations in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, and here is what I discovered to help make your own makeover exploration a breeze!

Service Options for Every Need

MAC caters to a variety of desires, with service options to suit individual preferences.

• Makeup Lesson: Learn the basics or refine your technique with a one-on-one session. Prices range from $75 to $100, depending on the location and duration.
• Makeover: Let the professionals work their magic! They'll create a personalized look using MAC products tailored to your preferences and features. Prices range from $75 to $100.
• Night Out: Glam it up for a special occasion with a dazzling makeover that will have you sparkling! Price: $100.

A Welcoming Atmosphere

As a transgender individual, my biggest concern was feeling comfortable and accepted. I'm happy to report that every makeup artist I spoke with was incredibly welcoming and reassuring. They expressed excitement about working with me and emphasized their desire to make me feel confident and beautiful as a transgender woman.

Private Rooms and Personalized Service

MAC stores typically have a dedicated private room tucked away in the back, offering a comfortable and discreet space for you to relax and chat with your makeup artist during consultations and makeovers. This privacy allows you to feel at ease while discussing your preferences and trying out different looks.

Tips for Planning Your MAC Makeover

• Book your appointment in advance especially if you’re interested in a specific service or makeup artist.
• Come prepared with photos or ideas. Share your desired look with the artist to ensure you’re on the same page.
• Be open to suggestions. The pros know their stuff! Trust their expertise and let them guide you towards a look you’ll love.
• Relax and have fun! This is a chance to explore and experiment with your makeup. Enjoy the experience and embrace the transformation.

Invest in Yourself

The price tag might raise an eyebrow at first, but consider it an investment in yourself, not just an expense. Think of all the money you've wasted on makeup that wasn’t the right shade, formula or simply never got used. 

The MAC artists will create a personalized list of products they used on you. You can buy them all at once or spread it out over time. The quality and longevity of MAC products make them worth the initial investment. Treat yourself to a new item every couple of weeks and slowly build your own go-to kit for stunning looks every time you step out the door.

Remember, exploring your makeup journey is about having fun and expressing yourself. With welcoming staff, personalized service options and high-quality products, MAC can be a valuable resource for anyone navigating the art of makeup, especially those in the crossdressing and transgender communities. 

Go forth, experiment and embrace your femininity!

Wearing Rue La La

Tony Curtis femulating in the 1959 film Some Like It Hot.

Sisters

By Tami Knight

Did your sister help?

The recent question posted, “Did your mother dress you?” prompted this big sister history.

Nancy, my older sister and I dressed up and played sisters in our early years. I don’t recall whose idea it was, but it started very early and I loved it. Our frequent dress-up sessions were after school and could only last until just before Dad came home for dinner.

Mom would tolerate this provided it didn’t happen too often as she preferred us playing outside. On the other hand, there were times when Mom played along and made her “girls” a snack, dolled us both up or took us out in the car on an errand.

Through grade school, Nancy would offer me anything (mostly school clothes) she had outgrown or just didn’t like. She had no hesitation in sharing these hand-me-downs as she knew well that I idolized her. I loved her gifts, too, and she knew it.  

I recall one shopping trip for school clothes, when in the girls’ department, Mom held a couple dresses up to me to make her decision to buy for Nancy or not. I think she knew I enjoyed that.

One babysitter thought my dressing up was fun, too. I recall being paraded out of the bedroom in front of one who laid on the couch as I tried on several of Nancy’s better dresses with a bow in my hair. Compliments came with each outfit and I was told how pretty I was. On this occasion, Dad learned about it and Nancy got scolded badly. Thankfully, Mom didn’t share much with him about my history of after-school dressing and Nancy and I continued as best as we could in secret.

There came a time when we moved to northern Michigan, but Dad still had work 250 miles to the south. This period freed up some weekends for spending most of Saturday with my sister as a sister. It was also a time when Nancy’s circle of girlfriends was expanding and she was most interested in spending time with them. 

More than once when she was out, I was home alone in my room in a dress. She would bring a friend over and they would discover me. Sometimes her friend would laugh and tease me or compliment me and show interest. Yes, word among the kids spread that I might be a girl.

As we became teens, all this changed. Only occasionally did my sister and I have instances to talk of these memories and she would ask if I still wanted to be a girl despite knowing the answer.

Wearing Boston Proper

What Next?

Wearing Staud

Don Knotts femulating in a 1962 episode of television's The Andy Griffith Show.

Stuff #24

By J.J. Atwell

Hello Again

I’d like to write about something that cis women deal with all the time and most haven’t yet found the solution. And if cisgender women haven’t found the solution, is there any hope for crossdressers? Yes, there is lots of Stuff to cover today.

The Big Question

How do you find jeans that fit properly and show off your “girlish” figure. I guess that depends a bit on how you like your jeans to fit and what the current fashion trends are. 

I personally like the skinny jean look. I know that’s going out of style, but I still like it.  

Skinny jeans are very difficult to match to your figure because there can be so many variations in people’s bodies. Think first about cisgender women. How many of them have the same kind of curves around the hips, butt and down the line of the leg? Not to mention the actual length needed so they don’t wrinkle up at the foot. Even with those constraints, each manufacturer of jeans has different size standards. That forces a cisgender woman to try on jeans from different brands to find the one that fits her body best. And even then, they will find differences in fit between styles from the same manufacturer. For instance, one of my cisgender woman friends, Alicia, can wear a size 8 and a size 12 from same manufacturer, but in different styles of jeans. 

There is also a thing often referred to as “Vanity Sizing” in the clothing industry. That’s when a manufacturer purposely makes the clothing larger but labels them in a smaller size. That way the buyer can say to herself, “Yay! I went down a size!!!” I recently did that myself having gone down to a size 8 skinny jean from a 10 or 12. Well, actually I’m going to stick with the I’m losing weight story and not the vanity sizing story.  

But what about us?

Now let's talk about crossdressers. How do we find jeans that fit our body best? We do the same thing that cis women do, we try various brands and styles. But we have a complication: how to make our typical male body look more female in jeans. Many of us, JJ included, use hip/bum padding to fill out the seat of the jeans. 

But some padding solutions leave an even worse problem… you can see where the padding ends on the leg (the dreaded “visible padding line”). So those typical oval foam pads that many of use to enhance our lower body work just fine when we are wearing a skirt. But when wearing skinny jeans or leggings, they can leave us looking like the snake that swallowed a ball! So it is important to get padding that tapers down the side of the leg to give the illusion of a smooth line.  

Fortunately, most skinny jeans are made with material that has a fair amount of stretch. That helps the jeans hug the contours of the wearer without being too constraining when you move.  In fact, some jeans are really comfortable.  

I’m partial to the Gloria Vanderbilt line of jeans. I get their “comfort curvy” skinny jean because they do best on my augmented figure. After many different attempts to find the right fit, I now really understand women’s frustration with clothing sizes.  

I’ll be back

Yes, there will be more Stuff. In the meantime comments are welcome either here on the blog or by email to Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com. JJ is always looking for more stuff, so if there is something you would like to read about please let me know!

Wearing Venus

Donovan Leitch Jr. femulating on television’s The Job.
Click here to view this femulation on YouTube.

AI Q&A

My “Zer0 to 80” post about creating AI images resulted in a lot of interest, comments and questions, as follows.

What application are you using?

I use DreamUp, which is an app associated with Deviant Art.

Any tips on getting started?

For some tips to get you started, click here. Those tips are very basic. I learned more by using the app and experimenting.

DreamUp works by sending text (a “prompt”) to the app describing what you want. For example, when I sent the following prompt to the app:

    50-something male man crossdressed as leggy businesswoman in office for halloween

The app generated the following image:

If you resend the same prompt to the app, it will create something completely different. For example, resending the prompt that created the previous image resulted in the following new image:

Other apps?

I tried a few other online AI image apps, but I was not satisfied with the crossdressers that created. They looked like real females without any hints of being male, whereas DreamUp crossdressers, although passable had male clues. 

A couple of readers commented that AI had problems with shoes. 

Sometimes AI has a difficult time with human arms, fingers, legs, feet, etc. I’ve seen extra legs, arms and fingers on some images! But most of the time, it does a good job.

Another reader asked how I aged the “ladies” in the “Zer0 to 80” post.

I did not age the “ladies.” Each of the eight photos is a separate AI creation. A simple example: I commanded AI to create a “photo of 18-year-old crossdressers wearing LBDs and high heels,” then I commanded AI to create a “photo of 20-something-year-old crossdressers wearing LBDs and high heels,” etc., etc. up to 80-something-year-olds.

And so it goes.

If anyone has an idea for an AI image related to femulating, I will gladly try to create it. (I love the challenge!)

 

Wearing Rue La La

Lavern Cummings

The Right Fit!

By Tami Knight

About 25 years ago, I had started making some needed changes in how my things fit. I was also starting to blend women’s tops into my male wardrobe. I brought a couple women’s button-down shirts to a local dressmaker/tailor to improve their look. 

I had no idea how the tailor would react to a guy coming in with women’s shirts with darts that were obvious. To my surprise, Margret was happy to help. She pinned the waist just a bit, leaving the shirt bottom to accommodate my hips. Sleeves and shoulders were fine. This started a long friendship with her helping me improve almost everything I wore, while she watched my feminine presentation improve and flourish.

Besides being a very skilled dressmaker, Margret has a genuine interest in my transformation and seeing that any piece I bring her can be improved in both its fit and style. Yesterday, I picked up five skirts that needed attention. One was a simple hook and eye repair; another was sewing up the waist so the fabric would not roll. One was a very high slit over the leg that needed to be minimized. Another skirt from Joie (a 6 usually fits fine), was far too tight.  Because this skirt was so full, she was able to take a bit of fabric from the fullness of the skirt and add to it the waistband. More importantly, another A-line skirt I saw on Revolve looked great on the model, but on me, the A-line was not flattering. Margret pointed this out and insisted on narrowing the skirt to a more flattering silhouette.

I also dropped off a sleeveless dress I bought from Neiman’s on sale, so no returns. I had checked the size chart carefully and because I was not familiar with this maker, I tried to play it safe and ordered a size up. It turned out that I should have bought the 8, but Margret could easily take it in, arm hole down to the hemline, making it perfect.  

We got talking as I stood on her platform and I didn’t hear her directing me, until she raised her voice, “Turn woman!” I only visit her as Tami,and am treated like all the other women, sharing that space, mirrors and platforms as we change in and out of those pieces to be adjusted.

Don’t assume that an outfit off the rack is a good fit. Almost any dress, top or bottom, can be improved to enhance your figure.

Consider establishing a good working relationship with a tailor. Don’t expect the people at the dry cleaners to do any meaningful work beyond a hem repair. Find a skilled woman like Margret who can do just about anything and will make those large and small adjustments that really make you look great and will save you money as well. Clothes that fit look good and get worn. 

Many years ago, my wife suggested I try sewing and that my first project could be a simple nightgown. We picked out the pattern and cotton fabric together at JOANN Fabrics. 

Soon I was laying out the pattern and making my cuts which was more difficult than I thought. My first time at a sewing machine was fun, but sewing up an arm hole with a short sleeve attached is more complicated than it looks! I ended up with a mid-length gown, that was wearable, but certainly amateurish! I really learned to appreciate good tailoring and all the work that goes into it.

Wearing Elie Tahari

J. Conrad Frank femulating on the San Francisco stage in Ruthless.

Zer0 to 80

I am having a lot of fun using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create images for the blog. I find it interesting how AI handles request to depict crossdressers. The results tend to depict crossdressers who present well, so they have a better chance of passing.

I ran a test to compare how AI handles crossdressers of different ages, from 0 to 80. Not actually 0, but 18- to 80-year-old, male-to-female crossdressers wearing little black dresses and high heels. Here are the results.

18 years old

20-something years old

30-something years old

40-something years old

50-something years old

60-something years old

70-something years old

80-something years old