transless New York, New York

I spent the day in New York City.

I saw lots of beautiful women and lots of beautiful clothes on display in the store windows (especially Bergdorf Goodman), but there was not a transgendered moment during the whole trip! Maybe the incredibly hot and humid weather kept all the transpeople inside (I can't blame them; it was a dog day afternoon).

I had a good time anyway.

mark your calendars

Here are the details of the fashion show in which I will be modeling. If you are in the area, please consider attending. It should be a great time!

BUSTED! is a fashion show organized by and for the trans and gender non-conforming community to give ourselves and our allies the opportunity to come together and celebrate how much beauty there is in our community. Get ready to have a great time surrounded by wonderful people!

Date: 9/14/07

Doors open at 8 PM

Tickets $10

Tommy's Restaurant, 825 Saybrook Road, Middletown, CT

Fashion show, music, dancing, drinks, and general merriment.

(Tommy's Restaurant is located about 1/3 of a mile off exit 11 of CT Route 9 in central Connecticut.)

"femulate this:" & "the femulated:" images are back!

I found a workaround to make the "Femulate This:" and "The Femulated:" images appear correctly, so they are back where they belong.

my first poll

The absence of "Femulate This:" and "The Femulated:" images in the right frame left a big hole, so I decided to try out a new feature offered by blogger.com: a poll.

Please vote.

missing "femulate this:" & "the femulated:" images

I apologize for the absence of "Femulate This:" and "The Femulated:" images in the right frame.

Something is amiss at blogger.com and I was unable to upload and display new images correctly. As soon as blogger.com fixes the problem, I will upload new images.

real high heels revisited

Yesterday, I mentioned a pair of shoes I was thinking about buying, but I was concerned because the shoe has a 4-3/4-inch heel! "...can I even walk in those skyscrapers?" I wondered.

Last night, I perused my shoe collection with a ruler in hand and discovered that the most comfortable high heels I own have a 4-inch heel. So, I don't think a 4-3/4-inch heel will make much of a difference.

real high heels

If you have been following along for any time now, you know that I love shoes. Let me be more specific: I love women's shoes. By my last count, I own 63 51 pairs of women's footwear and six pairs of men's footwear (and three of those pairs are sneakers)!

Perusing the Fall collection at Newport-News today, I fell in love with another pair of shoes: a patent leather-look platform pump with buckled ankle strap and crescent toe. Its picture should appear next to this text.

The price is right ($29), but when I reread the description, I started thinking twice. The shoe has a 4-3/4-inch heel and a 7/8-inch platform. Wearing those real high heels, I will be an outstanding 6 foot 6 plus. And can I even walk in those skyscrapers?

separate yourself from other men

I am at work.

I just took a break from writing a software user manual and checked my e-mail. For the umpteenth time, I received another e-mail reminding me to "separate yourself from other men."

Believe me, I try to separate myself from other men in ways that the average man never dreams of. Rather than using a "penis enlarge patch," I separate myself from other men by applying makeup, squeezing into a bra and girdle, slipping into a sexy dress, high heels, and blond wig.

Yes, I am at work writing another user manual for software that monitors and controls high tech equipment that only an electrical engineer would find interesting.

Boring!

I would much prefer writing womanly words, i.e., words about feminine finery, en femme outings, flirting encounters of the passing kind... you know, those girly things that will separate me from other men.

'trans'-forming corporate america

According to an article appearing at CNN Money today, "from General Motors to Google, more companies are agreeing to protect transgender people from discrimination."

Sadly, my company is not one of those companies. Maybe someday.

Read the whole story here.

10,000 customers served

This blog's hit counter broke the 10,000 mark overnight. Thank you for reading and a special thank you to my returning readers.

If you have any suggestions on how I can improve this blog or subjects you would like to see me write about here, please let me know.

a fashion model

I volunteered to be a model at a fashion show in September to benefit a local trans advocacy organization.

I always wanted to model clothes in a fashion show strutting my stuff in 4-inch heels down the catwalk. I had a couple of close calls, but always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

For example, a few years ago, I was shopping with my wife in Fashion Bug. She found something to buy, I did not. At the check-out, the cashier asked my wife if she would like to sign-up to be a model for an in-store fashion show. As an incentive, you got to keep one of the outfits you modeled.

I encouraged my wife, but she didn't want to do it. With a straight face, I asked if I could sign-up instead and with a straight face, the cashier said I could. I was joking and told the cashier so, but later I regretted it and should have signed up.

Anyway, this time, I am signed up and looking forward to modeling. I want to do my best, so I began researching the subject and found how to walk like a catwalk model on the wikiHow web site, and will begin practicing catwalking at home.

home alone with Catherine Hickland

I was home alone for a few hours, so I decided to try doing my makeup per Catherine Hickland's DVD Simply Gorgeous, which I wrote about here earlier this week.

I brought my portable DVD player into the bathroom and parked it next to my makeup kit. Then, I put the DVD on the turntable and followed along with its instructions (after applying beard cover). Despite stopping and replaying a few parts of the instructions, I finished applying my makeup in record time: 25 minutes, which is about half the time I usually need.

Ms. Hickland's makeup routine is minimalist, so that accounts for the faster than normal makeup application.

I can't believe that Ms. Hickland looks as good as she does only using the makeup techniques she expouses in her DVD. I have been experimenting with makeup for over 40 years and I see more makeup on her face then she puts on the clients on her DVD. Or she is one of the most naturally beautiful women in the world! (I doubt that.)

I just looked up Ms. Hickland's bio and she is only 5 years younger than I am, which puts her at the ripe old age of 51. Now, I am certain that she puts on more makeup than she puts on her clients.

After following her instructions, I was satisfied with the results considering the amount of time to accomplish my makeup application. I will definitely use her techniques when I do my makeup in the future, but at my age (and hers), I think I have to do a little more makeup work than Ms. Hickland recommends.

ADDENDUM:

I posted a post-makeover photo on flickr.

feminine skirts and dresses for men

[deleted] is a web site featuring skirts and dresses for men.

There are other web sites featuring skirts and dresses for men. Do a Google search and you will find a bunch.

Being a male-to-female crossdresser, the majority of men's skirts and dresses appearing on those web sites are too masculine for my taste. However, the skirts and dresses on the [deleted] web page are more to my liking. There I find styles that I would feel comfortable wearing in girl or boy mode.

Visit the [deleted] web site and see for yourself.

less plucking required

I plucked some stray eyebrow hairs this morning. It is almost a month since my previous plucking session and there was noticeably less plucking required today.

Does eyebrow hair grow slower in the warm weather?

Or has my repeated plucking killed off some of the hairs for good? (I hope so!)

female fingers

According to a study done by the University of Alberta, I have the fingers of a female.

It has been known for some time that there is a direct correlation between finger lengths and the amount of the male sex hormone testosterone that a baby is exposed to in the womb.

In women, the two fingers are usually almost equal in length, as measured from the crease nearest the palm to the fingertip. In men, the ring finger tends to be much longer than the index.

My index and ring fingers are equal in length, therefore, I have the hands of a woman. I guess I should shave them more often.

faith hill: photoshopped like a tranny

Read how Redbook photoshopped Faith Hill as if she were a tranny enhancing her image for a web audience.

I was most impressed with how they thinned out her arm!

leopard sash-tie wrap dress

I like this dress. It is a new fall selection from Newport-News. I think it would look fabulous on me and I plan to buy it if it goes on sale.

popular in Poland

These days, my blog averages about 200 hits per day. By far, my blog listing in the crossdressing.pl directory is the source for more hits than any other Web site (flickr is a distant second).

My blog is listed in other transgendered directories, but for some reason, my crossdressing.pl listing is the most popular.

I was born and raised in the US of A, but all four of my grandparents were born in Poland. As a result, I have an affinity for the motherland of my ancestors. So, when I discovered the Polish crossdressing web site, I asked its webmistress to list my blog in crossdressing.pl directory, which she did.

That explains why I am listed in their directory, but that does not explain why that particular listing is the source for more hits than any other Web site. I can't figure it out, so I will gladly accept my blog's popularity in Poland and send greetings to my Polish sisters:

Powitanie do mojego Polski siostry.

paris during fashion week

Rena posted the following question on the Connecticut Outreach Society e-mail list:

This is bit of a long one! Like OK if there was such a thing as a Magic Pink Pill that turned you into the most beautiful GG for a week, (anyone you want you choose) with endless finances to do anything you wanted. Who and What would you do with your week? Vegas? Hollywood? New York? Back to School? Volunteer at a Senior Center? You Won't be Graded it your Fantasy!

Here is my response:

Paris during Fashion Week.

Skip the Magic Pink Pill… I'd go as myself. Fly from JFK to Paris on the Concorde (oh, darn, the Concorde is no more!). Well, I'd fly First Class to Paris one way or the other. Get a spare-no-expense, head-to-toe makeover. Go shopping for some drop-dead outfits, then spend the rest of my time attending the various Fashion Week events in the City of Lights.

simply gorgeous

Recently, I received an e-mail asking me to provide step-by-step instructions on how I do my makeup.

I was flattered, but being a professional writer, I was not confident that I could quickly compose a set of instructions that would accurately describe what I do. Not to mention that my makeup regime is a work in progress; I am always trying out new techniques when I do my makeup.

An aside: As a writer, I have often thought about writing a crossdressing how-to book. I already have a title, Be A Babe, with the tagline, Instead of looking like "the Babe," look like a babe! The question is, if I write it, will people buy it?

Getting back to the providing step-by-step makeup instructions, I started researching sources for instructions and in my quest, I discovered a video titled Simply Gorgeous. It was highly rated, so I rented the DVD from Blockbuster.

Here is the product description from Amazon.com:

Actress and television personality Catherine Hickland (from ABC’s One Life To Live) is also one of the most sought-after beauty authorities in the country, and finally shares her makeover secrets. Put your best face forward with Simply Gorgeous, the new video that teaches you how to go from out-the-door beautiful in the morning to drop-dead gorgeous at night. A great gift for teens or that bride-to-be who wants a perfect wedding day. Simply Gorgeous will delight soap opera fans and makeup junkies alike. Get the inside scoop on looking as fabulous as a daytime diva in no time at all.

I don't watch soaps and I was not familiar with Catherine Hickland, however, her makeup instructions were very simple, but very effective. Ms. Hickland is gorgeous and using makeup to improve her looks is gilding the lily.

In order to prove the effectiveness of her technique, she performs makeovers on average-looking women and the results are outstanding.

Just add beard cover and I think that Ms. Hickland's techniques would be just as successful transforming average-looking crossdressers into passable women. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone who wants to learn how to apply makeup in a simple, yet effective manner.