Wednesday Morning
I spent most of the day en femme yesterday.
I was out the door at 9:45 AM wearing the black dress with the sequins pattern at the neckline that I bought from Ideeli and modeled at the fashion show. I also wore black hose and my mid-heel Mary Janes from Payless that never fail to be comfortable no matter how long I wear them. Earrings, bracelet, watch, and a black bag completed my ensemble.
I arrived at the mall at 10:15. It was raining hard, so I parked in the ramp even though I had an umbrella. Umbrellas don't help much to keep your feet dry and women's footwear offers little protection from the puddles.
My first stop was JCPenney. I quickly found a half-dozen dresses to try on, but one I really liked was missing its belt. I could not swipe a belt from another dress (not in my size) because the belt was attached to the dress with a plastic tie, so I stopped a passing saleswoman for help.
She told me to take a dress that had a belt to the cashier and she would cut the tie for me. So I carried my half dozen dresses plus one to the cashier and waited while she rang up another customer.
The saleswoman came by while I was waiting and said to the cashier, "She just needs you to cut the tie on a belt so she can try on the dress."
The cashier retorted, "Oh - I thought she was waiting to pay for the dresses."
The saleswoman replied, "No, she wants to try them on first."
My day could have ended right there! All the "she's" (referring to me) flying through the air was wonderful and affirming.
After that exchange and the cutting of the tie, I went to the dressing room to try on my finds.
The dress without the belt fit perfectly and looked nice, but the belt from the other dress was too small!
I managed to squeeze into the other five dresses. Two were too tight, two did not look right (on me), and the fifth (black/honey beige color block sheath) looked and fit great plus I thought it would go perfectly with new shoes that I had ordered from Shoedazzle (see photo above).
I paid for the dress, exited JCPenney, and headed towards Macy's. Along the way, I encountered the Nine West shoe store.
A couple of weeks ago, Patty and I were exchanging e-mails about shoes (she has even more pairs than I do --- her excuse is that she is cisgender, while I am not). She mentioned that she saw a pair of shoes “to die for” on the Nine West website: red patent leather Mary Janes with a black strap and heel.
Her description alone moved me to want to add those shoes to my collection, so I could not resist visiting the Nine West store to see if they were in stock. They had the nude patent version of the shoe on display, but not the red. The nude version was almost as attractive as the red, so I asked the saleswoman if she had a pair in my size.
She went into the stockroom to look, but came back with a disappointed look on her face and informed me that she had none in my size. Then she added, "But I have these in your size," and she held up the red version of the shoe!
I tried them on and they fit perfectly. Without hesitation, I proceeded to buy the most expensive shoe I ever bought in my life (see photo below). 
Onto Macy's where I was underwhelmed by the selection of dresses for sale. I was so unimpressed that I know I took a couple of dresses to the dressing room to try on, but I cannot recall what they looked like nor whether they fit.
I headed for the exit and as I did, I passed through the women's plus-size department where I saw a drop-dead gorgeous black, white, and sequinced colorblock tunic sweater on display (see photo right). I took a size 0x to the dressing room.
It fit like a glove and as you might expect, just like any other glove, it did not cover the legs.
It was very short; "hits at thigh" according to the online description. It was something I would never wear on the street or in the mall or to outreach. It was definitely a party dress and with the holiday party season approaching, I decided to purchase it.
(I wonder if the dress will go with my new red patent Mary Janes --- maybe if I accessorize with red - maybe a red bag and/or scarf.)
Time was running out, so I left the mall with my purchases and drove a half hour to the college to do outreach.
By the way, I had no problems fitting in at the mall. No one gave me a dirty look, no one laughed at me, no one pointed at me, no one called mall security when I used the woman’s dressing room. A few people did check me out and that was to be expected since I was dressed a little bit better than the average mall shopper.
Every person (male or female) that I talked to was pleasant and helpful. I had an enjoyable conversation with the Nine West saleswoman talking about shoes, purses, and wallets --- she even joked with me about how she read my mind that I was looking for the red Mary Janes.
It was a wonderful morning at the mall.
(to be continued)
