Stopping and Shopping

On Wednesday, my post was another very short one, so I will expand on the day here. 

I dressed to blend rather than bend on Wednesday because I planned to go to Stop & Shop and buy some groceries and makeup. I wore my sleeveless argyle sweater tunic, black leggings, and black Mary-Jane flats.

Stop & Shop was a leisurely ten-minute walk through a residential area of town. On the way, I passed contractors remodeling the outside of a home and one of them made a pass at me, which I ignored, but relished nonetheless.

At Stop & Shop, I bought some bottled water, gluten-free trail mix, and liquid foundation. Both Scarlett Thompson and Hera Navassarian recommended a liquid over the powdered foundation I had been using. (I thought the powder was too dry and they agreed.)

I found the foundation Scarlett recommended (Revlon PhotoReady) and spent some time trying to find a shade that matched my skin color. It was not an easy task because there were no samples and I had to try and match my color to the color of the foundation contained in a thick bottle. But I believe I picked the right shade because I wore it the rest of the week and my skin tone looked the same as when I used the powder.
I am not sure if my attempt to blend worked in Stop & Shop. Most of the people in the store ignored me, but a couple of guys could not take their eyes off of me. Go figure!

I returned to my B&B to leave my purchases, then I walked to Commercial Street, which is the main drag of Provincetown.

None of the morning workshops interested me, so I decided to go to the beach, see the sights and take some photos like the one above.

It was a beautiful day. I enjoyed the walk and worked up my appetite for noon lunch at Napi's Restaurant, another one of my favorite restaurants in P-Town. I sat with a group of girls --- some I knew and some were new --- and we girl-talked our way through lunch. 
    
On tap next was the daily Keynote Address at The Crown & Anchor. I had missed the Monday and Tuesday Keynotes and did not want to miss another especially since Wednesday's Keynote was going to be a video and slide presentation by photographer Mariette Pathy Allen. I have her book Transformations, have seen her presentations before (at Fantasia Fair) and looked forward to seeing more.

I was not disappointed and the time flew by watching her video and slides.

My friend Melissa was doing a workshop at the Boatslip Resort at 3 PM with another girl (Phyllis Randt), who I did not know. Titled "New England Girls Out and About," it was intended to be a roundtable discussion about how easy it was to go out en femme among the civilian population. I participated in the workshop and added my two-cents worth to the discussion.

We were on our own for dinner Wednesday night, so Melissa and I decided to go to Lobster Pot to dine.


After freshening up and changing outfits at my B&B (I wore my new animal print crepe knit dress from ideeli), I met Melissa and we walked to the restaurant.

There was a 15-minute wait for a table, so we went to the bar and met up with other Fantasia Fair attendees. I guess Lobster Pot was the favored choice for the Fair crowd that night because the restaurant was full of girls and boys from the Fair.

Yes. I wrote "boys." This year, transmen were present at the Fair unlike my previous two Fan Fair trips and it was nice to see them there. A few even participated in the Fashion Show later that evening.

We were seated next to a couple, who I assumed were father and daughter. He was a senior citizen and she was middle-aged.

As we sat down, the woman turned to me, complimented me on my outfit and remarked that I was dressed better than she was! I was surprised by her unsolicited compliments and was almost speechless, but managed to thank her.

I had the same thing I had the other time I ate at Lobster Pot: crab cakes with a lobster meat topping. And just like the previous time, the meal was very filling and I could not finish it.

After dinner, we walked to The Crown & Anchor for the Fantasia Fair Fashion Show. Seventeen boys and girls, most of them first time Fantasia Fair attendees, each modeled three outfits, so it turned out to be a long show (three hours plus).

Some of the audience got out of Dodge during intermission, but I stayed to support the models because I recall the time I modeled in the show. It was a dark and stormy night and as a result, attendance was light and I was disappointed that the audience was small for my modeling debut. So my fanny stayed seated to the very end.

Truly Look Like A Woman

My original Tuesday post was longer than the others from last week, but I have a lot to add nonetheless.

Tuesday, I wore my new ponte heart print dress from Julian Taylor (via ideeli) over black tights. Since I planned to do a lot of walking that day, I wore my black Mary-Jane flats and carried my favorite black bag

I returned to the Boatslip Resort to see Scarlett Thompson's workshop titled "The Magic in Your Makeup."

No matter how many makeup workshops I attend, I always come away learning something. My takeaway from Scarlett was a list of relatively inexpensive cosmetics that girls can use to do the job as well as the more expensive department store offerings.

Lunch was nearby at Bayside Betsy's --- one of my favorite restaurants in P-Town. (Bayside Betsy's catered the Monday night BBQ, by the way.) I sat at a table with a girl who I had befriended at Fantasia Fair two years ago: Cossette. Joining us were mostly new girls who I did not know. I struck up a conversation with Elle, who was en homme and we hit it off chatting throughout lunch. Elle is a very tall girl and made me feel petite!

After lunch, Hera Navassardian had her way with me in her Klymaxx Unlimited studio and gave me an image-changing makeover.


Her makeover emphasized my eyes and made them pop and instead of a wig that had "secretary" written all over it, she replaced it with one taht had "sexy" written all over it.

To tell you the truth, I was taken aback by my new look and I am still not sure about it.

Everyone agreed that I looked completely different. When I saw Elle a few hours after my makeover, she had no clue who I was even after spending over an hour chatting with me over lunch.

Most people raved about my new look, but a few people, in particular, old friends said they preferred the secretary. Despite my internal conflict, I stuck with my new look for the remainder of the week.

The Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award Banquet was on tap Tuesday evening, so I dressed appropriately to kill wearing my new JCPenney purple ruffle dress, silver jewelry featuring my silver multi-strand necklace, and black patent peep-toe sling back high (4-inch) heels. I thought that the dress accentuated my figure and I was very happy with the way I looked.

Since the banquet was only a block away at The Crown & Anchor, I walked there wearing my heels. At the banquet, people gushed over me.

One girl proffered the ultimate compliment for a femulator. She said that of all the "girls" at the banquet, I was the only one who truly looked like a woman!


Dinner was served in an odd way, in my humble opinion. There were food stations located around the hall. One station had meat, another seafood, another soup and potatoes, another salads and veggies and still another desserts. The food was very good, but I thought the station concept was very inconvenient especially since we did not know how many stations existed and where they were located. A buffet would have been preferable and a sit-down dinner even more so.

After dinner, Mara Keisling was the well-deserved recipient of the TG Pioneer Award.

I tried socializing after the awards, but the crowd thinned quickly, so Melissa and I hoofed it back to our B&Bs again and were as successful finding a place to drink and chat on Tuesday night as we had been the night before. But I was probably better off getting some rest because I had three full-schedule days ahead of me!

Isn't She Lovely?

I wrote a very very very short post about the rest of Monday at Fantasia Fair that I will expand upon here.

At home, I had removed all the hair from my legs, arms, and breasts, but my back awaited me; the dress I planned to wear Monday night demanded a hairless back.

I tackled the jungle with my Mangroomer. It did a good job clearing out most of the heavy brush, but it was far from hairless and not very feminine.

With my electric razor, I tried to remove the remainder and was successful in the spots I could reach, but there was still some hair in the middle of my back that was unreachable with my razor.

I considered my next move carefully. I had Veet, Nair and a foam paint brush to apply one of the chemical hair removers to my back. The handle of the foam brush made it possible to reach the unreachable, but I hesitated.

In the past, when I applied Veet or Nair immediately after shaving, it burned my skin and was red and sore for days. But what choice did I have? Worst case, I could not wear the dress I planned to wear and my back would be sore for a day or two. So I took a chance and applied Veet all over my back.

After a few minutes, I could feel a slight burning sensation, so I got in the shower and washed off the Veet. I held my breath, but the Goddess of Femulation was on my side! My back was clear of all hair and there were no burns.

I was elated and I began to get dressed to kill for the evening. I wore the ivory floral taffeta party dress with an empire waist and bubble hem that I bought at Torrid in November. I also wore white thigh highs, my ivory floral 4-inch pumps, my white bag, silver jewelry and white shawl. I thought I looked lovely, but I will let you be the judge (see my photo above).

The BBQ was at Boatslip Resort, which was about a half-mile away from my B&B. It was too far to walk in heels and I looked so elegant that I did not want to ruin the look by wearing my black flats, so I splurged. I called a cab, which quickly deposited me in front of the resort where I made my grand entrance!

One friend chided me for overdressing for "a BBQ," but other people voice their approval regarding my appearance and many more complimented me with their eyes. And it was not a traditional BBQ; it was BBQ-style food (delicious, by the way) served as a buffet. Also, we all dined at tables rather than standing and trying to balance a plate of food and a drink, while consuming the same.

After dinner, transman comedian Ian Harvie performed for us. I thought he was amusing and I laughed out loud a few times, but most of the others in attendance thought he was a laugh riot and guffawed uncontrollably. Each to her own.  

After the show, Melissa and I (now in flats) hoofed it back toward our respective B&Bs. Along the way, we looked for venues to stop and have a drink and chat, but Monday night off-season in P-Town is like most towns on Monday night, so I returned to my B&B and fell fast asleep.

Monday, Monday, I Love That Day!

Like Sunday, I previously wrote a short post about Monday at Fantasia Fair.

After a good night's rest (one of the few all week long), I dressed in my new JCPenney fuscia and black color-block sheath and walked one block to The Crown & Anchor for the Orientation Brunch. It was a beautiful day and I did not need outerwear (most of the week was just as nice and I never needed anything more than a sweater or cape).

This was my third Orientation Brunch and there was not much new to be heard that I had not heard before, but it is a must attend event because the majority of attendees show up, so it is a chance to see old friends and make new friends. And since this is the initial meeting for most of the attendees, most girls dress to impress as I did.

I met Femulate reader and frequent commenter, Marian. She was in P-Town for just a half week, but we broke bread with her a few times during her stay and it was always a pleasure.

After the brunch, Melissa accompanied me to my B&B where I changed my booties to black Mary-Jane flats. Then we walked one block to the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum complex to take advantage of the free admission for Fair attendees.

Climbing the 252-foot tower was easy; ramps in place of steps made it so, but at the top, the wind was stiff and I literally held onto my wig because I was afraid it might blow off. Also, with my hair flying in my face, it was difficult to take photos and I was so anxious to get out of there that I was half way down before I realized that the only photos I took up top were of the scenery and none of myself. However, I tried to make up for it back on the ground and Melissa took a bunch of photos of me posing at the base of the tower as can be seen above.

After touring the museum, I returned to my B&B to get ready for Monday night.

Heroes and Friends

During Fantasia Fair, there were so many things to do that I did not have much time to write, so I posted a few words and a "photo of the day" (after all, a picture is worth a thousand words).

I will write more about what happened in Provincetown in this and in the next few posts. I took over 350 photos during Fantasia Fair, so I have a lot to show you, too!

Sunday Redux

Previously, I wrote a short post about Sunday at Fantasia Fair.

At the Welcoming Reception at Saki Restaurant, I encountered Miqqi Gilbert at the bar. Miqqi is the Executive Director of the Fair and one of my trans heroes. She is a professor in York University in Toronto, Canada, and she is out about her transness to one and all. Some days she shows up for her classes en femme and other days, en homme. 

I asked Miqqi to pose for a photo with me. She happily obliged, the bartender manned my camera, and the result accompanies this post.

As I sampled the various Japanese foods served by the waitstaff, my ham radio trans sister Melissa Cross showed up and as it turned out, we hung out together through most of the Fair. She was great company and often served as my photographer whenever I felt the need to pose for yet another photo. (I also did her bidding and gladly took her photo whenever she asked.)

Melissa also convinced me to try sushi. I have tried it in the past and I found that I could take it or leave it. But the sushi at Saki seemed to be more to my liking (or I was very hungry) and I sampled a variety of the sushi that the restaurant offered.

Reviewing my photos from Sunday night, I was surprised how short my skirt looked; a "scandalous hemline" as I wrote last week. But this was Provincetown where almost anything goes and my hemline got even shorter as the week progressed.

Catching Up

I tossed and turned Friday night/Saturday morning and probably got only two hours sleep.

I gave up trying at 6 AM and got up to drive back home.

On the road at 8:30 AM, I arrived home at 12:35 PM. The trip home was uneventful. A light rain the first half of the trip and sunny skies the second half.

After unpacking, I was so tired that I did little the rest of the day.

I watched the Hitchcock-Hedrin film (The Girl) on HBO and regret it. (Hitch is my favorite film director and now I think less of him.)

After watching the film, I went to bed and slept until 8 AM.

Well rested, I will begin describing my Fantasia Fair adventure in my next post.

Fantasia Fair Day 6

Photo by Jill

Every day at Fantasia Fair has been a full day. For example, I left my B&B at 9 AM Friday and did not return until 1:15 AM except to change outfits. As a result, I had no time to write here and barely enough time to post a photo from the day.

I will be on my way home later today. After I get home, I will fill you in with a lot more words and even more photos.

It is now 1:55 AM and I think I will call it a night!

Fantasia Fair Day 5

Photo by Jamie Dailey

Fantasia Fair Day 4

It is late. I am exhausted and going to bed, but here is a photo from earlier this evening.

Photo by Melissa

Fantasia Fair Day 3 or Who's That Girl?

Photo by Melissa

It was cooler today, but sunny and I was happy that the rain ended around daybreak.

I put myself together in record time (45 minutes from nude boy to fully clothed and made-up woman).

Breakfast was coffee, yogurt, and pastry.

After breakfast, I attended a cosmetic workshop performed by Scarlett Thompson. She performed the makeover on my long time friend Sirena, who looked fantastic after the 90-minute session.

An excellent lunch followed at Bayside Betsy's. Good food and good conversation with a table full of five girls and one boy.

After lunch, I had an appointment for a makeover by Hera Navassardian at 1:30 PM. After a very leisurely two-hour makeover session that included chocolates and champagne and a new wig, I looked very different than when I entered the salon.

I was very excited about the new look and hurried back to my B&B to get dressed up to attend the Pioneer Awards Dinner at 6:30 PM (see photo above).

Attending the dinner, I was surprised when nearly everyone I encountered did not recognize me. Old friends and new hesitated when I greeted them because they were not sure who's that girl.

Christopher Morley on Facebook

Famous film femulator Christopher Morley sent me the following Facebook message:

"For all your 'femulate' fans, I now have a Facebook page with many photos and videos for their enjoyment."

Fantasia Fair Day 2 Part 2

I dressed to kill for the Monday evening installment of Fantasia Fair: a delicious BBQ dinner and a very amusing performance by transman comedian Ian Harvey.

Emily took the photo at my B&B before I departed for the evening festivities.

Fantasia Fair Day 2

Melissa took this photo of me resting on the veranda of my B&B after a busy morning at Fantasia Fair.

After attending the orientation brunch (good food and good company), I climbed the 252-foot Pilgrim Monument. The climb was easy, but maintaining my coiffure was very difficult because the wind at the top of the tower was strong and constant.

The view from the top was spectacular, but it was not the clearest of days, so I could not see Boston or Russia!

Fantasia Fair Day 1

The four-hour trip to Provincetown was uneventful and I arrived at The Chicago House at 2 PM. After unloading the contents of my car into my room, I walked to the Fantasia Fair registration site to get my tickets, badge, and goodies bag. I returned to my room to dress in the correct gender.

After dressing in my favorite vintage suit with its scandalous hemline (see above), I walked two blocks to Saki, a Japanese restaurant, which was the venue for the Sunday evening welcoming reception. I met up with a lot of old friends and made some new friends, while dining on sushi and other Japanese delicacies.

The crowd thinned out about 9 PM and I decided to call it quits (I was very tired), so I returned to The Chicago House and here I am typing the last words of this blog post before I go to bed.

Masculine Women, Feminine Men

I finished packing yesterday and loaded the luggage in the Subaru for departure to Provincetown and Fantasia Fair at about 10 AM today. The next blog post you read here will come to you form P-Town.

In the meantime, I leave you with a great video from YouTube: "Masculine Women, Feminine Men."

Who Do You Believe?

For days, I have been checking the Accuweather and National Weather Service websites for the upcoming week’s weather forecasts for Provincetown. One of them must be forecasting the weather for a different planet Earth because their forecasts conflict.

I will assume the worst and pack outerwear for wet and/or cold weather.

That is what I am doing today: packing for my trip to Fantasia Fair and tying up loose ends around the house before I leave Sunday morning.

And thank you all for your well wishes for my trip!

Bringing Bling

With my packing list in hand, I will begin packing for Fantasia Fair this evening.

Most of the packing is easy --- just pack exactly what I have on my list.

Jewelry is more difficult. Let me explain why.

My packing list indicates that I should pack a silver necklace, earrings, and bracelet to go with a particular outfit, but does not specify which silver necklace, earrings, and bracelet. I usually don't remember what jewelry worked with an outfit I wore before and if it is a new outfit, I am not sure what jewelry will work with it.

To complicate matters, I have a lot of jewelry.

As an Avon representative, I can buy with a discount and over the years, I have amassed a lot of Avon jewelry. Also, I bought a lot of Napier jewelry at a big discount when the Napier factory closed here.

Funny story. When they were having their close-out sale, I was visiting the Napier factory store a couple of times a week during lunch hour. The sales staff got to know me and helped me match earrings with bracelets with necklaces, etc.

After one shopping spree, a sales woman commented that my wife was a lucky girl because I was buying so much jewelry for her. Although I did buy some items for my wife, most of it was for me!

So tonight, I will wade through all my jewelry and pick out items to pack.

And here's a tip: I store my jewelry in clear plastic boxes intended for storing fishing lures. They are inexpensive (Walmart sells them in a variety of sizes) and they permit you to instantly see their contents. And if you fill one up, just buy another. (I own 12.)

By the way, I use a huge fishing tackle box to store and transport my makeup. (My parents' hobby was fishing, so I attribute my storage skills to their avocation.)

Let's Meet Up

I may have mentioned that I will be attending Fantasia Fair next week.

My plan is to arrive in Provincetown mid-afternoon Sunday and exit P-Town early Saturday morning. In between, I will attend all the main events and various workshops that interest me.

If you are also attending Fantasia Fair, I hope we will meet up.

You probably know what I look like, but unless we met before, I don't know what you look like, so don't be shy --- please say "Hello" --- I would love to meet you!

See you soon!

More Short Notes on a Busy Week

TJ informed me that photos (like the ones above and below) from the 2012 Southern Comfort Conference (SCC) are now available for viewing here on flickr. The set includes 1301 photos and 13 videos!

Meanwhile, in the When It Rains, It Pours Department, I just received an invitation to attend a "Masquerade Ball" in Hartford on October 19. The only problem is that I will be at Fantasia Fair in Provincetown the night of the ball!

Short Notes on a Busy Week

This will be a busy week as I get ready for next week at Fantasia Fair in Provincetown. In addition to preparations for the trip, I have four work-related projects that I must complete by Thursday, so I will be a very busy girl until then.

Besides planning to have a good time in Provincetown, I also have set another goal. I plan to use a female voice for the entire week. Instead of just trying to get by with my natural soft-spoken voice, I will adjust it a bit to sound more like the woman I am.

As a result of my decision not to go to Atlanta last month, I missed the board meeting of my ham radio group. Since I am secretary of the group, someone volunteered to record the minutes of that board meeting in my absence. That volunteer published the minutes a few days ago and referred to me as "Ms. My-Surname." That was the first time anyone ever referred to me by my surname prefixed with a feminine title and it felt wonderful!