They might as well

Dressbarn is super supportive of the trans community.

Their sales personnel do not bat an eye when a guy shopping for clothing in their stores wants to use the dressing room to try on what he picked out.

Dressbarn used to close the store and let groups host Very Indulgent Parties (VIPs). Members of the group would model the latest fashions and everyone in attendance could make purchases at a discount. I don’t see that option on their website any longer, but in the past, they were just as comfortable with transwomen VIPs  as they were with genetic women VIPs.

I always feel very comfortable shopping in Dressbarn, whether I am in en femme or en homme. The sales personnel at my local Dressbarn know me in either mode of dress and treat me with respect and in a friendly manner either way. And I am treated that same way in any of their stores even where I am UFO (unidentified femulating object).

So when are they going to drop the other high heel shoe and open a men’s department? Probably maybe never, but they will still get my business.

 

 

 

Professional femulator, Percy Vanderpoel, New York City, 1885.

 

 

 

Gila Golan

Woman Up

I prefer garments that have skirts versus garments that have legs. As a result, my wardrobe weighs heavily with dresses and not so much with pants. I own one pair of dress pants, one pair of capris, two pairs of shorts, and four pairs of leggings.

Real women wear pants more often than skirts or dresses, so it is time to woman up and add more pants to my wardrobe.

I plan to do some shopping real soon now and I already perused the Fashion to Figure website to get an idea of what to look for and try on. They have a cute jumpsuit that might look attractive on me and I definitely want to try on a pair of their faux leather leggings. And I am sure while I am in the store, other items of interest will catch my eye.

A new acquaintance, Jeanine, mentioned that she has been out and about and recently attended a Women's Expo in Duluth. She remarked that she was treated very nicely by several vendors including the Essentia Health Skin Renewal Center, a Mary Kay representative and other nice people she met at the fashion show. (That's Jeanine's photo in the Femulator slot below.)

These women's expos seem to occur regularly in various locations in my neck of the woods and I have often considered attending. I was wondering if any other Femulate readers have attended such expos and if so, what was your experience (good and/or bad).

Do tell!

 

 

 

Jeanine Williams attending the 2014 Choice Unlimited Arts Masquerade Party in Duluth.

 

 

 

Wearing Madeleine.

Slots of Fun!

Yesterday's post was short. After I returned home from the casino, I went to bed early without writing much about my day (other than mentioning my big win) because I had a nasty stomach ache. I don't know if it was something I ate or an illness, but I felt very sick and my stomach is still not 100% as I start writing this 24 hours later.

Pat asked what I wore to the casino and I replied to her comment with "I wore black leggings, white sweater, black pumps, and black bag. I have no photos --- did not bring my camera and my iPhone was not cooperative."

I did take a few selfies with my iPhone, but erased them by mistake. The only photo that survived was the slot machine photo that I took with the Camera app, whereas I took the selfies with the Selfie app, which I am a novice at using.

I arrived at the casino around 9:30 AM and the place was very quiet, but it filled up as buses deposited 2,500 senior citizens at the casino doors in the late morning just about the time my luck changed for the better.

It has gotten to the point that I am not as aware of the public I pass through as I have been in the past. In that not too distant past, I was noticed everyone around me to see how they reacted.

It turns out that very few people react to me because, I assume they don't notice me. I am invisible, more or less, just like other middle-aged women.

A small minority of men and women check me out, but I don't know why because no one ever confronts me. So why should I waste my time worrying about others? Instead, I just try to enjoy myself because after all, girls just want to have fun!  

 

 

 

Peter Lappin of Male Pattern Boldness fame femulating
as his cousin Cathy Lane on the streets of New York City.

 

 

 

Wearing Willow & Clay.

1600 Quarters

The above photo depicts a rare sight – a slot machine paying a jackpot!

I went to the casino yesterday to play slots and during the first two hours, I was not doing well --- not losing a lot, but definitely winning less than I was losing.

I was ready to pack it in, but decided to try my luck at the older casino at the other end of the shopping mall that connects the old and new casinos at Mohegan Sun.

Right off the bat, I started doing well at this two quarter machine and then it happened --- the three double diamond ovals rolled into place and I hit the jackpot, which is the top prize that the slot machine offers. My two quarter bet returned 1600 quarters!

I have been playing slots for years and usually do well, but I have never hit a jackpot until yesterday!

And so it goes.

 

 

 

Actor Neil Patrick Harris femulating on the Broadway in Hedwig and the Angry Itch Inch, 2014.

 

 

 

Wearing Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Survey

Victor Zhu, MSIII, is working with the Yale University Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and, in collaboration with the Yale University transgender community, they have designed a research survey to better understand and meet the needs of the transgender community.  

If you would please complete the survey found at this link,  it would greatly facilitate their research. The responses they receive will go a long way in providing better quality of healthcare for transgender patients.  

Feel free to contact Victor Zhu with any questions.

 

 

 

Professional femulator Lee Shaw, circa 1960.

 

 

 

Wearing Le Redoute.

Go West

One month from today, I will hit the road and head west to Dayton, Ohio, to attend Hamvention, the biggest ham radio show this side of the Arctic Circle.

I attend most years and this year will be no exception. And like most years, I will be staffing the TAPR suite of booths (numbers 451 through 454) Friday and Saturday.

If you are going to the convention, stop by and say “Hello!”

By the way, I will travel to/from Dayton and attend the convention en femme.

 

 

 

Actor Alex Newell (center) femulating on television’s Glee, 2012.

 

 

 

Wearing Daily Look.

Before and After

The staff at Girls “R” Us is thrilled with the results of their latest transformation!

 

 

 

Femulating in the 1920s.

 

 

 

Wearing Fashion to Figure.

My Kind of Birthday Party

“Private Birthday Party is a private collection of found photographic slides that depict Kansas City’s early drag ball culture throughout the 1950s and 1960s. With over 200 images, this collection is a rare, important look into the rich history of mid-century drag ball culture in middle America.”

You can view a sample of the collection here and read a Cut article and interview about the collection here. Thank you Aunty Marlena for the links!

The photo above is very telling. Which femulator passes best? The three girls in glamorous attire or the girl in street clothes?

 

 

 

A Kansas City femulator and her friend in 1964 (from the Private Birthday Party collection).

 

 

 

Wearing Spense.

UConn’t Sleep

I am a UConn graduate, Class of ‘73, and the past few days have been very exciting. It's not often that a school wins NCAA championships two days in a row! Go Huskies!

But there is a dark side; I am sleep-deprived.

The late games kept me up past my normal bed time. And there is no catching up because I still have to get up at 5:30 AM to feed the cats and get ready for work. I have been very tired the last few days and I look like something the cat dragged in due to the loss of beauty sleep.

I am in awe of people who can party all night, get little or no sleep and still look great in the morning. I see that phenomena occur whenever I attend conventions or Fantasia Fair. Most people are like me --- we suffer when we don't get enough sleep, but there are a few people who can get away with it.

Maybe it is similar to how some people can eat and drink everything in sight and not gain a pound, whereas I have to be very careful about my diet in order to maintain my girlish figure.

Go figure.

They say, "You can never catch up on lost sleep." But I'd like to try.

 

 

 

A proud mother and her trophy-winning femulating son at a vogue ball, circa 1985.

 

 

 

Wearing Hayden.

My Sin

How often have you heard older transwomen say that they wished they were growing up today? I have said it many times myself.

Actually, I enjoyed growing up when I did. The only reason for wishing I grew up today is that there is a huge body of accessible knowledge about transgender folks that did not exist when I was young. Back then, all I had to go by was one sentence in our family's encyclopedia that mentioned transvestism.

I had no idea why I crossdressed. All I knew was that I liked it, but was ashamed of it and told no one about it. My shame and guilt convinced me that what I was doing was very wrong and that I would go straight to Hell (do not pass go) when I died. So I made up my mind to confess my big "sin" the next time I went to confession.

Since I went to a Catholic high school, that opportunity presented itself quite regularly. So the next time our class marched to church for confession, I will never forget how nervous I was. But I had made up my mind and when I entered the confessional I was read to spill the beans to be absolved and never crossdress again.

I quickly confessed my venial sins, but I just could not confess my big one. After I hemmed and hawed for awhile, the priest figured out that something was up. He said that if I had a sin that I was too embarrassed to confess that all I had to do was admit to that fact and he would absolve me.

What a deal!  He was offering me a free pass! But I was so embarrassed that I did not take him up on his offer and I left the confessional with my big sin still weighing me down.

 

 

 

Actors Richard Deacon and Adam West femulating
in the 1980 film The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood.

 

 

 

Wearing Basix.

Starla's School Stars

I had not heard from Starla since last year and I figured that the well had run dry — that there were no more student femulations to be dredged up from the online high school yearbooks. So it was a surprise to receive an e-mail from Starla over the weekend with 106 new photos attached.

Hands down, Miss Todd Matlock (pictured right) wins the Most Likely to Still Be Femulating Today Award from this latest batch of photos, which are now posted on flickr.

You may view the new photos in two ways:

Method 1: Open one of the Yearbooks sets (A through Z) and you will find the newest uploads at the end/bottom of the set. (The oldest uploads appear at the beginning/top of the set.)

Method 2: Open this photostream and you will find the newest uploads at the top of page 1. The uploads get older as the page numbers get higher with the oldest uploads on the last page.

By the way, the contents of the Yearbook A through Z sets are organized according to school name, for example, the photos from Sacred Heart High School would be in the Yearbooks S set.

Two femulators out and about in 1978.

Wearing Madeleine.