In the Nude

"The only time I feel confident 'in the nude' is when I am fully clothed and wearing my nude patent leather pumps," so says Abby Walker in her weekly article for Insolia insole inserts.

I have been a long time fan of Insolia inserts and almost as long, a fan of nude high heel pumps.

Jen sold me on the insoles at a banquet I attended in 2012. I bought a set and slipped them into the next pair of high heels I planned to wear.

Insolia inserts are different from other inserts I have tried (and discarded). Instead of adding padding to the shoe, which is basically what those other shoe inserts do, "Insolia Inserts shift weight off of the ball of the foot back to the heel by placing the foot in the optimal position for high heels."

As a result, high heels are comfortable longer than they would be sans the inserts. They really work and since that time, I automatically buy a new pair of Insolia inserts whenever I buy a new pair of high heels.

And about two years ago, I learned about the advantages of nude shoes from my fashionista reading. I won't steal Abby's thunder - you can read her thoughts about nude colored heels here - but I agree wholeheartedly with her take on the topic and have stocked up on nude heels in a variety of styles.

Nude high heel pumps have become my go-to shoe.

Wearing Gerard-Darel top and Halston Heritage skirt.

Femulating in Paris circa 1960.

Weekend Update

Thank you for signing the Change.org petition to help transgender Facebook users get their identities back. Thanks to you, the petition was a success and will be submitted to Facebook real soon now.

Check this out: 101 Beauty Mistakes You're Probably Making from DailyMakeover. Nobody’s perfect, although I’m trying, and there is probably a few mistakes that each of us can correct.

This coming week, I will be on vacation and be busy putting the finishing touches on my new book, Fantasia Fair Diaries; so I may not have a new blog post each and every day.

And so it goes.

Wearing Sandra Darren.

Peter Sellers femulating in the 1959 British film The Mouse That Roared.

Coming Very Soon!

My new book!

Fantasia Fair Diaries will be available as a printed trade paperback and as an electronic book (e-book). The tentative publication date of my book is September 1.

Wearing Young Fabulous & Broke. 

They enjoy being girls!

Help Us Get Our Identities Back!

A glance at any list in Facebook will easily reveal many obviously made-up names. So why are only some people losing their accounts? Because Facebook uses their reporting system to identify accounts that users think are fake. Why would a user report a fake name account? One is that they are a troll. They hate people with opposing views and want a chance to find and harass them in real life.

Another is that they are a transphobes. 

By using pictures, posts and memberships in trans-related groups, transphobes have identified and had suspended hundreds, maybe thousands of accounts of people who self-identify as trans. This is embarrassing, humiliating and potentially dangerous for those closeted, part-timers and others requiring a level of privacy from those who wish to do them harm.

Corrine is one such person. It has been two months since she was forced to use her "dead name" account on Facebook. This is more than an inconvenience. This has caused untold misery in the face of her courageous journey of transition.

Facebook has made itself indispensable in terms of contacts with friends, contacts with support networks, including professional services. For those who are disabled or otherwise socially isolated, it has become a lifeline. Leaving Facebook is inconceivable for the many, who have experienced the benefits of social-networking, and have found that nothing right now can replace it, at least not for average people without resources like Caitlyn or Janet or Kristin or Jazz.

So why does Zuckerberg insist on continuing a policy that not only empowers trolls but strips victims of their privacy and protections? 

Does he not recognize that only certain groups of people are being targeted for account suspension? Of course he does, and he's good with it too.

We are fighting back and right now, we have nearly 1800 others who have signed our petition to fight back. Can you please sign our petition and share it wherever you can? 

Thank you, 

Corrine and Michelle (and Stana)

Wearing BB Dakota.

Actor/comedian Paul Lynde femulating in the 1966 film Glass Bottom Boat.

Happy Birthday to the Sprouse Twins

The Sprouse boys are 23 today! That's Cole (left) in the film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things and Dylan (right) in television's The Suite Life of Zach and Cody.

Wearing Rachel Zoe.

 Matthew Knight and Atticus Mitchell femulate
in television's My Babysitter's A Vampire (2011).

Long Weekend

Bandy and Me, Provincetown 2014

My weekend started mid-morning Friday when I received a phone call at work informing me that my 95-year-old mother-in-law was hospitalized after being found "unresponsive" in bed at the retirement home where she had been living.

We assumed this was her end and began making plans for a funeral as we drove to the hospital where we spent the day at her bedside.

According to the hospital staff, she had pneumonia and maybe a heart attack.

We returned to the hospital Saturday and found a new woman. She did have pneumonia, but did not have a heart attack and was recovering nicely from the meds and treatments she received at the hospital. And we were relieved that there would not be a funeral.

Spending time at her bedside, we did not accomplish much this weekend. I did find time to reserve a room at Chicago House in Provincetown for Fantasia Fair in October. I did not want to get shut-out room-wise if I decide to go, so I figured the sooner, the better that I reserve a room.

I am holding off registering for the event itself until I get a better feeling for my wife's health status. I probably can do a half-week, maybe more, but I will wait and see.

Wearing Ann Taylor.

Actor Pyotr Krasilov (third from right) femulating in
Russian television's All Mixed in the House (2006).

Fall

Dave Foley femulates for the Halloween
office party on television's NewsRadio.

We are on the brink of August, which means we are on the brink of autumn, my favorite season.

Some of you are thinking, "She's crazy! Summer is only half over... there are over six weeks before fall arrives."

By the calendar, that is true, but in my neck of the woods on the top of a 1000-foot hill in Southern New England, the summer weather lasts about eight weeks tops and the autumn weather shows up in late August (there is a tree across the street that begins changing colors in about two weeks).

I do not enjoy hot summer weather. When the thermometer is in the neighborhood of 90 degrees, I glisten profusely due to the wig, makeup, shapewear, etc. Sure, I could wear my bikini when the weather heats up, but summer will be over by the time I get rid of all the hair that fashion statement requires. So autumn is for me.

As fall approaches, my thoughts turn to Fantasia Fair. I have attended four times, always have a great time and would love to see the friends I have made at past Fairs, but due to family health issues, I cannot get away for a week, However, a half-week might be doable... I will have to make up my mind soon if I want to get a room at the inn.

Autumn also means that Halloween is on its way. In fact, it is three months from today, but falls on a Saturday this year.

Going to work en femme on Halloween has become an annual event, but since I don't work on Saturdays, I will have to go to work en femme on the Friday before Halloween. Since Fridays are casual dress days at my workplace, skinny jeans or leggings might be more appropriate than a skirt or dress, but I have plenty of time to decide.

Wearing DressBarn.

Seth Atwell, male model of womenswear.

Treasure Hunt

Frequent on-screen femulator John Ritter
in a 1977 episode of The Love Boat.

Writing this blog is not all there is to writing this blog.

Daily, I search the usual suspect websites for new trans-related stuff that I can use here. That search includes looking for new images to fill the Femulator slot down below.

New femulation images are plentiful. Seems like every guy in the world who has a craving to be girly is giving into those urges and dressing en femme. And they take selfies of the event for posterity and post them on the Internet for little old me to grab.

Old femulation images are not so plentiful, but I do manage to find a new old nugget here and there.

What surprises me is uncovering old femulation images from the movies. By now, I thought I had unearthed every femulation that has ever been recorded on film, but then a new one shows up and I know my work is not done.

For example, today's Femulator image is one I found a few days ago. In this case, the femulator is actor Jack Haley, who is famous for playing the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.

I don't know about you, but I always found Mr. Haley to look and act effeminate (not that there is anything wrong with that) and I am a little surprised that there are not more occasions en film of Mr. Haley en femme.

Which brings up another thought... What's up with males who appear frequently in roles en femme?

My take is that they are femulators off the screen, too. I know if I was in that spot, I would accept every role that allowed me to be dressed up and made up by the best talent Hollywood. But that's just me.

Wearing Brahmin.

Actor Jack Haley (right) femulating on film in George White's Scandals of 1945. 

My Dream Job

A reader wrote recently, "Something of interest: just came off a big construction job where the project manager, superintendent and all the assistants were women. Times, they are a changing."

I responded, "The times have changed. When I started working back in the late 1970's, women were rare in my profession. Fast-forward 35 years and today my boss is a woman and her boss is a woman and they both are OK about me working as a woman... if only my wife was as agreeable!!!"

Wouldn't it be nice if my bosses issued a new dress code?

In order to promote equality and fairness and maintain a professional image, the dress code will be the same for men and women, i.e., all employees must wear female attire.

I'd come home after work, break the news to my wife and be delighted to dress in office girl drag for the rest of my working days!

Which reminds me of a story I found on Fictionmania years ago that describes a similar scenario. Titled "A Welcome Transformation" and written by Wendy H, it is one of my favorites and I think you might enjoy it, too.


Smile Pretty When You Dress Pretty

Yesterday, Daily Makeover had "25 Ways to be More Photogenic." It is a worthwhile read for girls like us who never saw a camera we didn't like!


Jerry Van Dyke Fans

Femulate had over 8500 page views (hits) on Monday, which is almost twice the number of hits the blog usually gets. I guess there are a lot of Jerry Van Dyke fans out there!

Wearing Tory Burch.

Actor Amaury Nolasco's office femulation in television's Work It!

Happy Birthday, Jacqueline Kennedy

Today is Jacqueline Kennedy's birthday. She died young ― 64 years old (my current age ― yikes!)

All the girls and boys like me wanted to be Jackie when we grew up. She was my first female idol.

I remember that she caused a sensation wearing miniskirts. Before her, only teenagers and 20-somethings wore miniskirts; she was one of the first prominent mature women to wear mini's. That made it OK for all mature women to wear above-the-knee hemlines and I thank her for that!

Call for Cover Girls

Monica asked that I post this here, so here it is:

Hi All,

This is a call out for photos (a montage of photos to go on the cover of my new book ― Me! The gift of being Transgender). I want to cover the front of the book with photos of T's and TG allies. Unless you specifically ask for your name to be on there, it will all be anonymous. 

The idea of the book is that all people should be treated equally TGs and non-TGs. We do not need the kind of artificial division which has arisen. We are all people an entitled to our own journey. These photos need to be 300 dpi so that I can size them correctly. 

Please send to my e-mail: monica.mulholland @ gmail.com.

Erratic

You may have noticed that things have been a little erratic here lately.

I do not want to go into details... suffice to say that a family member is very ill and that has consumed a lot of our time lately ("our" as in family and I).

So if I am late publishing blog posts, publishing short blog posts, publishing rerun blog posts, publishing no blog posts, or slow and/or short when answering your e-mails, please understand.

Wearing 3.1 Phillip Lim top and Blaque Label culottes.

Rocker Pete Burns circa 2010