Transgirls just wants to have fun!

Now that my new book, Fantasia Fair Diaries, is done, I would like to have some fun as my favorite time of year (autumn) arrives!

Shopping is always fun for me and with Fantasia Fair less than seven weeks away, I can shop for my trip to Provincetown. I really have just about everything I need. Just have to stock up on hosiery and find a debutante ball gown!

The theme of this year's Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award Banquet is Fantasy Debutante Ball and I haven't a thing to wear! Sure I own a few evening gowns and cocktail dresses, but none of them really qualify as a "debutante ball gown."

A girl can't have enough shoes (at least, this girl "can't") and when I noticed that Nine West was having a BOGO sale earlier this week, I pointed my browser to their website as fast as possible to order the "lavish T-strap pump" that I was drooling over last week. But I was very disappointed ― they were sold out in my size!

I'll keep my fingers crossed and maybe they will restock my size!

(And a tip of my chapeau to Evelyn for sending me the image above.)

Wearing Cynthia Rowley.

Correen Clark in 1996.

Coming Soon is Now!

My new book, Fantasia Fair Diaries, is now available in electronic-book format from the Kindle Store on Amazon; here is the link. In a few days, printed copies of the book will also be available.

Read early and read often!

Fantasia Fair Update

Me and Jan Preparing to Present

It's official or as "official" as it's going to get!

Jan Brown and I will present "Things You Can Do When You're All Dressed Up" Friday morning (Oct. 23, 10-11:30 AM) at Fantasia Fair. Jan's bio is here and my updated bio is here.

Here is the description of our workshop:

"Jan and Stana will share their experiences about getting out into the wide world and exploring things. Both Jan and Stana (of Femulate.org fame) have been out in various places all over the USA. They will talk about their early ventures and will relate to their feelings on the journey. For example, they are vigilant and try to be aware of their surroundings. It helps to go places with others. There are a lot of what-if's along the way. What would you do if you are stopped by the police en route somewhere? What if you recognize someone or someone recognizes you? What would it be like to attend a show on Broadway? Where do I go to the bathroom? This will be an interactive presentation and will include discussion of family situations. Hopefully, we'll all learn new ideas to enjoy our life even more. Please join us!"

Wearing White House Black Market.

Makeup artist Ambrose Aban.

Distracted, Inspired and Jealous

It's lucky for the sake of my job that I work in an engineering environment.

There are 70 employees in the division where I work and 15 are female. Most of the females are either hardware or software engineers or technicians. Most of the time, they dress like the male engineers and technicians ― business casual or more typically, less than business casual slacks and tops.

On the other hand, I am attached to the marketing department reporting to a female manager, who reports to a female director. They typically dress business formal. Their offices are at the opposite end of the building from mine, so I don't run into them that often (and see what they are wearing).

This morning, my boss came to talk to me about an assignment. She was wearing a sleeveles black sheath dress, black heels, nude hosiery, multi-colored scarf and understated jewelry. She looked very classy.

I was immediately distracted, inspired and jealous at the same time.

I want to come to work dressed like her! And I lingered on that thought for awhile instead of doing my job.

Good thing such encounters occur infrequently. If I worked in an office full of women all dressed business formal, I'd never get any work done!

Wearing Rebecca Minkoff.

Actors Aman Verma, Zane Hassan, Arshad Bradyun and Kartik Malhorta
on stage in Sydney, Australia in Butterflies Of The Mughal Garden (2008)

Rhonda’s Favorite Photos (of Rhonda!)

We all love our photos. In a way, I guess we invented the selfie. I remember getting all dressed up very early on and taking photos in the basement when the rest of the family was gone. Yes, mastering the camera self-timer was the first challenge. What worked ― what did not work ― learned in front of that 35mm camera. 

My secret justification for having a darkroom was so I could process and print my own "selfie" portraits. I lived in a very small town and taking the film to the camera shop for developing and printing was not an option. I am really dating myself here ― 35mm film, self-timer, darkroom, developing, and the chemicals. I am sure others remember, too. 

Choosing my favorite photo is difficult. Just this past year I finished scanning all of the old prints to have them sorted, stored and backed-up electronically. Someday I will create Rhonda’s Life ― a coffee table book. Maybe not. 

I have wonderful memories and wonderful photos (of Rhonda) going back to the early 80's, but I tend to like current photos the best. We all seem to be a work-in-progress as our feminine image has advanced and evolved. Less makeup, natural hair, and not the deer-in-the-headlight look. "If we only knew then what we know now." But that is a different post.

So, this past Saturday after getting my hair done and having a wonderful lunch out, I decided my photo album needed an update. It is hard to think "selfie" when you are using a huge Nikon digital camera, on a tripod, with an infrared trigger, two flashes, all electronically connected, with WiFi preview. Darkroom, nowhere to be found. But selfie it is. 

Two hours and 200 photos later (how many rolls of film would that have been?), I did have several new photos for the coffee table book. These are the ones here. Enjoy! 

These were the first complete set I have done since the "Age Reassignment Surgery" I wrote about here last November.  I am still very pleased with the results and sorry I waited so long.  

On another note, Stana has been so wonderful allowing others and I to occasionally post on this site. Her unselfish sharing is a testament to the person she is. We have all learned about the incredible depth of intelligence and beauty in our transgender community. Thank you so much Stana. 

On that note, I would like to announce my own blog, Rhonda's Escape. In my wildest dreams I can only hope to have a small portion of the interest that Femulate garners. I hope to see you there, please visit and feel free to comment. 

Thank you, Stana, for the wonderful site you provide and work it take to keep it going.

Rhonda Williams

Got selfies? My open invitation to post your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo still stands, so don't be shy, send me your fave foto. ― Stana

Wearing Brahmin.

Brother and sister or just sisters.

Busy as a T

It was another busy weekend.

A month ago, I had volunteered to staff my town's historical society's booth at the local country fair on Sunday. Of course, when I volunteered, I did not foresee that my mother-in-law would be in the hospital, so my trips to the hospital had to be worked around my volunteer time at the fair. Any free time was used to work on my book, Fantasia Fair Diaries.

I finished the contents of the book on Friday. Over the weekend, I worked on the book's format. Two are required: one for the printed hard copy and one for the electronic e-book version. 

The print version is done. I just have to tweak the e-book version some more and then I begin the actual publication process. 

I'm so tired!

Wearing Trina Turk.

Allied prisoners of war femulating at Stalag Luft-3 during World War II.

Weekend Reconsidered

My original post was removed by Second Thoughts.

Actor Shawn Pyfrom femulating in a
2007 episode of television's Desperate Housewives.

Are You a Front-Clasper or Back-Clasper?

I admit it: I am a front-clasper.

When I put on my bra, I clasp it in front, then twist it around. But after reading "You Might Be Putting Your Bra On Wrong" on BuzzFeed Life, I will make the transition and strive to become a back-clasper.

Thank you, Diana, for recommending this article for Femulate.

        ∞ ∞ ∞

The mailman just delivered the new issue of Harper's Bazaar, the fall fashion issue. When I saw this tome in my mailbox, I thought it was a new Jameco electronics parts catalog; the page count of this tree-killer is 702 pages!

        ∞ ∞ ∞

My first trans-related book Fantasia Fair Diaries is almost ready to go. I just have to tweak a few more things, then I am done. The September 1st release date looks solid.

        ∞ ∞ ∞

I will be busy at Fantasia Fair this year. In addition to co-hosting the Fashion Show, I will be presenting ― time, date and specifics to be determined, so please standby for an update.

Actor Matthew Sim femulating in the 1988 British film Without A Clue.

Wear Me

As a youngster, I became fascinated with female impersonation when I saw advertisements in the Daily News depicting glamorous women who were actually men performing at a nightclub in New York City.

One thing led to another and around age 12, I was home alone one day when I heard a voice call me. It came from my parent's bedroom ― specifically, the drawer of my mother's bureau where she kept her unmentionables.

Just like the bottle that invited Alice to "drink me" and the cake that invited her to "eat me," opening the drawer, the voice said "wear me." And just like Alice, I accepted the invitation and removed a pair of nylon stockings from the drawer. Then I sat on the edge of the bed, carefully slid the nylons up each leg, stood up and straightened the seams just as I had seen my mother do countless times.

I examined my legs in the full-length mirror, which was mounted on the inside of my mother's closet door. Since I was still hairless, I thought my legs looked nice, but something was not quite right.

With the closet door now open, I noticed the stack of shoe boxes on the closet floor. I removed the lid from the box on the top of stack to reveal a pair of high heel pumps that my mother had recently purchased.

I slipped them on and they were a perfect fit. Then I reexamined my legs in the mirror and discovered that thanks to the high heels, my legs were now shapely; they had become "gams" and looked as good as any pair I had ever seen on a real life high-heeled woman!

Ever since that first experimentation in femulation, high heels have been an indispensable part of my wardrobe. As a result, I own a lot of high heels ― probably in the neighborhood of 100 pairs and I am always on the lookout to add new neighbors.

Nine West just introduced their new arrivals for the fall and the "lavish T-strap pump" pictured above and below is inviting me to "buy me."

Wearing Nine West.

Actor Kevin Rahm (left) femulating in a 2010 episode of television's Desperate Housewives.

Flee from Fall Fashion Failures

Fall fashions are my favorite.

I am not a summer person. I don't like the heat, hate humidity more, and dread summerwear because the clothes of summer are too revealing.

It is not that I mind showing a little skin, but it requires a lot of hair removal. For example, when I wear a skimpy bikini to the beach, it requires hours of depilation.

I prefer autumn. The clothes are less revealing and require less prep in the hair removal department. Also, under the cover of fallwear, women like us can use all sorts of shapewear and tape (surgical and duct) to mold our bodies into more feminine figures.

Although I prefer fall fashions, that does not prevent me from having fall fashion failures.

Don't you hate it when you see a dress on the rack that you like, try it on in the dressing room, conclude that it looks fab on you in the mirror image, pay for it, take it home, wear it out and then see photos of yourself wearing your fab find and discover from the photos that the dress looks awful on you?

Luckily, I found an article on SheKnows that may prevent fashion faux pas this fall. In "How to dress for your body shape," Catherine Conelly writes "Body shape is all about proportion, and fashion is all about dressing those proportions to look their very best... Once you've determined your body shape, you can begin to consider which fashion trends to embrace and which to avoid." And her article tells you how to do it.

Like a lot of transwomen, my body is apple shaped, that is, "fuller on top and in the midsection and slimmer on the bottom." The photos accompanying this post are dresses recommended for the apple-shaped.

I particularly like the DVF dress on the right, but with a $398 price tag, I will shop for something similar.

Wearing JustFab.

Singer/actor Bing Crosby gossips with the other girls in the 1960 film High Time.

Overwhelmed

The Town Crossdresser

As a long-time transwoman, I got used to the anonymity of being trans.

Occasionally a letter would appear in Dear Abby or Ask Ann Landers about being transgender or someone would gain notoriety for being caught crossdressed or a new film would be released that included something transgender-related, but usually the topic of "transgender" and all of its relatives were not on the public's radar.

Then the transgenderquake occurred and its aftershocks are still being felt to this day. In fact, the aftershocks are stronger than the original quake. Now something new transgender-related appears in the media every day.

I don't know about you, but there is so much going on that I cannot keep up with it. Most of it is good, but I am overwhelmed by it all. Some days all I want to do is crawl back into bed, pull the covers over my head and dream about the good old days when I was the only crossdresser in town!

Wearing Jonathan Simkhai.

Poster for the upcoming film The Danish Girl, which
features actor Eddie Redmayne portraying Lili Elbe.