Smile, Smile, Smile

When I started femulating in public, I was afraid that people would recognize me as a crossdresser. As a result, I looked and acted as if I had something to hide; I walked with my head down, looked away quickly if I saw someone looking at me and I avoided encounters with teenagers, with males, with anybody!

People who noticed, might wonder why I was acting as if I had something to hide and when they looked closer, they might figure out why ― because I was a guy crossdressing in public.

I was outing myself!

Once I figured out the error of my ways, I was determined not to out myself again. Since then, I have followed three rules that have helped me achieve that goal:

1.  Act as if you belong, so walk tall and strut your stuff.

2.  Don't look away furtively if other people look at you. Do the opposite: look back at them and disarm them with a smile.

3.  You are a beautiful woman and you should be happy about it, so smile, smile, smile.

(Source: Pinterest)

Ms. Sindi's favorite Halloween costume photo
(Send me a photo of your all-time favorite Halloween femulation and I will post it here, too.)

Part Time

On Monday, Joanna's Musings From My Everyday Life was a breath of fresh air. In that blog post, she refers us to a YouTube video by a twenty- or thirty-something crossdresser who talks about why she chose not to transition and why living as a woman part time is good enough for her. I highly recommend that you go to Joanna's post and follow her link to watch the video.

After viewing the video, I think I was a little hard on myself when I wrote in yesterday's post, "My wife married a man, not a woman, so I pretend I am a man most of the time. I am only a woman when I am not with my wife. Sounds like I am living a lie when I pretend to be a man and I guess I am..."

Wearing Bebe (Source: Bebe)

Nicole wore her favorite costume to a Royal Canadian Legion Halloween party "many moons ago"
(Send me a photo of your all-time favorite Halloween femulation and I will post it here, too.)

Means to an End

In response to my offer to Ask Me Anything, Romney wrote, "How cognizant are you of underclothing, your so-called 'unmentionables,' during the day? Are you constantly aware or are there lapses while you're engaged in activities?"

When I am dressed as a woman, I am seldom cognizant of my unmentionables.

I typically wear a longline bra and a girdle. I like the way that they look on me and I like the shape that they give me, but they are not a turn-on.

Once I put them on, I forget about them unless something causes discomfort, for example, a too-tight bra strap digging into my shoulder. Otherwise, if my unmentionables are doing their job, they become my "invisibles."

Romney also asked, "Are you 'dressed' to some degree each day?"

I am not "dressed" to some degree each day. I only dress when I go out or when I am trying to put together an outfit to wear or when a new garment is delivered and I want to see how it looks and fits. I love wearing women's clothing, but like my unmentionables, they are not a turn on. Rather, they are a means to an end and that end is being a woman.

My wife married a man, not a woman, so I pretend I am a man most of the time. I am only a woman when I am not with my wife. Sounds like I am living a lie when I pretend to be a man and I guess I am, but I am committed to my marriage and so it goes.
 

Wearing Versace

Nancy Ng's Pan Am stewardess Halloween costume was her favorite.
(Send me a photo of your all-time favorite Halloween femulation and I will post it here, too.)

Someday Funnies

Wearing Tory Burch booties (Source: Tory Burch)

Jennifer Tomkins favorite Halloween photo taken in 2010
(Find her on Facebook and flickr)

Calling Halloween Femulators

Andee reminded me that I have not made my annual call for photos of your Halloween femulations, so consider this the "call."

Send me a photo of your favorite Halloween femulation and I will post it here in the blog. Please only send me one Halloween femulation... your all-time favorite. It can be from last year, last week or the last century, but it should be your favorite and please only send me one femulation. Multiple photos of the same femulation are fine, but don't send multiple femulations. Just send me your favorite.

Also, if you wish, write a few words about your favorite Halloween femulation and I will include it with your photo.

The accompanying photo (right) is Andee dressed to the nines to attend the Transgender San Francisco Halloween party circa 2002. Not sure if that is her favorite Halloween femulation, but I have today it is a good one!

By the way, my favorite Halloween costume was the Playboy bunny outfit I put together for Halloween 2004, but my favorite Halloween femulation has to be going to work dressed as an office girl for Halloweens 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Wearing New York & Company (Source: New York & Company)

Damir Kedzo femulates Ariana Grande on Croatian television's version of Your Face Sounds Familiar.

When in Versailles...

Yesterday, I purchased the Kindle edition of A Treasury of Royal Scandals for $1.99. I figured that there had to be a few femulators in the book and sure enough, I hit pay dirt: Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, who was the brother of France's King Louis XIV.

According to the book, Philippe was gay and "was forever dressing like a woman" and "loved putting himself on dazzling display, sashaying his way through the gilded halls of Versailles."

When I read that, I recalled featuring a photo from the French television series Versailles that I featured in the Femulator spot back in October 2016. The photo showed actor Alexander Vlahos in female garb.

At the time, I assumed that Versailles was fiction and the writers included some crossdressing to spicen things up. Little did I know that the actor was portraying an real historical figure, Philippe, Duc d’Orleans.

Live and learn.

Whereas Alexander Vlahos' portrayed Philippe as a tall, thin femulator, the book claims that Philippe was actually "short and pot bellied.”

By the way, the only other femulator I could find in the book was France's King Henri III, but that's another story.

Wearing Cinq A Sept dress and Francesco Russo sandals (Source: Intermix)

Alexander Vlahos (left) portrays Philippe, Duc d’Orleans in the French television series Versailles.

Late Nights

Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Röhm)

Since I stopped working last summer, my body clock has shifted.

When I was working, I was up at 5:30 AM and in bed at 10 PM (unless there was an episode of Law & Order that I had not seen that was on at 10).

After leaving the workforce, I began staying up later and later each night reading and writing, while the television blasted in the background (just in case an episode of Law & Order that I had not seen shows up).

So these days, I am in bed between midnight and 1 AM and up and at 'em at 7 or 8 AM depending on when I went to bed. This schedule serves me well when there is a late Red Sox game on the television, for example, like last night, when the Sox ended the Yankees' season at 11:35 PM. Or when there is an episode of Law & Order that I have not seen.

Getting this post back on track, I decided that Serena Southerlyn (played by Elisabeth Röhm) is the Law & Order Assistant District Attorney I would most like to femulate. So now you know!

Wearing Boston Proper (Source: Boston Proper)

Jim Beudin femulates on the "Sweeps" episode of television's Law & Order.

Bunny Stana

My photo in Monday's post generated a lot of comments and e-mails. Although I have been showing off that photo like forever, it seems that some readers were unfamiliar with Bunny Stana and wanted to know more.

Your wish is my command, so here is a rerun of an old post that tells everything you wanted to know about my Playboy bunny costume.

Dear Stana,

I like your site and check it often. On your flickr picture gallery, there are many pics of you, but I wanted to ask about one where you are dressed in what looks like a black waitress outfit from a Playboy Club. You look absolutely fabulous. It must feel wonderful. I was wondering about it though; where you got it; if it is from a Playboy club?

Regards,

Fred

Hi Fred,

Thank you for the kind words!

Like every boy, I wanted to be a Playboy bunny when I grew up. Didn't happen, but the next best thing was to be a Playboy bunny on Halloween.

Halloween 2004 was my target for joining the girls in Hef's bunny hutch, so I began searching the Internet for bunny costumes.

Occasionally, authentic Playboy bunny costumes turn up on eBay, but they are prohibitively expensive, not to mention that they are never available in Size 16 Tall.

There were a few bunny costumes available on the Halloween costume web sites. All resembled the real Playboy costume in one way or another, but none were authentic enough for me and again, size was an issue.

I am a do-it-yourself kind of girl. In the past, I assembled many Halloween costumes from scratch, so I decided that if I wanted to achieve authenticity, I would have to build my own Playboy bunny costume.

With summer winding down, there were clearance sales galore on swimwear and I found the perfect item for my costume at the Newport-News web site: a black sequins maillot-style swimsuit. I don't recall the size or the price, but when it arrived, it was a perfect fit and I was well on my way building the costume.

I already had shoes that matched: a pair of black patent high heel pumps.

The bunny ears, tail, tuxedo cuffs and collar with bow tie were relatively easy and inexpensive to acquire. Various Halloween costumers sold kits that paired the ears with the tail and the cuffs with the collar. They were so inexpensive that I bought two kits each just in case I had a costume malfunction.

The hardest items to find were the fishnets and rosette name badge.

I owned fishnets, but none that had a fishnet pattern all the way up to the waistband, which is what I needed to cover my legs from toe to hip. One more time, size was an issue, but I finally managed to find a pair online that fit my very long gams.

After visiting a number of craft and party stores, I found a rosette name badge at a local party store. All I had to do was add my own name to the badge, which I did using a font on my computer that approximated the original bunny rosette name badge font.

I had a collection of foundation garments to experiment with in order to achieve a bunny-like figure while keeping the foundation garments out of sight. After considerable experimentation, I went with a corset-style waist cincher to achieve the narrowest waistline and a legless panty girdle to flatten my tummy.

I went bra-less since the swimsuit had a built-in bra. I inserted my largest homemade birdseed falsies in the cups of the swimsuit and used surgical tape to bring my "girls" together to add some cleavage.

Voila! I was a now a Playboy bunny and my costume was a hit at my support group's Halloween party that year.

I am very proud of that costume and I hope I will have the opportunity to wear it again someday real soon now.

Best Wishes,

Stana

Wearing New York & Company (Source: New York & Company)

Jan Cina femulates Madonna on Polish television's version of Your Face Sounds Familiar.

Our Holiday

Bunny Stana

Halloween is coming soon!

Some people call it the "crossdresser's holiday" because it provides a free pass for crossdressers to dress as women and get away with it.

It is also a cause for celebration for many crossdressers if Halloween was their first time out in public en femme.

Halloween 1969 was my first public appearance as a woman. At that point in time, I had been crossdressing frequently (whenever I was home alone) for about five years and my girl was about to explode if she did not get out.

I assembled a costume that would not be too outrageous, that is, I stuck with male undies instead of borrowing my mother's bra and girdle. But I did borrow my sister's purple sheath dress, black mid-heel Mary-Janes, black tights, beige wool cap and brunette wig. I don't recall if I borrowed makeup or bought my own. In either case, after five years of practice, my makeup skills were probably too good, but I did my best anyway.

I was desperate to go out en femme, but I did not have anyplace to go! Halloween parties were not as prevalent as they are today and I was too young to go bar-hopping, so I borrowed my mother's '65 Dodge and visited a few friends and relatives.

The visits were a blur. But I do remember one aunt dubbing me "Stasha" and I recall regretting that no one took my photograph. But I had the time of my life and ever since, I have tried to celebrate the holiday as a crossdresser should.  

This year, I ordered the parts for my Halloween costume and assuming that the sizes and colors are correct when delivered, I will have a cool costume to wear later this month.

Wearing Ann Taylor (Source: Ann Taylor)

Brothers/sisters Max and Charlie Carver femulate The Shining twins for Halloween 2013.
(Thank you, Chrissy for this find.)

Someday Funnies

Wearing Haney dress and Jimmy Choo pumps (Source: Intermix)

Three old white men femulating Republican U.S. Senators.