Sew What?

By Paula Gaikowski

If you’re a reader of my Femulate articles, you may remember that my Mom and Aunt were both accomplished seamstresses. Both went to a technical high school for dressmaking and worked for various 7th Ave fashion houses in Manhattan during the 40’s.

I’ll digress from my main point to swoon a bit over the fashion and glamour of the 1940’s. The debut of nylon stockings, tailored skirt suits, A-line dresses, peep-toe pumps, high-waisted slacks and red lipstick. (sigh)

Okay. Sorry, I’m back. My parents withdrew to the suburbs and my Mom went to work in a factory. However, she never gave up her dressmaking and our basement became her sewing room. She made all of her and my sister’s dresses and until I entered my teens, she made me shorts in summer out of leftover materiel. Some of these shorts had a less than masculine print. These didn’t play well in the neighborhood and just confirmed the feeling deep down that I should have been a girl.

The sewing room was a tornado of gowns, dresses, piles of materiel and closets filled with previous creations. I wasn’t athletic and happily gave up my baseball glove to play fashion model in front of the three-sided mirror.

Often losing track of time, when shortly after five my Dad would rumbled through the back door. I could change out of a full-length gown complete with foundation garments, hose and heels, into jeans and t-shirt in about 60 seconds. If that had been a track and field event, I surely would have been All-American!

With his brow furled, my father would ask suspiciously, “What are you doing down there?”

My stock answer, “Playing ping-pong.”

So where am I going with all this? This sounds like the lead in to a Sandy Thomas novelette. It’s not, although my Mom did coax into wearing some of the gowns she made, while she hemmed or fitted them. However, that happened only a handful of times and it wasn’t very exciting. By the way, as you may have guessed, didn’t take a lot of coaxing.

What I did learn was how to run a sewing machine. I could sew zippers, buttons, buttonholes and hems. My Mom would put me to work during the spring season when she would make dresses for bridesmaids and proms. At 25 cents per button and buttonhole and $1 for zippers and hems, I was happy in more way than one way.

It didn’t take me long to put my new skills to work for myself. All the girls in my 8th grade class were wearing these above the knee mini dresses with either black or white fishnet stockings. I decided to make my own and went to work after school in the basement, cutting the pattern, sewing the facing and darts, then the zipper and finally the hem. A simple black shift, I wore it with pride and spent hours after school wearing it around the empty house.

Years later, I would save the day at my wife’s college roommate’s wedding. The bridesmaid dresses were all homemade. The night before the wedding, one of the other bridesmaids could not fit into her dress.

Panic ensued and the search for a seamstress or another dress began. Another dress similar in style and similar in color was found, it was expensive, and not quite matching.

I stepped forward and with nothing to lose, three skeptical women surrendered the aqua, satin, A-line to my supposed dressmaking skills. Making my mother proud, I tore out the seams to muffled gasps then re-stitched them gaining a ½ inch on both sides.

Soon after, happy laughter from the other room confirmed that the dressed zipped up with room to spare. Everyone was thrilled and the bride thanked me for saving the day.

There was a flurry of questions about how, when and where I learned to do this and one the girls declared, “When I get married, I want you as one of my bridesmaids.”

Later at the reception, with the wine flowing freely, the same bridesmaid continued to gush about the dress, “I never knew a man who knew so much about dresses, she laughed nervously. Maybe there’s a girl trapped inside of you?”

Maybe?

Wearing Boston Proper

Linus Rosenauer, model

Someday Funnies

Wearing Venus

A trio of femulators line up on television’s America’s Next Top Model (2013)

"Too Pooped to Polka"

That’s what I say when I am exhausted!

According to the Health app on my iPhone, I walked 5.1 miles on Wednesday and Thursday, but I got nowhere fast.

Hurricane Isaias blew through here Tuesday and left a big mess here at Femulate Headquarters. No trees came down, but lots of branches did – a few to the tune of more than 20-feet in length.

I am lucky because I can conveniently dispose of the fallen by dragging it across the street into the vast forest that is my neighbor. But it took me a day and half to move it all that 5.1 miles.

We were also lucky in that we only lost power briefly when the power company turned off the juice to  repair a downed line up around the bend.

It all prevented me from answering emails and updating the blog, but with all the trees surrounding HQ, it could have been worse.

Locally, the weather pundits claim that Hurricane Isaias was worse than Hurricane Sandy and I have to agree.

Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast the day before Halloween 2012, which was the first of my five-in-a-row appearances at work en femme, but and it almost did not happen. When we lost power the evening before, I shelved my plans to go to work en femme because of the issues that a lack of electricity can cause. For example, how could I make up my face in the dark?

Needless to say, I was very disappointed, but shortly before bedtime, power was restored and I realized that I could do it after all. And it turned out to be my best Halloween en femme at work experience because no one was expecting it!

Wearing Boston Proper

Covington County (Mississippi) Hospital womanless beauty pageant contestant 

Being Tall

I am over six feet tall, so when I femulate, I am a tall woman.

About the time I started femulating in my early teens, I became interested in tall women because they affirmed my existence as a tall woman, i.e., I was not the only tall woman out and about in society. Few were as tall as me, but maybe there were enough out there so that I could blend in more easily as just another tall woman.

In the past, tall women tried to blend in with their shorter sisters, so they dressed down (pun intended); instead of celebrating their height, they tried to hide it (to appear less intimidating to men).

Also, tall women did not have a lot to choose from clothing-wise. Few clothiers catered to tall women, so tall women had to make do with what was available, which typically did not celebrate tall women's height.

Today, tall women are out and proud and celebrate their height. They have more clothing to choose from now that more clothiers recognize their potential as customers. They no longer dress down to hide their height. They wear high heels and leg baring skirts and dresses. They don't care if they are intimidating. They've come a long way!

It is a great time to be a tall woman, or a tall femulator.

In celebration of tall females, I created Famous Females of Height, which is a list of tall females of notoriety that I update as I discover additional famous females of height.

In case you just tuned in, you may wonder how my Famous Females of Height list relates to the topic of this blog. The purpose of my Famous Females of Height list is to show that there really are a lot of tall genetic women out there and therefore, height should not be a deterrent to femulators going out en femme.

I just updated the list with the new tall ladies that I encountered, as well as those provided by my regular tall list contributor, Peaches. If you are aware of any tall females of note that are not on the list, please send them along and I will add them.

Enjoy!

Wearing Venus

Ladylike gents, circa 1962

Yesterday and Today

By Paula Gaikowski

Carollyn Olson’s recent article about our continued evolution brought back so many memories of what the world was like back in the pre-Internet and in the early days of the Internet.

With the Internet came a barrage of information where before there was none. Prior to that we got our fellowship from support groups that needed to be run with upmost secrecy. Publications were seedy at best.

Then came the Internet.

I too remember Vicki Rene’s website. But my go-to website was Susana Marques TV/CD/TS/TG Directory where I found others like me – not one or two, but thousands! I found a community and would spend hours there during my evening tech support shift combing through the websites, learning the stories of others, then e-mailing them and making friends – some I still have today.

I remember on one website where a fashionable and confident girl ventured out to shops and restaurants. Wow! Could I do that someday? It took a while, but yes I did.

The scanned photos on the Susana's site that are left look so dated and vintage. Our world was very cloistered and small, limited to support groups and transgender conventions. I compare that to young people today, who are transitioning in high school. I thought this was rare, however, my friend who is in education tells me most elementary and high schools have at least one transgender student in transition. Compare that to having to meet secretly back in the 80’s.

I am so proud when I see so many young transgender persons able to come out. Many young crossdressers have girlfriends who are accepting. Most have friends they confide in and are accepted by. It’s gotten better but there is still more to be done as younger transgender persons still struggle with unaccepting parents, access to counseling, medical care and social stigma.

I invite you to take a like at the new class coming up, compare our stories and pictures with the 20-somethings of today. The social news aggregation site Reddit has scores of Subreddits dedicated to transgender persons.

Here are a few I recommend: First, Crossdressing, which is a place for crossdressers to share photos, ask questions and provide support. What impressed me most is the sheer number, the courage and confidence, the awesome make-up, fashion and just plain ol' pretty girls. So much better than I could do at that age.

Next is an interesting sub dedicated to passing called Transpassing Yes, passing as a woman. The word “passing” can easily start an argument amongst us girls, however, this generation didn’t get that memo and have thousands of transitioning persons who want advice and feedback on their looks. Once again, there is a huge number of young people transitioning and how pretty they all look.

Finally, one for the more evolved girls who tend to frequent Femulate, a sub called TransLater that is dedicated to older transgender persons.

I thought a look back was worth the time. I hope you enjoyed the memories and remember that we have much more to look forward to.

Some may say “I wish I could do it over.” You can start right now.

Wearing Alexis

This is a snapshot from a music video for the song titled Insight by Brazilian singer Luiza Possi. The video has been around for a few years, but I just recently discovered it and fell in love with it. I think you will like it, too.

What’s up, Doc?

Bugs Bunny was not my favorite Warner Brothers cartoon character. Daffy Duck was my fave, but Bugs holds a special place in the hearts and minds of femulators because he appeared en femme on more than one occasion.

Bugs turned 80 this year and in honor of his big birthday, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a set of stamps last week featuring ten images of Bugs with two of those images depicting Bugs in drag! How mainstream is that?

One stamps shows Bugs as a female mermaid, dolled up in a blonde wig and red lipstick, sprawled on a rock looking alluring, like a siren of Greek folklore. The look is based on the 1944 animated short film Hare Ribbin’ that was part of the Merrie Melodies series.

The other stamp depicts Bugs striking a seductive pose dressed as a mythical goddess sporting a sizeable bust, blonde braided tresses and a gold-winged headpiece. It is inspired by the 1957 animated short What's Opera, Doc? where Bugs plays Brunnhilde from Richard Wagner's opera Siegfried.

Bugs Bunny is the first femulation to appear on a USA stamp, but Milton Berle came close to breaking the crossdressing barrier in 2009 when the USPS issued a pane of stamps commemorating early TV (television, not transvestite) memories. The first stamp in the pane honored Texaco Star Theater and depicted the star of the show, Milton Berle.

The stamp showed Uncle Miltie en homme, but he did appear en femme in the selvage above the stamps (see image right). The USPS should have used his en femme image on the stamp, but that's just my opinion.

That’s all, folks!

Source: ShopBazaar 

Miss Daffy Duck, stewardess

Someday Funnies

Wearing Bebe

Femulating at the Atlanta Cotillion Ball

The Eyes Have It

Sally Stone has kindly written a series of articles about makeup and makeup application that is specifically targeted for girls like us. The fifth installment of her series looks at our eyes.

By Sally Stone

File ID 90869742 | © Puhhha | Dreamstime.com

Eyes are hard, especially for girls like us. The other problem with eyes: they come in all shapes with all kinds of special makeup needs, so a single set of techniques isn’t going to work for all. With this in mind, it is probably more helpful if I focus on tips that help feminize the eyes and make them look larger.

My first recommendation: don’t waste too much time putting eye makeup on an area where all your hard work is going to be invisible. One example is the eyelid. I have hooded eyes, which almost completely hide my eyelids when my eyes are open. Unless I’m asleep, no one is going to see any of the eye makeup I put there. Consequently, I will often only put foundation on my eyelids leaving colorful eyeshadow for parts of my eye that are more visible.

Enhance your eyes by making them appear larger. You can accomplish this in a couple of different ways. The first is actually a basic grooming task and that is, shaping the eyebrows. A feminine arch to the brow not only helps the eye look bigger, it also helps feminize it. If you aren’t brave enough to truly feminize your eyebrows, at least groom them so they are trim and neat.

Avoid applying eyeliner on the upper lash line. It looks great on girls with naturally large eyes, but not so good on the rest of us. However, applying eyeliner and a little eyeshadow under the lower lash tends to open the eye up. You can also brighten the waterline (that area between your eyeball and the inside of the lower lash) with a white eyeliner pencil to make your eyes look bigger. Just be very careful with that sharp pencil so close to the eye.

If you want to add color to your eyes, I suggest doing the crease with a dark shade of eyeshadow, then apply a lighter shade just above the crease. With the lighter shade, follow the outside circumference of the eyelid down to the outside corner of the eye and then underneath the lower lash to a point approximately a third of the way. When finished, the crease will be dark with the outside half of the eye more brightly shaded. Be sure to blend the crease color and your chosen light color so that it’s impossible to tell where one color ends and the other begins.

I recommend only applying eyeshadow to the outside half of the eye, because, applying shadow to the inside half can actually make the eye look smaller. You’ll have to experiment with shading to determine which colors complement each another and which shades complement your skin tone.

To ensure the colored shadow you applied to the outside of the eye stands out, it is probably best to avoid applying any additional product on the area between the eye crease and the brow. I find that my eyes stand out more prominently if I leave this area natural.

If your eyebrows possess a feminine arch you can get away with applying some highlighter just below the outside half of the brow. If your brows are not arched, applying highlighter can actually accentuate a brow ridge, so be cautious. If you do have a more pronounced brow ridge, I would recommend applying a dark contour to it when you are contouring the rest of the face instead of trying to deal with it using eye makeup.

Finally, comes mascara. Apply three light coats allowing each coat dry before putting on the next. With each coating, take the time to lift and separate the lashes using a mascara comb. Building lash coverage is more effective and looks way more natural than clumping it on in one heavy coat and it is nearly impossible to separate the lashes if the comb is heavily laden with mascara.

And that’s it, ladies. As I stated in the beginning of this article, it may take some trial and error to find a set of makeup techniques that work for your particular eyes. Just keep in mind, that your main objectives should always be to feminize the eyes and make them appear larger than they really are. The basic techniques I have outlined, are the ones I have found to be most effective. It is my sincere hope they work just as well for you.

Wearing New York & Company

Chic gents attending Tuntenball

Setting Makeup

Sally Stone has kindly written a series of articles about makeup and makeup application that is specifically targeted for girls like us. The fourth installment of her series talks about setting your makeup after applying it.

By Sally Stone

If you don’t set your makeup or don’t do it properly, all of that hard work isn’t going to last. Setting makeup is important because it keeps that painted-on face from moving around or running off. Think about it: you are applying makeup to warm skin. Body heat alone is enough to ruin a good makeup job if it isn’t properly set. Effective setting can also delay makeup breakdown as the result of warm weather or humid conditions.

If all of your makeup products are powder formulas, you can wait to set your foundation after all products are applied. If you are like me, however, and use liquid foundation and crème contouring products, it is important to set those before applying powder blush and powder eye shadow, as those applied over unset liquids or cremes will not blend properly.

There are two common ways of setting makeup. One is to use a setting spray. The other is to use a setting powder. The way you apply your makeup will determine which method works best for your specific needs. I actually use setting powder and setting spray combined. Here’s my routine:

After putting on my liquid foundation and crème contouring products, I use a translucent setting powder to initially set them. I recommend translucent setting powder over tinted formulas because translucent powder will not alter the shade of your foundation the way tinted setting powder can. Using a tinted setting powder can also make the face look pasty and unnatural.

I begin the setting process by using a powder puff to press the powder into my makeup. Once the powder is on my skin, I very gently work it in using a soft powder brush. I twirl and lightly press the brush as I work the powder in. Again, you want the setting powder to get down deep into the pores to be effective. Then I use the same powder brush to remove any excess powder. Be sure to wipe away the excess setting powder very gently to avoid damaging the foundation as it takes a few minutes to achieve the full setting effect.

When I have finished setting my foundation and contouring, I then apply my powder blush and eye makeup. After all my makeup is on (including lipstick), I very lightly spritz my face and neck (with eyes gently closed) with setting spray. Avoid any heavy applications of setting spray because too much can actually cause streaks and runs in your makeup.

Setting can also be accomplished in layers, which is important if, like me, your makeup consists of a combination of powders and cremes. I recommend setting one type of makeup before trying to apply the other type over it.

Ultimately, setting makeup is a critical component of any makeup regimen. I’m actually still amazed that many cis-women don’t set their makeup at all. In my humble opinion, it is one makeup tip that is necessary for cis- and trans-women alike. And if done properly, set makeup can look as though it was just applied, no matter how long your day has been.

Wearing Venus

Men, circa 1960

Foundation

Sally Stone has kindly written a series of articles about makeup and makeup application that is specifically targeted for girls like us. The third installment of her series deals with foundation.

By Sally Stone

Artists will tell you that in order to create a masterpiece it is important to have the right canvas. Where makeup artistry is concerned, the canvas is just as critical to a perfect face as it is to a perfect painting. Foundation is makeup’s canvas and if we don’t get it right, anything else we put on it is likely to fall short of our expectations. In my opinion, foundation and more specifically foundation applied correctly, is the single-most important component of a makeup routine.

File ID 132198382 | © Dmytro Zinkevych | Dreamstime.com

When choosing foundation, there are several characteristics we should consider as important: how well/easy it is to blend, is it buildable, what level of coverage does it provide and finally what shade/color is it? Other considerations like “is it long-wearing” or “what kind of finish does it provide” are not particularly important to me because I create my own wear and finish characteristics when I set the foundation.

Blend-ability: A good foundation is easy to apply and blend. To get blend-ability, I use creme formulas. They generally go on easily and they are compatible with the crème contouring products I use. I don’t use powder-based or waterproof foundations because in my experience, they don’t blend as well as non-waterproof cremes.

Buildable: Foundation must be buildable. This is important because building foundation in very thin layers until you just cover the targeted flaw is the only way to get a natural looking result with full-coverage formula.

Coverage: If you have perfect skin and facial features that are decidedly feminine, you can probably get away with a foundation that offers minimal coverage. For many of us, though, we are going to need a foundation that can effectively hide flaws and help to overcome some of skin characteristics that come from being born male. This usually means we will need a product offering full-coverage. The good news is that full-coverage doesn’t have to mean heavy or unnatural. In fact, with the proper formula and the right application, full-coverage foundation can look just as natural and beautiful as those sheer formulas do. I get great results with full-coverage foundation, so it has always been my go-to formula.

Full-coverage foundation can be grouped into two general categories. The first group is designed for serious concealment, hiding major flaws. Dermablend Cover Crème and Mehron Celebre Pro HD are super-pigmented and can cover flaws like birthmarks and tattoos. The second group is still full-coverage, but these foundations are designed for general coverage. These include foundations like Loreal Infallible Total Cover, MAC Pro and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer Concealer & Foundation. Any of these foundations are good choices and possess the characteristics we are looking for.

Shade/Color: The hardest part about choosing a foundation is finding the correct shade. Some makeup companies offer a dizzying array of shades, while others have a limited number. If you want a natural look, it is imperative you find a foundation shade that matches your skin tone. This can be difficult.

I had to resort to mixing shades (always of the same brand and formula). It was the only way I could get the brand I use to match my skin tone.

Another option is to allow a makeup specialist help you find the correct shade. This is a viable option, but be forewarned: if a specialist is trying to sell a particular product and their shade options do not exactly match your skin tone, they might end up recommending something that is only close.

Using a shade that doesn’t exactly match your face can still work, it’s just that using this option means you’ll have to apply foundation to all of the skin that frames your face. This means the neck and exposed chest area.

Most makeup sellers allow you to sample different shades and the back of the hand is perfect for matching the proper color. The back of the hand mirrors facial skin tone and tends to show the same tan level as the face. It is also the perfect pallet for mixing shades to find an exact match.

Putting It On

Begin applying foundation all over the face and neck. Start with a very light application. The key here is adhering to the “less is more” theory. Start by putting a few dots of foundation all around the face and neck, then with a stippling brush, work it into the pores using a combination pressing, swirling motion to ensure the foundation gets pressed deep into the texture of the skin. This is important for both coverage and staying power.

I find the stippling brush the best way to apply makeup to male-pattern skin texture because it provides the most coverage with the least amount of product. Many makeup artists will recommend letting foundation “cook in” after applying it, that is, it needs to melt down into the pores with the aid of body heat before being set. I have discovered that by stippling the foundation, “cooking in” is a completely unnecessary step.

Makeup sponges are popular with women for applying foundation, but in my experience, they do not get the product deep into the pores the way a stippling brush does. As a result, a sponge tends to result in sheerer coverage for the same amount of foundation applied.

After the first light layer of foundation is worked into the skin, reapply additional layers to areas that need more coverage. If possible, wait five or ten minutes between each layer to allow the foundation to dry. Add layers to the areas of beard shadow and areas of discoloration like birthmarks or dark circles under the eyes, but again, use just enough to cover to avoid the heavy or unnatural look.

Concealer can be used to deal with problem areas, but if foundation is built up properly, often concealer isn’t even needed. If concealer is necessary, I recommend applying it on top of the first layer of foundation and then applying just enough foundation over the concealer to ensure an overall uniform shade.

The cheekbones, forehead and eyelids get the lightest application of foundation, often only a single layer. Subsequent layers of foundation can be applied using the stippling technique ensuring it is blended really well. When finished, the entire face and neck should be a uniform shade ready for contouring, blushing, bronzing and all the other things that go on top.

Wearing Madame Butterfly

Janek Traczyk femulates Slawa Przybylska on Polish television’s Your Face Sounds Familiar.