Yes, that's me!

When I saw this image on Pinterest, I thought that there was a lot of truth to it.

When I am not presenting as a woman and I see another woman who has her act together, I admire her, but I am jealous, too --- jealous that I am not dressed like she is.

High heels always does it for me. In my opinion, if a woman is wearing heels, it is likely that her overall appearance is pulled together.

So whenever I hear the clicking sound of high heels, I look to see where the sound is coming from and I am usually rewarded with the vision of a well-dressed woman. Then I become envious and wish I was in her shoes literally.

I also get crabby when I am in boy mode, but when I present as a woman, I am relaxed, comfortable and generally happy.

So I will admit it: I am a girl!

Wearing Boston Proper

Cyrsti is a 70+ year old retired transgender veteran living with her partner of ten years in the southwestern Ohio. For the past seven years or so, she has authored Cyrsti's Transgender Condo Blog, which is updated nearly daily with trans opinion, news and personal insight. Cyrsti’s favorite photo comes from one of her favorite evenings, an anniversary Creole dinner with her partner Liz, who was so instrumental in helping her to come out and live full time as a transgender woman.

Someday Funnies: Where Wear is Heading

Wearing Rachel Zoe

Femulate reader and contributor Angela Booth at her first job as a femulator.

Making Michelle’s Year!

Michelle thanked me for posting her photo in the Femulator slot on Thursday, then added the following note.

I had a seminar to attend at an Atlantic City casino in October. I thought I was safe because they had express check-in that I signed up for online. But when I arrived, the kiosks were not working and I was dressed similar to my Femulator photo. I had to decide if I go up to the front desk as Michelle or go back to the car and change. I decided to go as Michelle (your inspiration).

I knew I would have to provide ID (my male driver’s license). Well, to my surprise, the lady at the desk asked for the ID and a credit card (I have one in Michelle’s name). She looked at the license, then me with somewhat of an odd look. She went to a back office without the license and then returned, finished the check-in and said to me, “Welcome, Michelle, and I hope you have a nice stay.”

And she added, “I didn’t know you were crossdresser at first, but you look very pretty.” 

Talk about making my year, but then seeing my picture on your website, Wow o Wow. I’m smiling all the way to New Year’s Eve!

Xmas Xdress

Found this image on reddit.

The accompanying text reads, “Found a photo of my grandfather doing drag at a company christmas [sic] party. Some time in the 1960s.” In the Soviet Union no less!

I thought attending company Christmas parties en femme was a recent development in the femulating community. I guess not!

Wearing Rue La La

Femulate reader, Mary Peters

Someday Funnies: Stanley’s Secret

Wearing Moda Operandi

Femulate reader Michelle Rose at the Grand Canyon
“Not the best climate for wearing makeup, but what can you say; it’s hard to be a woman.”

Sweet Loretta Martin

AKA Loretta Martin

I am a big Beatles fan. So much so that I once considered using Loretta Martin as my femme name. 

Needless to say, I plunked down my eight bucks to get a one-month subscription to Disney+ in order to watch The Beatles: Get Back – the eight-hour documentary about the Fab Four (a redo of the 1969 film Let It Be). 

Highlights for me:

🐞 The quality, both video and audio, was a huge improvement over Let It Be.

🐞 Watching Paul McCartney create a song (“Get Back”) out of thin air was amazing.

🐞 Seeing the complete rooftop concert uninterrupted from beginning to end was worth the price of admission.

🐞 Not so much a highlight, but an observation: Wow! They all smoked cigarettes all the time!

I definitely got my money’s worth and highly recommend the film to all Beatles fans.

Wearing Ronny Kobo

Jim, a longtime Femulate reader shopping at TJ Maxx.

Someday Funnies: High Spots of Her Resume

Wearing Bebe

Michelle, another Femulate regular, on her way to the outlet stores.

A Fix

Writing about my recent day out, I mentioned that after losing 25 pounds, my feet are now smaller (by a half size or more). During my day out, my feet were swimming in shoes that used to fit fine and after awhile, they hurt badly.

I fixed the problem temporarily by stuffing facial tissues into the toes of my shoes so that they fit tighter, but I needed to do something permanent to fix the problem since I have about 100 pairs of shoes that were now too big.

Searching Amazon, I found two products that proffered help: Adjustable Toe Filler Inserts and Half Insole Shoe Fillers. I ordered both and tried them out as soon as they arrived at Femulate Headquarters.

The Adjustable Toe Filler Inserts approximated what I did with the facial tissues stuffed into the toes of my shoes. However, these were adjustable by removing a strip of foam in the center of the Toe Filler Inserts. Also, you can adjust them further by trimming the inserts with scissors. For very oversized shoes, you use these inserts as is. For shoes that were oversized, but not by a lot, you remove the foam strip. For shoes just slightly oversized, you trim the inserts as needed.

The Half Insole Shoe Fillers fit under the toes and ball of the foot and basically lift that part of your foot upwards to fill the empty space the shoes.

Both products require no adhesives and are washable and reusable.

I experimented with a pair of slingback 4-inch high heel pumps and a pair of 3.5-inch high heel pumps (the pair I wore out and about that day). The slingbacks required the most tightening and I used the Toe Filler Inserts as is along with the Half Insole Shoe Fillers. The 3.5-inch heels required less tightening, so I removed the foam strip from the Toe Filler Inserts and did not use the Half Insole Shoe Fillers. In both cases, the shoes were tighter and fit like Goddess intended.

I imagine that these two products individually or in combination will fix all the oversized shoe problems in my wardrobe.

Wearing Elisabetta Franchi

Femulate reader Connie ready for a night out with a friend.

Someday Funnies: Hidden Assets

Wearing Rue La La

Heather Wells, a Femulate reader from the U.K.

My Trip with Anna: A Journey to Enlightenment

A true story by Paulette Parfois

Paulette Parfois

Having lived on this planet for 70+ years, I continue to marvel over how life teaches us lessons when we least expect it. One of the most life-changing moments in my life occurred several years ago when my wife and I were waiting to board an overnight flight (a “red eye” to us Road Warriors) from Denver to Miami.

We were sitting in the embarkation area waiting to board our flight. A young woman came and sat across from us. It was readily apparent she was either a crossdresser or transsexual and she was not passing very well.

At the time, I was a senior executive for a major US cable television company and to be honest, I was “full of myself.” To make matters worse, I was in a particular snarky mood that night and began texting unflattering comments about her to my wife. I was impressed by my witty and acerbic commentary and was quietly chuckling to myself. 

The time came to board and since we had early boarding, we were some of the first to get on the plane. We sat down across the aisle from one another (my wife and I both prefer aisle seats). 

Shortly thereafter, general boarding began and I noticed the young woman coming down the aisle. I texted to my wife “just my luck she sits next to me.” Just as I hit the send button, a masculine sounding voice said, “Pardon me. I think I have the seat next to you.” Yes, it was her!

As she settled into her seat, we exchanged polite pleasantries as airline passengers tend to do. She told me her name was Anna. Since I was looking forward to some sleep and was more than slightly annoyed she was sitting next to me, I tried my best to keep my replies short. However, she was so pleasant and engaging I could not help but to respond. 

She told me she was an archaeologist and taught at a university in the Denver area. My wife, who has a passion for archaeology, heard her and perked up from her light dozing. After some discussion about archeology and my wife’s experiences as an amateur archaeologist, the subject changed to Anna’s transition. 

Anna told us how she had only recently completed transitioning and that she was returning to her hometown for her 20th high school reunion. She said she was from a small town on the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee. Having lived in Florida about the time Anna was in high school, I recalled that her hometown had a reputation of being kind of a “deep-in-the-swamp” town and not too receptive to those different from them.

Anna told us she had not been back home for several years and that her family had not seen her since her transition. She was more than a little apprehensive about the welcome she was going to receive. 

As she told her story about her struggles and with coming to terms with her gender identity, I found myself enthralled by her courage and determination. I also was thinking about what kind of reception she was going to receive in her hometown.

To make a long story short, the three of us talked and laughed the whole flight (I am sure much to the annoyance of fellow passengers trying to get some sleep).

When the plane arrived in Miami, I found myself wishing the flight was longer. As we started to embark, I reached over and hugged Anna and told her she would be in our prayers during the coming days. She sweetly smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I almost broke down and cried. 

We promised to keep in touch as passengers on long flights tend to do, but we never did. However, she has remained in my thoughts for all these years. I hope it worked out for her and she is comfortable with her new life. I have silently thanked her many times over the years for bringing me from being opinionated and bigoted to becoming compassionate and understanding.

As I said, life has a way of teaching us lessons we never expected to learn. When I began my adventure crossdressing as Paulette, Anna’s example of fortitude and courage allowed me to fully appreciate the diversity and beauty in people. So, thank you, Anna from the bottom of my heart. You are and will always be a bright beacon in my journey as Paulette. 

Life is good and its lessons are lasting!

Wearing J.ING

Femulate reader Caro toasting a friend on her birthday.

Someday Funnies: Or the Other Girls

Wearing Rene Ruiz

Femulate readers Marissa, Kandi, Debbie and Sherry, last Saturday night at the Lake Erie Gala.