Stuff 10

By J.J. Atwell

Hello All

JJ is back with more stuff! This is my 10th installment of this little corner of Stana’s Way. Many thanks to her and all you faithful readers for following along with my Stuff.  

Bra Size Again

In episode nine, I introduced the subject of boobs.  I’m back with more stuff about boobs. We talked about finding the right band size and experimenting with cup size for the most pleasing presentation. Before moving on, I’d like to also caution you that no matter what bra size you settled on, that doesn’t mean you can just buy any bra in that size.  

Yes, that’s right. The same way clothing sizes vary by manufacturer, so do bras. So don’t just buy a bunch of bras online simply because they are “your size.” Once you find a good fit, stick with the same brand. But even then, don’t be surprised if there is a difference between different models by the same brand. If you talk with your SO or an understanding GG about it, you’ll find they have experienced the same issue.   

If that’s not enough to think about, let's consider what happens when we go on a diet or perhaps, wind up putting on an extra 10 pounds over the winter. Yes, that changes your bra size. Those bras that originally fit you so well, now don’t. Time to go up/down a size?  

But that presents us with another issue: how does our weight change affect our cup size? When GGs gain/lose weight, it's likely that both their band size and cup size change, usually proportionally. On the other hand, a CD’s breast forms don’t change sizes when we gain or lose weight. To confuse the situation further, cup volume changes according to band size.  That’s right, the cup of a 38C bra is larger than it would be in a 36C bra. So basically, it’s time to start all over finding the right size bra.

I hope all this talk about bra sizes hasn’t confused you. I’ll just remind you that it's probably a good idea to check your bra size every year, just like GGs should do. There sure is a lot of stuff to consider when selecting the right bra!  

I’ll be back

That’s it for today. I hope my stuff gives you something to think about. In the meantime, I’d welcome comments here on the blog or by email at Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com.

Wearing New York & Company

Arshia

Boom!

Friday evening, September 8, I am relaxing in my comfy recliner after getting the house in shape for my wife’s return home on Monday. A thunderstorm is in full force outdoors. 

Living on the highest point in the county, we are accustomed to strong storms, but this one is particularly ferocious and suddenly, a lightning strike hits very nearby. A second later, there is a flash inside the house.

The flash was the wall wart of one of our television’s blowing up taking that television with it. We also lost our landline, internet and cable television. A modem and the cable boxes were dead. The lightning also took out our garage door opener and our furnace/air conditioning unit.  That is all! (That’s enough!)

On Tuesday, Comcast fixed the landline, internet and cable television outage for “free” and my garage door guy replaced the garage door opener not for free. Bought and received a replacement television from Amazon. Waiting on our HVAC guy to submit a proposal to our insurance company to replace the furnace/air conditioning unit.

And so it goes!!!

Wearing Ann Klein

Sticking My Neck Out

People my age show their age with their necks. The most common signs of age are the development of vertical muscle bands, sagging skin and excess fat deposits. 

I am lucky. Seventy-two years old and my neck shows none of those signs (so far). 

However, once upon a time, I did have sun damage on the sides of my neck. A Sephora sales representative suggested some products, but like the foundations I have used, they only covered the damage temporarily and sooner or later (usually sooner), the damaged red skin showed through.

Perusing the Avon catalog one day, their Dramatic Firming Cream caught my eye and I bought a tub to try on my neck. Using it daily for a few weeks, I noticed some improvement – the redness was less red. Using it daily for a few months, the redness was gone! Wow – A miracle product!

Although the redness was gone, I have continued to use the Avon Firming Cream every morning after I moisturize my face.

For what it’s worth, this post was inspired by a Who What Wear article that described “15 Creams Help Firm the Neck,” but did not include the Avon Firming Cream that I have used effectively for about ten years. 

And so it goes.

NOTE: People are asking about the wig I am wearing in the accompanying photo. It is Sandie from Noriko, color is Nutmeg-F, size is average.

Wearing New York & Company

Ambiguity

By Tami Knight

Ambiguity – The quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness

The human brain is hardwired to detect ambiguity in so many ways, visually, audibly and even tactilely.

Certainly, passing is overcoming ambiguity. Nothing noticed, all is normal, people nearby have no reason to question. I have a few close girlfriends who have never known me as anything but Tami. I am fortunate that they willingly ignore any small ambiguity in any way and at all times (great stories here!).

Can we expect everyone in our world to overcome the ambiguity they sense? I think not. Will they react with some degree of hostility, disapproval or will they be gracious? This is a serious question in a time where there is much pushback on many things trans. Top of the list, minors and parental rights. Second is an individual (obviously ambiguous) in space restricted to females. If you disagree with this pushback, you are vastly outnumbered and are going to lose the argument. In my opinion, if the trans community fights hard on this, the damage to all things trans will be significant.

The third example is the adult trans person. Most Americans want to live and let live, so this is relatively safe space for those with no or very little ambiguity. Again, no absolutes here.

I had my hair done at my local Ulta yesterday. My stylist and I spent a lot of time chatting about the cut and the color highlights we achieved. I noticed a shopper choosing makeup look my way briefly, and I wondered what she was thinking. 

Fifteen minutes later I was standing in line behind this shopper checking out. She noticed me, turned, smiled and said, “Your hair is beautiful!” I thanked her and said something unimportant.

Ambiguity detected? Maybe. I pass easily, but the human brain is very perceptive at close range. Was any perceived ambiguity important to her? One would guess not. Live and let live.

Some of us are good judges of any ambiguity in our presentation, some of us are not. We all need to tailor our presentation to the appropriate stage we enter to be both safe and yes, understanding and respectful of others.

Wearing Reformation

Hanns Lothar femulating in the 1961 film One, Two, Three.

Womenswear

Wearing Qi Cashmere

Barbara, circa 1961

Early Heather

By Heather

My earliest recollection of being crossdressed was when I was a very small child.

My mother dressed me in a blue dress with smocking on the front, white socks, white shoes and a hat which I think was made of straw. I remember standing at the top of the stairs while my mother fussed to make sure everything looked just so. That is all I remember, but I know my mother took at least one photo.

Other recollections go back to my childhood when I was probably only four or five years old. 

We had a room called the play room in my parents old house. In it were all the toys that my sister and I possessed and a dressing-up box. I don’t know where the clothes came from, but I do recall there were a few child’s dresses.

The game was to march up and down the room a few times and change dresses pretending to be witches, princesses, brides, etc. I don’t recall pretending to be anything masculine. I don’t recall making any conscious choices about this or thinking that there was anything wrong with dressing up. It was just something we did.

When I went to prep school, the games came to a natural end and I seemed to forget about them. One day, however, I returned from school and saw a girl’s full-skirted petticoat with shoulder straps on my parents bed. It was obviously something of my sisters.

All reason or thought of being caught went out of the window. I stripped there and then and forced myself into it with a great sense of excitement. As quickly as I had put it on I took it off, but the sense of excitement and of having tasted forbidden fruit was there. 

This I think was the real beginning as the previous experiences gave rise to no such sensations.

Wearing Ted Baker

Yours Truly

Thicker Than Water

Good News!

My wife came home yesterday after almost nine weeks in the hospital and rehab. Now my work begins taking care of her, so I'm shopping for a nurse’s uniform in size 16 Tall!

Anita, 25 and 75 Years Old

Stuff 9

By J.J. Atwell

Hello again

There seems to be no end to stuff. This is the ninth installment and I’m grateful to Stana and especially those that follow her blog, for the feedback that I’ve received. Today’s topic is one we can all relate to.  

Boobs

It’s probably obvious, but I’ll say it anyway, when presenting as a woman, boobs are an important part of our look. I know some of my readers have basically grown their own. Stana has commented several times that she has always had enlarged breasts. But the rest of us need to create the illusion of boobs. In keeping with the theme of this blog, we need to “stuff.”  :) 

There are so many things to consider when pondering boobs. Let’s talk about size first. 

Some of us go for the largest size they can get. While my guy side is a “breast man,” my femme side prefers a size that is proportionate to my body, so I’m usually in either a B or C cup. Of course GGs wind up with breasts in a wide range of sizes and have limited options.  Sure they can get implants or even breast reductions, but that’s a big decision requiring surgery. As CDs, we have some much simpler options.  

Bra sizes

Let’s talk about bras. How do you decide about size? Several possibilities. A good first step is to find your bra band size (that’s the number part of the bra size). That’s pretty easy. If your guy side wears a suit/sports coat, you can start with that size as your bra band. In other words, if your sport jacket is a 38, then start with a bra band that size. Buy one in any cup size and wear it for a while, several hours at least, to see how comfortable it is. If it’s too tight, go up a size. Just remember that the band is supposed to be snug, but not tight.  

OK, so now what about cup size? Most of us decide by trial and error. Now that you have a bra in the right band size, grab one with a cup size that you think might be right. Perhaps a C to start with. Put some “stuff” (socks will do) in the cups just so they hold their shape. Then put on a top and look in the mirror. Look straight on and sideways. Do they look “natural?”  Try a larger or smaller cup size and repeat. Be honest with yourself, do they look realistic? Of course, we might decide to be different sizes for different occasions!

In a future installment I’ll talk more about boobs. I’ll cover breast forms and alternatives. I’ll also ponder what GGs think about their breasts. Or at least what I think they think. Yes, that’s the stuff!

I’ll be back

I’d love to read your comments about boobs. Comments are welcome either here on the blog or by email to Jenn6nov at sign gmail dot com.  

JJ is always looking for more stuff!

Wearing Alice + Olivia.

Boy meets girl in the 21st Century

Missed the Boat

I missed the boat!

My high school did not have a womanless beauty pageant or a gender swap day like the schools that the lovely lads in lace above attended. The closest our school came to approved crossdressing is when the boy’s basketball team performed in 1920’s flapper drag for the annual school musical. Their femulation was nothing to write home (or here) about, but I was jealous nonetheless because given the opportunity, I knew my presentation would have been more authentic than the basketball men in dresses. 

Men wearing earrings became a thing while I was in high school. I recall our principal warning the boys that if anyone showed up wearing an earring that boy would also begin wearing the Catholic school girl uniform that the distaff side of the student body wore. 

I thought about borrowing a pair of my mother’s clip-ons and wearing them the next day, but I did not want to give the class bullies the satisfaction that they were correct in electing me “The Boy Most Likely to Change Sex.” So I just dreamed about wearing a navy blue jumper, white blouse, nylons and penny loafers to school instead of my boring sports jacket and trousers. 

Instead of being a closet crossdresser, what if I was more open about my crossdressing back then? I am certain that my parents knew what I was doing when I was home alone and I like to think they would have supported me. And I’m sure that my mother, an excellent seamstress, would have sewn me confections that would have made the other girls jealous. 

Living full-time as a woman would have been delicious, but not only did I miss the boat, but I was too scared to even buy a ticket for the journey. But back then, I did not know about womanless pageants and the like. I knew I wasn’t alone, but I did not think there were many others like me even though my best friend in grammar school practically came out to me as a crossdresser. What were the chances of that if crossdressing was as rare as I thought? Nevertheless I was not prepared to take the journey solo.

Today, looking at the thousands of the Internet images of girls like us, I wonder if there are any guys who haven’t crossdressed! There sure are a lot of us! There probably always were, but today we are more open about it, so it seems like there are more.

If I could to do it all over again... but I can’t, so why beat myself up about it. Instead, I will continue to be the best woman I can be or rather, the best old lady that I can be and enjoy my femininity as often as I can.  

Wearing Boston Proper

Kristin and Jean, 21st Century son and father