Stuff: Lady Fingers

By J.J. Atwell

Today I’d like to cover a fairly small detail of presenting as a woman: Lady Fingers.

Lady Fingers?

Yes, Lady Fingers! No, not the cookie that is a major component of tiramisu. I mean what you do about your fingernails. I’ve observed that nearly all the genetic girls I see out and about have nice nails. They also seem to cover a range of color, styles and lengths. Whatever they choose, it has the effect of making their hand more ladylike. That can work for us crossdressers, too. 

Let me preface my comments by saying that I’m assuming that for most of us it’s not possible to wear polish on our own nails for the non-femme part of our life, so we resort to press-on nails. 

For those that do use color on their own nails, I understand from my friend Gigi that some polishes are harder to remove than others. Be sure to experiment with your favorite color and polish remover to see how well it works.

I go to a local nail salon with my significant other for a manicure every two weeks and every fourth week, I add a pedicure. I do this in guy mode and settle for clear polish on my nails. While there I have a great opportunity to observe the many choices women have when getting a manicure. Just picking out a color can take a while as there are so many to choose from. My genetic girl friend Alicia generally goes for pink. For me, I alternate between pink and red press-ons depending on the outfit.

Then there is the question of just how long fingernails should be. When picking out a length the answer seems to be dependent on what a person does and how practical longer nails are in everyday life. I use press-on nails when I present en femme and I like the longer length of nails. But I often find my femme self wrestling with ordinary tasks when I wear those longer nails. Simple things like tapping on the screen of an iPhone, picking up a pill from a table, putting on earrings. Stuff like that. 

Obviously, women who have longer nails all the time have learned to live with them. Those of us who don’t live with long nails everyday need to learn new behaviors though. It’s another thing that is part of the fun we have learning about life for women. It also reminds us that dressing like women doesn’t make us women.

What about shape?

Yes, there are different nail shapes. Which will look better on your hands? There really aren’t any good guidelines I can give you for this. I’m of the opinion that a tapered nail looks nicer than the more squared off coffin style. I think the almond shaped nail does wonders for making fingers look longer and slimmer. So if I can find that shape in a press-on nail, that’s what I go for. But you really need to try a few shapes and colors yourself to see how they look and how you function wearing them. 

I’ll be back

I’ll be back with more Stuff in the next installment. 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, so let me know what you would like to read about.

Wearing Pleats dress and Rag & Co. shoes

World War II British prisoners-of-war femulating in their stage production appropriately titled Girls, Girls, Girls.

Crying Aunty

 

Wearing ModCloth

Femulating German soldiers, circa 1940.

Oops!

 

Wearing Cynthia Rowley

Lon Chaney femulating in the 1930 film The Unholy Three. This was a sound remake of the 1925 silent version of the film also starring Lon Chaney. This was Chaney’s only sound film and his femme voice and mannerisms were excellent. (I would expect nothing less from “The Man of a Thousand Faces.”)

Laddy of the House

Wearing Cynthia Rowley

Marcin Rogacewicz emulates Debbie Harry on Polish television's Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo (Your Face Sounds Familiar).

Blue Eyeshadow

As a novice femulator circa 1970, I knew bupkis about makeup and I thought that blue eyeshadow was the cat’s meow. Didn’t all the bikini-clad girls in those 1960s’ beach movies wear blue eyeshadow? If it was good enough for Shelley Fabares and Barbara Eden, then it was good enough for me.

As I began researching the art of makeup, I quickly learned that blue eyeshadow was not the best choice for someone like me who has green eyes. I also learned about shading with different hues of eyeshadow, applying eyeliner and mascara, thinning and coloring eyebrows, etc.

Who knew that the doing your eyes was so complicated!

I read books on the topic that were informative, but not hands-on. I figured that “hands-on” meant getting a professional makeover, so I pulled up my big girl panties and dared to have a few makeovers primarily for the purpose of learning how professionals would apply makeup to my face. The problem is that it is difficult to see what the artist is doing if you are the canvas. 

One pro proffered a handheld mirror so I could watch what he was doing. In theory, that should work, but in practice, it did not because holding a mirror up to my face impeded what he was trying to do. I could view the results of each step of his makeup application, but I could not see how he performed the application.

Videotapes were popular back then, so I bought a VHS tape called The Eyes Have It by Donna Mills, a drop-dead gorgeous actress, who had beautiful eyes. On the tape, Donna showed how she did her makeup step-by-step.

After watching the tape once, I set up my makeup mirror next to the television and played the tape again applying each step of Donna’s routine to myself. Almost 40 years later and I am still following her routine (more or less) to do my eyes sans blue eyeshadow.

(The Eyes Have It is no longer for sale unless you can find a used copy on eBay or elsewhere, however, the video is available on YouTube in various forms.)

Wearing Cynthia Rowley

Bert Errol, professional femulator, circa 1930

No Mistakes

Wearing Boston Proper

Before and After via A.I.

Stuff: Spring Cleaning

By J.J. Atwell

Hello again!

It’s spring and that, of course, means spring cleaning. Now that shouldn’t just be an excuse to break out the French Maid outfit, even though that does sound like fun. 

Today, I’d like to write about a difficult subject – how to thin out your closet. Yes, getting rid of some of those beautiful clothes that you worked so hard to acquire in the first place.

Why Should I Thin Out My Closet?

Well, in my case, my closet is only so big. There is only so much Stuff I can cram in there.  I’ve managed to accumulate quite a few pieces of femme clothing over the years, most of which I hadn’t worn in quite a while. It was time to make room for new Stuff. I’ve also lost a few pounds from my previous high, so I can now buy a smaller size. Looking at it like that makes the process a bit more bearable.  

How can I make it “bearable” you ask? Easy, because the only way to decide what to part with requires that you first try it all on. Imagine having to spend hours and hours trying on different outfits! Yes, that can be fun! It takes even longer if you let yourself get distracted by your image in the mirror. And don’t forget to go through your lingerie drawer(s).  

You may want some objective help when deciding what to keep. If you have an understanding friend, you can ask for their opinion on each outfit. You can also take pictures of yourself in each outfit and study them carefully. Ask yourself do they fit well? Are they still in good condition? Do they hide your figure faults? Do they enhance your best features? If you say “no” to any of those questions, then out they go. It’s time to be ruthless... and don’t call me “Ruth.”  

Ok, so now it’s time to organize the keepers. Some of them may need to be washed and pressed first. Then create some kind of order in your closet – something that makes sense to you. Perhaps putting all skirts together and arranging them by color? Or maybe pair the skirt with its matching top? Some people put the pieces they wear most often in the front. Again, whatever works for you.

The Stuff you aren’t keeping shouldn’t just go in the trash. The crossdresser group that I belong to has an annual event where everybody brings in their no longer needed clothes. We put them all out on tables and the other members sort through them for things they might like. If you don’t have that option, donating them to charity is good for the soul.  

I’ll be back

Yes, there will be more Stuff. If you’ve found this whole spring cleaning effort to be traumatizing and now need therapy, I find retail therapy works for me. In the meantime, comments are welcome either here on the blog or by email to Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com. J.J. is always looking for more stuff, so if there is something you would like to read about, please let me know!

Wearing Alice + Olivia

Alexandre Styker (right) femulating in the 2013 French film Belinda and Me.

Yesterday was Saturday

Wearing Cara Cara

Raoul Vázquez femulates Bad Gyal on Spanish television’s Tu Cara Me Suena (Your Face Sounds Familiar).
Click here to view this absolutely amazing femulation on YouTube.

Tomorrow is Sunday

Wearing Cynthia Rowley

Alessandro Brandao and Gabriel Sanches in drag on Brazilian television’s Pega Pega (The Big Catch).

Bifurcated Crossdressing

After reading Hannah’s post and Rhonda’s post about dressing to blend or not, I thought about my progress as a crossdresser. 

As a novice, I wore dresses exclusively. I was of the opinion that if I wanted to crossdress wearing pants, I might as well forgo the wig, makeup, heels, handbag, etc. and go out in boy mode. 

In that distant past, my “outings” were to support group meetings or a rare support group-sponsored outings to a restaurant, beauty salon, whatever. I wore dresses during those outings and I blended in because all the other crossdressers were wearing dresses, too. (Ironically, the only attendees wearing pants were the wives and girlfriends who accompanied their “girls.”)

I started reconsidering my dress-only policy when I decided it was time to mix it up with the civilians (after being closeted* for too many years). So I bought a pair of gray leggings to wear for my debut in the real world. I paired the leggings with a black tunic sweater and black boots. (Click here to read about my first day out among the civilians.)

Since that first outing, what I wear out among the civilians depends on where I am going. I still prefer to dress to the nines, but in many situations, dressing to the nines is over the top and I have to pull back a little and dress to the eights or even the sevens.

Meanwhile, I have expanded my wardrobe to include many bifurcated garments. Since they are female bifurcated garments, there is no mistaking them for male bifurcated garments. The lack of pockets, zippers on the side, their tightness, fabric, length, color, etc. are some of the giveaways that the trousers you are wearing are milady’s and not my gents.

So, yes, it is still crossdressing if we wear pants.

* In my opinion, attending support group meetings/outings, trans conventions, etc. is as closeted as dressing at home… they are just bigger closets.

Wearing Boston Proper

Yes, it’s still crossdressing!