Happy New Year!

Wearing Nine West

John Inman femulating in an episode of British television's Are You Being Served?

Motherwear and Sisterwear

Home alone in my teens usually found me wearing items from my mother’s and sister’s wardrobes. Both were tall women, so their clothes fit me more or less despite my topping out at 6 feet 2. Yes, at that height, their skirts and dresses were “Stana short,” but since I was only dressing in the confines of my home, hemlines were not a deal breaker.

Middle-aged, Mom’s wardrobe was matronly, so I only borrowed from her collection of foundation garments, hosiery and high heels. On the other hand, my sister was just two years younger than me, so I used her wardrobe for her skirts, tops, dresses, etc., which were stylish for a girl my age.

Like me, Mom was very neat and organized, so when I borrowed something from her, I made a mental note of how it was folded and where it was stored so that when I returned it, she would not notice that it had been borrowed. 

My sister was not so neat and organized and when I borrowed something from Sis, I was not too concerned where I placed it on its return… as long as it was in the ballpark. And I believe that strategy worked and she never noticed because when I came out to her years later, she had no clue that I had borrowed her stuff.

Mom was a different story. Even though I was very careful, I guess left enough clues that she figured me out. Not sure where I fouled up. Perhaps I did not return a bra to its exact location. I dunno, but years later after I had moved out, I mentioned I was going to a Halloween party crossdressed and she asked me if I had taken my box of girly stuff that I had hidden (unsuccessfully) in my bedroom!

You can't fool mothers.

Wearing Ann Taylor

John D. Collins and Nicholas Frankau femulating in an episode of British television's 'Allo 'Allo!

Stuff: You Are Not Alone

You Have Company

By J.J. Atwell

You already knew this, right? That’s one of the reasons Femulate exists. When I first started dressing, there was very little information available. But luckily, the Internet has made it easier to connect with others. I’ve found that talking to other CDs helps me cope with my own dressing activities. It gives me confidence when I go out and it also gives me more opportunities to actually go out. 

But How to Find Others?

 

Via the Internet, there are lots of ways to find like-minded people. There is the ubiquitous Google search. But the results from that can be overwhelming and might not be helpful. Tread carefully when using this method. Follow the links with some skepticism and perhaps, use a browser in private mode. 

A better method might be to join one of the many online boards that are specifically for people like us? Some popular ones are www.crossdressers.com, www.crossdresserheaven.com and www.tgforum.com. When you join one of those sites, you can search for info about local groups. Just a heads-up: get your girl-self her own email address and use that when you join one of those groups under your female persona. 

And of course, right here on www.femulate.org there are some handy resources over on the right side of the page as you scroll down. Be sure to check out the sites that Stana has included. 

Joining a Group

Using the above suggestions resulted in me finding a local CD group a few years ago. After a bit of hesitancy, I finally got up the courage to contact them. There was a screening interview by phone with one of the officers, which is a good security measure for any such gathering. Once I passed that I was given the location and date for the group’s next meeting. 

So now comes an even bigger hurdle for those who haven’t been out the door: actually getting dressed and driving to the meeting. I remember my first time and I was both exhilarated and scared. I was worried that other drivers were looking in my car window and might “read” me. Well nothing happened other than just dealing with traffic. Hint: that’s the same no matter how you are dressed. 

Stepping out of the car and into the meeting location caused another wave of butterflies in my stomach. But I had come this far and wasn’t going to turn back now. As it happened, the group was very welcoming. I was able to chat with the members and slowly my tension drained away. I was out! 

Going Beyond the Group

By attending regular group meetings, I struck up some real friendships with other CDs and their SOs. That led to invitations to go out to other venues, dressed or not. It also gave my SO a chance to talk to the other SOs about how they deal with a CD husband. There are real benefits to joining a group beyond just the opportunity to get dressed. If you don’t already belong to a CD group, I hope you’ll find your way to your first group meeting.

I’ll Be Back

There will be more Stuff. As always, 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 if there is something you would like to read about please let me know!

Wearing Cynthia Rowley

Guy Siner femulating in British television’s ‘Allo ‘Allo!

What’s Wrong?

Happy Birthday, Sis!

My sister celebrated her birthday recently and I should have sent her the following birthday card, but she is not too thrilled about my crossdressing, so I did not.

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Office Christmas Party

In retrospect, I believe that going to work en femme is the gutsiest thing girls like us can do. Halloween is one thing; you can get away with it the first time as long as your “costume” is not too authentic, but going to an office Christmas party is different… very different. There is no costume safety-net. Rather you are out there showing the world your true self. Michelle (also known as Ian) did just that a few days ago and here is her story.

Michelle

Well, the invitation said very clearly, “ladies, dress to impress,” but didn’t really mention gents.

The other girls at the office were discussing what to wear and I was just listening in when one of my colleagues asked, “What are you going to wear, Ian?”

I just laughed a little and said, “Well, maybe I should just dress to impress, too” and everyone laughed, but added, “go on, you should” and “that would be amazing,” etc.

I did think long and hard about it and asked my wife what she thought of me going as Michelle (no one at work has any clue that Michelle exists). My wife just said, “It’s up to you. What have you got to lose?”

Needless to say, I spent ages getting ready, making sure that if I was going to do it, I wasn’t going half-hearted. Finally got in the car and drove to the venue (which was a public bar/restaurant where we had a big table booked). I have to say that I did sit in the car park for a good while, wondering if I had lost my mind. But I started to get some SMS messages asking where I was, so I took a deep breath and through the door I went.

It did take them all a few moments to guess who the additional woman was that was being shown to the table, but once they had taken it in, there were so many compliments and lovely comments. No one, not even my male colleagues, said or did anything that was anything other than amazing. We finished dinner and we all even had a dance to various Christmas tracks on the small dance floor.

The evening finally ended and I drove home completely on a high and so glad that through you and your blog, I had finally found the courage to do it.

I received a few SMS messages the following day complimenting me on my presentation and asking if I would do it again in the future for various functions.

I think I will; this lady is never going to hide away indoors again

Thanks Stana!

Wearing Shein

Paul Lambert femulating in an episode of British television’s Emmerdale.

The Way We Are

Wearing Cynthia Rowley

Professional femulator Ty Jeffries, also known as Miss Hope Springs

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my readers, “Merry Christmas!”

Love, Stana

Better Late Than Never

Wearing Shein

Michelle celebrated the holidays in Scotland by attending her office Christmas party en femme.

All I Want for Christmas

Wearing Target

Ezra Furman

Someday Funnies