Venue-Wear

Last year's Hamvention-wear

I will be attending Hamvention in a few weeks – presenting as a woman for the eighth consecutive Hamvention.

The big difference this year is a change of venue. Instead of one huge convention hall, this year's event will take place at an Ohio county fairgrounds in a half dozen separate buildings and an unenumerated number of tents.

In the past, I would dress like a professional woman to staff a booth, visit other booths and to attend workshops/presentations all in one big convention hall. So I usually wore a dress and high heel pumps (and carried along a pair of flats just in case).

This year, in order to visit other booths and attend workshops and presentations, I will have to go outdoors to get from one building to another and heels are not the best footwear for negotiating fairgrounds terrain. Also, I might feel a little out of place wearing a dress and heels to staff a booth in a building where livestock may have hung out the previous weekend.

So I am planning my wardrobe accordingly. I will still wear a dress and heels to our annual Friday night dinner, but my daywear will be more casual than in the past.

Hamvention wear? Thali romper and Elizabeth and James bag. 

Crossplayer AleksandrFairyartos femulates Lady Gaga.

My Easter Outfit

I did not plan to post anything today (never on a Sunday), but yesterday's post attracted some attention, so I want to have closure concerning what I started yesterday.

We are not visiting my in-laws today. Most are dead. The ones who are still alive and kicking have never invited us to their homes to celebrate anything. So we are staying home and having a Polish dinner with my sister and my daughter.

Yesterday, I wrote, "I think I should dress en femme this upcoming Easter Sunday. I'm thinking of a real girly pastel dress with matching purse and heels, etc., etc. Then go visit my in-laws."

I think a lot of things, but before I carry out those thoughts, I usually consider them carefully before I do anything. Regarding yesterday's thoughts, I would never put my wife in such a potentially embarrassing situation.

I would absolutely love to do it and I would not be embarrassed in the least, but unless my wife said, "Why don't you dress pretty for Easter," I would never do it.

Anyway, Happy Easter, en femme or otherwise!

Wearing Haus of Topper earrings, Self Portrait dress and Aquazzura sandals.

Alex Newell getting pretty in a 2013 episode of television's Glee.

Pink Elephant in the Room

All of my in-laws are aware that I crossdress. I won't explain how they know, but I assure you that they know. (Also, most of them don't know that I know that they know.)

When I visit my in-laws, I feel like I am the elephant in the room because no one will say anything to me about my crossdressing, although I know that they speak about it behind my back.

I think I should dress en femme this upcoming Easter Sunday. I'm thinking of a real girly pastel dress with matching purse and heels, etc., etc. Then go visit my in-laws.

I wonder if they would mention my crossdressing then?

Anyway, Happy Holidays en femme or not!

Wearing LOVER.

Five changes of underwear.

Just for Fun

I femulate because I am a male woman. But there is a growing contingent of born-males who femulate just for fun (or so they say). I am referring to the male-to-female crossplayers (crossdressing cosplayers) and their sisters, the brolitas (boy lolitas).

"Cosplay, a contraction of the words costume play, is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character" from "manga and anime, comic books and cartoons, video games, and live-action films and television series." (source: Wikipedia)

Crossplay is crossdressing cosplay. Most crossplay is of the female-to-male variety, however, more and more guys are getting into the act: male-to-female crossplaying.

Meanwhile, "Lolita is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is based on Victorian and Edwardian clothing." (source: Wikipedia)

Brolitas are males, who dress like lolitas, that is, they crossdress wearing extremely feminine Victorian/Edwardian/Gothic clothing. Some brolitas are male-to-female crossplayers.

I don't know what to make of brolitas and male-to-female crossplayers. Some of their femulations look perfect. Having never met one in person, I don't know if their voices and mannerisms match what they are wearing, but I imagine some do and some don't.

I question if it is really just for fun?

My guess is that like the contestants in womanless beauty pageants and womanless fashion shows, there are a few participants who are not civilians. Rather, they are trans-something and crossplaying/brolitaing is a safe way to express their feminine side without outing themselves.

I wish I had that option when I was younger!

Male-to-Female Crossplayers of Note:

Brolitas Who Impress:

Wearing Metrostyle.

Dylan Jenkins (right) femulates on British television's Hollyoaks (2015).

Flashback

After penning yesterday's post about my first crossdressing experience, I browsed some womenswear websites and had a flashback when I saw this retro flower dress from Alice + Olivia. Fifty years ago, my sister owned a dress that was very similar and it was one of my favorites... on me, not my sister.

I wore that dress often.

I always wanted to pair it with white go-go boots, but the other ladies in my house did not own go-go boots and I was too closeted in 1967 to go out and buy a pair for myself.

My sister did own a cute bag like the one the model is wearing and I often posed in front of the mirror wearing that dress and bag and a pair of white patent block mid-height block heel shoes instead of go-go boots.

About 40 years later, I did buy a pair of white go-go boots to wear with my "Swinging 60's Chick" Halloween costume, but I have not had an occasion to wear those boots since then.

C'est la vie!

Wearing Madeleine.

Femulating Snow White for Halloween.

Why?

It was 55 years ago, but I recall the day as clearly as if it were yesterday.

I was home alone. Dad was at work. Mom and my sister were out shopping or some such. I went into my parent's bedroom and searched through my Mom's dresser drawers looking for her nylon stockings.

I found the stockings, removed a pair from the drawer and tried them on. I knew how to roll them and then unroll them up my legs because I had seen women do it in movies and on television.

I straightened the seams and then I opened my Mom's closet to look at my legs in the full-length mirror mounted on the inside of the closet door. My hairless legs look very nice in a pair of stockings, but I thought they might look better with a pair of shoes.

I searched through the shoe boxes on the closet floor, found a pair of four-inch high heel pumps and slipped them on my stockinged feet. I looked in the mirror again and was mesmerized by what I saw... not a 12-year-old boy's legs in drag, but an actual pair of shapely woman's legs.

That was the beginning. Soon I was trying on bras, girdles, slips, blouses, skirts, dresses, hats, gloves, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and I even began experimenting with cosmetics whenever I was home alone.

Although I can clearly remember that first crossdressing experience, I have no recollection of what moved me to do it.

At the time, I was not aware that crossdressing was something that people did, so I was not emulating other crossdressers.

I was aware of female impersonators on stage, film and television, that is, men dressing as women for disguise or for entertainment. But back then, I had no plans of being a female impersonator when I grew up, so I should start practicing as soon as possible.

At age 12, I did not think I was a female, so I should dress accordingly.

I have no idea why I tried on that pair of nylons, but I'm glad I did.

Wearing Venus.

Vincent Beier, male womenswear model

Breasts and Bras

Alison sent me a link to an article about breasts, the variety of their shape and the best and worst bras for each shape.

I was surprised by how many breast shapes there are. Turns out that mine are Full Bottom and accordingly, I should wear a shelf bra, which "is a type of either demi-cup or three-quarter-cup bra that lifts breasts in order to enhance their appearance, shape, and cleavage." 

I usually wear a push-up bra, so close enough.

If I wear something that would reveal cleavage, I insert a pair of enhancers in each bra cup to give my cleavage a little oomph. But most of the time, I go au naturel (or as close to au naturel I can get wearing a push-up bra).

Note that if you wear falsies and want to use the breast shape article for bra-shopping guidance, go by the shape of your falsies and not your God-given endowments.

And may the falsies be with you.

Wearing Stylewe.

A male-to-female crossplay.

High Heel Headaches

Aches and pains from high heels are usually associated with your feet, but sometimes high heels can give you a headache, too.

You are out wearing your favorite patent leather high heels du jour and you scuff them. What's a poor girl to do about her favorite shoes? Is there a cure for her high heel headache.

Abby at Vivian Lou has a few solutions.

👠 Acetone-free nail polish remover  

Dab some acetone-free nail polish remover on a cotton ball or Q-tip and rub over the scuff mark to remove it. Be careful not to let the nail polish remover sit on the surface of the shoes for an extended period of time. This will risk compromising the patent leather and may remove some of the shine and color. Rub petroleum jelly or baby oil over the area to keep the patent leather from drying out. 

Similar suggestions: Rubbing alcohol, make up wipe, hand sanitizer 

*This is the method I used, and it worked beautifully!* 

👠 Baby oil 

Dab baby oil on a cotton ball and rub the scuffed area. Wipe with a clean damp cloth.
Similar suggestions: Petroleum jelly, mineral oil, vegetable oil 

👠 Toothpaste 

Using a cloth, apply a small amount of toothpaste to the scuff and scrub in a circular motion. Add more toothpaste as needed. Wipe the paste off with a clean damp cloth and dry. 

Similar suggestions: Baking soda and water 

👠 Pencil eraser  

Try erasing the scuff as you would a pencil mark. 

Similar suggestions: Rubber band 

👠 Miscellaneous bathroom items 

Try shaving cream or Nivea cream (not the lotion) to clean and polish patent leather. 

👠 Miscellaneous cleaning solutions  

Try Mr. Clean magic eraser, Comet or Ajax, Goo Gone or Fast Orange (a hand cleaner that mechanics use to clean grease and grime off their hands). 

Here's to keeping your patent leather shoes as shiny as the day you purchased them. 

Abby adds...

And to wear your shiny shoes 4x longer without pain, consider adhering Vivian Lou Insolia weight-shifting insoles - the only insole scientifically-proven to prevent pain caused by low, mid and high heels. 

These amazing insoles adjust the pitch and position of the foot in the shoe to shift weight to the heel and stop your feet from slipping forward. 

Whenever I buy a new pair of high heel pumps, I always insert a pair of Insolia insoles in my new shoes before I wear them out. They definitely extend the comfortable wearing time of my killer heels and I never leave home without them.

Ashton Kutcher (left) femulates in a 2002 episode of television's That 70's Show.

Eye of the Beholder

 Femulating is in the eye of the beholder. Here are some examples.

Housekeeper is amused seeing her employer's sons dressing pretty.

The bride's nephew preferred being a flower girl rather than a ring bearer.

Harold is a little tired after spending the day shopping en femme.

Mother advises her son before his first day out as a woman.

Wearing Venus.

Cheesecake femulation