After attending the StampShow, I drove to the Pond House Cafe, a restaurant in the middle of Hartford’s Elizabeth Park to dine with my friend Diana. Diana arrived at 5 PM sharp and we dined outdoors on the restaurant’s patio.

There is not a lot to say about dinner. The meal and the dinner conversation were great, the restaurant staff used the proper pronouns, called us “ladies” and seemed genuinely glad to have us as customers.

There were only a few other diners and they did not seem to notice us, except for one. Midway through our meal, a couple, probably in their late 60s, were seated opposite us; the woman had her back to me, but her dinner partner (I assumed it was her husband) was facing me and almost every time I looked his way, he was looking at me. His facial expression showed neither approval or disapproval, but he was studying me intently; so much so that I thought about going over to him and asking him if we knew each other. I was certain that I did not know him, but maybe he knew me or thought he did or something else was going on. (I think something else was going on, but I don't know what.)

After dinner, I drove across town to Real Art Ways for their monthly Creative Cocktail Hour. “Real Art Ways is one of the United States' leading innovative contemporary arts organizations, with programs in Visual Arts (commissioned public projects, curated exhibitions, education), Live Arts (innovative music of all kinds, performance, spoken word) and Film and Video (feature films and artists' videos)”

Real Art Ways is a very cool venue and has openly welcomed transgender folks for over a decade. Over the years I have attended about 20 of their Creative Cocktail Hours. It attracts a very eclectic crowd and is always an interesting evening.

Thursday’s installment was like old home week. In addition to Diana, three other girls from my old support group showed up and we had a good time talking about the old times as well as the new times.

We were ensconced strategically on the deck outdoors, which is the gateway between the indoor and outdoor activities. As a result, I saw everybody as they passed to and fro and they had an opportunity to see me. And I could not help noticing the guys, especially the middle-aged and beyond checking me out.

It was all so affirming, but a little disconcerting to receive so much attention and nothing more. None of the admirers made an attempt to approach me or my friends nor strike up a conversation. It was great conversing with my old friends, but it would have been interesting/different to interact with an admirer, too.

On the other hand, maybe they were not admirers. Maybe they were just amused by the appearance an obvious femulator.

On the other hand (that's three hands now), maybe they were just intimidated by an attractive woman and afraid to do anything but gawk.

Yeah --- that's the ticket!

Anyway, I called it quits early --- at about 8:30 PM. It was a long day and a woman's got to know her limitations, so I said my goodbyes and rode away into the sunset.

Wearing SVEE.

Contestant in the 2012 Mz. Relay for Life womanless beauty pageant in Cape Coral, Florida.

By Paula Gaikowski

Hot sunny days, cool clear lake waters, peanut butter jelly sandwiches washed down with Kool-Aid for lunch. These are reminders of my summers spent at the lake. Mixed with these halcyon days of summer are memories of angst and confusion growing up transgender.

I remember at 7 or 8 feeling so awkward that I always wore a tank top with my bathing suit. We were in the water constantly and played all kinds of games, Marco Polo, Hide and Seek, and predictably, there would always be a round of “pushing the girls in the water.” I recall the odd look my best friend Jimmy gave me when I asked him to push me in.

In the midst of all these summer memories, I was thrilled to read a recent article in The Huffington Post about Camp Aranu’tig. It is a camp for transgender youth that has grown from one New England camp and about 60 campers in 2010 to the addition of a West Coast camp, a family camp and a leadership camp with 400 campers in 2014.

I’m sure this camp will not only save lives, but will also change lives for the better. Regrettably support like this wasn’t available when I was growing up. However the summer of ‘74 was a summer of discovery and could perhaps be called my ad hoc version of a transgender summer camp.

I was 15-years-old when my parents planned a three-week trip across the country to visit a cousin and her new baby in California. Our itinerary took us by air to my Aunt Natalie’s in Chicago. From here my parents and Aunt Natalie, who was afraid to fly, would travel by car to Los Angles for a two-week visit with my cousin Helen.

I would stay behind in the Avondale section of Chicago and house sit my Aunts two dogs and one cat. By today’s standards leaving a 15-year-old alone for two weeks may seem odd, but taken in the context of the my family, it was not.

My grandparents had come to this country alone at age 16, my father was orphaned and living and working alone at 16. Both my Mother and Aunt began apprenticeships in Manhattan’s garment industry at that age traveling each day into Manhattan from Brooklyn. As many boomers will tell you, we grew up in age that allowed us a lot more freedom. However, with my two weeks of freedom came responsibility in the form of a list of odd jobs that included yard work, tending a giant vegetable garden and painting.

I was glad to be free of my parents watchful eye and the tortuous car ride and visit out west. By this time in my life I had been crossdressing in my mother’s and sister’s clothes after school since I was 9-years-old. My cousin Helen was married and out of the house and lived in California. I was given her old room and was astounded by the opportunity I found. The closet was packed tightly with clothes and dresses from my Aunt and both my cousins. The dresser contained an assortment of lingerie, slips, bras, girdles and even an old bullet bra that would become a favorite. But best of all was my cousin’s old vanity, still used by my Aunt daily to do her makeup. There was an assortment of cosmetics and accessories that lay out across an art deco vanity with a huge circular mirror. To say this got my attention would be an understatement.

I’d like to say I exercised restraint; however, my parent’s car hadn’t been out of the driveway 5 minutes before I was upstairs trying on a lavender bridesmaid gown that peered out at me the past two days. The rest of the day was spent relishing my new found freedom of gender expression. I tried on dozens of different outfits and began experimenting with makeup. The painting project started early that morning was forgotten and it was dusk by the time I found a cute set of pajamas and called it a night.

Over the course of the next few days I developed a routine. I would wake up in a pretty night gown or pajamas and have breakfast. Then I would put on a skirt and blouse and spend a few hours playing house. Lost in a dream world, I would saunter through the house caring for the dogs and cat, cleaning and sometimes cooking. It was easy to fantasize and visualize myself grown up as woman and a wife. Some days filled with guilt and shame over these feelings, I would become disgusted with myself, rip the clothes off and pack them vowing to change.

But like a moth back to a flame, each evening found me down in the coolness of the basement where my Aunt had her sewing room. There on racks and packed away in boxes was a collection of dresses and gowns accumulated during her career as a seamstress.

Things got even better mid-week when I uncovered a wig and a box of size 10 shoes. My size!

My Aunt was the type of person who didn’t clear out her old clothes. Add to that the fact that she worked as a seamstress and raised two girls, there were boxes of clothes, shoes, hats, and lingerie stored throughout the house. Each night I would get lost in the revelry of it all, so much so that one night after collapsing in bed I saw the early gray dawn filtering through the curtains.

I remember spending hours styling that wig and trying to master eye makeup. Some nights I looked like Mrs. Doubtfire, others like Milton Berle. Nevertheless, with practice and patience came progress. Slowly in the mirror she began to stare back at me, not a 15-year-old girl, but more a young woman. Like the ones who caught the bus in the morning on Milwaukee Avenue, going downtown to work in the offices. I lost myself in the dream of someday joining them. No wonder I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t want to be an engineer, accountant or fireman. I wanted to be a woman!

My parents and Aunt were due back Friday evening. My idea was to wake up early and act as if I was one of those young professional women that I admired and envied so. What was it like to wake up and get ready for work like they did?

I woke early, showered, did my makeup and then hair. After that I put on my dress, I still remember how wonderful it felt as it fell down around me. I primped then added jewelry. After that selected a purse. As I preened in the mirror, I saw that I had come a long way in the two weeks.

It was about 7 AM and the neighborhood was slowing coming to life, dogs barked in the distance, and delivery trucks roared by on Milwaukee Avenue. I walked over to the door, opened it and stepped out. A stylish handbag in the crook of my arm and a pair of white gloves held delicately in the other. For a few seconds I experienced pure joy, and then at the stop sign on the corner I saw it: a 1968 Dodge Coronet. My parents! I turned inside and raced for my room. Nothing was ever said. Camp was over.

My Camp Avondale surely was beneficial and came at impressionable time in my life. I learned how to dress completely as a woman. Yet instead of feeling joy and hope in light of myself discovery, I went home that summer feeling shame, disgrace and filled with anxiety and confusion. There was nobody to ask for help. If I did I would be branded “sick” and a “pervert.”

Today, we are seeing that change and programs like Camp Aranutiq are helping lead. Nowadays schools are starting to assimilate transgender students and counselors are being trained to understand and help students.

We are seeing transgender homecoming queens and prom queens. Transgender college students are given support and medical benefits. Still far from perfect, today transgender youth have options.

Remember that you are part of a community and share a common core of experiences with your sisters and brothers. Take pride in who you are and what you have been a part of until now. Support the fight for transgender rights anyway you can.

Gradually people are being educated and feelings are changing. No longer will transgender people have to feel the ridicule, guilt, shame and have to struggle as many of us did searching for answers all alone with a borrowed prom dress in our Aunt’s basement.

Wearing Tahari.

The late great Robin Williams femulating Barbra Streisand in the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire.

Most of my life, I knew I was trans-something. In fact, I was trans-something even before I knew all the trans terminology (transvestite, transgender, transsexual, etc.).

And most of my life, I professed that I was a "plain-vanilla crossdresser," that is, someone who crossdressed for the joy the of wearing women's fashions... not someone who crossdressed because they identified as a woman.

Heaven forbid! That wasn't me. I wasn't one of those people!

Despite a lot of evidence to the contrary, I was afraid to make the great leap that I was a woman, too. That would be a big leap and would rock the foundation of my existence.

In retrospect, I would have probably felt pretty pretty good if I had made that leap way back then, but I worried about what they would think! I always worried about what they would think and I led my life to please them, not me. So I denied all the evidence and stuck to my "plain-vanilla crossdresser" story.

Over five years ago, after months of counseling, a life coach finally helped me to make that leap. Instead of denying all the evidence, I embraced it and accepted the fact that I was a woman.

And I was proud to be a woman and not ashamed of it. I began coming out to my friends and colleagues and I began living authentically whenever the opportunity presented itself.

And it didn't hurt a bit!

Wearing Eva Franco.

Students femulating at the 2014 University of North Carolina Asheville drag ball.

Happy Labor Day! May your weekend be long and your shorts short!

Teen Tidbits

Some of us are late bloomers and are the equivalent of teenage girls discovering the world of feminine fashion and beauty.

With that in mind, I often pass along tidbits that I hope will help us get through those awkward teenage years and become beautiful young woman ASAP. So here is a tidbit from this week's Daily Makeover: 7 Makeup Mistakes You're Making.

Opera En Femme

Aunty Marlena wrote, "I think your readers would be blown away at the amazing femulations done in an opera by two  counter-tenors some years ago. They were performing in an 18th Century Italian opera called  Artaserse which had been performed originally with castrati in the female roles (because the pope at the time decreed no women could perform in any opera in Rome). When the opera  was revived in 2012, it  was done with the counter-tenors playing the parts of the king's daughter and her friend, the top general's daughter."

See for yourself here and here.

Deal Breaking Heels

Commenting on the short suit I wore last week, Pat wrote, "I simply love your outfit and thinks your legs are gorgeous! I’m also a tall girl and reluctant to wear heels because of it, but you’ve now given me courage!"

I wrote back, "Thank you for the kind words. My mother often remarked that with my shapely legs, I should have been a girl! (Guess what, Mom?)

"Anyway, my attitude regarding heels is that being 6 feet 2 inches tall, wearing flats or heels is not going to be the deal breaker as to whether I pass or not."

As a result, I wear the highest heels that I can stand!

Wearing Bebe.

Singer Arturo Valls femulates Shakira on Spanish television’s
Tu Cara Me Suena (Your Face Sounds Familiar) (2013).

Wearing David Lerner.

Vladimir Luxuria, femulating Italian actress, writer, politician and television host.

It is always nice to go back to work after a long weekend off and half way through the first day back you realize it isn't Monday, rather it's Tuesday!

As a birthday gift, my daughter wanted to see the “Legends” show at Foxwood Casino. Specifically, she wanted to see the Elvis impersonator, so we went to the casino Saturday night to see the show.

We had about a half hour to kill before the show, so we played slots and people-watched.  I quickly had a $75 hit on a 50-cent slot machine and decided to quit while I was ahead.

So, I sat back to see what the other women at the casino were wearing.

The girls sure get gussied up Saturday night at the casino! I saw more women in high heels and dresses in a half hour at the casino than I did the previous week.

I also saw a few girls like me in high heels and dresses, assuming my trans-radar was functioning correctly. Regretfully, I was not dressed pretty because I was out with the family.

The show was very good. In addition to an Elvis, they had a Tina Turner, a Johnny Cash, a Michael Jackson and an Adele. They all were excellent impersonators.

My wife thought the Tina impersonator might be a male, but I disagreed and my wife acquiesced to my opinion because of my expertise on such matters!

Professional femulator Larry Edwards as Tina Turner

Wearing Surface to Air top.

Jackie from Jersey wrote, "How did you buy your wig(s)?  Their is a ladies' wig shop close by and I would so love to see what length and style looks best on me.  Even more, I would love to get a fitting!  I just don't know what to say when I walk in the door dressed as a man. Any advice on how to go about this would be most appreciated.”

I wrote back that I assured Jackie that she will not be the first male customer at the wig store.

A very long time ago, I went to the local wig store for the first time and used the excuse that I needed a wig for a Halloween costume. The proprietor was unfazed and treated me politely and respectfully despite the fact that I was buying a $100 wig for a one night stand!

I returned to the same store about one year later --- same proprietor, but this time I fessed up and said the wig was for me, not for a Halloween costume. Again, she was unfazed and treated me the same way ---politely and respectfully.

I still go to the same wig store and now the owner is the original proprietor's daughter and she is wonderful! She even allowed my support group to host wig parties in her place.

So go for it. I am sure the store will welcome your business... if not, there are plenty of other wig stores that will.

If you have any questions, I will gladly attempt to answer them. I have been at this for over 50 years, so I have learned a thing or two and will gladly share my knowledge with you. Simply write to me at stana-stana @ sbcglobal.net

Wearing Hale Bob.

Actor Freddie Fox femulating in British television’s Worried About the Boy (2010).

The image accompanying yesterday's post was a vintage wig advertisement from Frederick's of Hollywood.

Forty years ago, when I began to seriously explore my femininity, I thought Frederick's was the be-all and end-all for femulating. They seemed to carry everything I needed --- exotic lingerie, high heels, sexy hosiery, showgirl wigs, gaudy jewelry, cheap makeup, short skirts, skimpy tops and tight dresses. One-stop shopping for my inner slut!

Back then, there seemed to be a Frederick's store in every mall including the one near the apartment I lived in while attending law school. So, when I finally mustered up the courage to buy my own feminine finery (instead of borrowing/swiping my mother's and sister's), I headed to the nearest Frederick's emporium.

As I recall, I bought my first bra with optional inserts, my first waist cincher and my first wig that day. It was in the fall, so I may have used the Halloween excuse, but I don't think so because I recall the saleswoman trying to push all sorts of products on me --- stuff that I would not need beyond a one-time Halloween party.

With my natural B-cups, I surely did not need the optional inserts for the bra I was purchasing, so after she talked me into buying the inserts anyway, I stood my ground and insisted that my pocketbook was only so deep and I could only afford the bra, inserts, cincher and wig.

She finally relented, rang me up and I was on my way down the pink brick road.

So that day, I made my first purchases of “girl stuff” from Frederick's of Hollywood. Where did you buy your first “girl stuff?” Do you have a Frederick’s of Hollywood story?

Wearing my Frederick’s of Hollywood purchases.

Wearing Rachel Zoe.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail noting that I overdress and suggesting that I should dress to blend in with the other ladies. To support this suggestion, the e-mailer added that when Kate Middleton is off duty, she wears jeans and sneakers. I never denied that I overdress and replied, "Kate Middleton is only a princess, so she can get away with jeans and sneakers. But I am a queen and must dress like a queen all of the time!"

Wearing Time’s Arrow bag.

Navy hero Don Winslow femulates in this February 1944 installment of his daily comic strip.

By Paula Gaikowski

We all started out “borrowing” our sisters’ and mothers’ clothes as we grew up struggling with duality of ourselves. We depart from the designation of youthful curiosity and exploration when a spark inside of us calls out to us louder and louder. I’m speaking of that moment of self-identity when you realize that you want your own clothes.

I was 22 and had just started my new job with a high-tech company in Clifton, New Jersey. There was a dress shop in town that I walked by each day during my lunch time walks. It was an old fashioned kind of place that you don’t see any more, locally owned and operated.

It was the 80’s, so think Designing Women style dresses (sigh). Well, there were all kinds in the window, but one caught my eye --- a blue print dress with a belted waist and lace collar.

After several days, I decided that I had to have it. As it was early October, the Halloween excuse was perfect.

It took several days of trying to even go into the store. I have to laugh now --- like a secret agent I made sure none of my colleagues were out in the area and I doubled back a couple of times in front of the store.

Finally I opened the door and a loud bell deliberately announced my arrival. Sheepishly, I made my way toward the back of the store and a middle-aged lady looked over the rim of her glasses appraisingly. My heart was pounding; my face was red as I stammered out a request for the dress in the window.

She was very pleasant and settled me down. She took my measurements, determined I was a size 16, and pulled a similar dress in my size from the rack. She then proceeded to sell me an expensive bra and then a girdle along with a pair of my first Hanes Silk Reflections, the brand I still wear today. Looking back, I think she saw right through me and was an expert saleswoman.

I walked back to my car and hid my purchase watchfully as if I had just bought something illegal.

I never wore the dress outside my bedroom. The dress and foundations would be lost in one of the Great Purges of the 80’s. However, an important step had been taken in my journey: I bought my first dress!

Wearing MyHabit.

The always lovely Britney Smith.

A dressing room selfie.

In light of Paula's post about buying her first dress, I composed some thoughts about shopping for those of you who are venturing out for the first time.

If you plan to try on the clothing before purchasing it, shopping en femme is better than shopping en homme because en femme, you get a better idea how the clothing will fit and look.

En homme, the clothing may not fit at all depending on what shapewear you wear en femme. And even if the clothing fits en homme, you still will see a "man in a dress" in the mirror and may reject purchasing the item because you don't like the way it looks. More than once, I tried something on en homme that was borderline, purchased it anyway and was very glad that I didn't reject it because it looked great on me en femme.

When I try something on in the store en homme, I always ask a salesperson if it is OK and I have never been turned down. (The worst thing that ever happened to me was back in the Dark Ages when a JCPenney saleswoman asked me to use the men's dressing room to try on a girdle.)

When I try something on in the store en femme, I always ask a salesperson where the dressing room is located, even if I know where it is. I always ask in order to protect myself in case someone complains about a male in the women's dressing room. If that ever happens, I can respond that the store gave me permission. FYI, I have never run into this problem, but I always ask anyway.

Here are some of the stores where I shopped recently and used the dressing room (if any) without an issue (an asterisk indicates that I have done so en femme and en homme, while no asterisk indicates that I have only done so en femme) : Claire's*, DressBarn*, Fashion to Figure, JCPenney*, LOFT, M·A·C*, Macy's*, Nordstrom, Payless*, Sears*, Sephora*, Talbots, The Limited, Victoria's Secret*.

FYI, I shop in Connecticut; your mileage may vary depending on where you shop.

Wearing Nine West.

Actors femulating in the 2014 French film Les nuits d'été.
(Thanks to Aunty Marlena for the heads-up about this film.)

I hate clothing catalogs in print or online, that display clothing just hanging there in mid-air instead of on a model. In midair, you see how the clothing looks on a hanger in your closet, but on a model, you see how the clothing hangs on a real person.

I guess they can claim that by not using a model, they can pass along the savings to the customer, but I prefer models modeling clothing, not hangers!

And what about the catalogs that do use models, yet crop their heads in the catalogs? What's with that?

One of my favorite online clothiers, ideel (formerly ideeli), recently switched to cropped-head models and since they did that, I spend a lot less time perusing what they have for sale. A cropped-head model is a lot less attractive than one with a head on her shoulders.

And go figure why they go through the trouble of hiring a model to show the clothes and then crop her head?

Wearing Le Redoute.

Mrs. Vineeth, a femulator from Kerala, India

I enjoy viewing the transgender images on Pinterest and have posted a few myself. But some of the transgirls images on Pinterest are too good to be true. I have seen images of so-called transgirls on Pinterest that I know for a fact are not trans, so it makes me wonder about the validity of the other transgirl images. (One bad Adam's apple spoils the whole bunch.) It does not mean that I will stop visiting Pinterest, but I will view the transgirls images with a grain of salt.

Wearing Diane von Furstenberg.

Painter Francis Bacon femulating in the 1930s.

On Tuesday, Paula left the following comment: Love your style; please share your secrets with us and post your favorite on line shopping sites!

I had to think about my "secrets" because most of what I do style-wise comes naturally to me. I don't think about it, I just do it. And this is what I do. 

Emphasize your assets.

My legs are my best assets, so I show them off by wearing short skirts and high heels. Heels make my legs even more shapely and short skirts reveal the results.

And there is some truth when I say, "My skirt's not too short – my legs are too long! " I have resigned myself to the fact that the styles I prefer are going to be on the short side due to my leg length.

Dress for your body's age, not your calendar age.

My arms are svelte enough for sleeveless sheaths and my legs are toned enough for short hemlines, so I show off what I've got (while I've still got it).

When in doubt, wear nude pumps.

Matched to my skin tone, they're a safe bet and they make my legs look even longer.

If it works, keep working with it.

When I find a style that looks good on me, I become a fan of that style and populate my wardrobe with more examples of that style. For example, I discovered that I look good in wrap dresses and as a result, I now own an assortment of wrap dresses.

On the other hand, keep an open mind. When you are shopping, try on styles that are not in your style book. You never know – it may look great on you. That's how I discovered that jumpsuits belong in my style book.

Never buy a boring coat.

"Outerwear should never be an afterthought," says Holmes & Yang co-designer Jeanne Yang. "So many people only see you in your coat—if you're not wearing something great underneath your trench, they'll never even know!"

With that thought in mind, fur coats are never boring. I own two full-length fur coats and a fur jacket. And I love animals, so all my furs are fake.

Own something in animal print.

Animal prints are timeless, racy enough, and always glamorous. I own a variety of animal print clothing and accessories.

Scarves are not for hiding.

Scarves are recommended for girls like us to hide our Adam's apple. I don't have much of an Adam's apple, so I never wore scarves... until about five years ago, when I came across my dear departed Mother's stash of scarves. One girls' night out, I wore one of her scarves in her honor; I liked the look and began collecting and wearing my own stash of scarves.

Bigger jewelry is better jewelry.

Most girls like us are proportionally larger than cisgender girls. As a result, some of the jewelry designed for cis-girls is proportionally too small for us. So when I shop for jewelry, I shop for jewelry that is bigger rather than smaller.

***

If you have any questions about my secrets or anything else, please ask (stana-stana at sbcglobal.net). In another Femulate, I will deal with the second part of Paula's comment and discuss my favorite on-line shopping sites.

(Thanks to InStyle.com for helping me bring out my secrets.)

Wearing Cynthia Rowley.

Gaurav Ghera femulates as Mrs. Pammi Pyarelai on Indian television (2013-15).

On Tuesday, Paula left the following comment: Love your style; please share your secrets with us and post your favorite on line shopping sites!

I answered the first part of her request yesterday (my secrets) and will answer the second part of her request today.

Since I prefer to try on items en femme before I purchase them, I use the websites to scope out what is currently available at the brick and mortar stores before I go shopping en femme. I almost never buy anything online from a store that I can visit in person, but I almost always check out their websites beforehand.

One problem with that strategy is that the brick and mortar store may not have everything that is online, but when that occurs, I usually find something else that is just as nice.

On the other hand, there are websites that do not have brick and mortar stores where I do purchase items without being able to try them on first. My success rate with these online-only stores is about 50%. Either the item does not fit correctly or I do not like the way the item looks on moi.

Although, many of these websites make it easy to return items (sometimes for free), I have been buying less from these websites lately because of the lack of success rate and the resulting return issues.

These days, my go-to online-only stores are Avon, ideel (formerly ideeli) and Nine West.

Avon - Yes, the Avon lady people sell very nice clothing at reasonable prices and I have been buying more from them lately. And my success rate with Avon is very high, probably around 90%. By the way, I am an Avon lady and receive a discount on items I buy, but no so much so that the price sways me to buy stuff I would not buy otherwise.

ideel - ideeli sold nice close-out clothing at bargain prices and I purchased items from them frequently. Then they got bought out, changed their name to ideeli, increased their prices and beheaded their models. Since then, I have bought little from them and have a $60 credit that has been sitting there for months, but I still visit their website frequently hoping for the best.

Nine West - They have a vast selection of shoes and their sizes are consistent, but their prices are high, so I only indulge when they have a sale, which is often. By the way, Nine West does have a local brick and mortar store, but they only stock sizes smaller than my size, so their brick and mortar store is useless to me.

As for brick and mortar stores I check out online before I show up in person, they are Dress Barn, Fashion to Figure, Nine West, and Payless. I also check out Macy's and JCPenney, but their inventory is so huge that what I see online often does not match what is in the store, so I usually don't bother unless I am looking for something special.

DressBarn also known as DressBarn - This is one of my favorite clothing stores. Their styles are working girl oriented, but their sizes are a little inconsistent, so I always go to the store to try on what I see online. And, by the way, they are very trans friendly!

Fashion to Figure - This is my other favorite clothing store. They specialize in larger sizes and their styles are younger and sexier than DressBarn. But like DressBarn, their sizes are all over the place, so an in person visit is recommended.
 
Payless - This shoe store has a nice selection of reasonably-priced shoes in the larger sizes that I require. However, their sizes are very inconsistent. I own Payless shoes ranging from size 10.5 to size 13 that all fit, so going to the store and trying on their shoes is a must in order to get the right size.

That's all she wrote. Again, if you have any questions, please ask (stana-stana at sbcglobal.net).

Wearing Rachel Zoe (dress), Eugenia Kim (hat), 10 Crosby (booties) and (ALC)bag.

Actor Stephen-Fry femulating in British television’s Jeeves and Wooster (1993).

Wearing Jessica Simpson.

Actor Karen Dior/Geoffrey Gann (right) femulating
in television’s Xena Warrior Princess (1997).

Last Monday, I wrote about shopping in person and left out a couple of stores where I have shopped en femme recently and used the dressing room without an issue: Kohl's and Lane Bryant.

Also, I mentioned that when I try something on in the store en femme, I always ask a salesperson where the dressing room is located, even if I know where it is. That way, if somebody complains about a “male” in the female dressing room, I can say that the store gave me permission.

I think that is good advice, but I don't always follow it. If I am feeling absolutely gorgeous and passing with abandon, I just sashay into the nearest dressing room without asking for directions. (Why ruin the mood!)  

Wearing Alice + Olivia.

Richie Rich femulating in Richie Rich Bank Book (1975).

I have made three pilgrimages to Provincetown to attend Fantasia Fair and I overpacked each time I went!

The first time I brought eight bags! I think that was excusable because I had no idea what to expect, so I was prepared for anything. I should have learned something after that first trip, but I still overdid it the second and third trips.

My goal is to reduce the baggage this year.  I drive rather than fly to Provincetown, so there is no monetary incentive to cut down on the number (and weight) of the bags, but there is an incentive to save time by packing and unpacking less.

With that in mind, I created a spreadsheet listing all the day and evening events during Fantasia Fair and the outfit I plan to wear to each event. To tell the truth, I created a spreadsheet for my second and third trips, but it did not help much. Being a fashionista, the all the events listed in my spreadsheet require different outfits!

I always take too many shoes and too much jewelry and end up not using all the shoes and jewelry I bring. So far, I managed to narrow the shoes down to four pairs this year. I may add another pair as soon as I figure out which shoes to wear with my Oz costume.

I can also cut down on the quantity of my daywear by mixing and matching tops and bottoms. So I will work on that.

I could wear the same outfit more than once, but that might shock a few people!

And do I really need to bring my tackle box overflowing with makeup?

Wearing Elie Tahari (jacket) and Greylin (skirt).

Actor Michael Andrews femulating in the film Malibu Express (1985).