My First Makeover

By January 1995, I had been regularly attending support group meetings for over 5 years, but I was still closeted, that is, not going beyond the safe confines of the support group’s meeting place.

A few girls in my support group attended First Event, an annual transgender convention held in the Boston area and recommended it to me as a way to expand my horizons. I was ready, so I registered for the convention and when the big day arrived, Elaine, another ham radio girl who I knew as a ham long before I knew her as a girl, drove us to the convention hotel in Natick, just west of Boston.

After settling in, I began exploring the hotel and here I am in the photo above, trying out the catwalk that was set up for the First Event fashion show. Wow, my hemline is short! I guess some things never change!

Later that day, I sat in and watched Hollywood makeup artist Jim Bridges perform a makeover on another First Event attendee. The transformation was amazing. I was so impressed that I made an appointment for a makeover late Saturday afternoon, so I would look my best for the Saturday night banquet.

It was my first makeover and I was a little nervous going in. How would I look? Would I be disappointed?

During the makeover,  I asked Jim which actresses he had worked with and he rattled off a few names. Then I mentioned that I thought Jaclyn Smith of Charlie’s Angels fame, was one of the most beautiful women among the current crop of stars (circa 1985) and he responded that he had done Jaclyn’s makeup a few times and that she had lousy skin that required a lot of work! After bursting my balloon, he patched it up by adding that I had better skin than Jaclyn Smith!

Anyway Jim’s transformation of me was as impressive as the transformation I witnessed earlier. I literally did not recognize myself when he was finished. “Is that really me?” I wondered when I looked in the mirror for the first time after the makeover.

After the makeover, I returned to my room to get dressed for the banquet. I was anxious to show off the new me and when I finally made my grand entrance, my friends and acquaintances did not recognize me either… in a good way.

Wearing Boston Proper

Șerban Copoț and Cezar Ouatu femulating on Romanian television’s Te cunosc de undeva!
Click here to view this femulation on YouTube.