Do You Go All In?
When you get dressed, do you go all in? All in as in skin out, top to bottom, hair, nails, makeup? Or are you satisfied with just putting on just a piece of femme clothing? Is just dressing in girl clothes enough for you? Or do you also need to feel beautiful so you go “all the way?” Do you do your hair? Makeup? Nails? (Why do I have so many questions?)
Without questions, this column and our lives in general, would be pretty boring. So to address my questions, I’m first going to postulate that we are crossdressers, without planning on transitioning. If that’s not you, thanks for reading anyway.
For me, the degree of getting dressed varies. Sometimes it’s enough just to put on some shapewear and a loose top over leggings while not bothering with the hair, etc. It isn’t necessary for me to go with the whole wig/makeup thing to enjoy being dressed. Yes, at that point, I’m just an obvious man in women’s clothes. But it’s fun. Of course that only works if I’m staying home.
Other times, I feel the need to go all the way trying my hardest to appear authentically female when dressed. On those occasions it seems to me that crossdressing is much more that just wearing the clothes. Instead, it’s about wanting to look and act as female as possible. That’s especially important when I’m going out of the house.
So leaving this section with yet another question: do you dress fully every time? Or do you sometimes just stick with some basics? Please let me know by posting a comment or emailing me.
Mary Quant
Just wanted to write a few lines about the contribution Mary Quant made to our community.
“Who is Mary Quant?” some of you are asking.
She is a British designer widely credited with popularizing the miniskirt in the ’60’s. According to Wikipedia, one of the reasons she promoted the mini was that they were less restrictive allowing women to run faster when trying to catch a bus. I suppose that’s true for whoever you might be chasing. Or running from.
As far as I know, she had no special tie to the Femulate community, but I think we should all thank her for the greater freedom we enjoy when dressed. My picture above was created using ChatGPT just to see how I might look in a miniskirt.
Mary died in 2023, but her mini lives on.
I’ll Be Back
Hope you enjoyed thinking about and answering my questions. I hope to include some of your experiences in a future Stuff. I welcome comments and suggestions here on Stana’s page or by email at Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com.
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| Wearing Free People dress and Saint Laurent shoes. |
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| Steven Weber femulating on television’s The Comedians. |
If I'm heading out - I go ALL out! But if it's a day at home - pantyhose, leggings, camisole and a baggy top are enough.
ReplyDeleteMargueritte,
DeleteBut if it's a day at home like today, pantyhose, leggings, a bra, a camisole, and a baggy long in the back, a short front T-shirt, and Wedge Sandals are enough for me.
That's pretty much what I do as well Julie. JJ
DeleteAs always great stuff JJ.
ReplyDeleteI am a "dresses only" guy. Not one pair of pants that seem to have been co-opted from the men's side of the store. It's dresses, heels and hosiery, all the proper undergarments of bra and panty with a full slip. One of my wigs for sure. Makeup? If I am at home, it's limited to lip color. My nose will get a whiff of the scent from the lip coloring. There has been several occasions when I thought I would have an entire day to myself, but it was interrupted by an emergency requiring a quick undoing of my femme presentation. It's easy to quickly strip of the clothes, but remove nail polish and eye makeup? Time consuming. My mindset now is few women go all out with the makeup and nails on a daily basis. If I follow my wife's lead, it's lip coloring only for the day. That's it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like some good compromises going on there. Glad it all works for you. Yes, going all the way also means more time coming back. :) JJ
DeleteOn Sunday mornings except for the rare occasion of wearing a man's suit, I wear a dress along with painted nails, makeup, hoop earrings, and heels. I don't have to work at resembling a woman as I have beyond shoulder length blond hair and a bust. The thing that gives me away as a man is my voice, as I sing second bass in my church choir.
ReplyDeleteI wear a short sleeveless tank dress around the house in warm weather and long sleeve maxidress in cold weather.
I upgrade my dress a bit when I go out, along with lipstick.
John
Sounds like some lovely Sunday mornings. JJ
Deletegiven my (fortunate) situation, when i am at my mother-inlaw’s or out with her i am fully dressed. hair, makeup, nails, toes, the works. there have been occassions when my wife has been away for a couple of days ( i dont ask although i do know what is going on) that i’ll stay over at my MILs. normally lounge around in one of her negligees or if im dressed then a skirt & blouse . so for me its the opportunity that dictates my dressing. thanks Stana for another great article
ReplyDeletesometimes I just feel like a skirt or dress. Maybe a wig, maybe not. Usually not a bra, but sometimes. I do often like to cook in heels, and that usually means skirt. Once I must have been doing the last a lot, because the counters seemed too high when i was making breakfast one morning barefoot....
ReplyDeleteThanks Fiona. This is pretty much what I thought the responses would be like. It's always good to get confirmation of our opinions. JJ
DeleteHi Fiona, I love your counter comment! I had a similar issue when I upgraded to 5" stilettos and I guess I previously never realized how close our hanging lamp was to my head when i was in stocking feet.
DeleteONCE right at the beginning I fully dressed at home -didn't do it for me. Ever since when I'm dressed I go out as that is the full female experience for me
ReplyDeleteJJ, you have beautiful legs.
ReplyDeleteI go more than all out whenever and wherever I dress en femme. I wear the silkiest, frilliest and most feminine apparel possible, from innerwear to outerwear, panties, bras, garter belts or corsets or girdles, silky slips or crinoline or taffeta petticoats, sheer stockings, lacy or satin or silky dresses or skirts and blouses, always spiky high heels, lots of pretty jewelry - necklaces or chokers, bracelets, dangling earrings, sometimes a pretty hat with lace and a net veil, an ankle bracelet, a pretty purse, full makeup and wig, long painted nails, and a good dosing all over of the most feminine perfume. When I dress I want to be as much as a girly-girl as possible. Think Barbie all 'dolled' up on her way to a ball, that's my dream look.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if women in general just fear standing out so they opt for dull clothing including lots of pants. Tami-I am 100% with you.The more feminine the total picture the happier I am.Accordingly I get lots of compliments from women and I bite my tongue to refrain from asking them why don't they dress more like a LADY.
DeleteIsn't it wonderful? All these responses with different approaches and circumstances. There is no right or wrong. It's all good. Lovely to read everyone's comments. Myself, I take whatever circumstances are given to me....all in or partial depends on whatever is happening.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, JJ... routinely, I wear panties and ladies' jeans around the house. Also, I have longer than shoulder-length hair, which I wear in a ponytail (especially in warm weather) and I always wear nail polish (my go-to is Barefoot in Barcelona by OPI).However, when I'm going out with our group or when I head to my nail tech or counselor, I will glam up and spend time as full-blown Kathryn.
ReplyDeleteWhen out
ReplyDeleteit’s all out
When home circumstance allows
Leggings bra and perhaps a blouse
ReplyDeleteIf it's a day at home, pantyhose, leggings, a bra, a camisole, and T-shirt or skirt - always heels (the more practice the better), hip padding and cinch (encourages and support gait mannerisms). If going out, all is not too much. 🍎
I'm an in-the-closet, stay-at-home CD, so I enjoy any chance I get to tuck myself into panties, wrap my legs in silky hose, and strut around the house in stilettos...and dream about the outfits I would love to wear and all the places I would go and things I would do in them.
ReplyDeleteThe only exception to the all out transformation to Danielle is when I am experimenting with different looks for outfits or trying on new purchases to see if they fit. That way on a Danielle day I do not have to waste time and can maximise my time in full Danielle mode. For me personally there is nothing in it to lounge around partially dressed as Danielle .
ReplyDeleteRight now as I reading this I am wearing a bra and panties with breast forms. When I go out it’s most of the time all in. Sometimes I will run to the gas station or grocery store under dressing sort of I will wear a bra and breast from under a loose fitting mens shirt. You can see that I have breasts but not flaunting them. Those times are mostly for me as I feel so very feminine when I look down and see how the seatbelt separates and shows off my breasts. So to answer the question simply I’m all over the map
ReplyDeleteJen from NC
I also love to cook in heels and a skirt, so much fun
ReplyDelete