Yeah ok, not a good Elmer Fud spin but this sort of explains what I’m going to explain in this post (that sort of didnt make sense). One thing I’ve definitely found, there is no easy way to find clothes and that seems to be the same experience of a lot of women. Sure we all know that one special friend that can throw on a potatoe sack and look gorgeous. But for most others, and myself in particular, this is more an excercise in hunting. And don’t get me wrong, I find it to be quit fun now. But in the beginning it was my worst nightmare.
So in the beginning I had nothing that could be described as the least bit feminine. And there were several issues I had to tackle just to finds some basic things to start off a new wardrobe. First off, no matter how you cut it, my body was in a state of flux. Guys clothes were not fitting right and womens clothes didn’t fit right either. That’s change a lot now but I’ll always be taller than most, have bigger feet than most and other over sized areas that most women don’t have to worry about. So that was the first problem, finding something that fits started out being a big problem and still is but not as bad.
Issue number two, I was not use to shopping in different areas of the clothing store (the womens section). And of course with everything related to being transgender, you really don’t know how people are going to react at girst so every trip to the store was like having to work yourself up to get a shot or something. Having supportive friends that were happy to go with me to shop was like the most important part of overcoming my nervousness. And as is the case now, its so much more fun shopping with friends, the more the better. Little by little as things changed physically, shopping got so much easier and its like second nature now. I can spend hours doing nothing but shopping now and of course there’s the trying on everything that is really nice now.
Another issue I had to really get over was getting the nerve to go and try on things in a dressing room. It sounds easy but you have to remember, guys don’t like doing this and will buy tons of stuff and will scream bloody murder if they have to try it on in a store changing room. Not to mention they generally don’t ask a friend “how does this look”, that violates the “guy code”. The only thing a guy finds more embarrassing than trying on clothing is the old holding the purse for someone like their mom or wife. Women on the other hand, this is like a ritual, try on eveything and get an opinion if your with a friend. This also comes in handy for me because I have the worst self image, I just don’t like anything I try on. Well, I’ve eased up on this a lot, but I’m still really critical. I think this has a lot to do with me just figuring out what can work and what is just not going to work no matter how much I wish it would.
So over the last couple of months I’ve gone from have near nothing to a much better wardrobe now that I’m getting happier with. I’ve found a number of stores now that cater to my special needs, tall stuff, which is helping to. There are generally two really big advantages women have in clothing, there is so much more to choose from than guy clothes. I really love the fact that you can mix and match things to really make different outfits from a basic pieces. Oops, I forgot the biggest advantage that women have, especially in an office environment, there are no TIES. Did I mention I hate ties, always have, always will and I am so glad I will NEVER have to wear another tie!!! (I’m dancing for joy in my head right now)
Ok, the bad stuff now, and there are a few of these to. First, there’s the price on women’s clothing. OMG talk about sticker shock at first! Second, size, hiss!!!!!! Despite knowing your size there are so many more sizes for women that will overwhelm the faint of heart. Lets see there’s (s,m,l, xl, xxl) the (2,4,6…14,16) lets not forget petite and tall then there’s (curvy, slim, modern..). And even the same manufacture will not always guarantee that a size will be the same across their clothing line. The biggest bad thing, for me any way, is the cost of dry cleaning. I almost fainted at the first bill I paid. It was literally twice as much as drycleaning my old guy clothes.
So that’s my adventure so far in getting use to buying clothing for myself. It was nerve wrecking at first but not so much now. And before I forget I will make a special mention of a clothing that I recently discovered that has become my new best friend. The cardigan, I love them, they are so cool and versital!!!
Here’s one of my recent finds, It was like half off in my local store. I’m starting to find bargains now, “oh happy days”!!!!
From the Ashes, the Phoenix will Rise 