CROSS DRESSER SHOPPING, TIPS AND ADVICE

Have you been out in the world yet? If not, read this for some advice from someone (me) who made that first journey less than ten years ago. It was all about dealing with the stress of being seen and about the huge surprise that went with the day.

I had always imagined myself walking in a mall dressed in heels and a lovely dress. Somehow I was never 5’11” in those images. It felt so good to walk in heels and feel my skirt flying in the breeze. There I was clicking along and attracting no notice. “What dreams may come.”

Fortunately, I had enough sense to pay attention to women in the mall and realize that they did not dress like that just to go shopping. So, when I made my maiden voyage (just a figure of speech) I wore jeans, a red tank, and a long sleeved white shirt as a sort of jacket. I selected a pair of flats (well, my only pair) to complete my somewhat disappointing but very safe outfit. The flats had plastic heels so I still clicked and, dressed like any other female shopper, I attracted no notice. I had practiced a lady-like walk for years and I knew to keep my large hands as unobtrusive as possible. In short – I wished I were short – I was about as invisible as I could be. I would have preferred to look like women in 1960s kitchen commercials, but they weren’t real either and I just wanted to go out and be left alone.

It worked very well. I had a wonderful day which became one of the high points in my life. But I had a goal that I kept in front of me; I wanted to be out there and be relaxed and not be noticed. It had a lot to do with what I wore. When you go out, think about where you are going and how other ladies dress when they go there.

Oh, I guess I did say something about a huge surprise that day. That will the topic of another post, but the short version is that, from my first step outside the car, I lost all my nervousness and simply enjoyed myself. Nobody could have told me that before that day. I was prepared to be tense and weird all day. In fact, I was not at sure that I would even get out of the car. But that’s another story.