Ftm Clothing - Dressing Tips

[Guest MrAwesome]

Well, For anyone who's new to presenting yourself as male, and dressing the part, here is a little guide to help you out.

Sizing

Pants

I personally haven't worn female clothes since I was 6-7, and I didn't even know what size I was back then!! So I personally am not one to tell you how to "Convert" your clothing sizes, however, I have google! and I have a lot of experience with Male clothing, which is all you really need.

When you are going clothes shopping, the 1st thing you need to do is decide what section to shop in. The boys section is good for anyone who is smaller. Men's pants go by 1st number, the number of inches the waste is, and the 2nd number the length of the pants. I wear a size 38-30. I can not find a pair of pants with shorter legs with that waste size. take a measurement around your waste, if you can't find a number close enough in the mens section, then go to the boys. I personally used to wear "Husky" pants when I was younger. I think I went from a size 18 husky to a size 32-34 waste mens pants. Hopefully this information is enough to help you gauge your waste size, try on the pants, to make sure that they feel comfortable, until you find the right size.

Some things you should pay attention to, is how the shape of your legs look in the pants. I personally have fat inner thighs which seem to add more of a feminine look in my opinion when I walk, if the pants get too tight around my legs. I found though that wearing tight spandex athletic shorts helps with that a lot though. Also, cargo pants are the BEST, if your jeans are too tight on your legs or something and you're worried it will be a give away, try the cargo pants. And make sure your pants are loose in the crotch area, or wear a packer.

Something about shaping, is that women tend to be "curvy" they have wider hips, and their knees tend to bend more inward, while men tend to be more straight up and down, and their legs more apart. Practice keeping your knees farther apart from each other, right below the hips.

Shirts

When you buy T-shirts, don't get them tight. When you bind, it can create an unrealistic chest shape, that you don't want to be obvious, and if you have bigger hips, it's really bad. Whatever woman's size you wore, that's probably about what you need in mens, maybe a size bigger. Try on a particular size 1st, to make sure it's right, if not, try a different size. Again, trial and error to find a size that best hides female shaping.

The right style

Wearing your clothes

Men tend to wear Printed Shirts, Find a cool design, skulls, cool looking animals, swords, or some kind of logo. Like "---------- Physical therapy", or "Guitar hero", "Rock band", etc.

When you wear your clothes, be messy with them, do not iron them, just have the edge of your shirt hanging out over your pants, feel free to make it look like you slept in them.

Accessories

Jewelry - Be light on this, especially starting off.

Necklace - For a necklace, wear something with a big chain, and maybe have something cool on it. Also you can wear a shark tooth, or large animal claws. Dog tags.

Rings - You can wear a big old man ring, something that if you hit some one in a right with it, it could bloody up their face.

Piercings - Most piercings are cool, don't overdo it, a small silver loop on the bottom of your ear, or a silver ball, and if you're man enough , a painful looking piercing in the top of your ear. Nothing wrong with piercings, especially if they look like they hurt, cause that's a sign of masculinity. ;P

Wallets - A simple wallet will do, preferably with a cool design on it, and a chain.

Shoes

Well, this is the easy part, find a good pair of comfortable sneakers, skateboarding shoes are cool too. If you have small feet, and are worried about it, get them a size or 2 bigger, people see the shoe and assume that your foot is that big. as far as shoe sizing goes, subtract 2 sizes from your women's shoe size to find your men's size.

[Guest Pól_Eire]

It's really funny to read this because other than the pants, I go about the whole clothes thing very very differently than you do, haha.

I wear mostly button down shirts or sports jerseys, no piercings or jewelry besides a watch, and a plain wallet with no design or chain. Yes, I have ironed my own shirts. I usually wear runners, flip flops, or dress shoes (even if I'm wearing jeans and not dressed up), rather than skateboarding shoes. But to each his own . I am kind of a prep, when it comes down to it. I'm posting mostly to just to give another point of view, if that's alright.

If you shop online, you can usually get pants with rarer leg lengths, such as 28" or 31". You can also get your pants tailored, or cuff them so that you don't destroy the bottoms if you must buy pants that are slightly too long. You could try that the next time you need pants, Lewis. Also, I'd suggest getting shoes that fit rather than getting them a size or two bigger. You're more likely to trip in overly large shoes, and you'll get fewer blisters from shoes that fit properly.

-Pól

[Guest Little Sara]

Well, this is the easy part, find a good pair of comfortable sneakers, skateboarding shoes are cool too. If you have small feet, and are worried about it, get them a size or 2 bigger, people see the shoe and assume that your foot is that big. as far as shoe sizing goes, subtract 2 sizes from your women's shoe size to find your men's size.

Ever heard of vanity sizing? It exists for men too. That is, size 10 men's shoes *really are* size 8 or 9 men's shoes.

The label on the shoes is bigger than the shoes are. The shoes might look big, but they're not that big.

I used to wear size 10 men's shoes. But I wear size 8 women's. Going by my old size, I should be wearing size 12 women's.

[Guest MrAwesome]

It's really funny to read this because other than the pants, I go about the whole clothes thing very very differently than you do, haha.

I wear mostly button down shirts or sports jerseys, no piercings or jewelry besides a watch, and a plain wallet with no design or chain. Yes, I have ironed my own shirts. I usually wear runners, flip flops, or dress shoes (even if I'm wearing jeans and not dressed up), rather than skateboarding shoes. But to each his own . I am kind of a prep, when it comes down to it. I'm posting mostly to just to give another point of view, if that's alright.

If you shop online, you can usually get pants with rarer leg lengths, such as 28" or 31". You can also get your pants tailored, or cuff them so that you don't destroy the bottoms if you must buy pants that are slightly too long. You could try that the next time you need pants, Lewis. Also, I'd suggest getting shoes that fit rather than getting them a size or two bigger. You're more likely to trip in overly large shoes, and you'll get fewer blisters from shoes that fit properly.

-Pól

I've worn big shoes all my life, I only added that as an option if you're self contious about it. You can wear dressy clothes if you like, but if your in your teens or 20s and just wearing every day clothes, that's what this is for. and Rings, piercings, necklaces are optional, just again adding options. I'm just posting what I've heard about from others, and from personal experience.

[Guest bronx]

I've found that ironing your clothes is a good thing, and looking sloppy isn't a man thing. Women like a man who is clean, irons his clothes and smells good.

[Guest Pól_Eire]

You can wear dressy clothes if you like, but if your in your teens or 20s and just wearing every day clothes, that's what this is for.

Hey, I'm 20! And these are clothes I wear every day, haha. They're not dressy. Like I said, to each his own.

-Pól

[Guest MrAwesome]

I've found that ironing your clothes is a good thing, and looking sloppy isn't a man thing. Women like a man who is clean, irons his clothes and smells good.

bah people leaves me alone if you wanna be a clean well dressed ladies man go right ahead xP However a lot of people DO prefer this kind of style, and dressing. And that's who this is for. I've noticed most guys aren't that clean or well dressed, you can't go wrong with this style.

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

bah people leaves me alone if you wanna be a clean well dressed ladies man go right ahead xP However a lot of people DO prefer this kind of style, and dressing. And that's who this is for. I've noticed most guys aren't that clean or well dressed, you can't go wrong with this style.

Be nice, now!

Clothes are a very individual thing. The "I slept in this" look is something that is kind of a personal choice. If that's who you are writing to, that's cool. It's just that there are people here who have different opinions and they are weighing in.

Here's my 2 cents. Whether it's right or wrong, a lot of how people react to you is shaped by how you look. There are a lot of dudes who aren't clean or well-dressed, but that ends up costing them in other ways. Just because a lot of guys do it doesn't mean it is something one should aspire to. IMHO, sloppy dudes look like they have no self-respect.

BTW, girls DO like clean guys who smell good.

[Guest Eck]

There is a middle ground, here, which is what I feel most comfortable in. I go out with a pair of baggy cargo shorts and a white t-shirt under a good button-down shirt that has a design on the back (for example, a dragon), and I do tuck my shirt in when I'm out in public. My legs are hanging out, all hairy because there's no way I'm shaving any part of my body (ingrown hairs are murder!) and a pair of comfortable hiking shoes is the finishing touch to my lower body. A short haircut (not Marine style, just casual) and wire-rim glasses go well with my single small hoop silver earring. Other jewelry includes only my titanium wedding band. A long cloth belt holds it all together around my waist. The nice part about all this is that it's baggy and dissheveled enough to hide any feminine features, but clean enough to be respectable (instead of being a spectacle!).

[Guest Neuro]

Aw snap, this is great advice! I FAIL at converting sizes OTL because I am short (164cm tall) and skinny (101lbs after friggin A-KON made me starve fffff)

Nowhere do you mention the masculine epicness of a labcoat, though. o^o

Hahaha XD ...Oh, and the ladies seem to like glasses. *raises eyebrows up and down* at least, in the odd crowd I hang out with.

[Guest Evan_J]

Just sittin back chuckling. We all do have different styles. My "dressed up" look and my "everyday" look are worlds apart.

And yet, even "every day" I think I look like a "bookworm type" being "everyday"; the khaki pants or even track pants turn "bookworm" when I add the glasses. And I like that. But then I like not just being one demensional. There's plenty of room for a myriad of styles. And even more than one style on a given person .

[Guest Tofi]

bah people leaves me alone if you wanna be a clean well dressed ladies man go right ahead xP However a lot of people DO prefer this kind of style, and dressing. And that's who this is for. I've noticed most guys aren't that clean or well dressed, you can't go wrong with this style.

I think thats a bit of a guy sterotype and sweeping statements are never good. I find I pass alot more if I dress up and look smart than do the I have slept in this or can't be botherd look. But each to their own!

[Guest praisedbeherhooves]

I dress very different from you. I can get away with wearing some tight shirts with the Tri Top binder from underworks, but then again I'm fairly flat chested. I only wear baggy shirts if I decide not to bind that day. I have guys hips and a guys butt so I can wear really tight jeans and I've noticed that if I pack and wear a flamboyant belt buckle peoples eyes tend to be drawn to that area. A bulge really helps. I generally go for girls jeans because guys skinnies are absurdly expensive. I know other guys who do this so I don't feel self conscious about it. I'm planning to get my septum pierced, my ears gauged and some spider bites all of which are fairly manly peircings. I wear slip on vans generally or sometimes converse style sneakers with crazy shoelace. I'm planning to buy some vegan combat boots soon. I kind of dress like an emo/scene kid pretty much.