My Preferred Style

[Sally Stone]

A fairly regular stop when I am going to the big city for a day of feminine self-expression is a “Total Wine” store. The town where I live is quite small, so it lacks a lot of the shopping options of Reno (my big city), and a well-stocked liquor store is one of them. Many of the store clerks have come to know Sally, but one clerk in particular, a sixty-something woman, always makes a big deal about my wardrobe.  She has probably waited on me a half a dozen times, and each time, she asks me “what’s the special occasion? You are dressed so nicely.”  I have always said thanks but never elaborated. 

 

Last weekend, however, while grabbing a bottle of wine, the same woman waited on me, and she asked me again about the special occasion.  This time, I made a point to tell her I wasn’t dressed for anything special, instead, that the way I dress tends to be my preferred style.  I told her it was my nature to be quite particular about my appearance.  And then I leaned a little closer and whispered: “besides, I think I have nice legs and like showing them off,” alluding to the fact that my preferred wardrobe usually includes a skirt, stockings, and heels.

 

She smiled brightly at my legs comment and then she added: “too bad more people don’t pay closer attention to what they wear.”  Then she went on to tell me how badly some people dress when they come into the store.

 

I realize, that my wardrobe is generally upscale, and I imagine it gets people’s attention the same way it got the store clerk’s. Most people these days dress with comfort in mind which tends to make me stand out a bit.  That’s okay.  Wearing female business attire as my go to style, makes me happy and helps me feel feminine, even if it does sometimes, force me to explain that I’m not dressing for a special occasion.

[April Marie]

My first time out was at a Wal-Mart. I was wearing a black/green black-watch skirt, black turtleneck sweater, green tights and black ankle boots. As I walked through the door it hit me that I'd probably made a tactical error. Instead of blending in, my choice of outfit was so different from the typical Wal-Mart shopper that I drew instant attention. 

 

In the end, I got a nice compliment from a young lady who asked where I'd bought my skirt and smiles from several men. 

 

The vast majority of my wardrobe comes from Talbot's and J. Jill and tends to be less casual than most women wear these days. But, it makes me feel good about myself and gives me confidence in myself....and that can't be a bad thing.

[Justine76]

Just now, Sally Stone said:

Wearing female business attire as my go to style, makes me happy and helps me feel feminine

Same here. Although recently, I've been paying more attention to what women wear casually but still have an overtly feminine look. I saw a woman at a locally that had the same pair of ladies' Adidas sneakers I recently bought and looked at how she worked them into her outfit; just yoga leggings with an oversized shirt but she looked really good. Tricky part is getting the perfect shirt length for that type of outfit 

[KayC]

5 hours ago, Sally Stone said:

I told her it was my nature to be quite particular about my appearance. 

Initially as I started to socially transition, I made and effort to 'blend in'.  That was an utter failure.  So I turned to being a 'fashion-nista' as my friend calls me.  I found it's more about how I feel about myself and not about how I think others feel about me.

I definitely dress better than most all the cis-women I see of my age (and the young ones too).  My motto is "it's called fashion ... you should try it!"
My 'regular' shopping stops, liquor store, and bar ... they all know me now.  They all recognize my style and often compliment me.  I also have my favorite boutiques and they usually have articles they will recommend - they know what I like and what looks good on me.

 

I think a lot of women just kind of 'give up' on the desire the be the best version of themselves.  I've chosen not too ... it took me too long to get here.

[Sally Stone]

On 9/12/2024 at 1:13 AM, KayC said:

I found it's more about how I feel about myself and not about how I think others feel about me.

Kay, this is such a profound statement.  My trans life was not fulfilling until I shed the concern about what others thought, and instead focused on what made me feel happy and pretty.  When I did that, I was able to finally spread my feminine wings and fly.  Soaring now!

[Lydia_R]

I was going to quote what @Sally Stonestarted this thread with, but I'd be quoting the whole thing.  I totally relate to all of it.

 

I'm a bit of a minimalist though, so I don't have much and recently purged all of my possessions in a downsizing event.  I bought three just above the knee dresses the other day and two of them are keepers.  Of them, one is now the best thing I have, so it feels good to have something nice again.

 

Trucking school is coming up soon for me and I'm wondering what I can get away with in the industry.  I'm 53yo and have had two pair of jeans in my life, so some form of tights/leggings are probably going to be the standard.  Open toed shoes are out and I have mostly worn open toed shoes my whole life.  I'll probably end up with hiking boots and socks that have an 80's look to them.  Were those called leg warmers?  I forget, but that was a huge fitness trend at the time!  LOL  Certainly not my favorite style, but I think I'm going there!

[KayC]

On 9/13/2024 at 1:41 PM, Sally Stone said:

Soaring now!

I'm SO Happy for you, Sally.  You've come a long way, Baby!