Crossdressing beginner is a just added a new page that is designed for the person with absolutely no crossdressing experience. It occurred to me that depending on ones upbringing they might have no clue how to start crossdressing. CROSSDRESSING BEGINNER hopes to give the reader a basic understanding of what is involved starting with evaluating the body they have. There are 6 stages to the evaluation which explain the importance of each one. I have included excerpts from each step to give you a better idea what they contain.
1. FACE
The biggest problem crossdressing beginner men have to deal with is the face which is what people spend the most time looking at. Just coating it with makeup does not accomplish anything unless it is done properly.
2. BEARD
The darker the hair the harder it is to cover requiring heavier base makeup to cover.
3. BODY
The body you have also dictates what kind of female shape you can get because you need to add padding for hips and breasts. Doing this right saves not only lots of money but time also.
4. STYLE
I don’t know any crossdressing beginner who starts out wanting to dress like their grandmother but I suppose its possible. Your age plus or minus a decade is a good rule of thumb unless you are a fetish dresser in which case their are no rules.
5. HAIR
Choosing a wig is right up there with the face in importance because its one of the first things people are going to notice about you.
6. MAKEUP
The makeup foundation product matched to your smooth skin (true foundation) gives you a great base to start the pretty process.
The CROSSDRESSING BEGINNER page will give the new crossdressering beginner some things to consider before making decisions on how to go about starting to crossdress.
The other pages on the site will further their understanding and knowledge helping them to put their best female presentation.
Crossdresser face tape is not new and I have written previously about my technique. I recently discovered a tape system online and gave it a try and I love it. Rather than using strips of tape sticking to my head band this system uses rubber strips with sticky tapes on the ends. It is not designed as a crossdresser face tape particularly. It is designed for women but because we wear wigs it actually works better for us.
CROSSDRESSER FACE TAPING
This crossdresser face taping system works very well and starts by wiping your temples with alcohol to remove the oil and dirt from your skin. The don’t call for it but I dab New Skin liquid bandage over the cleaned surface once the alcohol evaporates. The I peel off the paper cover on one of the tabs and stick it to my temple pressing firmly. Then I stretch the band over my head to the opposite temple and press it on. The rubber center section of the band maintains a constant upward pressure lifting your eyes, face and neck. It is in the eyes of the beholder but I think it takes 10 to 20 years off.
NECK TAPING
Hopefully you don’t have the dreaded Turkey Neck but it pretty much comes with age male or female. For those of us with a little left after the crossdresser face tape we have crossdresser neck tape. I use the alcohol and New Skin process I described for the face tape. This time you place the crossdresser neck tape on the back of your neck in line with your jaw line.
Go slow at first with either process because it you pull too much the tape will actually tear your skin. Blistering may be a better description as the top layer of skin separates from the lower layers.
Crossdresser wife support for your dressing is truly a gift. My wife has always been a great help with my crossdressing even though she chose not to actively participate in the beginning. Wigs, makeup, shoes, outfits and accessories are areas she has helped me with. Most things I willingly accepted but the short wig took decades for me to buy into.
Crossdressing Wig
My wig style was pretty much shoulder length through most of my dressing career. Like a caring crossdresser wife support she was constantly suggesting the shorter ones but I never liked how they looked on me. That changed a couple of years ago when we returned to our hotel from the CHIC Christmas Party. She took off the short wig that she was wearing and asked me to put it on. She wanted to see how it looked on me as it was a complimentary color. I knew what she was up to but put it on anyway. She teased it up a little higher than she wore it and the look on my face said it all. I loved the way it looked but, the wig cap was too small for me. The two wins for her was I now was ready to explore the Micki in short hair concept along with she one the argument.
Godiva’s Wigs
I was fortunate to discover Godiva’s Secret Wigs online because they are great quality and come in large cap sizes. I have purchased several large cap wigs from them but what I call a short wig they refer to as medium which, refers to the length. The two wigs below come in large cap size but are medium length.
Freedom in Nutmeg F colorTrixie in Creamy Toffee color with roots
For a Traveling T Girl like myself there is a wonderful advantage to these wigs. I pack them in a large zip lock freezer bag with the wig turned inside out. When I arrive at the hotel I open them up, hold them upside down by the tag and shake hard 3 times. I style them later when I go out with my long fingernails. It only takes a couple of minutes and has cut down my time getting ready.
Trixie wig Creamy Toast R (with roots)
On trips where my wife accompanies me she takes over on the styling which always looks better than mine but, she has been at it longer.
She has also bought me numerous Betty Boop figures over the years because she knows Betty was my first love as a child.
Maybe Betty was the influence that made me dress in the 1st place.
I like them but have some issues mainly about the weight which is 1.68 lbs each. I need two so I am looking at over 3 lbs added to my 50 lb luggage limit. Because of the weight I did not take them to DIVA Las Vegas 2019 this year as planned.
Normally I ship my luggage ahead of time and weight is not as big an issue. I think I will appreciate them in the long run. They were attractive because I assumed the wigs would stay put on the stand without slipping like my other portable stands.
$40.00 is too high given the fact that they are just cut from sheet plastic. In addition I had to widen one of the slots so the pieces would fit together without rocking.
WIG BANDS
I also found a new wig band that I liked because it has a flesh tone closer matching my skin. I followed the directions placing the label on the right side, it stayed in place all day and night. My wig fit over it and was secure in place.
I did wear the wig band everyday at DIVA this year and it was great. The only thing I would change is to order the 23″ size to give me some extra room.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
I am currently planning my next adventure which will most likely be San Francisco, Portland, Seattle or back to Las Vegas. The later will be a weekday event most likely and the others a weekend adventure. Hotels in Las Vegas are a bargain during the week while the others are more expensive. I will definitely be shipping my luggage this time.
Being a traveling T Girl road trips are something that most of us do to at one time or another. Some often like myself others only occasionally but we all have the same challenge. What to take and how to get it there in addition to how to pack it all. If driving, you can take everything you own depending the size of your vehicle but flying takes some planning. My wife organized my packing process years ago and I have used her system for years with great success.
WHAT TO BRING
My traveling T Girl road trip starts with planning my evenings out differentiating between casual and dressy nights. Once I decide on an outfit for a night, I lay it on the bed and pick out some jewelry to go with it.
ACCESSORIES CAN MAKE OR BREAK THE OUTFIT
Setting the jewelry on the garment gives me an idea how it will look when worn with the clothing. Then I hang it on a door nob or cabinet nob so I can lay the purse and heels I choose below it.
ACCESSORIES
Once I am happy with the nights look the jewelry goes in a zip lock sandwich bag and hung on the hanger by punching a small hole just below the zipper.
I do this for every night I will be going out along with days outfits. Daytime outfits are far easier to put together because the emphasis is on casual as opposed to the night time glamour. Makeup is toned down also as not to stand out so much in the crowd. Shopping rules the days so jeans and flats come first followed by a thin top so I can try clothes on over it. My preference weather permitting is a light jacket with a zipper in front. That way I don’t have to take my wig or blouse off before trying things on. Jewelry is conservative also with smaller earrings and bracelets. My wig for daytime will be light brown as opposed to flashy blonde shades. Again, the jewelry will go in a zip lock over the hanger.
When all the outfits are selected, I put a clear trash bag over the hanger of each outfit to guard against wrinkles.
TRAVELING T GIRLS
Packing wigs depends on the wig short or long full or straight. I have used cases which take up lots of room but protect the styling and they are great if you are driving. Flying traveling Tgirls are another story due to luggage limitations on size, weight and quantity of suitcases. I have used a trick for traveling crossdressers taught to me years ago by the late JoAnne Roberts for longer and full hairstyles. You place the wig in a plastic bag folding the excess bag under the wig and insert it into a plastic she box. Takes up very little room in the suitcase and preserves the styling well.
You can take collapsible wigs stands with you or you can buy large pop bottles to use for wig stands when you arrive at your destination.
Milano 2 piece wig stands slide together with offset slots in each of the halves
My wigs are all short and can be packed inside out then shaken upside down. I can style them quickly and I bring portable collapsible wig stands. I just purchased two new stands pictured above that I will be trying out but think they are going to be great as they are very compact.
Fake fingernails are a must for crossdressers and they can easily be bought on line or in most drug stores. Size can be a problem as they are designed for women who have much smaller nails. Some of the prepackaged nails will fit but thumbs usually don’t. My solution is to but unpainted nails in my size form Talon Nails and shape them myself.
FRENCH MANICURE
A couple of years ago I started experimenting with doing nails in a French Manicure style. It takes more work than just cutting, shaping and painting fake nails but is worth the effort.
The process is the same as the one detailed on my CROSSDRESSER FAKE FINGERNAILS page. The big difference is when you paint the fake nails it will be with a French Manicure polish designed to look like your natural nails.
On the nails above I painted 3 coats of the polish on the right using my nail wheel.
I let the Polish dry overnight and then mask off the section of the nail I will paint white the next day.
Because I will be using an airbrush to paint the tips I need to mask off the back part of the nail. The masking strips are available at most any beauty supply or of course Amazon.
Now its time to fire up the compressor and get to work on the tips. I use the white tip paint mixed with nail polish thinner 50/50 so it will spray easier. I tried brushing the white tips on but, it was always too think. The fake nails did not look natural like you see women wearing on the street.
I let the paint dry overnight and then remove the masking the next day.
After letting the dry another 24 hours I put two coats of Orly topcoat on and i am all done.
I bought my airbrush equipment from Amazon and the compressor from Harbor Freight.
Crossdresser colors you say! What is that? Years ago I found out quite by chance at California Dreaming a San Francisco crossdressing event. I was wandering around the vendor area looking at all the wares available when I came upon the Donna Fujii Cosmetics booth. There wasn’t much going on during the day in that most everyone was in the city shopping. As I was talking to the lady in the booth she asked if I wanted my colors done. I replied crossdresser colors? She explained that everyone should know their colors especially crossdressers.
COLOR CONSULTATION
I sat down in the chair and she explained the difference between cool colors and warm colors. My skin is medium and I was wearing a dark brown wig so while my skin says warm my hair said cool. She started with cool and placed a piece of silver metallic cloth on my shoulder and asked me to look at my face especially my makeup. She then placed a gold metallic cloth on the other shoulder again asking me to look at my makeup. When she then removed the silver cloth it seemed like my makeup changed looking much more complimentary or warmer. She advised switching to warm tones like blond wigs and warm palette colors for makeup.
Clothes such as red really pop when worn with a blond wig.
Micki Finn crossdressed in red jacket.
Finding anybody wearing much color is difficult today women, crossdresser’s or anyone else. Yes black is slimming but gets old seeing everyone dressed that way.
HAIR AND MAKEUP
The most important colors to get right are makeup and hair so if possible get the makeup right for your skin then do the wig color and style. The ideal would be to try on wigs dressed with your correct makeup on. Shorter styles are easier to work with because you don’t get distracted with the style and concentrate on the wig color complimenting your makeup. I think you will be surprised pleasantly and please purchase a wig if you take advantage of the Solon’s expertise.
Another possibility is to attend a crossdresser convention / conference where there is a wig stylist exhibiting but again if at all possible purchase something from them. Diva Las Vegas this spring should have a wig company working with them.
Overdressed is a term heard often when people contemplate going somewhere and have concerns about how others will be dressed. Crossdresser’s are no exception and you here it all the time especially when people are going to Trans or Crossdresser events.
Activities like shopping and where you will be going typically dictates what you will be wearing. Shopping at the mall in Las Vegas in hot temperatures sees thongs, shorts, tank tops or short sleeve blouses. Unfortunately some “T” people wear the same thing to dinner like so many non “T” people do.
SHOPPING
I very seldom go out shopping when I travel largely because most of my shopping is done on the internet. I also hate daylight preferring night time lighting which is much softer. Besides I can buy anything I want in DUKE mode and nobody cares.
Therefore I live for the night and overdress to my hearts content. I looked like a parade float when I went to Diva Las Vegas this year but did not care. I have been dressing up not down since I was a little boy and have no plans to stop now. Being dressed to the hilt is what I enjoy so that’s the way its gonna be. I accept the label of Glamour Pussproudly!
Overdressed
Last weekend I went out in Long Beach Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday nights and overdressed every single night.
Friday night I met friends at a very hip mainstream restaurant in downtown Long Beach.
Saturday night was our CHIC club meeting night so I joined 14 other members at a different main stream favorite.
Monday & Tuesday nights I went solo at favorite pubs on Naples Island near Long Beach.
I did not fool anyone not passable and do not care nor did anyone else. My Uber driver greeted me opened the car door and took my hand when I exited the car. Present like a lady, act like a lady, and be treated as a lady.
Crossdressing has been around since the beginning of time and most everything that you read about the experience comes from someone born after 1950. I’m Dressed you’re not is a look back at the adventures and friendships formed over 6 decades of being out and about. It is based on the experiences of John whom I have always known by her fem name Lane. Lane recently turned 92 years young and is still buzzing along.
Full Disclosure
I first met Lane at a CHIC meeting almost 20 years ago and immediately assumed she was the real deal. I figured she was married to one of the crossdresser’s attending the meeting. It was not until someone introduced me that I found out the she was one of us. In addition she was one of the founding members of CHIC (Crossdresser’s Heterosexual Intersocial Club) and it’s first president.
Friendship
The book jumps around somewhat but, the most important point is the long term (Non Sexual) crossdressing special relationships. It describes friendships between the people in the book. It is not written like a who done it mystery novel but, rather a collection of stories about what is was like dressing as a woman in the 1940’s, 50’s 60,70’s’ 80’s and through the 1990’s.
Most books on this subject written today are from Baby Boomers and start in the 1960’s at the earliest. Lane gives a 92 year olds perspective on what it was like to go out in public fully dressed as a women in the pre 1980’s era. Crossdresser’s in those days you could be locked up in jail for impersonating a female. Crossdresser’s just going to a club dressed as a woman was all you had to do to be arrested and prosecuted. Being caught dressed resulted in many divorces, lost jobs and ruined lives.
Younger readers might want to ponder that for a while!
The world assumed that you were trying to fool an unsuspecting men into sex otherwise why would you dress like a woman? Thankfully the world has changed today and things are far better for those who cross dress.
Those who came before the crossdresser’s of today pioneered the movement and passed on what they knew. It was Lane who taught me the technique I use for my false fingernails.
The stories she tells have been verified by others I have spoken with and are true. Most of us are envious that we cant but she was lucky enough to pull it all off!
