There is a difference between cross dressing and transvestitism. A transvestite wants to pass himself off as a woman, whereas a cross dresser does not, just like all the other people on this site. An extreme of that would be Conchita Wurst, where the guy has a great looking and feminine body, plus a good taste in clothes, but that full beard....ugh.
For me personally, there was never any dilemma as to which specific feminine articles of clothing I liked. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I have a feminine looking face, hands, and feet so I figured if God gave me these gifts, then I'll just run with that. Plus, I look a LOT younger than I really am.
That's why I never ever had a beard or a mustache, and ever since I can remember have had long nails and shoulder-length hair. So it was never seen by myself or anyone else as anything but natural for me to start wearing ladies' dress sandals during the summer to show that off as well. And it really does look better if you (a) exfoliate every time you shower and (b) use clear nail polish, even if you just use a base coat. And another thing I can't emphasise enough: shave.
If you're reading this and you're relatively young, I'd suggest starting to shave your whole body ASAP because the older you are, the longer it takes for the skin to get used to being shaved. I started whole-body shaving when I was 23 and even at that young age, I had massive razor burn over all my arms and legs. The first day afterwards it was always OK, but then it just looked horrible, to the point where even in the hottest summers, I was wearing long pants and a long shirt. But then after about a year or so it cleared up, and hasn't returned ever since. In regards to shaving: do NOT use an epilady or any other epilator. Trust me. Why do you think that everytime you see one of these on eBay it always says "used only once." Fact of the matter is that by ripping out the hairs, you create the possibility of getting them ingrown. I used to use epilady on the most difficult parts to shave, namely behind the knees, and the back of the thighs, and that's where I still get ingrown hairs, where I have to have my girlfriend free them using a needle, and then shave it.
But getting back to the whole cross dressing thing. Like most of the guys on this forum I have never tried to pass myself off as anything but a guy, and I wouldn't want to be anything but a guy. I'd never ever think about getting like a sex-change operation or taking hormones. I look pretty androgynous as it is, and fashion freedom is really important for me. Women have it, and now it's up to us to claim the same for ourselves. And that applies not just to fashion, but everything else. Like I mentioned in the section on sewing: I can sew pretty well; but I can also MIG weld pretty well. I can cook an excellent Italian meal, and I can also cut my own firewood. I can do my own French-style manicure, as well as rebuild an engine. Which also explains why I have like 2 pairs of gloves everywhere you look
The key here is balance between your male and female aspects. I don't know any guy who has TWO Y chromosomes. The fact that even in this day and age people consider us a bit unconventional shows that we still have a ways to go. I don't usually go out dressed 100% en femme, usually I do something like 60/40 or 40/60.
That's also why I chose to join this forum, because even though skirts aren't EXACTLY my thing, I think the people here are on a higher level than a lot of similar websites. Also, I have never come across a site that only caters to guys who wear women's shoes and handbags, and who love doing their nails up French style, and their hair.
I also appreciate the fact that this is not a site about sexuality. It's about fashion, and in my opinion, fashion has really nothing to do with that. How often do I run into websites that treat this in the same current as sexuality, or even morality. Fashion choices are just what you look like on the outside. You honestly think that God will judge you based on what you wore? Don't make me laugh. Look at it this way: I grew up in the 1960s and back then we wore different styles of clothing, and if you were to go out dressed like that today, some people might think that's unusual as well. But back then pretty much anything went in terms of fashion, and I can honestly say that that was the best time to be growing up, and to this day, I've found that the most open-minded people are either from my generation, or the young people around 20 years old today. In fact, all my friends are either as old as I am, or around 20-25.
Since I was talking about the 60s: if you want to experience the 60s firsthand, just go to a Rainbow Gathering. I've been to 2 so far and it's a life-changing experience and I highly recommend it. It's not just a thing for old hippies like me, because you see a lot of the gen-X ers there, and a lot of them come up and ask me where I got my shoes and I'd be like all kinds of places: eBay, Amazon, Molotok, dumpster, or every now and then a physical shoe store. I have the advantage in that I have a size 42-43 foot which is at the upper scale for women's shoes and not difficult to come by. In fact you could say I have a backlog of shoes, and every time I feel like switching styles I open up one of about 8 boxes I have and it's like Christmas.
Being a professional garbage picker I can tell you I come across some really good stuff, and last month I found a petticoat I thought was really cute with my Dirndel dress, but after taking a couple of pictures I felt it really was cute under the skirt but it was just way too feminine for my style, which would be more along the lines of hybrid dressing. Every person has their own style. It's like my girlfriend who wears white everything. That's the most un-practical colour there is, and if, for example I accidentally get one tiny cigarette ash on her she goes ballistic. But that's her style, and I accept that just as she accepts mine.
The key word here is acceptance, and you'd be surprised to find out how many people either don't care, or who embrace my style openly. The key word is also self-acceptance. I never had to "come out" to anyone about this, but there was that one moment in time when I was about 14, and my mom had been in my room. Just as I was about to go out she said "so, do you want to talk about THIS?" and whipped out two of my nail polishes. I was a little uncomfortable talking about it, but I told her what the deal was, and as the conversation went on I got more confident, and she was less and less distraught. By the time I walked out of the house I felt like John Wayne. I could do anything. And I did.
My girlfriend is really into astrology and always brags about how her sign (Libra) is the only non-living sign of the zodiac, and it was only after parousing this website that I actually realised that Virgo (my sign) is the only female sign of the zodiac. And I match the profile for a Virgo to a T (a T-strap sandal?). I also read about the finger length test thing and found out that by all accounts I should have been born gay. But I'm not, even though a lot of people ask me about that. No, I have a somewhat female brain in that I have way too much empathy in me.
I think I just coined a new term for how I dress: how about SALAD Dressing?
I love you all.
