Crossdressing – It’s a Republican Thing

Dear Vanessa - right on say I. When we are open, when we are not being furtive, we chisel off just a little stigma and make life easier for the next girl. And this surely extends to how and where we choose to spend hard earned dollars (or drachmas and dinars and whatnot).

I am a serial product reviewer. Most of the chain shops ask you to talk to them. Look at the receipt, find the URL, and write a note. Management pays mind to these, I can assure you from personal experiece. I encourage everyone to take the 2 minutes required to send a note and advance the cause just a scootch.

I blogged on the topic last year ( http://tinyurl.com/qof2ga). Macy's has always been tops in my book, but there are many others I recommend.

So throw the shoulders back, hips forward, shake out the hair, and speak clearly to and about the shops you love.

Swing that purse.... Petra

Yeah, I am not in the habit of writing customer reviews on my blog but I should get into that habit more often. But then again, I only purchase my clothing from discount stores and thrift stores.

I don't write reviews per say, but I do mention - and contact the store - when I get good service. I hope it encourages the store to understand that while we're trannys, we're customers just like everyone else.

Dear Vanessa, i had a wonderful experiance in a wig shop in hampton,n.h, it was called ann's wig shop. i was very nervous about going in there to buy a wig, for myself, and she was great, she asked me if i crossdressed and she told me how she has many cd's come in,, she tried all these wigs on me , till the right one fit and looked great, she brushed it very careful, and was very gentle. made me feel good, and i thanked her and let her know that,,,, yours melony

I have never really had any negative comments while shopping in my guy clothes..  shorts, V-neck ladies tee shirt, light pink nails and earrings in both ears as usual with my long hair .. I buy anything without comment..  I have even tried on skirt and dresses in Walmart ..  lingerie has never been an issue either

I usually always order online, but lately my wife and I have been going to thrift stores for lingerie. That's always been easy. We pretty much wear almost the same size and we check out together so there hasn't been any real experience there.
Shoes are a whole different story. I've been ordering online since last February when I discovered I can actually get heels in my size. Those were the first I've ever bought in my whole life and since then, I think I've spent over $2000 at Zappos alone and an unguessable amount on other sites - talk about purchasing power! I have 3 pairs of Stewart Weitzmans that I absolutely LOVE! - and quite a list of other very nice choices.
I've been CD for about 18 years and a barefoot one for 17 of those. WHOOHOO!
So anyway, about a month ago my wife and I decided to order something from Nordstroms when we found we can pay for it online and then go pick them up that night. That was exciting because until then, we would order stuff on Friday night (payday) but wouldn't get to see any of it until the following week. This was the first time we could order something and actually have it that same weekend!
So I ordered these Ivanka Trunp Ellens at 50% off. They are absolutely gorgeous! When we went to Nordstrom's that night, we went up to the cs counter to get my order and the girl behind the counter was incredibly nice. She looked at them (I'm sure she had to see what size they were) and complimented how they were such beautiful pretty shoes. She then looked up at us and she asked, "would you like to try them on?" The part of this that was interesting: she looked back and forth at both of us just dying to see one of us try them on. Looked like she was thinking, "which one of you? I really want ot see these on somebody." My wife is considerably shorter than me and a size 8m and I am a size 12m. I don't know if it was obvious who they were for, but I felt like if I did try them on, this girl would have been completely cool with it. But of course my response to her was, "Oh no, we're good. Thank you."
Then we went downstairs to look at other shoes my wife was interested in. I was in complete male mode and walking around the store looking at ladies shoes. My wife later told me she over heard 2 guys talking and something about a bet for $20 and they were talking about me. We both had to laugh at that. Just too funny.
Last weekend, we did the Nordstrom's thing again for a pair of BPs but at a different location on the other side of town this time. Of course it was a different girl behind the country and a very different reaction. When she brought the bag out, she looked inside and looked completely stunned as if she just caught her husband masterbating or something. Before she looked in the bag, she looked just professional doing her job and then after... she was trying to stay calm on the outside, but her stuttering words and suddenly cracking voice clearly showed she was freaking out on the inside.

These 2 experiences are the only ones I have right now and are the closest I've come to even "coming out".

Goes to show that business is made up of the people you see behind the counter with just a small hint of decision making from the top that you don't ever see.

Hi Vanessa,
I have found Orchard Corset very friendly to male customers and even encourage them to share and participate in their 'before after waist training journey' as an encouragement to other men. I added a reply to one woman on a subject that came up and turns out it was not a woman but a very active crossdresser or beyond that point. At any rate the Orchard Corset staff is very friendly and very helpful. It has hooked me on steel boned corset waist training and some amazing results. Will be waist training for many years to come...at Orchard Corset that is!