- This topic has 31 replies, 27 voices, and was last updated 4 years ago by
.
- Posts
Hi girls. Just wondering how each of you arrived at your personal style?
To begin with I was buying all kinds of tat, things that didnt co-ordinate or didn’t suit me colour or shape wise. Such a lot of money i wasted, if only I’d had a personal stylist! Now, with my wife’s help, I’ve really honed my tastes and I would categorise my style as vintage (Clara from Doctor Who is my style icon if any if you know her!)
But how did you all get to the place you are now and how would you describe your personal style?
I would call my style classy chic. Some of my styles are based off my wife (of course) but most are my own sense of classic style. I do so love a great pair of jeans with a fancier top for a dressed-down look but I am just as comfortable in a knee-length dress for a classier night at home. I am also a huge fan of lace so that gets used quite a lot.
I was terrible when I first started to buy clothes and it took me a long time to finally get to where I am today, meaning I no longer mix prints, What was I thinking. I had a co-worker that I always used to ask for fashion advice, she was the greatest.
Cynthia
I’m a wee bit naughtier. When I began dressing I wore very revealing and provocative clothes. I was going for and enjoyed the shock factor, I wanted everyone to know that i was a guy in a dress. As I got better and became more passable, my style started to reflect the environment around me. If I was going to the mall, then simple make up and casual dress, the beach then very light make up, a cute strappy top and shorts. I kept my enter wickedness for the clubs or for cruising where the short skirts and see thru top with heavy make up was needed.
In the beginning it was also hard to have gurlfriends go shopping with me. All I look for was something to show off my assets or the lingerie I was where underneath. Today I get a lot less attention, but I am happier in knowing that I can walk into anywhere and no one will question my gender.
I started with a few whore-ish outfits, and as I found out no real women would be in these outfits in public. I started to let some outfits define my style, I love heels, but not stripper/hooker heels, but light platforms, that are sexy but not trashy. Over time you start to have/build more self respect for your alter-ego and the clothes they wear. I’m a thirty and flirty, type of style girl. Cute tops and bottoms, that show me off and say hey I’m here to have a good time. I do try to buy classy items too. Grab a few magazines, those old paper things you have to flip, and see what you like and go that way. Your style is what makes you, you.
Polly, good question.
I think that we tend to project the styles we like to see on females into what will be our personal style. And even so it is a matter of learning/adjusting. Most will relate to having started with slutty type outfits. Some never changed that. To each their own.
But it is a process very similar to what teenage girls will go through. Experimenting with different looks… now, they do have some immediate feedback from their moms or sisters and their peers. We usually don’t. But after a while you kind of learn what looks good on you, and what you like to wear.
Gaby ♥
Gaby I think you are spot on with the observation about how teenage girls develop their fashion sense.. i have seen this happening with my own daughters.
When i have made a fashion faux pas before now and my wife has found it amusing, i do have to remind her that she has had thirty plus years to get things right whereas in reality (even though I’ve been crossdressing nearly my entire life) I am only just starting to dress with a personal style in mind rather than just wearing clothes that look good on other people.
Polly,
I was also able to follow the process my daughter went through when growing up and developing her own style.
Trying makeup, doing her nails, buying/borrowing clothes trying to find out her best styles, colors, etc. And I have always been very close to her, so I was also a part of the process, maybe more than most fathers. I went shopping with her, and she valued my opinion.
Not saying that her style is just like mine. Not at all, and that’s good actually. It is her own after all.
Gaby 💜
I began wearing pantyhose with pumps and a shirt that looked like a short dress at 4. I loved to prance about the house showing of my pretty lady legs.
With several steps along the way over the years, at 18 I was dressing fully fem. It was always, shiny pantyhose, sexy shoes and short dress or skirt. I wanted to be Daisy Duke. I used to ask myself if Daisy would wear this and how would she look in it. I got a few wigs that looked like Daisy’s style. That’s how I got my look started.
My style turned out to be as the girl next door which naturaly matured into the attractive housewife, at least that is the look I think I am 🙂
Next stop is playing the roll of a Glamorous Granny. Like night follows day I flow along waiting for the clock to stop. (which is why I am forever changing the batteries.)
Sally xx
Still developing it, but very much the happy go lucky 40 something librarian look – not the serious, shy look which I originally went for.
I simply look at my reflection when out, look at what GGs wear, and base my clothing purchases based on what I see and feel is right.
The transformation is a slow, ongoing process, but great fun!
Love Laura
Ok, I am going to fess up to stealing a lot of my look from GGs – I caught myself red-handed, so to speak:
A girl came into our technical centre today, and my eyes must’ve been popping out of my head, because she noticed me staring and smiled!
She was wearing a super tight leather look pencil skirt that went just to her knees, a very shiny yellow-gold satin blouse with huge ruffles down the front, cute strappy black heels, and lovely cat-eye style glasses.
What a sensational look – uber-glam, yet oddly innocent and librarian-like, totally sissy cross dresser, yet very feminine and powerful.
I felt a bit sorry for her – I wasn’t lovestruck for her, but for her outfit!
I have been busy ever since trying to track down said garments. The blouse is proving to be really difficult to find.
I will visit the opticians for new glasses before the month is out…
I’ve found a new look!
*excited*
Laura
So it took a little longer than a month, but my glasses are on order!
I had to buy a backup pair after losing my main set.
The opticians had a 2 for 1 sale, so I told the assistant I was gender dysphoric, described my wig, and she helped me pick out a really lovely pair.
So excited!
Love Laura
Great question Polly! mine was developed over time. I basically knew what i wanted but i had no experience. My style is a very youngish look, rather nieve and innocent bordering on immature!! i like short skirts, fancy tops, lots of pink! makeup, appropriate to age etc. It all takes time to master but i think i’m getting there…….
Fiona-Ann xxx
Polly,
Thank you for a great thought provoking topic.
My crossing personal style had two role models.
My mother and my wife Kathy…my father was an art director and my mother was his model, before children, in some of his photo sessions. She was a classy lady who I try to emulate to this day. Mom had the Donna Reed 50’s look: dress, skirt & blouse…and a occasional pant suit..and of course I tried her girdle with garter stockings..At the age of 6 I was mesmerized as she applied her make up or her “face” As she refer to it..Although I didn’t apply make up until 40 years later, My CD style is the classy lady… Which I borrowed from my wife. Business suit with pencil skirt.. sheath dress.. I started to buy my own clothes especially around Christmas, a dress or a skirt for Kathy and the same for Leonara…my choice of wardrobe includes skinny pants , blouse, and “girly flats” for hopefully that everyday look… Thank you ladies for listening….Leonara.I found my style by observing women and noting what I liked and did not like about their styles.
It evolved over the years to a female equivalent of the male me. Mstly smart casual “Coffee with the girls/shopping”, but can also be classy after 5/Mother of The Bride all the way through to full on formal evening wear.
Underneath ALWAYS classy lingerie…EG Simone Perele when its on clearance.
Happy dressing
Caty
Great question.
I guess my style has been largely based on my age and size. When I was in my 20s I wore a lot of short skirts and fitted tops (I had the figure for them back then).
Sadly, several years and kilos later I’m more of a floaty dresses and smart casual kind of gal. If I tried to get away with the kinds of outfits I wore in my 20s I’d look like mutton dressed as lamb 🙂
I do still like to lounge about in leggings but wouldn’t dream of letting anyone else see me wear them until I’ve dropped 15-20 kilos (a weight loss journey which I’m currently 5 kilos in to).
Stacey xxx
A lot of it was trial and error. Certainly at the beginning I just bought what ever looked nice to me whether it would actually look nice on me or not. Later I made a point of understanding my body. What were my good features that i wanted to show off and what did i want to hide. Once i had done that it became pretty easy to work out what styles i could pull off.
Find it??? More like evolved. When I think back to some of the clothes I had when I started I can only say to myself-OMG, what was I thinking? or I wore this? or I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that and so on.
Evolution in tastes seems a common theme in this thread.
I think the biggest change for me was when I started shopping in fem. While I still had problems looking at separate pieces and deciding things like-Would this top be OK with that floral skirt (or whatever piece) it became much easier the more I shopped. Certainly trying on items to make sure they fit was a huge help and also buying at a place where I could return items easily made decisions easier. Check out fashion blogs and sites like Pinterest for styles that appeal to your taste. Like Nordstrom’s, Dillards, Macy’s etc?-go to there website. Many higher end stores have shopping assistants. I scheduled one at Macys and what an incredible day. Heather was the person helping me and she was awesome.
I shop/browse a lot, like almost every time I dress. Some key things I found that really helped-
1) Have a plan. This might sound silly but lets say you have a skirt and you want different tops to wear with it. Make this a focal point and if possible wear the skirt so when you’re shopping you can hold tops up to see how they look. If wearing is not possible a photo for colors and good vivid memory of colors will help.
2) Try it on! What looks good on a beautiful model in a photo is not how it’s going to look on you. At least hold it up to see how it might look. I bought a green dress that I tried it on but kept thinking- I don’t think this is me but it has ended up being in my top 10 outfits (broke rule 3 below).
3) If you don’t love it-Don’t buy it.
4) Besides the main shopping plan browse other items to freshen your mind and open new ideas! Have fun!!!
5) Return policy? Is it easy to return or exchange for a different size.
Tastes change over time and what your going to be doing will play a large part in how you dress.
Have Fun-Sandy
My style originated with my childhood uber crush- my best friend’s mom – when I was 12. She was a bank teller in the ’80s and dressed the part…..nice blouses with skirts, heels, and hose, or eye catching short business dresses. She set my standard for what I considered feminine.
Don’t get me wrong – I do love the occasional slutwear or more modern attire like leggings with long tops and boots, but classic secretary is my default.
Oh Amber , how I love that style also , it’s my go to in between playing with other styles xx Tiff 💋👠👗
When I started CD’ing again 5 years or so ago (after a long break) I had no real idea of my look, things I looked good in etc. I had to experiment, really trial and error. I looked at what women were wearing, fashion blogs and websites for reference – they helped with outfit and colour combos – but the the right look eluded me. I went back over my photos of me dressed and picked out the ones that were ‘right’. Its taken a while, only in the last year or so do I feel that I’ve got ‘my look’.
I have been looking at woman’s cloths for years since I was about 10 years old. I know what I liked and what I thought looked good. As I grew older I realized that each woman has a different body type and proportion and some dresses looked what I thought was better on them so I just went from this to finding styles I liked and would work on a body style like mine. The hardest part is being absolutely honest with yourself saying that looks stupid on me like dark blue eye shadow which I think a lot of girls like but only a few can really pull off well. From there and almost 50 years now of looking I have refined my look. When I started buying my own cloths, usually at thrift stores since it was cheaper I could throw them away or drop them back off as a donation (no one asks they think it is your wife’s) I would try them on see if they hide things right and look good then I would look at more woman or pictures and find what i think works with them. Now there are some that say my look is not what they like and that is fine but it is what I like and from what I can tell when I go out most think it is very acceptable and passable until they get close up or interact with me. Then their opinion comes in. Woman will always be the hardest on you but when you start getting unsolicited compliments, that is when I think you have started to own your look. I tend to be more 50’s style since I was born in 1961 that was what I saw at a younger age as sexy or beautiful woman/models/actresses which I think built my opinion but I know if i dressed 50s it would stand out so I dress 2000’s version of 1950’s. Again my style or look changes from grocery store to office to restaurant to club. I would never wear a mini skirt in a grocery store LOL.
SaraWhen Clarissa first came to me, isn’t it funny how things just work, I started to think about my dress as a male and how women’s clothing would work. I am normally a shorts/jeans and a T-shirt guy. It is part of my work uniform and how I dress daily. So I began to think of how I was going to translate that into my feminine side. Instead of shorts what would I wear? Skirts! Can I still do T-shirts? Yes.
Step one down:
Now, how do I put it together? What are the styles that I am attracted to? When looking at a woman’s dress how does it relate to my personality? Above others, it has to be cute. When I was in my teenage years in the ’90’s I found myself attracted to certain fashions from punk, goth and alternative; let’s not forget the wonderful ’80’s movies featuring Molly Ringwald! I never wanted to be slutty, maybe hints of it, and felt using things from those scenes to cobble together a wardrobe would work. So there are skirts in varying lengths in polka dots, plaids and solids, mostly skater or swing styles; I haven’t ventured into a pencil skirt and have been debating that purchase. Stockings and keeping my feet planted in a pair of chucks, wingtips or lace-up boots. Another weird thing is that I wear a lot of black in drab but when en femme I tend to wear more white t’s. There is probably something subconscious there that isn’t worth milling over in a forum reply.
Step two down:
Lastly, putting it all on. Cute, fun and flirty. I know it will evolve over time and wrote this in a weird stream of consciousness so it probably came across a little more abstract but, that is my mindset.
I look at the fashion magazines. Cosmopolitan usually has my look in clothes and shoes. Also the places online and stores where I can find.
DG.
I really don’t have a style down yet. My drab clothes of choice are always jeans, t shirt, and sneakers and I have never liked getting getting “dressed up” for anything as a male. I try to wear what I think looks good on me whether its dresses, shirts or skinny jeans, and if it doesn’t my wife will tell me it does not work or pick out something else for me. I always try to observe what women are wearing to get ideas.
He He
Trial and a lot of error.
My look has changed and evolved over the years. I still love my trashy look, but for everyday it is a little too much. So the answer to your question is my look is dictated to the occasion. I do not go to the grocery store looking like a street walker like when I was younger.
My introduction to women’s clothes was playing “dress-up” with my grand aunt’s wardrobe. She had pretty dresses in soft slinky nylon like material from the 70’s. My fem clothes pays homage to her style, but obviously using modern choices. I describe my style as half girly-girl and other half elegant classy lady.
Believe it or not I started cheap by just buying womens Halloween costumes after Halloween. I bought all shapes and styles. Long gowns, to Pirate dresses, to French maid outfits. Once all shaven and made up I would see how i looked. Turns out the shorter above the knee dresses were best for me with my long legs. I guess if you think or others think a certain part of your body stands out show it off. Everyone seems to think my legs are really nice so I buy most outfit to show those off. Because my arms are a bit more muscular than a womans I also look for dresses with long and sometimes bell sleeves. It’s just a matters of trial and error and if you can find styles cheap first then you can go high quality once you are sure you found your look.
I hope that helps
- The forum ‘Fashion Beauty & Makeup’ is closed to new topics and replies.
Recent Comments