Recently I
had the privilege of helping a beginner on her first steps to becoming a
T-Girl. I met Sherri through a bulletin board and she was really keen to become
femme but had no friends in scene and was a bit depressed about where to start.
I say it was a privilege because
to have someone trust you like this with what will become a major part of their
life IS a privilege - I just hoped I could give Sherri good advice and help her
avoid some of the pitfalls of the early stuff you buy.
Lets face it we have all bought that exotic outfit
because in your minds eye we look like a sexy 20 year old girl then got home
and found it looks dreadful because we don't have the bust or the legs to make
it work.
I recognize that when I started I was lucky. As a
BDSM scene person I knew a few T-Girls as friends and when I asked them they
were willing to help me out on my first steps plus my female partner was OK
about me dressing and also willing to help me shop.
A lot of
us don't get that support when we start and shopping for the first things you
need can look very daunting - what do you buy as priorities ? How much will it
all cost ? How to get over the embarrassment of going in female shops (most men
get flustered buying knickers for wives and girlfriend and at Christmas shops
like Contessa are full of embarrassed looking men).
I
thought a little piece on me going along to help Sherri may be useful and be a
pointer for other T-Girls who perhaps don't have the sort of friends I have
been lucky to have.
I arranged to meet Sherri dressed in
male mode on a Saturday morning with the target of getting her first outfits
and accessories together within her budget of £100. I was bit doubtful we
could do it but we set off on a shop-a-thon to see what we could get. I went in
drab because I didn't want Sherri to me made
nervous.
First things
first......
Now when you shop for the first time you will have
different priorities. When I started my biggest attraction was make-up (it
still is) so I was prepared to sacrifice some stuff in the pursuit of make-up.
Other T-Girls I know have different priorities. Be it lingerie, jewelry, shoes
etc.
In short we will all want to assign different values to
things.
Sherri wanted a little of everything so she could practice
and get used to the feel of the clothes, cosmetic etc. which was very
sensible.
Cosmetics
Our first stop was Boots for a some
cosmetics. With a bit of help from me to choose her colors Sherri bought
foundation, concealer, loose powder , blusher, two eye-shadows, a lipstick
,eye-liner pencil, eyebrow pencil and some foam wedges (see the article on
make-up for a more comprehensive look at make-ups
here). The big no-show was make up
brushes which neither Boots or Superdrug had when we shopped. We also walked
through a few department stores and chemists and had no luck. Fortunately I had
bought a small pack for my handbag in the week and let Sherri have these for
her starter kit (they were only a few pounds and would not have affected her
budget too much). The Total bill for make-up was £30. Ooo-er almost a
third of the money gone and we hadn't got any clothes - could I help her get
kitted out in clothes and such within her budget - read on and
see.
At least from watching me shop Sherri could observe
that in a big busy chain store no-one pays ANY attention to whats going on and
she began to feel a little more comfortable about the shopping
expedition. |
 |
 |
Shoes
These were to be the big hassle for the
day - we went round dozens of shoe shops and couldn't find anything that looked
remotely nice or within budget. Sherri was lucky in having small feet at size 7
so at least there was a chance we could find something. I have size 9-10 which
means unless I get lucky in a charity shop almost everything has to be bought
on-line from places that specialise in larger shoes - see the TG online stores
HERE
The last shoe shop we went in had a lovely pair of
black suede knee boots in a sale for only £10.
My
worry was that although her foot size would be fine they may not fit round the
calf |
Sherri was too
nervous to try them on in the shop so we decided to take a gamble that they
would be OK and added them to the haul. I worried that they may not fit her
very well but as we hadnt found anything else even remotely worth having it was
worth a gamble.
We had now spent £40 - the boots
were a life saver as I expected shoes to be the big problem in getting us in on
budget.
The
frocks
We now had the make-up and some footwear that would
match most stuff so it was off for skirts and tops. We got lucky in the first
clothes shop and found a faux leather (i.e. real plastic) skirt that was mid
length and a perfect fit for Sherri and even better it was on sale at only
£8 - this was a bargain rail type shop which are good places for many
T-Girls because they quite often have larger sizes - Sherri was a very petite
size 12/14 which helped a lot in shopping but if your a bigger size you can
still find good clothes at the right price with a little
patience.
From the same shop we also
picked up two blouses, a white semi-formal blouse so she would have something
to wear when out in day-time if she wanted and also a pretty blouse that
matched the skirt that would be suitable for parties and clubbing when she's
ready. The two blouses cost £18 for the pair. So we were now at £58
of the budget spent- time to get the lingerie.
Sherri
was now settling down a bit too and looked like she was enjoying herself a
little more as she became comfortable with the fact that although when you
first shop for femme gear you assume that EVERYONE in the city knows you are a
closet TV. In reality no-one pays any attention at all - they are too busy
dealing with their own agendas to really pay any attention. |
 |
Lingerie
The final stop for the day was
Asda (bless them) they have fabulous lingerie in at their larger stores and are
also a good place for stockings, hold ups etc. as they have a big selection and
really sharp prices for good quality.
Now on lingerie what
attracts a lot of us T-Girls is of course lacy underwear and such. Sherri had
no real preference and wanted something practical. In the interests of economy
we decided to pass on a bra initially ( a good bra was likely to cost a fair
bit and push us over her budget ), we did check out a few shops but couldn't
find anything that would have been a good buy for her irrespective of budget as
what we needed was something with some padding and ideally gel bags - these we
couldn't find - that's a hassle with trying to shop in provincial
Portsmouth.
 |
Anyway back to Asda - we
picked up just a single pair of panties and some tights - Sherri wasn't all
that keen on stockings and suspenders and really wanted practical lingerie. The
tights and panties ran up to £11 but as I went into a shopping frenzy and
started buying up half of Asdas stock of hold-ups and stockings (well you never
have enough do you ?) we also spotted a fabulous shift style top on the sale
rack for a mere £8 and I just knew it would suit Sherris skirt really
well so we added that to her basket.
So we had a grand
total of £77 leaving her enough for a cheap wig to start with or the
make-up brushes if they ever appeared or even some accessories like clip-on
earrings and bracelets.
Sherris
time was running short and we needed to get her dressed so we repaired back to
Melanies TV Zone (in other words my house) so I could give Sherri a quick
make-up lesson, help her dress and give her some time in my studio to walk
around, sit around and chat while dressed. Now I should stress here I do not
run a dressing agency - I do help other T-Girls when I can
though. |
Wigs.......
A quick note on wigs
here - we decided at the start of shopping that we were unlikely to find a wig
in Portsmouth at the right price (some of the department stores round the city
carry them but they want outrageous money for very second rate
wigs).
So the idea was to shop just under her budget so she could buy
a wig later - for dressing at my place I would lend her one of mine as I have
quite a few and that would also enable her to see what sort of style would be
right.
Welcome Sherri......
My make-up skills are
better than average but this was the part I was really nervous about - making
up a new-T-girl for her first time. I really wanted Sherri to look her best so
took my time making her up and dressing her in the skirt, the beautiful top
from Asda and her boots.
The boots proved to
have been a bad buy at this point as my worst fears about them came true -
Sherris calves were too big to zip them closed.
There's a lesson there - ALWAYS keep your receipts - womens
shops are usually happy to exchange or refund with a receipt if the goods are
in perfect condition.
Boots can be a hassle like this too - they may
fit your feet but men having bigger calves than women often messes the whole
thing up.
But on the up-side one of my wigs suited her
perfectly -it was 'Jane' pictured on the left. Although my version is in
paprika (a reddish auburn) |
 |
The final
results with Sherri dressed were amazing she looked very lovely indeed and was
quite at ease.
Apart from those boots everything we had
bought was right for her in size and or color and she seemed happy with the
results.
Better still the 'Jane' wig is available on-line
at a discounted rate of around £40 so Sherri could buy this wig and be
only slightly over her £100 budget at a total of £117 - of course
she will still need some accessories but these can be bought in small bits and
pieces as and when she sees something she likes.
Finally I
bought Sherri a little present to go with her first outfit which was a pretty
silver make-up bag from Superdrug for being brave enough to come shopping with
me :)
 |
Stepping out.......
There you have it - a
complete set of cosmetics, a flexible outfit that Sherri can party and club in
AND use for going out when she's ready PLUS the wig and only slightly over
budget. Sherri looked wonderful and with a little practice with her make-ups
will be able to apply them to get a good look for herself.
If she
buys the 'Jane' wig its a good quality piece and needs no styling - just a
light shake to make it bounce and will be easy to care
for.
The pics for this article are NOT
Sherris outfit as I wanted her to have fun and be able to dress - the clothes
in the pics ARE representative of what you could get at the price from my own
wardrobe.
Sherris skirt and top are shown at the ledt. This is the shift top
from Asda as I managed to hunt one down for me as
well.
This outfit is quite flattering to most shapes as the skirt is tight
enough and strong enough to pull that tummy in and the shift style top can be
used to make you look like you have either a small bust without a bra (using a
bit of blusher - see the make-up article on blusher
here) or can accomodate quite a large
bust using silicon inserts and make it look very natural as its loose enough to
be sexy but not too revealing. Its also loose enough to hide a
tum.
The combination shown cost a mere £18 and when accessorised
with a metal chain belt or a wide leather belt will look absolutely
lovely.
|
Places
we bought from.............
Rimmel
makeups from Boots
Boots from an independent Portsmouth
retailer
Skirt and tops from 'Definitions'
Portsmouth
Lingerie and tights by 'George' from
Asda
Wig is 'Jane' from Rene of Paris you can buy this wig at
http://www.wigsalon.com through their
online shop.
|
