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The late Roberta Angela Dee contributed many articles to TGForum in the 1990s. All were good lessons on how to better perfect your femininity. She covered everything from flattering clothing fashions to makeup application, wig care and more. In today’s Retro Rerun we present her article on achieving a female figure through corsetry and waist cinchers. In the original article she had recommendations for purveyors of fine corsetry. Almost all of her recommendations are no longer in the business. Roberta’s tips on how to change your shape from a rectangle to a pear are still good today.
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Just you’re no longer a “spring chicken” doesn’t mean you have to become a dowdy old lady. Today women over fifty have many fashion options they can explore. Finding the looks that work for you and say that you’re an attractive, vital woman who isn’t done having fun can be as easy as an internet search. But it’s helpful to have a guide. Someone like our own Pauline Estelle. Today she gives you some pointers on fashion for those over fifty.
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Today Lorraine Anderson, the woman behind The Occasional Woman seamstress and custom costume service, takes on two topics and they are connected. First she brings up the fact that Halloween, the holy day of obligation for crossdressers, is coming in just a few short months. Then she tells you how to shop for costume pieces and accessories in thrift shops.
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Pauline Estelle and her wife Gail have put together a slideshow of how you can take a basic dress or skirt and top and add accessories that can make the basic look more dressy, or keep it casual. A little black dress by itself projects class. Add a statement necklace, long earrings and a glittery clutch handbag and you have something to wear to that fancy dinner or cocktail party. The same dress with a simple scarf can be worn for shopping trip or lunch at your favorite restaurant. See all the looks in Pauline’s blog.
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Today Lorraine Anderson, the woman in charge at The Occasional Woman seamstress service, talks about what she saw when she to a party for trans people. She observed attendees who were otherwise well dressed as women walking like guys. Shoulders were hunched forward and high heel shod feet were planted apart. Then there were the body language errors she observed while attendees were sitting down. Lorraine will go into everything in much more detail and if your goal is to be accepted as a woman in public you should make note of what she says. As a bonus we include a video of a group of men who are trying to walk in high heels for the first time. It illustrates some of Lorraine’s comments.
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In her last post Kimberly told us about her move to the west coast and how she began to experiment with venturing out in public very early in the morning in her office attire. Today she talks about how she has evolved in her presentation as Kimberly’s adventures continue.
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Tired of all black, well there’s nothing chicer—or easier—than styling an outfit that’s purely black and white. Both bold and classic, black-and-white combinations are understated enough to work for any event on your calendar. Coco Chanel once said that black and white’s beauty was “the perfect harmony,” that women “think of all colors except the […]
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Spring is in the air and a lady’s thoughts soon turn to how pretty and feminine she will look in lovely floral print outfits. But not all ladies know how to pick the floral pattern that works best for them. What to do? Turn to our Fashion Maven Tasi Zuriack for all the information you need on picking the right print in the style that will flatter you, and how to accessorize you floral print outfit for optimum flower power.
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When we’re young it’s easier for some males to make themselves pretty and be passable females. Those who have the advantage of a smaller frame or shorter stature can feminize themselves fairly well. As we age, after a certain point, we may not be able to continue to present as head turning hotties but we may be able to blend in more seamlessly. Why? Age causes features to soften and we actually get shorter. In many cases senior women and men are only differentiated by a little makeup and a different type of clothing. Pauline Estelle has some tips on how to take advantage of your senior status to just be one of the older girls.
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Today Kimberly offers advice on preparing to take that big step that takes you out of your closet and into the world. Before you jump into a dress and heels and walk out the door there are some things you need to check, and some questions you need to answer. Are you ready to go public? Have you practiced being feminine? Is your outfit attractive but bland enough to blend in with the other women you will be mingling with? I you bread cover working? Have you worked on a feminine voice if someone asks you a question? If you get “read” will you run home? If people point at you and laugh will you be upset?
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If you weren’t socialized from an early age as a female you may have to work at presenting yourself to others as a woman. Women are raised soaking in culturally imposed gender related behaviors that trans women don’t get exposed to. Trans women often spend too many years learning to hide their femininity so as to fit in with societal expectations of how they should behave as men. Christine Burr came to understand that she was female after she reached middle age. She had to work to acquire the traits of a mature woman and new when she is expressing her true gender she is left wondering if she is acting.
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Marc Mitnick is a speech therapist based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He blogs here on TGF with tips and techniques to help our readers develop their feminine voices. Today he has more ideas to help create that feminine voice. Among them: singing, using a recorder to listen to how you sound to others, and other ways to use your facial muscles and body language to come across as a female.
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So you’re all dressed up and looking good as an attractive woman should but you’re too worried to go out of the house and mingle with the rest of the world for fear that your male voice will give you away and trouble will ensue. There are two remedies for that and one requires doing a lot of work to achieve a believable feminine voice that matches your look. Speech therapist Marc Mitnick discusses the surgical and therapy options. Whether you are a part time girl or a trans woman finding your feminine voice is important.
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Kimberly lives a duel existence. She is a male at home and at work but crosses the gender border to go on outings in the real world as a female. She cherishes her time out and about en femme and she has developed methods to avoid unwanted scrutiny from the neighbors. She is an advocate of having a plan for your feminine excursions that will get you out of your house discreetly and safely home.
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Lorraine Anderson, the costumer behind The Occasional Woman, is all about costumes and Halloween fun. She has been making costumes and wearing costumes for as long as we’ve known her. In this pre-Halloween post she brings up the things you need to keep in mind as you prepare to dazzle the world in that Wonder Woman outfit or Emma Peele cat suit. Will you be able to relieve yourself and get back into your costume? Will those shoes allow you to walk normally all night or will you turn into a limping disgrace before midnight? Read on for Lorraine’s guide to a sensational, trouble-free Halloween.
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Our Retro Rerun is a how-to on foundation makeup written by then TGF editor Cindy Martin. It was published on our old website in 1996. As with all our Retro Reruns much of the advice remains applicable today. Some of the terminology is dated but that just adds some fun. The original post ran in two parts but we put them together for you today in one tidy package. Enjoy.
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Everyone, or a least a substantial portion of the population, enjoys putting on a costume and becoming someone else on Halloween. That’s especially true for girls like us. Many may seek to blend in for the rest of the year but on Halloween they can become fabulous feminine archetypes and show off their glamor. As our founder JoAnn Roberts said, “Halloween is a holy day of obligation for crossdressers.” But we all want to look our best on the big night and sometimes that can be hard. Trans blogger Faith DaBrooke has put together a costume guide for trans girls and we are happy to present it here.
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Today we dive deep into the TGF Archives to 1996 to pull out an article by founding editor Cindy Martin. Her topic was blusher. How to do it correctly so you don’t look like a painted doll. Keep in mind that this was written in the late 20th century and we’re getting on into the 21st, but the tips Cindy wrote back then can still be helpful. Keep in mind your blush should be subtle during daylight hours. At night it needs to be heavier but not war paint.
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The year was 1996. Cindy Martin was the editor of TGForum. From time to time Cindy would post makeup tips to help the readers beautify themselves. Since her advice was good in 1996 and when it comes to basic lipstick application it’s still good today, we present Lips: Beautiful, Never Beastly as today’s Retro Rerun. Cindy outlines the basics on how to manipulate the way your lips appear and she fills you in on techniques that could work for you. Of course today’s lip trends aren’t covered in an article from 1996 but much of the information remains relevant.
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(Philadelphia, PA) “Transgender people want to be treated “normally” just like other people – the key word is respect,” says transgender surgery pioneer, Dr. Sherman Leis. As people head back to school and work from summer activities, Dr. Leis, founder of The Philadelphia Center for Transgender Surgery, offers some valuable tips on enhancing a work […]
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Our voice therapist blogs today on more techniques for voice modification from male to female with emphasis on how to sound like your true gender on the telephone. Without the visual clues to let people know you are female you have to take extra care when using your voice over the phone. Marc Mitnick writes about how to overcome your own misgivings about how you sound and gives pointers for improving your femme telephone voice.
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Wearing women’s clothing is something you have to teach yourself if you want to look comfortable and poised in a dress or separates. Even the best coordinated outfit, when you’ve done your best to match your shoes and handbag to the color of the tiny blue flowers in your floral print dress, will not look as nice as it should if you don’t have the proper foundation garments doing their job underneath your dress. Today Lorraine Anderson brings undergarments out into the open and gives you some ideas on what to wear.
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This Retro Rerun from the TGForum Archives originally was published back in the ’90s. Some of the prices mentioned are a lot lower than we have today and some of the stores mentioned have disappeared into the mists of time. In general what I wrote back then is still applicable for a trans person who […]
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Today our fashion maven Tasi Zuriack shares a secret passed down from the ancients that will transform fashion faux pas into fabulous fashion. It’s a hidden code that sets the rules that make the difference between dowdy and svelte. At the root of it is the Divine Proportion and that stands behind The Fashion Code. The Divine Proportion was used in the creation of the universe and rules all from galaxies to the Eiffel Tower, to the outfits in your closet when it’s implemented as The Fashion Code. Get this secret knowledge from Tasi and start transforming blah outfits into fun outfits.
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Most of the time our Retro Reruns come from TGForum’s archives but this particular re-run comes from LadyLike magazine, Volume #35, published in1998. JoAnn Roberts was the publisher and I was the editor. As editor I got to write an editorial for each issue. Hopefully people found the topics useful. While taking a look at the Digital Transgender Archive I found this issue and decided to bring back the editorial. I think it can still be useful to crossdressers in 2017 so here it comes again.
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So you found the perfect little floral print spring dress and it’s, heaven’s to Betsey, in your size. You love everything about it from the tiny flower pattern to the cut, and the flouncy skirt. And to make it even better it’s clearance priced! You take it home, without trying it on since using the changing room in the lady’s department makes you nervous, and learn that “little” is right. It’s too tight. Even though it is your size it’s either mislabelled or just “runs small.” Fit is very important. If you’re worried about popping buttons, or if you can’t raise your arms you’re won’t make a great impression. Today Lorraine Anderson talks about the importance of fit.
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