Dina’s Diner 3/4/24

FASHION, FREEDOM, AND POCKETS

Avery Trufelman is a podcaster whose show is titled Articles of Interest. In each podcast episode, she delves into the world of fashion. But not the usual review of designers and trends or celebrity dressing. Avery goes deep on such topics as prison uniforms, pointe shoes, the origins of paisley, and pockets. The latter topic was what caught my attention.

I heard Avery on someone else’s radio show (I forget which one now) discussing many fashion topics but her brief history of pockets was fascinating. I found her own podcast episode in which she and fashion historian Hannah Carlson discussed the fascinating evolution of pockets.

The starting off point was the seemingly age-old complaint of women that their clothes do not have either any pockets, or too few pockets, or pockets which are too small. By contrast, men’s fashion — during the period when men regularly wore waistcoats or vests with a suit — topped out with twenty-four pockets per outfit. During the thousands of years that humans have worn clothing of some sort, pockets are a relatively new development.

In days of olde, women carried pouches that were suspended under their dresses. The side slits in dresses were not ‘pockets’ but an opening to reach in and access these hanging pouches. When dresses were voluminous in the centuries before, say, 1800, this was not a problem. When sleeker dress designs became popular, the pouches were too bulky and women went to drawstring bags held or worn on the wrist. Eventually, that sort of thing fell out of fashion and it was seen as a sign of affluence and freedom for women to be unencumbered by pouches or bags. At some point, however, the custom of purses or handbags as we know them today became an important accessory item and clothing designers minimized (or completely cut out) the number and size of pockets in women’s fashion.

Ms. Trufelman points out that in the upper reaches of society, it was considered more appropriate for women not to be encumbered by bags. They just needed to be nearby, well-dressed, and attractive in polite society. But the “freedom” from bags or pockets became a form of subjugation if they had to rely on their male partner for money, keys, or other incidentals of life. What seemed liberating soon became the opposite. She makes the point that high heels have the same duality: they restrict movement (to an extent) but are also a symbol of empowerment for many women.

For crossdressers, I think most of us enjoy our handbags or purses. I would feel somehow “undressed” without my handbag when out. And as a practical matter, car keys, cash, credit cards, and the usual things we carry nowadays requires something more voluminous than the tiny pockets in women’s clothes. Just throw it all in the bag and off we go. And whatever you need . . . will always have migrated to the bottom of the bag.

THE ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I was looking at an art exhibit in a public library and was drawn to the piece shown here. It was titled Half Blind. When I read the artist’s statement about the work I was even more impressed.

Here is the statement by artist Gwen Parker (almost) in its entirety:

“The painting began with the Wizard of Oz as inspiration for a painting about the LGBTGIA community. Specifically, on how the art form of Drag is being maligned. I struggled with coming up with an image that would accurately portray the discrimination that they are facing. It morphed into a depiction of the devastation of Global Warming. Then it turned into (it’s final iteration) a self-portrait depicting the symbolic representation of my reluctant refusal to turn a blind eye to societal issues. As much as I want to ignore what is going on, I feel compelled to look, no matter how painful it may be. I’m expressing the fear of confronting the realities yet acknowledging the consequences of turning away.”

The first surprise was reading that she was originally thinking about the attacks on drag performance. I was in street male mode and smiled at the unexpected intrusion of crossdressing into my thoughts. Later, I thought it was interesting that the subject of drag morphed into global warming and then into a consideration of an individual’s relationship to broad socio-political controversies. Actually, you can see that it is all of a piece in so far as small-mindedness, science denial, and virulent partisanship attracts the same type of people. And I guess they can say the same about those with whom they disagree.

If good art makes the observer think — whether about the work itself or some tangential idea — then Ms. Parker’s Half Blind achieved that objective.

BIG HAIR, BIG LASHES, BIG LOOK

Big hair and lashes on a Marc Jacobs model.

I came across an article about the Marc Jacobs Spring fashion show that was part of New York Fashion Week last month. It appeared on a site called The Zoe Report on February 2 and 20, 2024. The headline that caught my attention was Marc Jacobs Paid Homage to the ’60s With 108 Wigs.

The article showed some models and head forms with bouffant, teased, sprayed, and colored wigs reminiscent of The Supremes and other girl groups of the 1960s. It didn’t say why Jacobs wanted to evoke that vibe and, in fact, the article didn’t even talk about the clothing designs for the runway shows. The article quoted a stylist, “We had to strip them from silicone, hand-color them all, crimp them all, and then set them.” Further: “Each of the show’s 47 looks feature models wearing two wigs [to create even more volume].”

In addition to the big hair, the Jacobs models were decked out with exaggerated false eyelashes. The lead makeup artist told the reporter, “We prepped the [false] lashes — we’re actually doing top and bottom — with black nail polish to give them that really gunky, shiny, effect. We’re lining the [upper lash line] with black liner, doubling up the lashes, and we’re putting the Duo black lash glue on top.”

Well, I like the whole concept and it would be a little slice of heaven to be made up like the Jacobs models and topped off with the giant crown of a hair sprayed honey blond wig. The article is quite generous with descriptions of the wig prep and eyelash and other makeup techniques used in the Jacobs show. Even if we can’t do the whole magilla of wig and makeup artistry detailed in the article, it can give us a few ideas to play with.

FREE THE NIPPLE – AGAIN

According to lifestyle website Bustle.com, the aforementioned New York Fashion Week also saw the return of bare nipples in several runway shows. Free the Nipple Looks Were the Biggest Trend of New York Fashion Week announced their headline of February 12, 2024. And then on February 21 they had a report headlined 8 Painfully Chic Free the Nipple Looks from London Fashion Week. I just saw an update in which they cited the 2024 Paris Fashion Week shows “the nippliest fashion week of them all.”

Nipples up front during London Fashion Week.

You’d think someone would have had their eye poked out with all those nipples pointed at unsuspecting fashion mavens. But as the site reports, “Fashion history proves freeing the nipple has been a decades-long phenomenon — since the early ’90s, in fact. Back then, the runway move was daring and controversial — no one likely could have predicted over 30 years later, the nip-forward style would one day become a common occurrence.” At least it’s still getting headlines. We’d hate to think of bared nipples (of the female variety anyway) becoming ho-hum.

The reports tried to make this year’s nipple exposure as something new. One designer was said to have “embraced see-through fabrics — like chiffon and lace — but built on them with decadent details.” Another, they said, “channeled opulence in delicately pleated dresses. The moody floral prints evoked a dark energy that contrasted nicely against the female form.” Yet another designer “utilized intricate beading and flapper-era fringe to elevate their exposed dresses” and one more “sent a model down the catwalk in a nearly-invisible dress. Its only form of coverage was a smattering of embroidered royal blue flowers.”

Having seen the photos accompanying the article I was reminded that the only female nipples that really interest me sit atop sizable (or better yet-stupendous) breasts. The wafer-thin models and their nipples did nothing for me. Which is one reason why I’m not in fashion design, I guess.

As for crossdressing, the nipple does not come into play much, as I’m sure you know so well. Even if we are affecting a sexy boudoir look, the breasts are usually well-covered. Our faithful advertising partner The Breastform Store has some terrific prosthetics that might tempt you to do a bit of nipple baring if you want to look into it. Breasts — and their lack thereof — being one of the defining differences with real womenfolk in the crossdressing game.

READ A BOOK WHY DONCHA?

One of my online site feeds suggested that I might like a series of books by Barbara Deloto. It turns out that Barbara Deloto is the author of many crossdressing fiction novels available through Amazon. It was a little disconcerting because the site making the recommendation was one I am only logged into as a my male self. I guess nothing is really a secret with browsing histories and link clicks.

I found Barbara’s books listed on the Amazon.com and Goodreads.com sites where one can read a capsule description and reader reviews. The plots seem to follow a familiar line of young men being transformed into women by their wives, girlfriends, their fraternity brothers, and even their football team.

The books are fairly short — about 50 pages mostly — according to the Amazon listings. And inexpensive, with some as low as $4. They are available in Kindle E-book and Audio book form also. Ms. Deloto also has some nonfiction titles related to crossdressing and feminization listed in her catalog.

I haven’t read any of the books but some of the reviews by crossdressers seemed very positive. Here are some capsule descriptions of the books: Taking It for the Team – “The coach of a failing football team at an all-male college decides the team needs some motivation. He talks the water-boy, Jamie, into taking it for the team by fully feminizing and becoming their cheerleader. Jamie does such a great job at it that she recruits others to become feminized and join her as cheerleaders.” Being Candy – “A psychiatrist wife takes the liberty of alleviating her husband’s misery by transforming him into a life of being Candy. Candy is a beautiful, sensual, feminized male, not just crossdressed but transformed almost entirely into an inviting woman.” So you get the idea.

And here are some review blurbs I found online: For Taking it For the Team – “I just wanted to be that guy. Couldn’t be more entertaining.” For Her Gift To Him – “This is one well written and romantic book. It’s exciting reading about the transition from Jake to Jackie, all under the loving tutelage of Jake’s girlfriend Piper. Step by step, Piper leads him down a path that Jake may not have even realized he wanted to tread. It is touching, realizing how well Piper has come to know Jake.”

So if you like crossdressed fiction with some eroticization (it seems), you may want to check out Barbara’s Amazon listings. The covers are attractive — although none of them seem to employ actual crossdressers as the models. If you take the plunge, let us know what you thought of the books.

Tags: crossdressing, fashion, featured, opinion

Category: All TGForum Posts, crossdressing, Opinion