Putting Me Together

Last month I railed against the gal that buys her clothes off the mannequin, but then I got to thinking, why do we do that? Pressed for time? Lack of confidence in your own fashion ability? Hit your hot button (and had a fit problem when you got home).

I remember an outfit in Catherines several summers ago; a white jacket, white flirty pleated a-line skirt, print blouse and it went with my red handbag and summer sandals. I had to have it — sexy and flirty. Only problem was when I got home, the jacket wouldn’t lay right. The cut was wrong and even the tailor was unable to correct the fault. For most of us, and this unfortunately is a male trait, we want to take the easy way out.

Being an astute shopper is tough and many women are not up to the task either. Most of us tend to shop online or in a store dressed as our male self (a recent Sister House poll and yea, that surprised me, too). It’s certainly common enough to walk into the dressing room with 30 garments and come out with one or two (or none).

Then my girlfriend, Vickie LaFontaine, and I were talking about some of the dressing faux pas of beginning crossdressers (and Vickie knows how to dress). It’s no wonder we buy off the mannequin. We don’t need to worry about what goes with what and the store has done all the hard work for us. Enter the Lookbook.

Some online stores have lookbooks and certainly Polyvore and Pinterest have a plethora of looks that show you how to combine things, but then where do you buy it and is it available? Modcloth is one of the better stores for Lookbooks but then more often than not, the specific item you are looking for is sold out. That’s always a problem.

When I first started to dress to go out, my wife helped me (self defense – she didn’t like most of my combinations) put together some outfits. I had a sheet of paper with 12 different combinations that worked well for me. But as time went on and my wardrobe increased in size, this helpful sheet more often got overlooked. And my looks, while not bad, could have been more striking or edgy. We need fresh ideas all the time and yes the fashion magazines have plenty of them, but should you be wearing them.

And if you are on a budget, well investing in trends is not a good idea. The title for this article came from a blog of the same name and Audrey’s series on a “Wardrobe from Scratch” is one you should read. First stop is always “define your style” and this is where the Lookbook comes in. Sister House has helped tackle the idea for you in our Pinterest pages, but now we have taken it a step further and introduced the Sister House Lookbook. It’s new but growing and two things make it stand out above all those other fashion and crossdressing sites where you can buy the latest and greatest garments.

First, it’s interactive. Besides each item there’s a circle icon and the popup box describes the item, provides the price and a link to the retailer. It couldn’t get much easier. I really loved these combos because I just happen to have a black and white print skirt much like this one. And if you are unable to find just the right shoe with the bows, buckles or flowers, try our shoe jewelry section on Sister House

But moreso, let me introduce you to our designer, Evgeniya, who is a recent European fashion school graduate with a real flair for what goes together. And not just the skirts, dresses, blouses and accessories, but the undergarments too…sexy bras and panties that complement that outer look and provide that extra degree of femininity that makes you feel extra special. Evgeniya will be introducing 3-4 new looks each month keeping in line with the seasons, but also what works well for crossdressers with our larger sizes and not always so feminine physiques.

Later in the year, we’ll be adding some additional features, but here is your chance to ask Evgeniya for outfits that appeal to your taste. Send her a note at [email protected] and tell her what kind of look appeals to you. I can’t promise a personal response, but we’ll gather all the requests and present looks that have in general been asked for.

Now there is more you can do. As I learned more and more about Lookbooks, I began to see the greater possibilities in my own wardrobe. Most women wear 20% of their wardrobe on a regular basis and the other 80% languishes in their closet. Not a good thing.

This doesn’t need to be so if you if you just increase their visibility and then explore the possibilities from ideas that you generate from the lookbooks. Those once a year items or just the rare piece that you can’t figure out what to do with can now be put to good use in a new and different way.

I’ve already created another dozen possibilities that never occurred to me earlier. And you can do all of this online without the need to root through your closet or dig out your clothes from their special hiding place. I personally recommend it, because I use the HomyFads Clothing Organizer.  It’s the best Windows based virtual wardrobe software on the market.

With the HomyFads Clothing Organizer you can categorize your collection by type, add comments and browse and search through your collections of apparel and accessories. You can tag each item of clothing with all kinds of data – purchase date, color, size, material, cost, location and many more. These data lets you quickly search and sort through your collection. For example, if you wish to wear something white you can just type ‘white’ and get a list of every white items you own. Give it a try. And if you don’t want it on your computer for some obvious reason, a version will be on Sister House in the near future that you can personalize to your own taste.

Well ladies, there is a lot here. Another upcoming feature at Sister House will be our Crossdresser of the Month, a gal who displays an extraordinary sense of fashion with a variety of looks from classic to sexy. My friend, Miss Cherie Amor, is one such gal. Check her out on Flickr. Cherie is a gal close in age to most of us but she knows how to wear clothes. I should wish for her collection of lingerie ?

Two other related articles here on TG Forum that you might find interesting are:

Are You a Mannequin Shopper? and

Blend or Not, What Outfit Should I Wear

Tags: crossdressing, fashion, featured, shopping, style

Category: Style, Transgender Fashion, Transgender How To, Transgender Opinion