Linda’s New ‘Doo’

Hair is important! Linda Jensen has been shopping for a new look. Now she needs your help selecting her new wig.

People who study human behavior tell us that as we get older changes in our lives become harder to accept when they are thrust upon us and to achieve when we seek them.

In the past I’ve done not too badly with change. I’ve changed careers, changed cities, changed partners, changed sexual preference (well not totally with that one but I’ve opened the door to a wider spectrum of the rainbow) all without problem.

As the years have passed my body has gone through changes and I’ve been okay with that. I’m a bit flabbier than in my youthful athletic days. My bones seem to ache more after a workout. My eyesight and hearing are not as sharp as they once were.  I have accepted all those changes.

My natural head of hair, thick and curly in my youthful days has changed dramatically in the last twenty years. If my head represented the Earth and my hair was the polar ice cap then global warming took it out long ago.  That’s pretty obtuse, I know, but the point is that I’ve had to accept changes in my life and been okay with it. It gives me a segway to the point of this article.

As a balding crossdresser I always wear a wig when I am being Linda. That’s not a problem; I love wigs and I love being Linda. In my earlier years I tried and bought many wigs in many different styles and colors. However, for about the last ten years the wig you’ve seen in my by-line photo has been my constant hair piece. My twenty or so other wigs have either been sold off, given away or they languish in a box in my storage locker.

Ten years is a long time in the life of an active crossdresser’s wig. My cherished piece, a Henry Margu purchased on a whim from Wildside in Toronto, had been through a lot, always being packed and unpacked, styled down for day wear, up for evenings, washed and combed. It had even experienced one or two occasions reminiscent of that famous scene in the movie Something About Mary where Mary discovers a new hair gel product. But that’s another story.

A few months ago as we were preparing for a night out my partner told me, “Honey, I think you have to change your wig. It is getting too ratty at the ends and the color is fading badly.”

She had a point but for some reason here I resisted change. For a while I settled on cutting back the frayed ends. I also visited the Henry Margu website looking for a new version of the same hair. No luck. It seemed to be out of production.
So now it is time for Linda to embrace change and seek out a new look.

This is an important decision. Our hair is a very important part of that first impression we make. For example, a number of years ago I was sitting at the back bar at the Queen Mary in Los Angeles. I had on a very blond wig that had been nicely styled up by Jim Bridges. A man moved on to the stool beside me and we began to chat. He was originally from Sweden.  We talked about that lovely country which I had visited several times and about my home in Canada. He told me how I reminded him of his ex wife who also was a gorgeous blond, he said.  He said a lot of the right things and we ended up spending a very intimate and satisfying night together.

A little less than a year later I again saw my Swedish friend at the Queen Mary. He didn’t recognize me and when I spoke with him he showed no interest. Why the difference? That time I was a brunette. He told me about meeting a nice blond Canadian girl. He wasn’t interested in me even when told that same Canadian blond was before him as a brunette.

I always want to be able to make the best possible first impression. I also know that as one who likes to go out by day as much as by night the wig I have has to be flexible enough to adopt daytime and evening styles. I have been looking around, doing a lot of trying, some buying and a bit of experimenting. It is time to make my choice. I would like your help with it. Here I’m going to present my three ‘finalist’ looks. I would welcome your comments and suggestions below.

Wig #1 (click for larger view)

The first wig finalist was picked up several months ago at Transformations in London, England. I’m not a big fan of that business. I usually avoid it but on an impulse I dropped in to the store near Euston Station. One thing lead to another. I found myself trying on wigs. I made a perfect TG Goldilocks. Some wigs were too long, some too short. Some were too light, some too dark. However, as soon as I tried on #1 I had the feeling “this wig is just right.” Or perhaps it was that I had tried on so many wigs that my resistance wore down and I just wanted to make a choice and get out of there.  I wore it back to my hotel and I’ve worn it several times since. I get some nice comments and I like it but I’m not sure its best for me.

Wigs #2 and #3 were picked up at the Wig Outlet in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  You may never have heard of this business. They do not seem to have an Internet presence however if you drive I-95 past Fayetteville you will have noticed the billboard pointing the way to their business just off the Interstate and just south of the airport. I had traveled that portion of the Interstate many times over the last twenty years without ever stopping in. This time temptation got the better of me. I planned my trip to spend an overnight in Fayetteville.

Wig #2

The next morning, suitably dressed in jeans and a blouse I visited the Wig Outlet. I was able to browse their selection of a hundred or so wigs while the clerk/owner served another customer. The wigs were from all the major brands and ranged in price from about $50 to over $200, from the practical to the theatrical.

When the other customer left I would like to say I was warmly greeted. I wasn’t but it was cordial bordering on suspicious. I rationalized that was okay. As far as she knew I could have been some crazy person with a gun.

We got to business trying on wigs of different styles and colors and in the full range of prices. Again I felt like Goldilocks but this time I wasn’t finding the wig that was ‘just right.’ I gave up and was leaving the store when a cache of wigs in a corner caught my eye. I had originally overlooked them as they were marked ‘final clearance’: I assumed they would be

Wig #3

poor quality. At less than $50 each they were worth a try. I picked up a few of the heads and returned to the try-on area. My friend the clerk seemed not too happy as another customer had entered the store. She grudgingly helped. The result: quickly I purchased not one but two new wigs.

Now it is time to decide which will be my new ‘go to’ wig. My wife favors the dark auburn (#1) from London, I’m leaning to the blond (#2) but I also really like the brunette (#3) as it is pretty well my natural color. What do you think? Perhaps this can become the idea for a new television show, “America’s Got Wigs.” You can use the comment form to vote.

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender Opinion