The cd and the camera

[Sara Jessica]

What she said...

Leslie, you know I am very fond of you but I have to agree with Allie on this one. I think to paint such picture-taking habits with a broad brush really misses the point of the different motivations that are out there for doing so. While I don't take your comments personally, nor those of OP, I can relate from the POV that Kelly stated. I have taken pictures in a dressing room all of twice in my life. The first time was technically not in the dressing room. It was at my fav boutique and at that time I had become pretty good friends with one of the employees. One day she snapped a couple pictures of me in two different outfits, neither of which I bought on that day. I even posted the pictures in these pages and not too long thereafter I returned and bought one of the outfits that I had originally tried on. The second time was last summer in a higher-end boutique and I snapped a couple mirror shots in the dressing room to decide whether to put the dress I was trying on on layaway. I lived with the pictures for a few days and then returned to the boutique to do so and paid it off in full within a month or so. As such, this is but a simple example of what should be interpreted as a legitimate reason to take such pictures. I hope your bs meter isn't going off at all !!!

Is it because you can have your own little fashion show without having to drop the $$ on the clothes?

Because personally I don't see the world as our playtime dressing room, I do put a higher degree of personal responsibility on our community when it comes to trying on clothes. The reason is because of perceptions. A natal female can try on clothes at 50 different stores without buying anything and the respective SA's probably wouldn't bat an eye in that they see this all the time. If one of us did that however, it's likely to be perceived as a being just a game and it would likely affect perceptions of those in the TG community who might follow in our wake (because SA's don't see us all the time).

Only the person trying on the clothes knows if there is any true intent to buy so the responsibility in my mind is purely personal. My opinion doesn't mean that sometimes you go shopping and try stuff on that just doesn't work out. It doesn't imply that one must actually purchase all the time. It's just that if there is zero intent to buy whatsoever, then perhaps one should examine their motivations for using the fitting rooms in the first place...and to bring it full circle, examine whether taking those dressing room photos is really a behavior you can be proud of.

[Ame Anderson]

To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson "If it does not break my leg or pick my pocket what business is it of mine." We all, and by all I mean everyone, of us is different. To lump newbies in with lifers is wrong. Would you expect kindergartners to act as college students? Each of us is on a different level. Some are way out there saying "Look at ME!" And some of us are meekly wondering "What would I look like?". Do you know what it feels like to be a teenage girl? I don't. But when my wife handed me her old make up bag I sure felt like I did. I think we are all, again everyone of us, is trying to have fun and figure out who we are. Like it. Don't like it. But don't judge it. It's like wrestling a pig. There is lots of screaming and hollering and the pig doesn't like it either.

[Heather Daniels]

Well, it appears that I've opened a big ol can of worms with this. I expected some backlash from my post, but certainly not to this extent. Lets see...so far I've been called a right wing conservative. I've been told to mind my own business and Ive been told that I need to be more accepting. Lets set the record straight.........
I did not pass judgement on anyone, I simply asked why do you take the pics. I said that I dont "get" it.
I am in fact a cd, therefore I do accept everyones needs here. I realise that we are all different and have different reasons for dressing.
Out of the 27 responses so far, I've only received about 3 that stated why they did this. Sarah Jessica's was probably the most valid reason and one that I can agree with.
Look.... go ahead and take your pictures with every dress from Macy's rack. It really isnt any of my business. This is the internet and therefore, its hard to write something and show the true feeling behind what you've written. A lot of you were pretty quick to jump the gun and say that I was being judgemental when in fact, I was not. I was simply asking a question.
Here's what really bothers me though. You all want acceptance. You all want people that see you out dressed to just say, " yea so what, its a guy who likes wearing womens clothes". When you take an armload of clothes into a dressing room, spend what has to be a very long time in there snapping photos of 16 different outfts and leave without buying a single item, what are the sale associates supposed to think about us? Are you shining a very good light on the TG community? Will you ever get the acceptance that you desire by acting this way? Think about it.
Ive been around here for a long time and I've seen some really strange things posted. One that particularly stands out in my mind was a thread asking if anyone wore pantyliners while trying on clothes,... just in case of an "accident".
Now be honest.... what does that tell you about that person? To me it shows what that persons intentions were all along. They weren't trying to see what styles look good on them. They were out to use the store as their personal playground.
Sling your arrows at me if you like, but I still think there are cd's who do this. Guess I'm being judgemental now.

[Stephanie Miller]

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Heather Daniels]

Sorry, couldn't resist.

No.... not big, just lumpy! Nice hat too.

[Debra Russell]

Really----gimme a break we're CROSSDRESERS......... crossdressers handbook p.195 article No. 29b "...all crossressers must have pictures....otherwise turn in your membrship card"..................................Debra

[Heather Daniels]

Really----gimme a break we're CROSSDRESERS......... crossdressers handbook p.195 article No. 29b "...all crossressers must have pictures....otherwise turn in your membrship card"..................................Debra

I'm still waiting on my handbook. Damn union steward said she mailed it out last week.

[NicoleScott]

Do you take pictures of yourself at Home Depot ..... holding up a couple gallons of paint?

Hey! I'm just buying my makeup, OK?

[stephNE]

I do have a pic of me with a banana in my pants but even though I swear it is a banana, the rules prohibit me from posting it here.

Ally, you are so funny, you just made my day - again! Thanks, Steph
PS...I'm on my way to HomeDepot now.

[AllieSF]

Well, it appears that I've opened a big ol can of worms with this. I expected some backlash from my post, but certainly not to this extent. Lets see...so far I've been called a right wing conservative. I've been told to mind my own business and Ive been told that I need to be more accepting. Lets set the record straight.........
I did not pass judgement on anyone, I simply asked why do you take the pics. I said that I dont "get" it.
I am in fact a cd, therefore I do accept everyones needs here. I realise that we are all different and have different reasons for dressing.
Out of the 27 responses so far, I've only received about 3 that stated why they did this. Sarah Jessica's was probably the most valid reason and one that I can agree with.
Look.... go ahead and take your pictures with every dress from Macy's rack. It really isnt any of my business. This is the internet and therefore, its hard to write something and show the true feeling behind what you've written. A lot of you were pretty quick to jump the gun and say that I was being judgemental when in fact, I was not. I was simply asking a question.
Here's what really bothers me though. You all want acceptance. You all want people that see you out dressed to just say, " yea so what, its a guy who likes wearing womens clothes". When you take an armload of clothes into a dressing room, spend what has to be a very long time in there snapping photos of 16 different outfts and leave without buying a single item, what are the sale associates supposed to think about us? Are you shining a very good light on the TG community? Will you ever get the acceptance that you desire by acting this way? Think about it.
Ive been around here for a long time and I've seen some really strange things posted. One that particularly stands out in my mind was a thread asking if anyone wore pantyliners while trying on clothes,... just in case of an "accident".
Now be honest.... what does that tell you about that person? To me it shows what that persons intentions were all along. They weren't trying to see what styles look good on them. They were out to use the store as their personal playground.
Sling your arrows at me if you like, but I still think there are cd's who do this. Guess I'm being judgemental now.

Thanks for your further explanation Heather. I am one of those that disliked your way of asking those initial questions. There is nothing wrong with the question, but when you compared it to taking pics at the home depot next to that miter saw (and I actually bought one there several years ago, without the pics though), that to me was an indication that you thought that CD's who took pics in dressing rooms were acting stupid. That to me is judgmental and unnecessary. I also agree that it is very hard to get all your thoughts down in a post without making it so long that no one would read it. I have several posts out there that I wish that I could take back, or had written with added explanations. In your second post here you then refer to taking the whole rack of clothes in to do a fashion show. How many of us CD's here really do that? That is a different situation than someone taking a few items in to try on a then taking pics of the outfits. I understand that you are exaggerating. Now, if you dislike the arm load of clothes situation, that is totally different than what I just compared it to and my response would have been, yes, that is over the top pic taking.

Since I have never taken a pic in a dressing room, I could not give you my reasons and accepted those that were given in other member's posts here. I have taken a pic in a restaurant bathroom before, because when I looked in the mirror I realized that I really liked my casual look for that night and I wanted to remember it. I still like that pic and look.

The last point I would like to make is is in regards to how what we do as CD's impacts how other's see us. In the big picture I truly believe that it has minimal overall effect when a CD is dressed or acts inappropriately when out. My reasons for that belief is that first there are very few that actually dress and act that way when out. Second, the few that see CD's like that are only a very small part of the whole, and of those that take it seriously what they see and react negatively to that are even a very much smaller number. We as humans see people all the time dressed differently and acting way outside the what we may individually consider the norm. Very few people go away from that experience condemning an age group, gender, ethnicity and even CD's as being representative of the whole. Why, because we already know and understand that the actions of one does not mean that all the rest are the same. Now, if that same minority of people who had the rare opportunity to actually see that type of behavior had more than one instance of that, then I would say that they could justify a similar opinion to the larger group.

[AllyCDTV]

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Is that a banana in your pants or are you just glad to see us?

[andreaellen1]

Funny this topic should come up... a couple days ago, I was looking through my Flickr page and I realized that a reasonable fraction of the photos were self-shots (taken of me, by me), and of those the majority were in changing rooms. This thread has helped me to understand why that is...

Obviously you could have taken those same pictures at home if you did purchase the item.

The store is often way better for this. Floor-length mirrors, sometimes even from different angles, and much better lighting - after all, they intentionally design the changing room to make you look good.

I've also taken some pictures at home but I haven't posted them, because if someone who knew me saw pictures in my home they might recognize the place. (I actually removed a couple pictures from my set for this reason.) And my place has all sorts of distractions in the background, whereas the change room is bright and white and clean (usually!).

When I was younger, it was actually a lot harder to take pictures at home, since I lived with my parents, so pictures in the dressing rooms were all I had. And I do look back on those photos fondly. (I was so young! With abominable style! And a wig twice the size of my head! Ahhh, if only I knew then what I know now...)

Do you take pictures of yourself at Home Depot holding a mitre saw? Standing next to the sawzall display? Maybe holding up a couple gallons of paint?

I was at the dollar store the other day and took a picture of a few locks on sale, to message my girlfriend and ask her if they were the ones she wanted. I've done similar things at various other stores, to comparison shop, to save an idea for later, or even just because I saw something that looked interesting. ("Sliming tea" in the Chinese grocery store? YES!)

It's much the same with the changing room. When I go shopping without my girlfriend, I send her pictures of what I'm trying on, and she says things like "Cute" or "No" to help me decide. (Or, often, "Cute, but no.") Or I go shopping one day with my camera, think about the photos of the clothes I took, and go back for the cute ones in a few weeks when they're on sale. And it does kind of make sense to take pictures of the clothes when they're on me, rather than on the hanger...

----

I guess I take pictures in the change room for these reasons:
- Asking my girlfriend for advice
- Saving the photo for reference to purchase it later
- Memories / Vanity

In comparison, here are my reasons for taking photos outside of change room:
- Memories / Vanity

So... as it turns out, there are even more reasons to take photos in the change room, than not!

I've bought a reasonable number of the outfits in the pics I've posted (funnily, some of my outfits turn up in the changeroom and then elsewhere). And sometimes, looking back on the photos, some of the best ones turn out to be the changeroom ones, so I post them here

That all said, there's something special about the charm of an impromptu casual photo. Maybe I'll ask my girlfriend to point the camera at me the next time we go out...

[felicity84]

to answer your question in th immortal words of john Belushi "why not?"