Being the Bride

[cdtraveler]

Was out with my daughter Saturday night for dinner and with it being prom season was treated to one prom dress sighting after another it being that season and it's got my head spinning on the subject of gown and how amazing it feeling to be in them. Just for fun would be interested in hearing any stories you may have of wearing a sisters prom dress, maybe a wedding qown? Pics welcome as well.

For me I would wear my sisters, her girl friend's, even my Mom's wedding dress but kind of regretted it because of the boundry breaking involved. Still the fantasy of having my own wedding gown fitting session and photo shoot is a strong one! And soon prom bowls will be on sale too....

How. About you? Is this something you find you like?

Amanda

[Lily Catherine]

I wore a ball gown before and would gladly wear one again. Walking in it was trouble enough (http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/...-in-ball-gowns). But to wear a ball gown makes me feel very pretty inside out, especially when I sit and spread the skirts out. A sight to behold when done well.

Then again, I'm a short haired girl who can hardly see without her glasses. All those gowns I see look very pretty, but either of those seem to get in the way...

[Isabella Ross]

Absolutely. I have a fairly elaborate strapless ballgown that is remarkable to wear...but it's only strengthened my resolve to get a gorgeous wedding dress some day. To get it through a proper fitting and have a photo shoot would be a amazing. Dreaming of the possiblities...

[carhill2mn]

Probably the favorite thing that I did as a young boy was to wear my mother's wedding dress. It was satin and felt SOO good!

[Jennifer-GWN]

I have a black tie awards event coming up in 2 weeks. Ooooooh it would be so so nice to be in a position to go this way. Have never worn any formal attire beyond business ware .

Cheers... Jennifer

[Rachelakld]

My wedding dress photo is at the top of my blog page.
It was a fun photo shoot, in public, at one of our most populated lookouts

[Katey888]

Y'know, I'd be in there with everyone who likes 'em as far as ball gowns and fancy evening dresses go - I guess prom dresses to a degree... but here's the weird thing for me...

Bridal stuff? That's for brides - as in: GG brides. Maybe it's the subliminal stuff of gender stereotyping that makes me feel this (although it doesn't seem to be a problem anywhere else... ) but I'd just feel wrong about it. Maybe it's the association with the whole 'sanctity of marriage' thing, or something more subtle... I certainly couldn't claim virginal white (and neither could most of you, I fear... ) and a lot of the tradition associated with the wedding dress is around this aspect - perhaps a boundary too far?

Actually it's also a conflict with the idea that a wedding dress is a single purpose thing: GGs only wear one to actually get married (well, mostly...) so it's perhaps just a little too far into 'real' GG territory for me. Everything else is just an article of clothing - female or male - but there's too much meaning in this expression for me... can't really think why that should be such a barrier, but it is.

So nope - not for me I'm afraid...

Katey x

[Cheryl T]

I've never had the opportunity to wear a gown (prom or bridal) but it is certainly a fantasy of mine.
I would LOVE to wear a bridal gown and renew our vows (both in gowns of course), but I don't see that ever happening so I'll just keep it where it's been all these years.

Of course if someone were to ask me to be a bridesmaid I would jump at the chance... hint, hint, hint...

[Gwinnie]

I'd love to wear one of those gypsy wedding dresses. Insanely huge heavy skirt. I'd want puffy sleeves though. Have to have puffy sleeves. I've worn a few ball gowns, but none that were that full. I would put one on in a heartbeat. Too bad most of the plus size dresses are just solid fabric and pretty straight up and down or A-line.

Gwendolyn

[Christie ann]

Two years ago I made an appointment at a jot to local David's Bridal for a fitting. They knew all about me ahead of time do I wasn't wasting anyone's time nor was I making someone do something would rather not do. They took me on the whole tour. We talked colors and styles and shapes and never once was I referred to as "he". Then we tried on about 6 different wedding gowns. I actually felt pretty. Just like in the TV shows, they finished it off with tiara, veil and heels. They were all so nice and accepting. I stood in front of the big mirrors, I walked all over the store, I talked with other future brides. We were all girls. It was fabulous. I won't get any closer.

Now I know Sheri will give me a hard time about the lack of photographic evidence. But I don't need a stray photo card with those kind of pictures floating about. So, sorry pictures.

[Paulette]

I have worn a large Victorian gown to a Dickens festival and really enjoyed the experience. Since this was a period costume I made sure that EVERYTHING was just right down to the dainty handbag. Getting ready for the day was as much fun as the event it self, shopping for all of the correct underpinnings. Getting dressed takes awhile as you need to put on several layers of clothes before the final outerwear. Cotton camisole and cotton bloomers go on first followed by the ever lovely corset which is when you know what a pain getting dressed can be.Oops I forgot to mention that you need your shoes on before the corset as you will never reach them once laced up. The hoop skirt followed by the dress and you are now taking up some serious real estate where ever you go. I need the little girls room at the event held in a modern building and the stall were never designed for a hoop skirt, let alone someone who needs more than the allotted automatic time the flusher has decreed is reasonable. Got everything taken care of and received a vote of confidence form the other ladies in the restroom at the time for being able to do everything by myself.

As for the wedding dress I also purchased on and even had it altered to fit just right. Now all I need is groom and i am ready .

[renee elizabeth]

i've had two bridal makeovers at true colors makeup artistry, wearing a wedding gown had been a fantasy of mine for a long time, glad i finally was able to have it fulfilled, would love to dress in a ball gown or other formal gowns

[RedFourteen]

Years ago I spent some time staying at a young family members house while his parents were on vacation. I had the run of the house and needless to say it didn't take long to find my older cousins prom dresses hanging in the closet. I spent a fair amount of time trying them on during that stay but always felt guilty about it after the fact. They truly felt wonderful though, the one was a long gown with a satin top and the other was a shorter green dress... the memory is as clear as the day it happened!

[Kandi Robbins]

i've had two bridal makeovers at true colors makeup artistry, wearing a wedding gown had been a fantasy of mine for a long time, glad i finally was able to have it fulfilled

I was also able to have a bridal makeover at True Colors. Simply wonderful, one of those knee-bending experiences! Going back again in October and am considering that wedding gown again!

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Amanda, Having my own wedding gown is one of the things still on my bucket list.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Y'know, I'd be in there with everyone who likes 'em as far as ball gowns and fancy evening dresses go - I guess prom dresses to a degree... but here's the weird thing for me...

Bridal stuff? That's for brides - as in: GG brides. Maybe it's the subliminal stuff of gender stereotyping that makes me feel this (although it doesn't seem to be a problem anywhere else... ) but I'd just feel wrong about it. Maybe it's the association with the whole 'sanctity of marriage' thing, or something more subtle... I certainly couldn't claim virginal white (and neither could most of you, I fear... ) and a lot of the tradition associated with the wedding dress is around this aspect - perhaps a boundary too far?

Actually it's also a conflict with the idea that a wedding dress is a single purpose thing: GGs only wear one to actually get married (well, mostly...) so it's perhaps just a little too far into 'real' GG territory for me. Everything else is just an article of clothing - female or male - but there's too much meaning in this expression for me... can't really think why that should be such a barrier, but it is.

So nope - not for me I'm afraid...

Katey x

Hi Katey, It's funny that you bring that up, I would never have a problem wearing a wedding gown,
Where I draw the line in the sand is with Maternity clothes, That's a line that I would not cross.

[Donna June]

I was about 8 years old, put on my older sister's prom dress. My friend was with me and we told her we wanted to get married. It was such fun being a little bride. Still enjoy prom and wedding dresses.

[Lee Andrews]

Hi Katey, It's funny that you bring that up, I would never have a problem wearing a wedding gown,
Where I draw the line in the sand is with Maternity clothes, That's a line that I would not cross.

With the stomache I'm sporting these days, I should look in the maternity section! Lol

[sometimes_miss]

This brought back memories of something long forgotten. While not a wedding gown, I did get to try on my sister's prom dress, but only a few times. Then it seemed to have disappeared from her closet. It was only there for a very short time, perhaps it was something that she borrowed and had to give back. The most vivid memory coming back to me was that once it was on, the zipper on the back got stuck at the top most position; and it seemed to take me forever to get it unstuck. I couldn't see what I was doing, and it was very hard to manipulate. As it was in the middle of my upper back, I had used the paper clip on a string method of pulling it up, but once there, it was almost impossible to reach with both hands, and trying to pull it down with the clip only engaged the little parts of the zipper that helped it stay where it was. I think that was the first time that I had ever felt stuck in a girl's outfit, wondering exactly what I was going to do if I couldn't get it off. After close to an hour, I realized that if I exhaled all the way, I could slide the dress upwards just a bit more, and could reach the tab a little better, and managed to take it off. But the thrill of feeling stuck in the dress had felt sort of good, so I wore it a few more times; however, the thrill was gone, as I knew how to get it off. One day suddenly it was gone from her closet. I thought maybe she had brought it to the cleaners. But it never returned.

[emily606]

I have never worn a wedding dress. However, years ago, there was a wonderful resale shop near my work and the two owners welcomed crossdressers. Once when I was shopping, one of the owners wanted me to try on an evening gown. I told her that I'd never worn a gown and that I wouldn't have room to store one properly at home. She and her partner smiled and had me try on gown after gown. I was in absolute heaven as they treated me like a girlfriend and piled compliments onto me (Probably undeserved).

Then one of the girls pulled out a wonderful black chiffon and silk cocktail dress and I put it on. Then the ladies asked me if I'd ever worn a mink coat. I had not and within a couple of moments I had on a beautiful (fake) mink admiring how pretty my pantyhose covered legs looked disappearing into the wonderful coat. It may have been the most feminine afternoon I'd ever spent. I truly felt like one of the girls!!!!

Sadly, that shop is gone. How I miss it!

Emily

[Mink]

I've also never really had a THING for wedding gowns... I don't know what that is!

I can appreciate how amazing some look but it has littler interest to me than other formal wear...? for some reason!

maybe not so much for the reasons katey pointed out but who knows that could be part of it too!


I def. had a thing for prom girly girl gowns when I was younger

as I got older it became less about the shorter / sexy / satin ones and more about dreaming of the big poofy ball gowns / sweet 16 / princess type dresses!

the poofier and pinker the better!

just the dream of looking / feeling like a pretty princess in pink


though I could hardly EVER imagine an occasion to wear such a thing out in actual public (ha!)

[Maria 60]

I kind of draw the line when it comes to wearing my daughters clothes. A few years ago my daughter did some spring cleaning and my wife knew how much I wanted to try on a prom dress. My wife put aside my daughters prom dress plus she was a brides maid a few times. OH MY! That was the greatest day ever, what an amazing feeling, all that silky material from head to toe. The prom dress was amazing and the bridesmaid gowns also felt great.

[SharonDenise]

I went to a holiday dinner dance last fall. I decided to live it up and buy a floor length evening gown with a slight train. I've written previously on how I had a deliciously embarrassing moment going to the store to have it altered. I felt so pretty and feminine at the dinner/dance. I wore it to a Spring dinner/dance recently and again had the same feelings. I would like to wear a wedding dress and maybe feel that special feeling that brides have on their wedding day.

[Sabrina133]

Actually, almost a year ago, was a bride at my own wedding to my most wonderful wife. We got married in Hawaii. My gown was custom made from Luxe Leather in England.

My dad walked me down the aisle...an her dad walked her down the aisle.

[AnnieMac]

Funny, yeah I cross dress (in the closet though), and just like the rest of y'all mostly. But one thing I never quite had a thing for is the whole Bride and/or Maid thing. Wedding dresses, and Maid uniforms just don't do it for me, too cliche, and not real everyday female enough I think, although I do remember thinking it would be fun to wear a wedding dress when I was a teenager. That being said, I have ALWAYS wanted to get all dolled up, and wear a very tight short pencil skirt, silky hose, pretty heels and a big foofy soft mink coat to top that off, as describe in a post above. We all have our things I guess.