This month marks one year since the first time that I stepped out of the house fully en-femme, and went to a nightclub as Ceera. Prior to that I spent 6 months buying clothes, getting my first wig and breast forms, trying to learn to do makeup, and practicing a feminine voice, while closeted at home, and never showing my female form outside of my house. (About a month earlier I wore a costume at an Anime convention in female mode, but with a mask that completely hid my head.)
Since then I have been out en-femme 2 to 4 times a month to that one club, plus I've gone to one large public dance at a downtown Anime Convention while en-femme and have gone wig shopping in broad daylight en-femme.
When I started, I had only one wig that wasn't from a Halloween shop. (The one in the left hand pic was from a Chinese mail-order source.) I was just shaving my cleavage area, and was wearing long sleeves to hide my arm hair and opaque tights or very dark stockings to hide my leg hair. I wasn't very good with makeup, but I did try. And at least I had a marginally passable feminine voice. I was out to only one person who had ever met me as a male - and that was my 18 year old daughter. The first pic, below is me just minutes before I walked out that door for the first time.
In the past year, I've gotten much better wigs, I've learned a lot about applying my makeup, and I've started shaving my arms, legs and torso to eliminate all visible body hair. My feminine voice still may not be perfect, but I can sound good enough without even thinking about it to be taken as female over the phone. I have glasses purchased specifically to look good for the female me. I have a wig purchased at a wig shop and fitted for me while en-femme. The second pic is me this month, a year later.
Quite a change for the better, I think!