Tell us about your best out and about adventure, heres is mine

[Paula_56]

This is the story of a whole weekend I spent as a woman while on a business trip in the UK. It was an amazing experience, that I still think about and savor to this day.

This starts on Sunday morning but I had a manicure and nail tips put on Friday evening and this forced to me to stay in girl mode all weekend

I had a great night?s sleep and woke up refreshed and cheerful. I made coffee and turned on the BBC to check the weather and news.

One thing I noticed about myself as I woke up that morning: I was still in girl mode. Waking up after yesterday adventures, wearing feminine PJ?s with my French manicure, I felt so feminine and womanly. In the past I always gave myself an assignment to walk this way, hold my hands a certain way or sit as a lady. In other words, act more feminine. This morning I wasn?t acting feminine, I was feminine.

I could have easily worn jeans and a T-shirt and stuffed my hands into my pockets to hide my nails. In fact in the past, I probably would have. But today it just felt natural to reach for a dress. I love getting ready, makeup, foundation, dress, jewelry, hair, a splash of Channel --- what a confirming ritual. Off I went onto the streets of Reading.

I wanted to go to church, but found I was late, so I went by the church as it was letting out. I sat on a bench, enjoyed being part of the Sunday crowd and enjoyed the beautiful grounds and history of this beautiful structure.

If you have been paying attention and you are a regular reader of my articles, you?ll know there is one place I haven?t stopped by yet. That?s right, sisters M?A?C. The day before the M?A?C store had been so busy I could not get in. When I went by this Sunday morning, it was empty.

I asked the makeup artist about matching a lip pencil to the lipstick that I had brought with me. She found two shades. I asked if she could try them on me. ?SURE!? was her response. We sat down in front of the mirror and she began to create a cupid?s bow.

I explained to her that I had trouble making a cupid?s bow.

She chirped back, ?Well I?ve been doing this since I was 12 years old!?

We both had a great laugh when I smiled and said, ?So have I!?

I went on to tell her that when I was a child, I had tried my Mom?s makeup and my sister?s clothes and that I always wanted to be a woman and now I was doing my best to fulfill that dream. I explained to her my plan was to spend as much time as possible that week as a woman.

She was so positive and reaffirming, ?You look so good; go out there and enjoy the day.?

She asked me all kinds of questions about America and said it was her dream to live there someday.

Well I thought, ?We both have the same dream --- you want to live in America as a woman and so do I!?

We both chuckled at the paradox and its truth. A few minutes later at the check-out I said, ?Good-bye and good luck with your dream!?

A big smile flashed across her face as she said, ?You, too, you, too!?

I shopped my way thru Debenhams and House of Frazer, Zara and a whirlwind of other stores. Then I stopped at Marks and Spencer and bought some fresh fruit. Finally around 2 PM, I made my way back to the apartment to rest a spell before meeting up with Jenny for dinner and a concert.

I made my way to the front of the hotel to meet Jenny at 4 PM.

She was right on time and in order for Jenny to use the car park at my hotel, I needed to advise the front desk. Being in the apartment section of the hotel, my phone wasn?t part of the switchboard. I tried numerous ways to contact them over the phone with no success. I really didn?t want to out myself to them, but if need be, I would.

A few years ago when I first started to go out as a woman, one of my biggest fears was forgetting my key and having to go up to the front desk to get another. Nowadays, it doesn?t bother me at all; to tell the truth, I kind of like doing it. I chalk it up to self-acceptance.

Thinking there would be one lone clerk on duty was not the case. There were about five employees huddled around the desk when I walked in. I got better service and attention then when I was drab. They even offered to drive the car around. What was lovely is nobody reacted in anyway other than me being a woman nicely dressed for the theater.

Jenny and I made our way over to a riverside park to take a few photos. It was fun taking a bunch of photos and not having to use a self-timer. It was then back to the hotel and an adjacent restaurant for a charming Italian dinner. The same restaurant I dined in the night before and was Ma?amed, but I noticed tonight when the check came they slipped up on the pronouns and used ?Sir.? Being properly gendered is so important to me, so I hope it was because of the name on the credit card.

We had about a 20-minute walk (in heels) to the theater. Appearing was the London Concert Orchestra performing a program of James Bond theme songs. We had a pleasant stroll through the pedestrian mall of the Reading shopping district. It was Sunday evening and the crowds were thinning as we made our way along with other ladies and couples to the concert.

We bought our tickets at the box office and had a pleasant conversation with two women our age about the performance and our nails. We found ourselves a table and enjoyed a glass of wine while waiting. Jenny works as a professional musician and as she was reading the program for the evening, her eyes opened wide when she saw the name of a colleague! I would have fun during the concert teasing Jenny about being seen. I have to get my digs in somehow --- I still can?t get over the fact she wears a size 7 shoe!

The concert was fantastic and having a professional musician there to explain all the subtleties of the program was wonderful. Going to a concert was on my bucket list of things to do as a woman and made me feel very good about myself and how far I had traveled on the Good Ship Lollipop.

Walking back thru the deserted streets of Reading at 10 PM made me realize what it feels like to be vulnerable as a woman. Wearing high heels, hose, a dress and carrying a purse doesn?t allow one quick movement. Walking past bus stops and doorways filled with nefarious looking characters chilled me inside.

As much as I love dressing glamorously, it makes one question the illogical dress and uniforms that society and our culture assigns women. Nervetheless, I?ve waited too long to wear my bra to turn around and burn it in protest. I respect and admire women and that?s why I want to be one. That whole experience makes me identify even more with them.

Monday morning came early. My feet still ached from walking all weekend in heels, my nails were a wreck from the glue, and there were traces of eye liner left on my eyes. I felt great!

It was a bit surreal as I went through my day in a daze. I was tired and when I got back to the room, I showered, then shaved and laid on the couch for awhile.

paula-uk-4 Soon rested and hungry I hesitated only slightly when deciding what to wear. Opportunities like this week don?t come along too often for me and makeup and dressing was no longer the ordeal they had once had been for me. It was now a pleasurable routine that could be accomplished in less than an hour.

Luck was with me and I found a pair of Lee Press-on Nails in a seldom used section of my purse.

I spent the next two nights like this --- coming home, showering, resting, dressing and then out for a stroll through the local shops with dinner at Miller and Carters Steakhouse. They had great food and treated me like such a lady. The waitstaff was very professional and attentive and the second night there, I was greeted back with, ?Good Evening, Ms. Gaikowski.?

[kimdl93]

Lovely experience! Thanks for sharing in such glorious detail!

My best moment happened just a few months pre-covid - seems like that is the common delimiter of time now, does it not! I had recently retired and set about living as a woman as much possible in my day-to-day life. That led to a Saturday evening at a popular resort area restaurant and bar. I was quietly enjoying a light meal and a margarita when I was engaged in conversation by a 20-something woman, who was seated near me with a group of perhaps 15 women of a similar age. Seems it was a bachelorette party. She invited me to join them at their table and i spent the next several hours sharing in the reverie. Near the end of the evening, I casually mentioned to her how as a transgender person, I really appreciated being invited and included. Much to my surprise she insisted that she had never guessed that I was trans, assuming that I was to use her words, ‘a mature, attractive woman’. Those words and the experience made my night, day, week, month and year!

[Paula_56]

Wow total validation

[Bobbi46]

I have been dressed 24/7 for several years now, and twice i have had memorable occasions, one summers day I was walking back to my car in town and passed a woman ( I must add here that in France it does not matter whether you know a person or not you must greet them appropriately) so as I passed her I greeted her in French and got the same back except there was "madam" at the end, another time dressed of course I was about to go into an agricultur merchants to buy a new spark plug and was about to wait for someone who was about to come out, instead there was a polite nod and the door was held open for me!!
On and off I have been greeted warmly and friendly with or without "madam" , in the case of without the greeting was warm and polite. I am lucky in that I live in a very liberal area and when my dressing and going out became the norm for me I got to the ears of our local newspaper and what followed was very frank and down to earth and LGBTQ aligned article which did everything to further the field of accaptance in this, to an extent, homphobic world that seems to degrade and decry what we are truly trying to do, and that is to live a life we have decide to live

[Paula_56]

Wonderful story about how you have found you true balance in all of this and to hear the words "Ma'am" it can be so uplifting.

[Bobbi46]

Thank you Paula yes a very welcome thing to have and makes me smille when I look back on those times

[Christie ann]

A few years ago I had a weekend fall into my lap. We had plans for a weekend in a small desert town, (think mountain biking and Utah) and all of a sudden I was going alone. Quick to throw in some additional clothes and off I went. The small boutique hotel ( think run down) had a small out door space and a hot tub. After mountain biking with a wig on, made it back to the room, showered shaved (again), put some make up on, the same now sweaty wig and a dress. I needed to do some internet work and it was more fun to use the public library WiFi than to stay in the room. Drove to the library, found a comfy chair and did work for about an hour, used the ladies room , interacted with other patrons. I had a such a fantastic time interacting with the world as Christie and since I was all dressed, had an early dinner at a local brewery and then back to the room, changed into a swim suit, cleaned off the makeup, same wig again and walked over to the hot tub where I joined a few other guests. I had never been in public in a tankini and now, I am in a hotel hot tub with other people in my polka dot tankini talking about the trails we all hit that day. It was a day to remember, until the next day when it was basically a repeat with clean clothes and the same wig.

[Helen_Highwater]

Having read this post I moved on as I needed to give some thought to the question.

While for years now I've been spending a week fully enfemme and I've added new experiences to the list of places I've been, things I've done, with hindsight I'd have to say it's a toss up between two events.

The first time I went to a support group meeting and met others from out community. This was back in the early days were I wasn't yet fully out and about and yet to set foot inside a shop. being able to talk with others who were dressed and acted like me was liberating. Suddenly I wasn't alone. I knew others not just in a virtual space like this but in the real world. Flesh and blood.

At a subsequent meeting, and I've written about this often, I met someone who gave me the confidence to truly go out. Hit the shops. That was perhaps the biggest game changer of all and I've gone from strength to strength from there. My confidence has grown and grown and looking back on the week away I had just a few weeks ago I'm so pleased by the level of confidence I'm now at, surprised even.

[Jillcder]

Mine has to be my first time at a hotel restaurant/bar. I had been dressing in public a few years when I worked up the nerve I was wearing an above the knee black skirt, sheer blouse, cropped sweater, knee high boots and what I think was my best ever makeup job I walked up to the hostess stand and was greeted by a middle age waitress she seated me at a high top table close to the bar surrounded by other businesses travelers and a few locals I was a little of nervous. After a nice dinner and a couple glasses of wine the crowd was thinning my waitress started to make conversation she was curious and had some questions I told her I was traveling on business and that I often dress at the hotels and this was my first restaurant/bar outing when I told her I was a little nervous about being out in a restaurant surrounded by people she looked at me and said no one will mistake you for a male the way your dressed you look! I know she was just being nice but it made my evening.

[Paula_56]

Jill-- So good to hear from another woman

[Heisthebride]

This is a fun thread, love to hear about other people outings. I have several outing I could share but I’ll just share my first and I still think about 17 years later. Basically we had a group of friends how played softball together and would go out to a bar afterwards. We were planning a trip to Las Vegas and I made a bet with a friend I knew 100% I was going to win. The bet escalated to where she was supposed to spend a night waking around in a gorilla costume. After that she landed on me having to walk around as a bride. Sadly, I won the bet and also sadly she didn’t wear the gorilla suit either. Later after Las Vegas, also in the bar, the host of our annual Halloween Party mentioned she just got her veil back from the cleaners, I made some oddball comment like “Finally” as a joke and she said I could borrow it for Halloween. I clapped my hands in mock girlish delight and the table conversation started up about since I didn’t get to be a bride in Las Vegas, I should be a bride for Halloween. This was amazing, my friends who had no idea I was a crossdresser were all talking about me going to Halloween as a bride! I said I’ll think about it and the conversation ended. In my mind I already knew I was going to do it. Fast forward a few months, I had ordered a gown off of EBay, I had it altered to fit, I brought in a makeup artist so I could say I didn’t do my makeup and that’s why it looked so good, I had a French tip manicure and shaved off all my extra body hair. I convinced two male friends to be my bridesmaids but they didn’t go all out like I did. So I spent a wonderful night dressed as a beautiful bride chatting and drinking with my good friends. I actually drank a little too much and slept in the hosts guest room that night. Having no male clothes I had to drive back home in the gown. It was a cold night and there was frost on the windshield so there I was in my gown, scraping off the windshield with a hangover. My very own morning after walk of shame. Everyone loved the costume and it was an amazing experience. I did end up borrowing the veil too.

[Sandi Beech]

I have had so many amazing outings that rate way up there, I am not sure I can pick just one, but I had to chuckle a bit at the post by Kimdl93. She knows one of my secrets, haha.

Go to a club where a bachelorette party is about to turn loose, and a bunch of young partying women want to go dancing. The thing is, all of their boyfriends and hubbys are nowhere to be found. I think I have had a group of young women pull me into their circle of friends maybe a half dozen times or more. I have to say out of all of my outings, those times have been some of the most fun with the most dancing and hugs at the end.

If guys only knew. Haha.

Sandi

[Paula_56]

Wonderful story Halloween so important to many of us AKA Cross-dresser's Christmas

[docrobbysherry]

Sounds like a wonderful time, Paula!

While I've had countless experiences out and about in the States, I think my most difficult and scary were over seas. Where I was unsure how people and authorities would react to a USA crossdresser! But, that nervous excitement only added to thrill of my feelings of accomplishment!

Number 1? Probably immitating Angela at Angkor Wat in Cambodia!
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[Fiona_44]

Paula,

I have only been going out in public en femme since last April and have had many nice experiences . However the best may have been last night when I attended a private CD christmas party with 25-30 other ladies. This is a group that holds CD dinners every week in their city apartment but the christmas party is a special event with most ladies getting dressed to the nines. I wore a new wig, new black, v-neck, chiffon evening dress, new dress sandals, a lot of gold jewelry and new press-on nails. I was on cloud 9 and felt like a million bucks. I had a great time meeting a few people I knew and making a number of new friends. It is so interesting to see how open and welcoming the ladies are and hear their individual stories about how they arrived at this point in their lives. I was there for about six hours and still have not come down completely from cloud 9. A truly interesting and wonderful evening.

[Paula_56]

Wow What a great night wish I had a Christmas party to go to

[TheHiddenMe]

I'm not sure "best", but most important. It was a 24 hour period, starting with getting my nails done (as a guy), and the nail tech was amazing. I went home, got dressed, and went back that night.

The next day, a Sephora makeover and trying on dresses at Nordstrom. Julie my MUA and sales angel Falon were absolutely spectacular. That was the day I realized I could go out--and I haven't looked back.

[Paula_56]

I can relate to your outing at Sephora and Nordstroms, for me it was MAC and Nordstroms, they were both SO supportive

[MsEva]

What a wonderful adventure! I am so glad you had the time of your life.

[Ursula Harrison]

A long, long time ago but I can still remember how those feelings made me smile...
A support group I was a member of organised an event in Bournemouth where we booked out a small hotel for an entire weekend. In modern parlance that was our "safe space". I had planned to spend the whole time in the hotel but on the Saturday morning after breakfast I met another TV and his wife who were heading into town and invited me to join them. I say "he" and "his" as he was in male mode. I was apprehensive, only having gone out dressed to TV friendly venues, but they insisted that they didn't mind. As I saw it, they were the ones taking the risk, so I agreed to come along.
I was 25 at the time and they were a couple in their mid-fifties. Mary, the wife, was sweet enough to say that we looked like a couple out with their daughter. I don't know about that but it sure made me feel good.
We caught a bus into town and wandered through the crowded streets window shopping. I was nervous as hell, scanning faces just waiting for someone to pass a remark, but nobody paid any attention to me. Then he went off to run some errands leaving Mary and me to visit shops, go for a coffee and then wander along the seafront to a park where we sat on a bench chatting until he rejoined us and we caught a bus back to the hotel.
After my initial apprehension wore off I was on cloud nine the whole time. It was just so amazing to be out and about as Ursula. What elevates that day above all others is that for the one and only time in my life I passed!
I know passability can be a controversial topic but it's what I strive for even though I know I can't achieve it.
There are of course some caveats. I had the company of two obviously "normal" people as camouflage. Mary did all the talking as I would have outed myself the moment I opened my mouth. I was a lot younger (obviously) and hence a bit more "girly". In those days trans matters didn't feature in the media and most people were unaware of them. So when people saw a person in a skirt they automatically thought "woman". Also in one shop I became aware of two salesgirls looking at me and one whispering to the other so I guess she knew. Still, I think walking among thousands of people in close proximity and only being read by one of them was a pretty good result. It's still the highlight of my dressing.

[Jenn A116]

So...I've actually only had three "out and about" experiences. All three were for a local CD group. The first ever was perhaps the most memorable, but not really that much out and about.

I remember being very indecisive about just what to wear. This was a huge step for me. I looked over my closet and ultimately decided go to with a leopard print skirt and a simple black top. OK. So now, what to accessorize it with? Fortunately I have a good GG friend to discuss these things with. Ultimately it was a black pocket book, some simple blac/silver jewelry and my longer wig. Went to my local spa for a facial that morning. I find that I can get a better shave after I've had a facial. So, came home and pondered what the next few hours would bring. Finally, mid-afternoon I had a shower and carefully shaved my face very closely and in all the important places. Put on my self-adhesive forms and a bra and load down to cool off and give the forms a chance to securely attach and come up to temperature. As well as calming myself down.

Then it was time to start the makeup process. I'm still not good at makeup so I spent quite a bit of time trying different products to get full coverage and then add color/shading in the appropriate places. Think I did ok with it. Got dressed in the skirt/top and then went a bit of time experimenting with different combinations of bracelets, watch bands, necklaces and earrings. Found putting on the earrings (clip on) to be a struggle. Looking in the mirror I always seemed to be putting them on backwards.

Finally got that right, slipped on some beige wedge shoes and realized I still needed to get my pocket book together. Hmmm....What do I need in my bag? Credit cards. ID. Money. brush. lipstick. tissue. I think I got it all. Crammed it into a black purse borrowed from my wife. Put the wig on and got that styled appropriately. Added some red press-on nails. And Jennifer was ready about an hour before I figured I needed to leave to get to the meeting.

Sat around a bit to kill time. Wondered how it would go getting out of the house without the neighbors knowing in broad daylight. The neighborhood is fairly closely spaced single family homes. We have an attached garage so I getting into the car wasn't going to expose Jennifer to the world. Situated myself in the car, took a deep breath, and pushed the putting to open the garage door. Put the car into drive and away I went. Didn't notice any of the neighbors around so that part went well.

Drove cautiously to the meeting, which was about 30 minutes away. The whole time enjoying the experience of being out as Jennifer. Seeing red nails on the steering wheel. The seatbelt shoulder strap between my boobs. The skirt covering my legs. The restricted perhipial vision from the wig. Wondering of other drivers/pedestrians were looking into the car as I went by. Scary and exhilarating at the same time!

Got to the meeting site without incident and sat in the parking lot for a few minutes. It's a very secluded location so nobody was around to see me at that point. Just needed to get out and walk about 40 yards to go into the building. Concentrated on my walk (wiggle) and in I went. Found a very welcoming group of CD's and SO's. Loosened up a bit and enjoyed chatting with people. Can't remember everything that we talked about or even all the names.

At the end of the night it was time to drive home (in the dark now) so again I was very cautious on the road. Getting back to the house turned out to be a non-issue as it was dark and there were no neighbors out. So, a simple job to back into the garage and close the door. Spent about 30 minutes de-transitioning. Sigh.

[Ashlee]

No "adventures" for me other than to spend 4 days at home enfemme from wake up to bed wearing nothing but womens clothing from the skin out and head to toe, perfume and full makeup and wig. It was awesome. I've been out for a walk and pictures while enfemme during makeovers over the years. So exhilarating to do so! Not really up for a mall or restaurant/cafe or to be made while using a womens restroom.

[Sometimes Steffi]

I've had so many great adventures but two of them happened at the Keystone Conference.

First

In had gotten there a day early and had gone out to eat with a bunch of girls. As we were all paying our separate checks, one of the waitresses started talking to us like we were real people. She said she put in for this gig because she really wanted to meet us. She told us that she was Bi (which I took to mean bisexual). I told her (somewhat half jokingly) that I should be her best friend. I could be a boy when she wanted to be with a boy, and a girl when she wanted to be a girl. I invited her to come and crash the Saturday night Gala Ball. Of course I expected that what happens at the restaurant stays and the restaurant. She called me the next night and asked if I was serious. I told her of course. I warned her to dress formal like everyone else would be. She came by Uber, we talked, danced and just had fun. Several of my CD friends saw her throughout the night and I introduced them. After she took an Uber home, they all wanted to here the story. I told them that she was "my date". I think that what it would be called if any two people went to a dance together.

Second

I was talking to this random girl who was standing next to me waiting for dinner to start. My fake last name is Randolph, which happens to be my home town. She started talking about Randolph, and I said you caught me. it's my home town. She said, yeah, me too. Year right, and a sucker is born every day. She said she went to Randolph High. OK, it's the only High School in town. We go back and forth like this until she named the track coach. That was more than a random guess. It turned out that she did go to my high school, she did graduate the same year as me, she ran track with me and her locker was right next to mine. You never know who you'll meet in a dress.

[VivianNewkirk]

My favorite outing was just before this Christmas, because it was so perfectly ordinary. I needed some supplies for the Christmas Eve party. I dressed in a smart top, skinny jeans and boots. It was bitterly cold, so my lady's down jacket with the fake fur ruff went over that. I took care of business at the liquor and grocery stores, then decided to drop by the community Christmas park to have a look at the decorations. Next door to that is my favorite coffee shop, so I popped in for a snack. Then home again. I felt completely at ease and completely feminine throughout. Just another day in a girl's life.

[Patience]

Ok. September 9, 2018 was my sixth outing and I have a hard time imagining how it could have been better.

Firstly, I went to my weekly DJ gig. I left home wearing my regular t-shirt and jeans, but with a bra and panties, as well as black leggings underneath. I changed into full femme regalia when l arrived at the studio, as I had done many times before. This time, there was a difference: an old friend (let's call him Greg) had agreed to meet me so we could have lunch together later. Here's the hitch: I never indicated to him that l was a CDer. I was sorta worried about springing this on him with no warning, which l thought was kind of unfair.

Greg arrived and immediately noticed my dangling earrings. Trying to seem as normal as possible, l told him about my dressing, but made it clear that l intended to get back into drab for lunch. Greg wouldn't hear of it. He said it was fine if I went dressed up exactly as I was. Inside, I was. Giddy with excitement, this was my first time dressed at a restaurant and the staff didn't look at me funny. I had a perfectly normal experience and the food was very good, as was the conversation. Turns out, Greg, unbeknownst to me had had extensive experience interacting with drag queens in the past.

After the meal, I went to Goodwill, where I picked up a pair of skirts on sale, as well as a bag full of unused hosiery still in the original package.

From there, I went to my favorite art store, the same where a goofy SA refused to acknowledge me for very nearly a minute last time. This time, service was prompt and I was attended the moment I arrived.

From there, l went to a monthly pub trivia night where I'm well known in guy mode. These folks had seen my painted fingernails, but that was it. Deep inside l felt I was overdoing it a bit, even though I knew everything would work out ok.

Many of my friends and acquaintances were there and the pub trivia went as usual. I considered naming my team "I put on a bra for this?", But don't want to bring that kind of attention to myself, so l settled for "Heaven knows I am quizzical now". Everybody behaved as nothing out of the ordinary was happening and I never felt uncomfortable at any time. While the trivia was going on, Greg texted me to thank me for the great time and that he was flattered that l was so at ease around him to present myself as I did and he added that he looked forward to seeing my next step in my dressing; which is something we discussed during our meal (namely, my then upcoming makeover and wig purchase).

As the trivia was underway, one of my friends asked me what name I'd like to be called, so l told him my femme name, which he proceeded to call me the rest of the evening, very nearly to the point of exaggeration, but l rolled with it. I guess I was not yet used to being called my own name, lol. He did say, however that he saw me as the same person regardless of my gender expression. Even though I consider myself a somewhat emotionally detached person, l found that statement rather touching.

Another friend at the end of the night asked me what pronouns I'd like to be called. (Do l have hip friends or what?) I clarified that for the sake of simplicity I'd prefer the pronouns to reflect whatever gender l happen to be expressing at any given time.

As the night was winding down, I felt l should take my leave before my carriage turned back into a pumpkin, so I bid my friends good night and walked the four blocks from the pub to my car. There were other people out, so l didn't feel unsafe. Even hours later, my mind was still reeling from the experience.