Hands

[Jillcder]

Last week my wife and I went out for dinner and a couple drinks with some very close friends about half way through the evening the wife of the couple started telling my wife about a crossdresser she saw earlier in the week I was having a conversation with her husband but did my best to listen to her story. She described the frilly skirt, top and said he was dressed completely from head to toe and look great but said she knew right away she was he by looking at the man hands they both agreed that was a good indicator the thing that made me smile inside about her story was neither her or my wife said anything negative about the CDer in anyway.
Just curious what tricks do some of you use to downsize the look of man hands.

[Cheryl T]

Well first of all nails.
Longer nails lengthen the fingers. Color also affects the appearance of the hands.
Proper jewelry can change the appearance as well. The style and number of rings and their position on the hand can change the appearance. This is true also for bracelets.
Many women have large hands so size alone is not an indicator but if you want to change how your hands look I believe you have to pay attention to your nails and jewelry.

It's a matter of perspective. A larger person with a small purse seems to be even bigger. A tall women in a short skirt appears taller and vice versa. Sometimes we ignore things like this because we happen to like something but everything has an effect on your appearance.

[kimdl93]

This is one of my many tells, in particular quite a bit larger than average palms and thick fingers. Sausage fingers, some have said. Needless to say, I would like to deemphasize them, so I avoid eye catching bright polish and jewelry all together. And honestly, I keep my hands out of sight when possible.

On the other hand I try not to obsess about them. I am sure than I have been read by any close observer long before they get to my hands.

[Geena75]

Hands can be an issue for me since they are good sized but, more importantly, rough and often with cuts or scars. I wear false nails with modest color polish and keep jewelry like rings or bracelets down to a minimum. Also, I always wear long sleeves (to hide my arm hair) and I think that also de-emphasizes the size of my hands.

[docrobbysherry]

There is only one way to completely disguise man hands: Gloves!
In addition to fabric gloves I dye rubber gloves flesh color which hide my wrinkled, gnarled, old hands in photos!

And, only one way to disguise man arms: Cover your arms!
I dye children's tites flesh color so it appears I have naked arms. The tites hide my muscely, marked up arms the same way skin toned tites hide my legs!

[Richelle423]

I like to wear clear nail polish or a very light pink on my fingernails. I?ve worn black on my nails in past times and it only made my hands look like a dinosaur. Now I just wear black on my toes.

[audreyinalbany]

I figure I"d be lucky if someone had to look at my hands to decided whether or not I was a GG

[Stephanie47]

I'm six foot and 200 pounds, so I think my hands are in proportion to my size. My fingers are long. When I go out I have to assume it is obvious I am a man-in-a dress. If I have light weight jacket on or a rain coat (yes, it rains a lot out here!) I put my hands in pockets. I do not take pictures of myself, but if I did I would position myself to obscure the hands.

It was nice to read nobody was judgemental of the cross-dresser.

[Lana Mae]

I was told by a cis lady that my hands looked better than hers! Her hands were every bit as large as mine but looked so worn! I wear one ring on my right ring finger! Some times a bracelet on the left! Usually some bright polish with sparkles and/or designs painted on my nails! I do not hide them! I get complements about my hands! (Oh, that's a man!) Never hear that and if I did so what, I am being me!
Hugs Lana Mae

[alwayshave]

Jill, I agree that hands are a big give away. Also the fact I am 6'2", 260 makes it readily apparent.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Jill , I am Very Lucky that I have nice looking Hands & Nails, >Orchid**OO***

[Debbie Denier]

My hands are smaller than my wifes. And can be made to look feminine. Unfortunately the rest of my body is out of sync. Being nearly 6ft tall , size 9 feet etc. There are more tells that give the game away.

[NancySue]

Alas, it seems no matter what I do, manicure, shave hair, lotion, I still have man hands. Other tells, larger, wider feet and broader shoulders. Oh well.

[Sandi Beech]

There are many things that can give us away. I once spotted 2 CDs at a club and could only see them from behind initially. They were far too tall and had no hips.

I have come to realize you can still look pretty despite the give aways. If you have GGs walk up to you out of the blue to pay a compliment, you know you are doing something right. That is all that matters to me. Passing is not the goal in my book. Looking good is the goal, then everything else works out.

Of course I am not saying I look that good. I just do the best I can with what I have to work with ; ) That is all any of us can do.

Sandi

[Emily in the south]

Hands are among the least of my concerns. Easy to keep shaved, have nice nails, and add jewelry.
I have had many compliments from gg's about my nails.
What Sandi said rings true for me.

Emily

[Aliceunderwire]

Jill,
I agree as well. I?ve heard the position of one?s hands can be a give away. GG?s keep palms up.
Alice

[Helen_Highwater]

If you've got fingers like a bunch of bananas then that can be difficult to hide.

My thinking is that mannerisms play an important part is how we're perceived and GG's tend to be more expressive with hand movements than males. Get the way you carry your hands sorted and you're part way to minimising having bigger hands.

Use hand cream to help reduce any signs of manly wear and tear. Shave any hair from the back of your hands and knuckles. If you're going to wear false nails then moderation in length. Rounded as opposed to square ends but avoid dagger like nails. They will draw attention as opposed to creating an illusion.

In colder weather, well fitted black kid leather gloves will work well. Definitely no thermal lining!

[ReallyLauren]

I'm generally not thrilled about the look of my hands. Lately, though, I have been using artificial nails that are somewhat longer in length and I feel that it has make my fingers look longer and more slender. I've also been taking better care of my hands doing things like moisturizing them regularly and removing all hair. As a result, I now feel that my hands are looking much more feminine than before.

[rachelatshop]

If I really want to look girly I will paint my nails or wear some silk gloves, especially if it is cold

[Maid_Marion]

My wife was jealous of my hands because I've always taken great care of my nails so they looked perfect without any nail polish!
She had anxiety issues and that hurt her nails.

Yesterday I went to a garden club meeting and put on two coats of translucent pink nail polish just before the meeting.
As well as pink shirt and pink puffer jacket! It is still cold in Connecticut.

Marion

[Jane G]

Hands can be a dead sure giveaway. Mine are significantly larger than an average male. I was climbing recently my partner was a young, slight, female. We happened to compare the size of our hands. It makes a big difference to what holds you can grip when climbing. Mine were almost twice the size of hers, both in length and width. Not even gloves can help there.

[TheHiddenMe]

There are many things that can give us away. I once spotted 2 CDs at a club and could only see them from behind initially. They were far too tall and had no hips.

I have come to realize you can still look pretty despite the give aways. If you have GGs walk up to you out of the blue to pay a compliment, you know you are doing something right. That is all that matters to me. Passing is not the goal in my book. Looking good is the goal, then everything else works out.

Of course I am not saying I look that good. I just do the best I can with what I have to work with ; ) That is all any of us can do.

Sandi

This. EVERYTHING is a giveaway. People instinctively know something is up.

And it doesn't matter.

Last week I went into my favorite Melbourne store, dressed. The SA at the desk I immediately knew was Transgender. Immediately, as within two seconds, I knew. She was dressed stylishly, but I knew.

It's the same when people see us. They know if they are paying attention. There is nothing you can do to hide it. The only thing you can do is just stop worrying about it.

[Jillcder]

Lots of great comments thanks ladies!

[Rhonda Jean]

Back when I was obsessed about passing I'd sometimes return to somewhere I'd been the day before when I was dressed and start a conversation like, "You probably don't recognize me from yesterday" and lead into what I was wearing and asking whether or not they read me. If I didn't pass I'd always ask what gave me away. One of those times what gave me away was my hands. At the time I wore a size 7 ring, so it wasn't size that gave me away. I had long, polished nails, so it wasn't that. If I had made a list of 10 things I thought might give me away, I don't think hands would have been on the list. Wish I'd probed a little further to find out exactly what it was about my hands that was such an indicator. Veins, maybe.

BTW, the most common answer was, "I don't know. I could just tell". Maybe they just felt like that was the least offensive answer, but I think that is probably correct. I think that a lot of times there's not just one big thing, it's the combination of several small things.

[docrobbysherry]

I have this special device I use at home to tell whether or not I'll pass when I go out.

I call it a mirror!