Cristi
10-30-2010, 03:12 PM
(photo at bottom)
I've been getting a bit tire of the 'same old routine' when going out dressed. Shopping at the same stores, driving the same roads. Nothing new or exciting.
Earlier this week I found myself with a day off and wanted to do something new. I started with my decision of what to wear. Something cute? Casual? I settled on my nice and very comfortable grey wool skirt suit, which I've never really worn 'out' before. (I've attached a photo of the skirt taken a few years ago. Picture this with better hair style, nicer shoes and other improvements).
With that decision made, where would it be appropriate to wear such an outfit? Well, how about the big city? :)
I live about a 2-1/2 hour drive from Boston and have never even considered going there en femme before but as soon at the thought entered my head, I couldn't shake it. When I'd decided to go through with it, I realize that it meant something even more. Whenever I go to Boston, I hate the traffic and usually park far outside the city and take the subway in. Would I dare do the same thing dressed? To be so far away from the safety of my car?
Well, the idea took root in my head and I started making my plans. Before I knew it, morning was here and I was shaved, showered and ready to dress.
I spent a lot of time using the curling iron on my hair, but left it up in bobby pins and clips so it would be 'fresh' looking when I got to my destination. It would mean driving with others on the road being able to see it like that, but that wasn't an issue.
The other thing I did that I never did before was actually attach my forms with adhesive instead of just setting them in my bra. After I shaved, used the preparation adhesive wipes on my skin then put the adhesive tabs on and pressed the forms to my chest they were attached so strongly that it hurt a bit when I tested them by trying to peel one off (like ripping off a bandaid). The weight of them pulling on my skin was a bit uncomfortable until I put on my underwire bra to take up some of the weight.
Before I knew it I was ready to leave. The last decision I made was to NOT bring any 'backup' male clothes with me. This trip would be totally en femme. If anything happened along the way, I would just have to deal with it as I was dressed.
I felt so feminine as I walked out to the car in my grey skirt suit with knee length skirt, red blouse, necklace and matching earings, black hose and flats. Over it all I had a nice black dress coat.
I put my purse and a few odds and ends into the car, smoothed my skirt under my as I got in, and hit the road.
Like I'd said, it was a 2.5 hour drive to Boston (just over 2 hours to the subway station). For those who know the area, I was aiming for the Alwife station, the far Western end of the red line. All the way down, I still didn't know if I was going to go through with it. Once I got on a train, I'd be totally committed to the trip, no turning back and rushing back to the car which is always an option on other trips.
The two hours passed before I knew it and I was pulling into the parking garage at the station. It was mid-afternoon so the garage was nearly full, meaning I had to park on a high floor and far away from the station itself. My hair was still up in pins and clips, so I took a few minutes in the car to let it all down, then stepped outside to give it a good going over with hairspray to hold it all in place. I did a last check to make sure I had everything I needed, including makeup for touch-ups during the day, then locked the car and headed toward the station.
Once you make the commitment to do something like this, it gets easier. Even by the time I'd taken a few steps, I was being passed by traffic in the garage and other pedestrians walking to or from the station. I'd made the decision to go as far as the ticked kiosks to see how comfortable I felt. That would be my last chance to turn back to the car in case things just didn't feel right.
It was a 5 minute walk across the garage, down the escalators and into the ticket area. The garage was open to the outside air and I could feel the cold air blowing on my exposed legs with an occasionally gust making its way further up.
By the time I'd gotten to the ticketing kiosks, I'd decided to go on. Nobody so far had even given me a second look. While I was buying a day-pass ticket, a tourist couple even came up to me to ask me a question which, thankfully, I was able to answer with just a 'yes' (my voice is still one of my weakest points when dressed).
Ticket in hand, I passed through the gates and took the escalator down to the platform. It felt so GOOD to be walking along in the open with people all around me, feeling the brush of my skirt against my stockings and the slight movement of my forms on my chest with every step.
I got to the platform just as the last few riders were stepping onto the waiting train. This was good, since it didn't give me too much time to get nervous about this point of no return.
I stepped onto the nearly empty train and quickly found a seat just as the doors closed. This was it! No turning back now without at least a trip to the next stop then a train in the other direction.
Having started at the far end of the line, the train was fairly empty, but at every stop more and more people got on. I was feeling quite self conscious sitting by the doors, purse on my lap and my skirt having ridden up a few inches above my knees when I sat... but still nobody gave me a second look.
I'd forgotten to look at the map in the staion so didn't know which stop I needed to transfer to a different line. I ended up guessing, but went one stop too far so I had to get off, take another train back one stop, then take the train to my final destination, 'Government Center'. This last train was very crowded and I ended up standing for the trip, shoulder to shoulder with other riders and my skirt brushing against the legs of a rider sitting beside where I was standing.
Once at my destination, I walked up the long stairway into the sunshine on the crowded plaza. I still wasn't used to the idea that I was really here, dressed as I was, now over a half hour (and at least two different trains) from my car. One thing I noticed almost right away now that I was walking in the open with a breeze was that I'd lost over 20lbs since I'd gotten this suit, and I was starting to wonder if the skirt was going to stay up! It didn't have any elastic, just a zipper and hook and was just barely small enough to be held in place above my hips. :( I wish I'd had a safety pin in my purse so I could make a quick adjustment to help hold it up.
I walked across the plaza and waited with a small crowd at the street crossing, then spent the next hour browsing through the markets at Faneuil Hall and the surrounding area. I stopped for a coffee and one shop and a pastry at another, then sat outside on a park bench watching the world go by.
After finishing, I figured that a real woman in the area dressed as I was would probably be there for business in City Hall. I decided to go in and explore for a bit.
Of course, just inside the door there was a security checkpoint, so I put my purse on the x-ray conveyor belt just like the woman in front of my did, then stepped through the scanner. I was a bit surprised when no alarms with off due to my watch, earrings, necklace and the underwires in my bra. In fact, the woman in front of me had more jewelry on than I did and made some comment to me to that effect as we both picked our purses up off the belt.
I only stayed in the building for a few minutes before heading back outside. I was in the mood for more shopping so headed toward the trains. The train to my next stop, Boston Common, was a lot more crowded, but I did get a seat between two other ladies. I had to smile when I looked to my left, then right and saw all three of us in skirts, purses on our laps, hands folded over the purse.
It was raining when I got out of the station at the Common, so I took a few minutes in the entrance to check and touch up my makeup in my compact mirror until the passing shower was over.
I walked the entire perimeter of the common, window shopping as I went and stopping in at a few stores. I bought a book at a bookstore and was treated very nicely by the young girl at the register.
After this, It was time to start heading home. Without realizing it, I'd been there long enough that it was getting toward 5:00, so I was starting to worry about 'rush hour'. The first train I got on was very crowded, but I got a seat that was vacated just as I was getting on. (BTW: I LOVE the strong gust of air that a train makes as it pulls into the station, and how it blew my skirt against my legs as I was standing at the edge of the platform). I ended up with a group of 5 young teenage girls standing just off my knees for the trip. They were close enough that every time the train slowed or turned, the skirt one of them was wearing brushed my legs.
After finding platform for the last train I'd need, I started to get a bit worried, It was CROWDED. The entire platform was packed. By this time I was pretty comfortable in a crowd, so just stood there in the middle of the pack waiting for the next train. When it came, I was surprised it could hold everybody who was ready to get on, but it did even though we were packed close enough together that I was touching other riders on all sides.
After three stops, the woman who'd been sitting right beside where I was standing go up to leave so I got her seat. This was when I got the only reaction I'd gotten all day... a young man sitting across from me on a train that was suddenly more empty after the Harvard station just stared at me for minutes, so I ignored him. When I looked back later, he was staring at my legs. By the angle of his eyes, it looked suspiciously like he was looking right at my knees and possibly up my skirt. Not having had much practice being in a skirt in public, I wasn't quite sure just how much of a 'view' he was getting, so made more of an effort to keep my knees together, and casually reached down to pull the hem of my skirt down a bit where it had moved up as I was sitting. I felt a bit uncomfortable with the attention, but as long as he didn't harass me for follow me out of the station I didn't mind.
When we finally reached the Alwife station again, I stood and flowed out onto the platform with the rest of the crowd. It was a good deal colder now than it was when I'd come in, but the cold air on my legs felt good after the stuffy warm air on the crowded trains. The wind had also picked up and was blowing through the parking garage, so my skirt was blown around quite a bit as I walked with the rest of the crowd back to my car.
After all of this, all I had ahead of me was a 2 hour drive back home. I can say, though, that stop and go traffic and 5:00 traffic jams in the city are a LOT more fun when I can be dressed in a skirt suit. :)
There is one postscript to this story. I'd used a LOT of the adhesive tabs and prep before putting the forms on. When I got home and went to take them off, it was like pulling off a band-aid. They were also stuck firmly enough that I was worried about tearing the thin plastic backing of the form itself. I didn't really need to take them off right away, so decided to just put on a sports bra and wear them to bed.
Thankfully, I didn't have to be anywhere the next day either since they were STILL stuck on pretty firmly when I woke up. I changed into a bra with a little more support and went about my day. They were just starting to loosen up on the edge, so I washed (actually showered with forms on and no bra!) and wore them through the day and the next night as well.
I still have them on as I typed this, but if they don't come off easily by morning I'll just have to deal with the discomfort and damage risk of peeling them off, since I have somewhere to be in the afternoon.
edit: I had to take the forms off early due to my father making an unannounced visit. When we heard him pulling into the driveway, I rushed to the bathroom to remove the forms and change while my SO kept him busy. It DID hurt a bit to rip them off so quickly :( but they finally came off with no damage to the forms OR my skin.
I've been getting a bit tire of the 'same old routine' when going out dressed. Shopping at the same stores, driving the same roads. Nothing new or exciting.
Earlier this week I found myself with a day off and wanted to do something new. I started with my decision of what to wear. Something cute? Casual? I settled on my nice and very comfortable grey wool skirt suit, which I've never really worn 'out' before. (I've attached a photo of the skirt taken a few years ago. Picture this with better hair style, nicer shoes and other improvements).
With that decision made, where would it be appropriate to wear such an outfit? Well, how about the big city? :)
I live about a 2-1/2 hour drive from Boston and have never even considered going there en femme before but as soon at the thought entered my head, I couldn't shake it. When I'd decided to go through with it, I realize that it meant something even more. Whenever I go to Boston, I hate the traffic and usually park far outside the city and take the subway in. Would I dare do the same thing dressed? To be so far away from the safety of my car?
Well, the idea took root in my head and I started making my plans. Before I knew it, morning was here and I was shaved, showered and ready to dress.
I spent a lot of time using the curling iron on my hair, but left it up in bobby pins and clips so it would be 'fresh' looking when I got to my destination. It would mean driving with others on the road being able to see it like that, but that wasn't an issue.
The other thing I did that I never did before was actually attach my forms with adhesive instead of just setting them in my bra. After I shaved, used the preparation adhesive wipes on my skin then put the adhesive tabs on and pressed the forms to my chest they were attached so strongly that it hurt a bit when I tested them by trying to peel one off (like ripping off a bandaid). The weight of them pulling on my skin was a bit uncomfortable until I put on my underwire bra to take up some of the weight.
Before I knew it I was ready to leave. The last decision I made was to NOT bring any 'backup' male clothes with me. This trip would be totally en femme. If anything happened along the way, I would just have to deal with it as I was dressed.
I felt so feminine as I walked out to the car in my grey skirt suit with knee length skirt, red blouse, necklace and matching earings, black hose and flats. Over it all I had a nice black dress coat.
I put my purse and a few odds and ends into the car, smoothed my skirt under my as I got in, and hit the road.
Like I'd said, it was a 2.5 hour drive to Boston (just over 2 hours to the subway station). For those who know the area, I was aiming for the Alwife station, the far Western end of the red line. All the way down, I still didn't know if I was going to go through with it. Once I got on a train, I'd be totally committed to the trip, no turning back and rushing back to the car which is always an option on other trips.
The two hours passed before I knew it and I was pulling into the parking garage at the station. It was mid-afternoon so the garage was nearly full, meaning I had to park on a high floor and far away from the station itself. My hair was still up in pins and clips, so I took a few minutes in the car to let it all down, then stepped outside to give it a good going over with hairspray to hold it all in place. I did a last check to make sure I had everything I needed, including makeup for touch-ups during the day, then locked the car and headed toward the station.
Once you make the commitment to do something like this, it gets easier. Even by the time I'd taken a few steps, I was being passed by traffic in the garage and other pedestrians walking to or from the station. I'd made the decision to go as far as the ticked kiosks to see how comfortable I felt. That would be my last chance to turn back to the car in case things just didn't feel right.
It was a 5 minute walk across the garage, down the escalators and into the ticket area. The garage was open to the outside air and I could feel the cold air blowing on my exposed legs with an occasionally gust making its way further up.
By the time I'd gotten to the ticketing kiosks, I'd decided to go on. Nobody so far had even given me a second look. While I was buying a day-pass ticket, a tourist couple even came up to me to ask me a question which, thankfully, I was able to answer with just a 'yes' (my voice is still one of my weakest points when dressed).
Ticket in hand, I passed through the gates and took the escalator down to the platform. It felt so GOOD to be walking along in the open with people all around me, feeling the brush of my skirt against my stockings and the slight movement of my forms on my chest with every step.
I got to the platform just as the last few riders were stepping onto the waiting train. This was good, since it didn't give me too much time to get nervous about this point of no return.
I stepped onto the nearly empty train and quickly found a seat just as the doors closed. This was it! No turning back now without at least a trip to the next stop then a train in the other direction.
Having started at the far end of the line, the train was fairly empty, but at every stop more and more people got on. I was feeling quite self conscious sitting by the doors, purse on my lap and my skirt having ridden up a few inches above my knees when I sat... but still nobody gave me a second look.
I'd forgotten to look at the map in the staion so didn't know which stop I needed to transfer to a different line. I ended up guessing, but went one stop too far so I had to get off, take another train back one stop, then take the train to my final destination, 'Government Center'. This last train was very crowded and I ended up standing for the trip, shoulder to shoulder with other riders and my skirt brushing against the legs of a rider sitting beside where I was standing.
Once at my destination, I walked up the long stairway into the sunshine on the crowded plaza. I still wasn't used to the idea that I was really here, dressed as I was, now over a half hour (and at least two different trains) from my car. One thing I noticed almost right away now that I was walking in the open with a breeze was that I'd lost over 20lbs since I'd gotten this suit, and I was starting to wonder if the skirt was going to stay up! It didn't have any elastic, just a zipper and hook and was just barely small enough to be held in place above my hips. :( I wish I'd had a safety pin in my purse so I could make a quick adjustment to help hold it up.
I walked across the plaza and waited with a small crowd at the street crossing, then spent the next hour browsing through the markets at Faneuil Hall and the surrounding area. I stopped for a coffee and one shop and a pastry at another, then sat outside on a park bench watching the world go by.
After finishing, I figured that a real woman in the area dressed as I was would probably be there for business in City Hall. I decided to go in and explore for a bit.
Of course, just inside the door there was a security checkpoint, so I put my purse on the x-ray conveyor belt just like the woman in front of my did, then stepped through the scanner. I was a bit surprised when no alarms with off due to my watch, earrings, necklace and the underwires in my bra. In fact, the woman in front of me had more jewelry on than I did and made some comment to me to that effect as we both picked our purses up off the belt.
I only stayed in the building for a few minutes before heading back outside. I was in the mood for more shopping so headed toward the trains. The train to my next stop, Boston Common, was a lot more crowded, but I did get a seat between two other ladies. I had to smile when I looked to my left, then right and saw all three of us in skirts, purses on our laps, hands folded over the purse.
It was raining when I got out of the station at the Common, so I took a few minutes in the entrance to check and touch up my makeup in my compact mirror until the passing shower was over.
I walked the entire perimeter of the common, window shopping as I went and stopping in at a few stores. I bought a book at a bookstore and was treated very nicely by the young girl at the register.
After this, It was time to start heading home. Without realizing it, I'd been there long enough that it was getting toward 5:00, so I was starting to worry about 'rush hour'. The first train I got on was very crowded, but I got a seat that was vacated just as I was getting on. (BTW: I LOVE the strong gust of air that a train makes as it pulls into the station, and how it blew my skirt against my legs as I was standing at the edge of the platform). I ended up with a group of 5 young teenage girls standing just off my knees for the trip. They were close enough that every time the train slowed or turned, the skirt one of them was wearing brushed my legs.
After finding platform for the last train I'd need, I started to get a bit worried, It was CROWDED. The entire platform was packed. By this time I was pretty comfortable in a crowd, so just stood there in the middle of the pack waiting for the next train. When it came, I was surprised it could hold everybody who was ready to get on, but it did even though we were packed close enough together that I was touching other riders on all sides.
After three stops, the woman who'd been sitting right beside where I was standing go up to leave so I got her seat. This was when I got the only reaction I'd gotten all day... a young man sitting across from me on a train that was suddenly more empty after the Harvard station just stared at me for minutes, so I ignored him. When I looked back later, he was staring at my legs. By the angle of his eyes, it looked suspiciously like he was looking right at my knees and possibly up my skirt. Not having had much practice being in a skirt in public, I wasn't quite sure just how much of a 'view' he was getting, so made more of an effort to keep my knees together, and casually reached down to pull the hem of my skirt down a bit where it had moved up as I was sitting. I felt a bit uncomfortable with the attention, but as long as he didn't harass me for follow me out of the station I didn't mind.
When we finally reached the Alwife station again, I stood and flowed out onto the platform with the rest of the crowd. It was a good deal colder now than it was when I'd come in, but the cold air on my legs felt good after the stuffy warm air on the crowded trains. The wind had also picked up and was blowing through the parking garage, so my skirt was blown around quite a bit as I walked with the rest of the crowd back to my car.
After all of this, all I had ahead of me was a 2 hour drive back home. I can say, though, that stop and go traffic and 5:00 traffic jams in the city are a LOT more fun when I can be dressed in a skirt suit. :)
There is one postscript to this story. I'd used a LOT of the adhesive tabs and prep before putting the forms on. When I got home and went to take them off, it was like pulling off a band-aid. They were also stuck firmly enough that I was worried about tearing the thin plastic backing of the form itself. I didn't really need to take them off right away, so decided to just put on a sports bra and wear them to bed.
Thankfully, I didn't have to be anywhere the next day either since they were STILL stuck on pretty firmly when I woke up. I changed into a bra with a little more support and went about my day. They were just starting to loosen up on the edge, so I washed (actually showered with forms on and no bra!) and wore them through the day and the next night as well.
I still have them on as I typed this, but if they don't come off easily by morning I'll just have to deal with the discomfort and damage risk of peeling them off, since I have somewhere to be in the afternoon.
edit: I had to take the forms off early due to my father making an unannounced visit. When we heard him pulling into the driveway, I rushed to the bathroom to remove the forms and change while my SO kept him busy. It DID hurt a bit to rip them off so quickly :( but they finally came off with no damage to the forms OR my skin.