So what is it called...

[Deedee Skyblue]

when you wear all women's clothes that are close enough approximations to men's clothes that nobody can tell? Does it have a specific code word like 'underdressing'?

Deedee

[Stevie]

You are in disguise. Lol
They make clothes that are for both sexes. Interesting way to dress.
Around here women dress in sweats and tee shirts a lot. They do wear their normal clothes but I do see a lot of them dressing in more comfortable clothes.

[Jodi]

Androgynous.

Jodi

[Kelley]

Hi Deedee, I think the word you are looking for is androgynous. Meaning neither specifically feminine nor masculine.

[sandra-leigh]

"Stealth" clothing is the phrase I use.

I also tend to use that phrase for clothing that is actually a bit across the line into female but which is not immediately obvious. "A guy is wearing it, so it must be guy's clothes."

[Kate Simmons]

Probably more like "hiding in plain sight" I'd guess.;):)

[DeeDeeB]

As a product of the 60s, I'd call it unisex. But, Gloria Vanderbilt jeans look great on both sexes.

One can dress entirely in clothing from the ladies department and still look male. It does, however, give me pleasure to do that. As Kate says "hiding in plain sight". And I do usually have a skirt, heels and wig handy for when it is possible to change.

:fairy1:
DeeDee

[Deedee Skyblue]

One can dress entirely in clothing from the ladies department and still look male. It does, however, give me pleasure to do that.

:fairy1:
DeeDee

Yes, that's what I was getting at, rather than an androgynous look. I like the term 'stealth dressing'.

(Other) Deedee :thumbsup:

[DeeDeeB]

I like that. The important thing is to do what makes you comfortable.

:fairy1:
DeeDee

[Stephanie47]

Sometimes my wife and I will appear similarly attired. She and I will be wearing jeans, although she never buys embroidered jeans, nor I. She and I will have on clunky looking black athletic shoes. And, she will borrow some of my cartoon character tee shirts with holiday motif to wear to her job as a teacher.

Since both of us wear the same size (XL) I inadvertently bought on eBay two exactly the same Venezia black with red floral/rose design. I would love to lend her one of them to at least wear together while preparing dinner. It ain't goin' happen! But, who knows.

PS: I since keep my list of dresses on a word document and pictures in a binder so I don't buy the same dress twice.

[UNDERDRESSER]

Sometimes my wife and I will appear similarly attired. She and I will be wearing jeans, although she never buys embroidered jeans, nor I. She and I will have on clunky looking black athletic shoes. And, she will borrow some of my cartoon character tee shirts with holiday motif to wear to her job as a teacher.

Since both of us wear the same size (XL) I inadvertently bought on eBay two exactly the same Venezia black with red floral/rose design. I would love to lend her one of them to at least wear together while preparing dinner. It ain't goin' happen! But, who knows.

PS: I since keep my list of dresses on a word document and pictures in a binder so I don't buy the same dress twice.My GF and i have done this, same pants, ( definitely womens if you look ) and similar tops. i found out the other day, that I can actually wear her pants, though they are a 10 and I wear a 14. I was looking at purchasing another pair the other day, and a 12 would fit slightly nicer, but the...um... male aspects become a little more glaring. When i put on hers, they felt great, but i wouldn't go out in public without tucking! :o

[Kelli Ca]

Androgynous. Is the word that come to mind for me too

[Beverley Sims]

Androgynous is the word. It is a great way to go out and get practice and confidence.

[Sandra1746]

Yes the clothing is described as 'androgynous' but the accessories such as purse, pierced earrings, necklace and / or bracelet and long hair do really blur the line.

I suspect if I wore my regular plain-Fem clothes without the accessories and had a buzz-cut nobody would ever look twice. With the accesories the line does get blurred.

Enjoy life,
Sandra1746

[Kimberly Renee]

I thought it was called Pat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_(Saturday_Night_Live))

[docrobbysherry]

I have my own word for clothing like that, "Pointless"!

[ArleneRaquel]

Sherry,
Darlin you are 100% correct.

[Jaymees22]

Okay, I'm a man dressed as a women, but in clothes that look like a man's. I think that's called "confused" which is what I am most of the time anyway...Jaymee

[stephNE]

If you are a man, and you are dressed in clothes that make you look like a man, does it matter? I'm not sure it is crossdressing.

A few years back I was coach of my sons baseball team. We were practicing early in march and I wanted a sweatshirt to wear. I looked in our closet, and found a dark blue sweatshirt, (our team colors were white and dark blue) so I put it on and thought it was appropriate. During practice that day I heard the assistant coach and a couple other parents snickering. I finally asked what that was about and they told me the tag was sticking up in the back and it was pink and said "Hanes Her Way". GEEEESH! I winked at them and said they should see what else I sometimes wear! Little did they know......

[sandra-leigh]

I have my own word for clothing like that, "Pointless"!

It isn't pointless for those of us who are walking the fine line between getting fired vs needing to express our female side.

[KatieV]

'Drab' is the word I've heard used; in other words, only subtly distinguishable as women's attire. But I don't much like the sound of it... it looks and feels better than that!

[Sandra1746]

I use the term Plain-fem to describe my normal mode of dress. It matches the attire of most of the other GGs I am around in shops and such, as well as my wife, and it allows me to go out fully dressed. I'm not passing so much as blending but I do get out in public.

Even GGs don't always go out in the proverbial LBD if they are just going grocery shopping.

My $0.02,
Sandra1746

[Rocker Chick]

Parallel dressing

[Deedee Skyblue]

I like the term stealth dressing, so I'll use it here... so today, the first day I ever wore my Gloria Vanderbilt blue corduroy slacks to work, the very first person I see in the office says very loudly "WOW - look at you, all dressed up. Great pants, great shirt, great shoes!!!" He's not someone who would give me grief about pants, and he is always overly enthusiastic about everything, so this wasn't really out of the norm. But it was a little disconcerting - first time out of the gate, and somebody is talking about my slacks and alerting everyone in the office.

Everything was fine, and I wasn't really worried - I sure can't tell the difference without looking at the label - but it was a shock!

Deedee


It isn't pointless for those of us who are walking the fine line between getting fired vs needing to express our female side.

Thank you, Sandra-leigh! That wasn't quite the kind of comment I was expecting. We're all different here, and all our approaches to our lives are different. Doesn't make any of them wrong...

Deedee

[Joanie B]

'Drab' is the word I've heard used; in other words, only subtly distinguishable as women's attire. But I don't much like the sound of it... it looks and feels better than that!

Kay,
Not to be disagreeable but to me DRAB is the opposite of DRAG.............dressed as a BOY, ie my regular guy clothes, which is a liitle different than wearing women's clothes which LOOK like guy's clothes.........
sorry if I am being too picky here........

Joanie B

[crusadergirl]

Its called people don't know until your pants fall down

[Memzy]

A popular term is also "Metro". Not sure if it's just a west coast thing or not.

[ReineD]

Androgynous means someone whom you cannot tell is either male or female. It's not about the clothes so much as a combination of facial features, hair, and body type. Very few people can pull off a true androgynous look and honestly I think it is only possible among the very young if they also happen to have a slight stature. Once males get past a certain age, the testosterone effect renders a face most definitely male.

Someone might dress androgynously, but you don't need to go to the women's section to do this. I don't think there's a big difference between Lee men's and women's jeans for example. Also I think the word used for these types of clothes is "unisex". It's popular among young people - they have unisex sandals, sunglasses, outdoor wear, etc and it's not crossdressing.

So I don't think androgynous is a good way to describe someone who people see as a male. If they don't know you are wearing clothes that were purchased in the women's section such as polo shirts in blues or grays, jeans, and unisex shoes, then they won't even know that you're a crossdresser.

As others have mentioned, I think "stealth crossdressing" (SCD) is most accurate.


Just saw the post above - "metro" describes a male who is particular about his male look: perfectly buffed and groomed fingernails, hair, impeccable shirts, good quality clothes, great tailoring, etc. They used to call such men "dandies".