So you are walking down the street dressed and

[Vanessa Rose]

Your work colleague is walking towards you on the same side of the street...:eek::eek::eek::brolleyes:
What would you do?

[Chickhe]

Smile and wave...

[Zylia]

Launch myself into orbit most likely. Or I would try to act as unsuspicious as I normally do, assuming it's a colleague I don't want to let in on my little secret.

[bridget thronton]

Smile and act as if everything in normal

[jaye_cd]

If they were one I was out to I would greet them. If it was someone who I wasn't out to, I would just give a casual hello like any other polite person walking by someone and just keep on walking.

[DeeArel]

Turn off my phone so that it does not ring when he/she calls me.

[mikiSJ]

Walk by, nonplussed, just like you would normally walk by someone you have no idea who they are.

[pretty boy]

Depends who it is - either smile/wave or pretend I don't know them and keep walking.

[sandra-leigh]

I encountered this situation a couple of times when I was not obviously dressed but I had my large forms in. I got good at smoothly removing my forms and putting them in my bag while walking :o

In early December, I saw one of my ex co-workers in a grocery store while I was obviously dressed. But obviously dressed is what I do now. He hadn't observed me when I saw him, but I realized that if I ducked away then the sudden movement would attract his attention. So I bucked up and called a hello to him, he said hello back, end of encounter. I wouldn't have chosen him to be one of the first to see me, but when you're trans you either play the hand you got or you hide in your room. (I have since seen two other ex co-workers, one of whom I was fairly sure would be fine with me, and the other falling into my "Oh, what-ever!" category. I'm not sure that last person even noticed my appearance even though I spoke with them for at least 5 minutes.)

[Marcelle]

Depends on the work colleague. If I am out to him/her I go over and greet them (after all Isha is a lady). If I am not out to them, I continue walking . . . running to the other side of the street or dodging behind a car will only draw attention IMHO.

I had an actual experience which I related in another post of such a happening. I was walking out of Starbucks (en femme) and ran right into a very close friend of mine. Him and I have been on several combat missions together and shared personal space for days on end. The last time we were together we were calling indirect fire onto our position before we were overrun. So we know each other very well. So I take a deep breath and continue walking as diving behind the chairs would look odd besides I was in a skirt. He walks by me, gives me the standard "guy checking out a girl" up down look and walks right past me. WHEW! So I quicken my steps, exit and head to my car then I hear "Hey wait a minute!" . . . it was him running toward me. CRAP . . . so I turn and wait for the "Dude WTF moment" All he says is "You dropped your glove miss" hands it back and walks away . . . go figure.

Hugs

Isha

[Anna H]

oh. yeah! That's why i stay indoors....
(I knew there was some very good reason)

[Alexis.j]

Love that one Isha, classic.

I would just continue walking on, and don't respond if my male name was called. This mainly applies if you are dressed fully, as I have noticed that quickly seeing the resemblance between the two modes is not that easy.
Look for before and after/male/female photos of people, most of the time you have to look very closely.

[Aprilrain]

I'd be happy I was dressed as being naked would be embarrassing!!!! : P

Early on in my transition, before I was full-time, I was at a store looking at some earrings when I heard my name. (this was before I legally changed it and my old male name was not a common one at all!). My blood ran cold and it was all I could do not to turn around. Eventually I repositioned myself to look and clearly the person calling out the name was speaking to someone else. whew!!!!!

[Rogina B]

They would never recognize me..And I have tested that countless times over the years..But "vehicle recognition" is quite another thing!! lol

[erickka]

I wouldn't worry too much...I don't look even remotely like my male self when dressed, BUT that doesn't mean that I'm passable, just unrecognizable. OTOH...Like Rogina said, the vehicle is a dead give away.

[Beverley Sims]

Danger! Danger! Will Robinson.

I usually take cover and wait for it to pass. :)
It has happened to me, I doubt if I would ever be recognised but evasive action is always prudent.

[Kate Simmons]

I would probably be saying to myself:"Hmm, now this should be interesting." :)

[Ellie52]

I would say hello Jim, as I always walk down the street dressed. If I didnt Jim might say "Hey Steve you havent got any clothes on".....Ellie

[natcrys]

That's probably the main reason I don't go out and about in my own city. And that I do wear big movie-sized sun-glasses if I'm in a risky area.

But if the situation would occur, I would not make eye-contact, grab my phone, block the view of face and keep on walking.

Because of my long hair, I have often heard friends and colleagues say that they have seen a woman that could have been my sister.. so I will just use that as an excuse! :)

[suchacutie]

I'd have a hard time suppressing a giggle as there's little chance my male identity would register since everything about Tina is so very different from my male self!

[Caden Lane]

I'd just act like I belong where I'm at, and not give a sign of re ignition on my part. Most people these days are so self absorbed it'd take me walking down the middle of the street in a hoop skirt to be noticed.

[Anna H]

Whenever i see one of those 'end of the world' type movies that
show a big city with no people anywhere, the first thing i think is that
i could go into all of those stores and try on any & every thing I like...
with No problems. Take the clothes home too! Free makeup!

I have no idea why i thought of that....:ner:

[meganmartin]

If it is day time i put on my sunglasses and never speak, smile or make any gesture they would recognize.

[Patty F]

Had to laugh with Aprilrain, would rather be dressed than naked. Either one would be a scary situation.

[MsVal]

If your end goal is to one day come out and be open to all people, and, depending on how great is your desire to do that, then you may just bring those plans forward to "beginning right now". It may actually be easier to begin with someone with whom you do not have an established personal relationship (e.g. work or school associate).

It may also help to be at that time of life when you have developed a healthy "I no longer care what people think." attitude.

[PretzelGirl]

If I can help it, I don't want to be out at work just yet. But I always said that if I get busted, I would just suck it up and own it. Since I have long hair, I don't feel it takes more than a few seconds for someone to recognize me. So I would enter a store, walk across the street, ...anything that can be done casually. And if there are no options. Own it!

[KristinTX]

Not ready for the prime time yet..........so I'd either lift my stylish purse up to block my face, stop down to adjust my heels or take off the heels and sprint in the opposite direction :) Maybe I should wear flats when Im closer to my hometown.

And as I read Nat's post that made me think.......my sister is living in the area now........I'd say it must have been a sister sighting. And I forgot how much the larger sunglasses help change your appearance too........great accessory!

[kimdl93]

Smile and wave...

It's happened with neighbor, friends and co workers. What else are you gonna do?

[mariehart]

Not quite a work colleague but a guy I was in school with. I was on my way to meet someone so was looking good and the skirt was short! I got the 'guy checking out a girl look' as Isha put it. but there wasn't much danger of him recognising me as it was my legs he was looking at. I really enjoyed that moment.

Isha I love this line:
The last time we were together we were calling indirect fire onto our position before we were overrun. So we know each other very well.That must have been a fraught moment!

[Stephanie47]

If you choose to be known only until yourself, then don't interact or put yourself in a position to interact. I am an in-home cross dresser. I have taken strolls in the evening in a residential neighborhood where I and my car would not be identified. The best kept secrets are kept by oneself. Interact with one co-worker or neighbor and the world will know. You cannot control what others may do or the people with whom they share their knowledge. If I were to encounter an approaching person I know on my stroll I would not interact with them at all and do anything to avoid the encounter. Since I cross dress for the peace and serenity it brings ME, my whole purpose for cross dressing would be negated by others knowing. It presents an unknown that I prefer not to explore.

[CDAshleyAnne]

I would probably pause, turn my side or back to him/her and either dig through the purse or act like I have something in my eye that I need to tend to until the moment had passed.

[Lorileah]

smile, walk by, act like I do with anyone else on the street. If they recognize me, I would stop, say hi, talk about the weather, shake hands (or hug depending) and go on my way.

[sandra-leigh]

One of the things I discovered extremely early on was that no matter how I dressed, had makeup, wigs, changed my glasses, totally different coats, and so on, that people recognized me very quickly. At a distance. In bad light. Who had only ever seen me in person (in any mode) three times before, last 8 months prior. And had never even talked to me before. And no-one looks surprised.

Oh wait... that's right, a couple of women were surprised that my bust was not real (when I wore my large forms.) It wasn't that they didn't see the "male", it was that something about me gives off a "Of course he should be female" vibe. Yes, complete with mental contradiction. As if I am mentally categorized as "Ummm, not female I guess, but definitely not 'a guy'".

Anyhow, when one gets recognized no matter what, then one can either go hide and never come out again, or one can say "This means I don't have to hide: I can just be myself, a female, and people are going to accept me because they already think of me that way even before seeing me Dressed".

[TessInJxn]

I think I'd just try to be as nonchalant as possible. I'm 6'4" in heels, walking down the street is going to draw enough attention! ;-)

I have kind of run into the opposite issue: when I do go out to Tess' favorite hangout, I'm always dressed to the nines. The funny thing is that when I see people from that bar out around town, and I'm not dressed en femme, they seem to have no idea who I am. I've even spoken to some folks and then had to tell them I was Tess. All that is to say that I guess I'm not TOO recognizable when fully dolled up.

[Rachel M]

Here's my story. I was out and about for some evening shopping at an outdoor shopping mall. I was feeling extra confident in my look and presentation, I decided to head over to PF Changs to have a cocktail at the bar. So as I am walking down the street just outside the restaurant three men are walking in the opposite direction coming from the restaurant. As I get closer I recognized my coworker. He begins to give me an ogle, smiles and says "have a good evening, Miss!" as we passed each other. I smiled and mouth a "thank you!" I entered the restaurant and when straight to the ladies room to reassure "Rachel" was looking back at me in the mirror.
So, it doesn't end here. I leave the restroom and go to an empty seat at the bar. For fear of being carded, I tell the bartender "just a diet coke for starters" I begin to settle in and relax. I turn slightly to scan the many faces in the restaurant and bar. Well, a few tables over in the bar area were two more coworkers seated with their spouses. I finished my drink and left to avoid taking any chances of being read.

[dana digs sweaters]

What would I do?
Continue on my merry little way. There is No How, No Way I could be recognized when dolled up.
Too drastic a difference in my looks.
Whomever they are might comment to somebody that I was probably a medal winner in the Olympics for female shot putting.

[TXRobin]

Ask them to join me in raising funds for X charity?:)