Marlena Dahlstrom
01-14-2006, 03:00 PM
To avoid thread drift, I've spun this off from a another thread. (http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=307826)
And now, for Marlena: what are these "clever ways of dressing which conceals the fact that she is a guy?" Enquiring minds, you know? It might be worth a new thread to learn some tips.:)
OK, as far as clever ways of dressing... Let's see....
First off, let me point out that as Marla GG said, GGs aren't born knowing this stuff, they learn it, which means we can too. I learned from watching "What Not to Wear" (which shows that GG definitely aren't born knowing how to dress stylishly), as well as Suzan Nanfeldt's excellent book "Plus Style," (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452275962/qid=1137266281/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1419280-1392629?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) which intended for plus-sized women. It's out of print, but usually available on Amazon for about $30-40 and is money extremely well-spent. There's also lots of info available online if you go looking.
Let's start by dispelling a myth -- black isn't slimming, tailoring is slimming. A big mistake plus-size women make is to wear stuff that's baggy, which makes them look ever bigger. Whereas something that's nicely fitted -- not skin tight, will actually make you look slimmer. BTW, this also works well for male clothing too. It is scary to do initially, since you think it's going to show off all the places you'd prefer to hid, but trust me, it actually looks much better if done right. Of course, there's places where you strategically want some loose fabric -- one of the great things about wrap tops is that bunched fabric near the waist is great for camouflaging a bit of stomach flab. But this illusion works in large part because the rest of the garment is fitted, so it doesn't appear as if you're trying to hide something.
I've actually got broad shoulders and a short, thick neck. So I usually try to wear V-necked tops, which both makes the neck look longer (and therefore slimmer) and the V-neck also pulls the eye inward, minimizing the shoulders. I also usually wear a pendant necklace, which draws the eye down and away from the neck. Since the abaolone sequins on the top I wore to my dinner with Windy are pretty dramatic, I wore a small, subdued pendant, so it wouldn't fight with the top.
The leather jacket had a bit of princess seam (http://www.kohlscorporation.com/ecom/valueadded/Glossary.htm) which tends to be slimming. Also since the jacket was unzipped, it created a vertical line, which lengthens you and again is slimming. I'm six feet in 2" heels, but there's a number GGs of equal height, so I don't worry about it.
Actually, I wasn't wearing jeans, but rather a chocolate brown pant with stripes. The low contrast between the brown pants and the black top helps create a seamless line, which again can be slimming. OTOH, one can also use contrast intentionally. For example a dark top and light pants or skirt, will make your bottom half look larger. Which is why many GGs avoid this, but part of the secret is learning how to intentionally break "the rules" since our bodies are built differently that GGs. The stripe in the pants actually isn't a good idea if you've got a big butt, because the lines emphasize the curve. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do. Admittedly, wearing the Veronica hip pads help a lot. (Glamour Boutique's Sweet Cheeks pads, are a good, less costly alternative, since it uses a single pad that wraps around each hip/butt check and avoids the lumpy look of other products that use four pads.) The pocket on the back of the pants, also emphasizes the size of the butt.
My boots are relatively narrow (at least compared to my male shoes), but I also choose a pant with a bit of a flared leg, which makes the boot look smaller in comparison. (Flared sleeves on a shirt create the same optical illusion, making your hands look smaller.)
As far as hands, mine are slimmer fingered, but still pretty large. So I generally avoid bracelets and lot of jewelry, which draws attention. But it does help to "scale up" the size of jewelry to look proportionate. So I've got one ring that's got a large stone (about an inch long) on it. Likewise, I've got a man's watch that I actually bought for guy-wear, but is a bit too small (the face is 1" and the watch itself is quite slim, similar to the Skagen watches) but ended up looking just right for femme wear. When I wear polish, I wear a light color that doesn't draw the eye too much and since it blends with my skin color, it lengthens the fingers, which narrows the perceived width of my hands.
My face is broad -- even for a guy -- so I choose a wig that curls inward a bit at the sides, which narrows the face. I also choose one with some chunked highlights, which makes it look more "natural" than a mono-colored wig. Switching to a longer style also looks more feminine, although you don't want to go too long and you should be aware of the length that GGs your age wear (often GGs tend to go shorter as they get older, but it's not a hard and fast rule).
Anyway, I'm sure others have useful tricks as well, so lets hear them.
And now, for Marlena: what are these "clever ways of dressing which conceals the fact that she is a guy?" Enquiring minds, you know? It might be worth a new thread to learn some tips.:)
OK, as far as clever ways of dressing... Let's see....
First off, let me point out that as Marla GG said, GGs aren't born knowing this stuff, they learn it, which means we can too. I learned from watching "What Not to Wear" (which shows that GG definitely aren't born knowing how to dress stylishly), as well as Suzan Nanfeldt's excellent book "Plus Style," (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452275962/qid=1137266281/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1419280-1392629?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) which intended for plus-sized women. It's out of print, but usually available on Amazon for about $30-40 and is money extremely well-spent. There's also lots of info available online if you go looking.
Let's start by dispelling a myth -- black isn't slimming, tailoring is slimming. A big mistake plus-size women make is to wear stuff that's baggy, which makes them look ever bigger. Whereas something that's nicely fitted -- not skin tight, will actually make you look slimmer. BTW, this also works well for male clothing too. It is scary to do initially, since you think it's going to show off all the places you'd prefer to hid, but trust me, it actually looks much better if done right. Of course, there's places where you strategically want some loose fabric -- one of the great things about wrap tops is that bunched fabric near the waist is great for camouflaging a bit of stomach flab. But this illusion works in large part because the rest of the garment is fitted, so it doesn't appear as if you're trying to hide something.
I've actually got broad shoulders and a short, thick neck. So I usually try to wear V-necked tops, which both makes the neck look longer (and therefore slimmer) and the V-neck also pulls the eye inward, minimizing the shoulders. I also usually wear a pendant necklace, which draws the eye down and away from the neck. Since the abaolone sequins on the top I wore to my dinner with Windy are pretty dramatic, I wore a small, subdued pendant, so it wouldn't fight with the top.
The leather jacket had a bit of princess seam (http://www.kohlscorporation.com/ecom/valueadded/Glossary.htm) which tends to be slimming. Also since the jacket was unzipped, it created a vertical line, which lengthens you and again is slimming. I'm six feet in 2" heels, but there's a number GGs of equal height, so I don't worry about it.
Actually, I wasn't wearing jeans, but rather a chocolate brown pant with stripes. The low contrast between the brown pants and the black top helps create a seamless line, which again can be slimming. OTOH, one can also use contrast intentionally. For example a dark top and light pants or skirt, will make your bottom half look larger. Which is why many GGs avoid this, but part of the secret is learning how to intentionally break "the rules" since our bodies are built differently that GGs. The stripe in the pants actually isn't a good idea if you've got a big butt, because the lines emphasize the curve. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do. Admittedly, wearing the Veronica hip pads help a lot. (Glamour Boutique's Sweet Cheeks pads, are a good, less costly alternative, since it uses a single pad that wraps around each hip/butt check and avoids the lumpy look of other products that use four pads.) The pocket on the back of the pants, also emphasizes the size of the butt.
My boots are relatively narrow (at least compared to my male shoes), but I also choose a pant with a bit of a flared leg, which makes the boot look smaller in comparison. (Flared sleeves on a shirt create the same optical illusion, making your hands look smaller.)
As far as hands, mine are slimmer fingered, but still pretty large. So I generally avoid bracelets and lot of jewelry, which draws attention. But it does help to "scale up" the size of jewelry to look proportionate. So I've got one ring that's got a large stone (about an inch long) on it. Likewise, I've got a man's watch that I actually bought for guy-wear, but is a bit too small (the face is 1" and the watch itself is quite slim, similar to the Skagen watches) but ended up looking just right for femme wear. When I wear polish, I wear a light color that doesn't draw the eye too much and since it blends with my skin color, it lengthens the fingers, which narrows the perceived width of my hands.
My face is broad -- even for a guy -- so I choose a wig that curls inward a bit at the sides, which narrows the face. I also choose one with some chunked highlights, which makes it look more "natural" than a mono-colored wig. Switching to a longer style also looks more feminine, although you don't want to go too long and you should be aware of the length that GGs your age wear (often GGs tend to go shorter as they get older, but it's not a hard and fast rule).
Anyway, I'm sure others have useful tricks as well, so lets hear them.