What would you do?

[Amber-Sue]

Your out shopping for a new dress and you find just the one. Your mind says "BUY IT" but then a small voice says where would you wear it? Should you spend the money to wear it around the house. If you have found a number of outfits that you'd would like what would you do.

[Candice June Lee]

I've found that very same problem Amber. I usually don't buy it for reasons of practicality. As I've come to realize my "dressing" is deeper than the clothes. Yes I've got plenty of nice dresses, skirts, and tops for those special occasions. But it's daily casual wear I'm more interested these days. Some nice, some for working around the house and such. Now I'll get a new dress for an occasion here and there if it's so needed. Usually I find it's not really needed based on what I already have.

[Amy Fakley]

Yeah sure! That's why I usually have just one or two "nice" pieces that I paid full price for, and most everything else is clearance rack or online sale.

Here's the thing. I'm a crossdresser! Except for the rare occasions when I go out, I'm literally just playing dress up around the house! Practicality needn't be a factor! Really the only questions that matter are "does it make me feel fabulous?", "does it cost too much?" and "do I already have one?" :-)

[Allison_CD]

I always forget just how lucky I am financially. I just buy whatever I want.

Perhaps we could have 'Swap Shop' and help out the poorer members?

[reb.femme]

I've seen several from the Chi Chi range at Dorothy Perkins. I particularly like this one http://www.dorothyperkins.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?Ntt=chi%2bchi&storeId=12552&productId=21608782&urlRequestType=Base&categoryId=&langId=-1&productIdentifier=product&catalogId=33053.

There are a few in that range with dip hems that I so want to buy, but thinking where the hell will I wear it and will it be more than once? I've just bought a pair of boots and a skirt, so can't really tell my wife that I want to get one of these too.

Becky

[Angie G]

If i find a dress that I really like and it don't cost an arm&leg I'll buy it and I only dress around the house. If it maks you feel good get it.Even if only you ever see it.:hugs:
Angie

[jeannanj]

I don't shop as often as I would like..actually that sounds silly because is there such a thing as shopping too much :). Typically I do the same as Kandia. Looking for casual wear. Something to help me blend in. Although when I was out Christmas shopping omg I came across a gold sequin mini with a lovely black blouse I couldn't resist and I don't think I'm heading out for a New Year's Eve gala anytime soon. Everyone deserves a treat sometimes Amber

Jeanna

[Rachelakld]

Found many such dresses, but I chose to spend the money on my family instead.

[Judy-Somthing]

You didn't mention the price of the dress. The most I've spent so far is $80 For a used wedding dress it's very nice and the right size.
I only spend about $30 a week for dresses at thrift stores I'm 18W but will buy down to a 14 or up to a 22 and then pull out the sewing machine to do the magic. LOL
Since I don't go out in public I can extend a size 14 to 18 in the back of the dress and I can do a quick bang up job since no one will ever see the back.

I have seen other CDers buying dresses, Please save the !8W ones for me , Thanks

[Diane Smith]

When I first started seriously building my wardrobe in the late '90s, I would buy just about anything that appealed to me and I thought would fit. This conveniently corresponded to the early days of eBay, where the selection was nearly infinite and the questions were few, and I often received two or three packages a week from sellers literally all over the globe. I wound up with a closet full of formal and fancy dresses that I never had the chance to wear. As I started going out more and more, my interest in dressing up around the house seriously waned, and now I never buy an outfit without thinking about where and when I will wear it. That's not to say that I don't still buy fashionable and occasionally dressy items, but it's usually with an actual occasion in mind, like last Friday's Christmas brunch or my upcoming New Year's Eve outing.

So the operative rule is that I have to at least be able to imagine a time and place where the dress would be appropriate, even if I don't have any firm plans to wear it at the moment. This way I always have several fresh but appropriate styles in the closet and take a lot less barely-worn stuff to Goodwill.

- Diane

[Michelle Girl]

Hi Amber,

If the dress is "just the one", then it's clearly something special to you. I'd say go ahead and buy it.

I have two stunningly beautiful jacquard skirts I bought in online sales, with around 60% reduction. Original price £55 (UK), about $90 (USD). I have worn these around the house and in hotel rooms when away on business. I'd never had any inkling that I'd ever be able to wear them outside.

They make me feel and look so elegant. I feel special in them and have worn them lots. So they have been worth every penny. If you would feel the same way, even without that special occasion or place to go, why not still buy that dress? You can feel special every time you wear it. Life is too short to wear dull stuff. Even if it is feminine garb.

Also I have had my first ever two outings as a girl in the last eight weeks and I have unexpectedly been able to wear them, though they're too elegant for just a jaunt to the grocery store!!

Love, Michelle

[Karen RHT]

Your out shopping for a new dress and you find just the one. Your mind says "BUY IT" but then a small voice says where would you wear it? Should you spend the money to wear it around the house. If you have found a number of outfits that you'd would like what would you do.

I've found myself in that very predicament more than once. I've decided that starting with the January sales, I'll be doing more buying, and less asking. My objective is to build a true wardrobe, so that I don't have to keep wearing the same pieces over and over again. I enjoy dressing, even if I'm just staying inside the house. It will be fun to choose from a variety of skirts and dresses, rather than the same limited few. More accessories and more shoes will be bought as well.


Karen

[Stephanie Julianna]

First I'd make sure that the dress had a timeless quality to it since it might only be worn a few times over a few years. Then I'd buy it. No other questions.

[SherriePall]

Let me start by questioning the word, "practicality." We are not women, so is anything we buy practical? From make-up to shoes, from lingerie to outerwear! Especially, if all we do is get dressed up at home or get out once or twice a year.
I tend to buy what I think will complement my figure (be as it may) and make me feel like a million dollars. I have a couple of cocktail dresses and some gowns, all of which probably will not see the light of day (at least not in the near future). When I wear them around the house, I feel classy or sexy. They make me feel as I should.
BTW, I have bought them on sale from a couple of different stores. The price does not detract from how they look or feel!

[Teresa]

Amber,
Since the possibility of a separation from my wife my shopping has been more selective, I was going to live more dressed and began to think outfits through more carefully. So instead of thinking should I buy it , it was more of a case of what will it go with . I'm still with my wife buy I've carried on thinking that way about shopping , I enjoy it just as much because it's more the way a GG would think about buying things.

[BillieAnneJean]

Buy it and then organize the event to which you can wear it.

[Krisi]

I mostly just dress around the house and when I do go out it's usually daylight and certainly no place where one would "dress up" so buying fancy dresses is a waste of money for my. At his point I've learned to pass on the "dress up" clothes and tone it down to simple skirts and blouses for the most part.

I have plenty of outfits already, more than I can wear and I need to go through them and pass the poorer choices down to someone who actually can use them.

[Stephanie47]

Buy the darn dress and wear it around the house. I have over 120 dresses. I'm an in home cross dresser who ventures out on occasion for an every stroll. I know I will never ever be able to wear all the 120 dresses....take four months at one a day....kind of like vitamins (One A Day). Of course, if your family finances as such that you cannot justify a "sinful pleasure" once in a while, that's a different story.

[Sharon B.]

I would but it as long as I didn't have one like it. I usually just dress around the house but have gone out on Sunday afternoons, people could just think you are coming home or going to a church service.

[Leslie Langford]

If I like it, can afford it, and have the space to store it, I simply tell that little voice to STFU - LOL!

Life is short, none of us get out of it alive, so why deny ourselves a guilty pleasure from time to time? And since we like to emulate GG's in so many ways, why not in this way as well? They certainly have no problem in pampering themselves - the plethora of nail salons, spas, beauty products, hairdressers, and limitless clothing and shoe choices attest to that.

Besides, I'm worth it... ;)

[Lily Catherine]

As far as outfits go, I entirely get away with women's jeans and racerback singlets because I wear them en drab as well.

I've been in this situation more than once, giving in to a less formal dress that I could just slip on without an occasion. It's now my favourite dress.

The biggest BUY IT!!! with a "But where?" attached was a tulle cocktail dress - not too costly but hard to bring home, and harder to justify. Ultimately it's a matter of pragmatism for me (Jimmy - whom everyone sees - has no reason for buying the gown that the invisible Lily loved so much.)

[Sarah Doepner]

Just THE Dress? You can afford it? Most of us are living a fantasy anyway, so I don't see why we can't pamper ourselves a little. Besides, you never know when something will provide the incentive to dress someplace other than in the house, and it could be a need to wear that perfect dress.

[NicoleScott]

I bought all my crossdressing clothes, accessories, makeup, etc. to wear, not to wear somewhere. For some of us, it IS about the clothes.

[Raychel]

If I am out shopping and I see just the right item, be it a dress or whatever
I make sure I get it right then, Worry about when to wear it later.

I cant tell how many times I had passed on that "Just Right" item
only to go back later to buy it and found it gone.

I don't let that happen anymore.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Amber Sue:daydreaming:, When I see something that I really want,
I give it some serious thought for a couple seconds and then buy it. ~~...:daydreaming:...

I agree with Raychel, Don't let it happen to you, He who hesitates is lost.

[Sometimes Steffi]

I think about it a different way. If I don't buy it immediately and change my mind in a couple of days, will I be really devastated if it's already been sold?

I've missed out on some very cool outfits by thinking too long.

On the other hand, I make Steffi stick to a pretty strict budget, so if the dress is expensive, I think about how many other things I could get instead.

[Krististeph]

I have a number of items that look great in the closet... for some odd (and probably deeply psychologically disturbing) reason- I'll 'save' some outfits i really really like- don't want to wear them out. Which is odd, because some of them I don't like as much as some others I _have_ worn the heck out of.

I would say- if you have a number of items you can buy- make a list and decide which you like best. Get at least the first one.

One thing I have learned- not every item will fit the way you might thing it will. Nor will every item always be available in that size. So if the store you are shopping at accepts returns, get as many items as you like, try them on for fit, see how you like them and return what you don't like as much, if you want the $$$ back.

One of my favorite outlet stores has 50% off the second item- the problem is that if the lesser price item is fairly inexpensive to begin with- it doen't really make a lot of sense to return it. Hence the reason I am re-building closets at present...

Two other things that might help make the decision:

1. Buy quality when you can afford it: "the bitterness of low quality lasts much longer than the sweetness of low price" - [unknown author]

2. Spend more for basic or standard fashion pieces- a nice black dress for instance. Check out a book on practical fashion from the library or pick one up used cheap on amazon or ebay- good fashion advice in these books.

finally- remember that having to choose stuff like this is what many GGs do all the time. So if you are just into crossdressing, it may not be as much fun, but if you like to embrace more of the 'feminine' aspects that GGs typically do, this is part of it.

Above all: have fun!

[pamela7]

it's a complex decision including budget, necessity versus luxury, practicality versus fun, likely usage versus nice in the wardrobe. No wonder women are so good at saying "it depends" :-)

[Alice_2014_B]

I find the best dresses and skirts at super low prices at Thrift stores; I will pretty much buy anything that fits and looks nice. Granted, I'm average sized for my height, so finding clothes and heels that fit is really no problem.
I really want a dark purple dress.
:)

[Carla4Guage]

The first thing to do is to try it on. Several "Oh, I love that dresses" once on, were not as pleasing as they were on the hanger.
TRY IT ON!

[kittie60]

If I like it I buy I whether I need it or not. I know someday I will need that dress. Learned that trait tears ago from my wife.

[Patty Phose]

I would buy it. Sure, I would wear it around the house at first but eventually I will end up wearing it out somewhere.

[brenda_s]

Buy it and do not look back. Life is precious and short...enjoy the experience and ride!

[Allison2006]

I do feel guilty sometimes about spending money on this side of me for the reason you stated.

[Heatherose]

Life's too short... Buy it and rock it!! Also, drink the good wine now and eat dessert first. Because life REALLY is too short.

[DanaR]

I buy into the "life's too short" explanation. My wife doesn't help at all either, I suppose we enable each other. She'll see me looking at something and ask if I'm going to buy it; which most of the time I do. Now I have too much stuff.

[Helena J]

I bought a dress once because it was calling to me from the shops window display I was walking past the shop every morning on my way to work and this one dress kept on catching my eye :daydreaming: so eventually i couldn't resist it any more I had to buy it was pricy but had to get iy :o

[Bruce64]

I buy now. I get that lil negative feeling, put it back, too expensive, I am learning to send money on myself and enjoy it.

[JessiFoxx]

Go for it girl! Life really is too short. I have way to much clothes as well and always ask myself where would I really wear this? I mostly have casual stuff, jeans, tees, blouses and one dress that I just had to have! I have never regretted a single purchase.

[Jenny22]

Hello, Amber-sue. I've purchased a number of pretty things knowing that I'd only wear them at home, or driving, or maybe my walk-around-the-car in a parking lot, and I love it! I just have to be careful that I'm not overtaken by the pink fog.
OX
Jenny22

[Ozark]

I have bought things and never worn them.

Now, I've got a closet full and it is so hard to throw them away,

But I am, slowly but surely, I am. Sticking to Chic jeans, women's shells, underdressing, drab shirt and drab shoes

[laurenp245]

If it's in the budget, I'd most definitely buy it! Anytime I see a dress/skirt/top/shoes that leap out at me like that it's a must have for the wardrobe regardless of where/when I might wear it. If I didn't, I'd spend the next several days regretting not purchasing it.

<3 Lauren