Do i dress to feel pretty, feminine or more?

[mandm40c]

To start with, my wife has known I CD for about 3+ yrs, but we have been together for 13+ yrs. . I wear women's clothes on a daily basis, but do not fully dress and never have. Anyway, during a recent conversation, she wondered if there was more I may not be telling her. She did not imply I was lying or hiding anything from her, but maybe lying to myself, in regards to my true feelings about dressing. Made me wonder if I'm still on the path of discovery or am I suppressing something. I had been dressing off and on for years since I was a kid, from the exciting times during and after puberty, too the whole binge and purge thing as I got older. Now I'm at the place where I enjoy wearing more openly and have been working on making my wardrobe a mix of both sexes and dress for the occasion. So I can see the progression, which I think is what brings up the question.

When I started thinking about it, as a kid I remember seeing the girls in their pretty outfits and thinking they look nice. Boys clothes seem so boring and rough and this still holds true today. As I got older and was checking out girls for a different reason, I would also still be checking out their outfits. Thinking not only would I like to go out with them but I would like to wear the same outfit. Those thoughts have carried over till adulthood. See a pretty woman, I'm not only looking at her, I'm looking at her outfit. Hmm, nice top, ugh to the pants, nice heels and etc... I know, I'm so picky. lol So It got me thinking that I associate the softness of the clothes, the heels, the shimmer and feel of stockings, painted nails and etc.. as pretty.

Rhetorical questions I've been pondering:
So am I CD'ing to feel pretty? I know when wearing lingerie or certain outfits, I wouldn't mind having the breast and hips to fill them out properly. However, when doing a project, I would say the breast may get in the way. lol All joking aside, does wanting or wishing I had those two attributes, for the reason stated, change anything? Am I suppressing more because of fear of the answer?

Seems like a million dollar question, that is by no means easy to answer. However, I'm guy who doesn't read instructions, so I have to give it go. lol I don't envision myself as a women or think I should have been born one, though I wouldn't mind having a couple physical attributes as mentioned above. I change my sitting habits only when I wear skirts and change my walk when I wear heels. Both for obvious reasons. Aside from that, I don't portray any other feminine traits, that I'm aware of. So as of this post, I'm leaning to the reason I CD is because I feel pretty when I do.

Look forward to your stories, situations and/or thoughts.

[JeanTG]

I just want to be a woman half the time. Want to live as one, feel like one, look like one, love like one... well a lesbian one at least (yes I'd like to make love as a lesbian with my wife, not as a man).

I realize I'll never have the complete picture (menstruation, childbirth, nursing, etc.), but basically I want to be a woman as much as I can when I'm in that mood.

[CandyGirl]

my girlfriend made me once wear her lingerie and that was the start of everything !
the feeling i felt that moment made me more eager to try more and to wear woman clothes more often !
took me a while thou to go for the full transformation with the wig, make up and to try and go outside !
but i finally did it and i have no regret the experience is sooo thrilling.

[T. Fonda]

You've pretty much described me. I like to dress because it's the time when I can most express who I am. When dressed or under dressed, I like how I feel being me. I've tried explaining that to my wife. She doesn't understand. To her, wearing a dress, hose, and heels is something she is supposed to do from time to time. More than once she's told me that when she gets home after going somewhere dressed as such, her desire is to get those clothes off as quickly as possible. Of course I don't understand that.

Regarding feeling pretty, I'm not fond of the term pretty because it can mean something different to all of us. For me, I prefer comfortable, content, happy, etc.

[Camisoul]

As stated above, I'm not fond of the term pretty either, and I also prefer comfortable, content, and happy. That's what I largely feel when dressed in any manner, deeply, deeply content.

As it relates to me, "pretty" is kind of a brass ring/unattainable goal. I don't want to "pursue" it, because I will always find something wrong with my appearance.

[mandm40c]

You've pretty much described me.

I'm in the same boat regarding your first comment and do agree pretty was not the best choice of words. I do like the words comfortable, content, happy and etc..

[Rachael Leigh]

I'm sure for me it's always been to dress to be pretty, I know this goes back to having low self esteem on my looks as a boy and a young man. I always admired the cute girls outfits and pretty colors. Nothing much has changed with that, I love the cuts and styles of women's clothing and that's what keeps me dressing and shopping.

[PattyT]

Do I dress to feel pretty, feminine or more
I would answer "Yes!" to all of these questions.
The clothes I wear, mainly Lolita style at this point, are cute and could also be considered to be pretty. I therefore feel cute or pretty when wearing them. Because they are also very soft and feminine in appearance, I feel very feminine in them. If I look in a mirror (and disregard my face!) what I see is the reflexion of someone who looks pretty.
As for the "more", I would use the words which appear in so many of the postings here, feeling relaxed, calm, and comfortable. I also feel that this is the real me. One more aspect, is that I also feel liberated from the ugly, drab, and uncomfortable clothes I have to wear during the week.

In short, I feel much the same way as the person who started this thread. I can identify closely with the comments and feelings expressed. I enjoyed reading the posting.

"When I started thinking about it, as a kid I remember seeing the girls in their pretty outfits and thinking they look nice. Boys clothes seem so boring and rough and this still holds true today."

I can identify with this comment 100%

"I'm leaning to the reason I CD is because I feel pretty when I do."

Sure, I do too.

[Annamarie B]

I also like to feel pretty, and relaxed, calm, and comfortable come to mind for me as well. Another appealing sensation is that of confinement, particularly if I am wearing a garter belt and stockings, or certain snugly fitting styles of panties, but I feel so free when en femme that the juxtaposition of the opposite sensations is quite arousing. Oh yes, I must not understate the importance of feeling like a **** in addition to all the rest, at least for me!😉

[MarciManseau]

I dress to be me, the real internal me, not the silly gender I was born. I've rejected my male side ever since I can remember. If I'd had my choice, I would have gone full time as a girl at about age 6, not 90% by 18 and 100% at 21. I always looked like a girl to most people who didn't know me even as a child. I was teased and bullied because I was so naturally feminine. I'm still only 5'4" and I weight about 112# now. My mannerisms and mind set have always been female.

It's just who I am really.

[Lori Kurtz]

For me, dressing up was always intensely exciting. Pretty was not the word for what I wanted to be. Sexy was much more like it. Boldly, unabashedly and proudly female, with an attitude of "Here I am, boys ... come and get it!"

[Beverley Sims]

I dress to try to be an an attractive woman.

[cdterri]

My wife use to call me pretty when I dressed up, but it made me feel uncomfortable. I may have looked pretty 40 yrs ago but not any more. We finally settled on "You look very nice" and it feels more natural.