The store is their oyster

[Tracy Irving]

My brother and I walked into a Kohl's today and he asked me which way to the men's department. I told him I don't know but it didn't really matter anyway. I pointed out some of the clothing the women customers were wearing. After walking around a bit, we came to the incredibly unscientific conclusion that nearly 50% could have purchased their items in the men's section.

[BettyMorgan]

And therein lies the rub. As a CD, I want/need to wear feminine clothes. However, in doing so, I tend to stand out. Most women in my city wear yoga pants or jeans and t-shirts - not feminine in my eyes. Very few wear dresses so the ones who do, stand out. Apparently if a woman wears a dress, it's office dressy or she is going out to a fancy meal or special occasion. In the summer you will see more dresses but they tend to be Old Navy dresses that are, again in my opinion, nothing more than long t-shirts. How much our northern Canadian climate plays into this, idk. Comfort is one thing, but I feel more comfortable in a dress than yoga pants.

So I think I get your point about not much difference between the men's and women's departments other than cut.

[RADER]

You are correct, and sadly I bet most of them did buy them in the men's section.
They sometimes are cheaper.
Rader

[immindy]

umm I don't know, I think yoga pants are rather feminine and love the style with a cute sweater or other top. Besides , it makes my butt look good :)

[Teresa]

Tracy,
It was an ideal opportunity to say I feel like a change , I think I'll go and look for a nice skirt and top and try a bit of CDing it might be fun !!

[Anne K]

I have noticed the same thing and tend to wear similar clothing to blend in. On the other hand, in South Florida, it's not unusual to see dresses, skirts, etc all the time. When we go out, my wife looks like a million dollars and I am SO jealous!

[Krisi]

Yes, it's so unfair, women get to wear men's clothes and that's OK but men wearing women's clothes is a no-no!

This has only been discussed on this forum a couple hundred times already. You can be pretty sure the women wearing what you think are "men's clothes" bought them as women's clothes in the women's department. Next time you see a woman wearing pants, just ask her.

Women can wear pants. Men can't wear dresses. Get over it.

[CynthiaD]

Move to Texas. The women around here wear skirts and dresses a lot. I'd say about 30% of the women I see are wearing skirts and dresses. The rest are dressed in typical Yankee style.

[CONSUELO]

Yet even when wearing jeans and a T-shirt, women often add little touches that are feminine, whether it be earrings, or a pretty necklace and of course makeup and painted nails. I notice that at the gym, where one would think that androgyny would be supreme, women manage to dress better than the men. The gym clothes are better fitting and of better quality and the gym shoes are in pretty feminine colors. Meanwhile the men dress in worn and wrinkled shirts and baggy shapeless shorts.
So, even though more of the ladies are wearing pants they usually do so more stylishly than the menfolk.

[Tracy Irving]

Yes, it's so unfair, women get to wear men's clothes and that's OK but men wearing women's clothes is a no-no!

This has only been discussed on this forum a couple hundred times already. You can be pretty sure the women wearing what you think are "men's clothes" bought them as women's clothes in the women's department. Next time you see a woman wearing pants, just ask her.

Women can wear pants. Men can't wear dresses. Get over it.

Krisi,
I have nothing to get over. I made no comment about fairness or wearing dresses. That wasn't the point.
I am relatively new here and don't have the experience of 4,658 posts to fall upon. I do know that the topic you bring up has been discussed ad nauseam. I have even commented on some of those threads.
I was merely offering encouragement to those members who might be hesitant to get out there. Letting them know that, based solely on clothing, it is easy to blend and not feel out of place. Granted it was the first cold day we have had in a while and many of the women were wearing long baggy pants as well as jackets.
I am sorry you did not understand my post. I will try to do better.

[Rachael Leigh]

Living in Texas and going out enfem I blend with jeans, leggings or skirts and I've worn all while being out.
My favorite of course is wearing a skirt but not always practical.
It's why I love women's clothes because of the variety

[Stephanie47]

Oh, Karren Hutton, where are you? Yes, many of the types of garments women wear may be purchased in the men's department. Yes, a cross dressing man may purchase similar garments in the women's department and maybe blend in? I look at my wife's jeans and they do look very similar to mine. We have discussions in the past on the subject. She says it's more about the fit, i.e., women's shapes are different than men's even when factoring in the guy's beer belly. For a while my daughter wore men's jeans because the jeans were cheaper in price and had pockets. Once she wore a pair of men's shoes. Not because she was trying to emulate a man. Because the jeans had pockets and she not longer wanted to carry a big heavy bag loaded with "stuff." Same compliant from my wife. Shoes were more comfortable. Finally she found brands of pants and shoes that met her needs.

Each to his own when it comes to becoming her. Me? MY PERSONAL choice is a dress, a slip, hosiery and heels. Try finding similar items to those in the men's department.

[TrishaLake]

LOL I love Kohls!

[Traci H]

While women now wear pants, the industry has made them somewhat different. I wear women's jeans now and hate the thought of wearing mens. Why? The first is the stretch the garment industry offered with a 1-3 percent spandex. I know now that mens are starting to offer "action fabric" ie spandex in such...finally. Then the fit, men's are usually just baggy sacks of fabric...There are exceptions of course. Then the weight of the fabric itself. They are heavy, thick, compared to women's. Now I supposed if I was a roofer, that would be an attribute, but I am not. I do b\put on a pair of men's when I need to do something nasty as I don't want to damage my "good" jeans, and I hate it the entire time.

One thing I notice when wearing women's jeans, is that I can wear them without a belt and sometimes I do. With the stretch, they snug up and sit just fine on me, with no downward movement. I have never had a men's pair that I could do that. Those babies would be heading south in minutes with no belt there.

[ellbee]

Letting them know that, based solely on clothing, it is easy to blend and not feel out of place.


I'm not entirely convinced that some even want to blend. Some CD'ers just want to wear what they want to wear. Even if they know what blending is and how to accomplish that, they still might not find it appealing. And you know what? I can kind of see where they're coming from.

Say they wear pants all day, every day, as a guy. But when that time comes where they get to dress up? Putting on a pair of non-descript women's jeans, even in a situation where most GG's are wearing them, is probably the last thing they want to do. They want to wear a short skirt or dress! I mean, if it's the only day out of the week that they can, then they're probably going to go for it.

The same could be said for anything, really. Footwear is probably another biggie. Shoes that are more like their everyday men's shoes -- or a nice pair of really high heels? You know what they'll most likely choose.


Of course, in doing so, a CD'er is running the risk of bringing that much more attention to herself. But the same could also easily be said when it involves GG's, too... All else being more or less equal, the one wearing a skirt & heels is probably going to attract a wee bit more attention than the one wearing jeans & running shoes.


I've been watching a lot of public crossdressing videos lately. And more often than not, the CD'er is way overdressed, IMO, in all sorts of ways, compared to the surrounding GG's.

Would people be a bit more accepting if they saw a CD'er wearing similar stuff to what the GG's there are wearing? Would they even notice the CD'er, in the first place? And if they do notice, would the longer stares & double-takes be reduced to a single brief glimpse? Would their negative/humorous/whatever thoughts & reactions be minimized to a simple "Eh, whatever"?


I'm all for people wearing what they want to wear. At the same time, they need to realize that sometimes, certain outfits or looks or colors or articles of clothing can & will attract some further attention, which might affect others' thoughts & feelings regarding her.

However, I also understand a CD'er's desire to wear something quite different than what they normally wear as a guy. Maybe keeping that limited to certain types of venues, even if that means expanding one's universe of where they go & what they do & when, is in order? Perhaps toning it down & blending it out a bit, while still keeping a similar look, would be better suited? :strugglin