Did it start with shoes for anyone else?

[julieanneharton]

Following Sometimes Steffi's advice from the intro. forum:

I've had a shoe fetish for as long as I can remember. In my early teens, this progressed to trying on women's shoes (mostly the mothers of my friends, as mine didn't go for heels). This persisted for a few years, until none of them fit any longer. It turned into a desire to have girl friends dress in heels, and for several years buying them for them (once, I remember, being very put out when a shop assistant insisted that they looked too small for me, as I'd told her several times that they were for my gf).

About 11 years ago, I realised I still wanted to wear them myself again, and started buying pairs online. It took several attempts to get a decent fit, and of course I started off way too high. Initially, it was for the thrill, but quickly, it turned into a challenge to learn to walk properly in them. It wasn't long before just putting a pair on made me feel infinitely more relaxed, and I'd start wearing them about the house for day to day chores, and when working from home without a second thought. With high-heeled sandals came the need for polish, and very quickly the need for skirts rather than trousers to wear them with.

Within three years or so of starting to wear heels, I was getting dressed up just to feel relaxed, with no thought to sexual thrills. And, a bit further along, that's where I am today - I paint my nails (toes red, fingers usually only clear matte in public), shave my legs, wear heels, skirts and leggings behind closed doors at every opportunity (I always travel with a few pairs of shoes, skirts, panties and stockings). I've started thinking about dresses, but no real desire to attempt makeup or wigs yet, or to try to pass. I think if I did, I would look rather like Eddie Izzard (i.e. not that convincing); in my more courageous moments I expect that one day I will dress more or less regularly at least up to the waist and fingers, with a style that sort of works, but I'll be very obviously a man, though I'd walk with a woman's gait and be as careful with my nails as they are.

Internally, the more I've dressed, the less masculine I've felt; taking online tests and assessments these days I score anywhere from Androgynous to M2F in-transition, but never more M than F. This is much more gender fluid than I used to expect to feel (for some years, I thought I would just be a man in a dress- now, I think I'm more likely to be "me in a a dress and heels" for values of "me" well toward the middle-right of the M2F spectrum).

Anyway, that's a lot of background for a simple question. Did anyone else start with shoes, or anything else in particular, or was it always simply "I want to dress like a woman"?

Julie Anne

[Eve_cd]

Me too. High heeled boots in particular, then on to hosiery, then gradually down the rabbit hole. In my personal utopia, I would most likely have an entire closet just for shoes. Oddly enough, I only have two fully functional pairs of male shoes. (I keep the most recently junked sneakers for grubby tasks)

[Micki_Finn]

Nope. Love shoes but that’s not where I started. And btw, PLEASE don’t put any stock in “online tests”. Those are, as they say, for entertainment purposes only.

[Stephanie47]

It was something else. Specifically it was full slips. My mother use to hang the laundry to dry in the long hallway which lead to the bedrooms in our apartment. The way she hung the clothesline meant one had to go under the line twice. There was another drying rack suspended from a rack over the bathtub. I loved the feel of nylon. It was a fabric like I never felt before and nothing like any of the boy clothes I wore. At first I would just fondle it. After awhile I would take a slip down and wear it in the bathroom. I have accumulated over 400 full slips in various styles, colors, lengths and lace patterns. I rarely see slips for sale in my local Goodwill stores, and, any pretty vintage slips in larger sizes command outrageous prices on ebay and other on-line sale/auction sites.

[JenniferMBlack]

It did not start with the shoes. Sadly i have had large feet for what seems like forever. I did try to put on some heels a few times early on but always found them to be too small. Shoes were the last piece of the puzzle for me.

[docrobbysherry]

I'm a fetish dresser. But, shoes weren't my first love when I began dressing! :love:

However, they r certainly part of it now!:devil:

[Paulie Birmingham]

Nope. Panties for me

[Diane Smith]

I was obsessed with heels from a very early age, but didn't have access to any I could wear. I am an only child, and my mother had amazingly small feet, so even by the time I was 5 or so, her few pairs of heels were already too small to fit me. So although I would have liked to start with shoes, I shifted my attention to stockings, girdles, and jewelry for a few years until I could finally buy my own heels that fit starting around age 12. By that time, I had my ears pierced and routinely wore nail polish, lipstick and pantyhose (but rarely outer clothes - same problems with accessibility and fit).

- Diane

[Pixie_94]

In my case they were actually the last thing I bought related to any of this. They didn't last long either.

[LovelyLeesa]

My first thing was pantyhose. Still is. I love wearing them and I love seeing women wear them... Especially with a nice set of heels. Sadly my wife rarely wears pantyhose.... Or high heels. She owns only low heels and flats. She has bigger feet and having lost some weight I can wear one pair of her shoes that are now too big for her. I would love to have a nice pair of heels to wear with my other women's clothing but hard to find in my size and I don't want to buy online and find out they don't fit. Same with finding a wig to cover my short hair and make me more confident wearing my undergarments and dresses out on my night time walks. I've waited this long I'll eventually acquire some I hope.

[Elizabeth G]

I didn't start with shoes but when my crossdressing urges, which have come and gone over the years (back for good now I believe) came raging back some years ago shows were my first purchases. I now have over two dozen pair, way more than the number of men's shoes I own.

[Kelli_cd]

My start was nylon - panties first, then slips.
Now, I under dress every day.

[BTWimRobin]

It started with trying on mom's stockings. The rest as they say is history.

[Alice Torn]

Nylons was it for me. But heels too. I actually considered cutting the uppers off of cowboy boots to make them into high heel shoes! I have huge feet! Later, found Snaz75.com which has size 16 lady size shoes.

[NancySue]

In my youth, our next door neighbor sisters and I often played together, which included ?dress up?, which held little interest...until they dared me to wear nylon stockings. They were my first. I can still remember the pleasure they gave me. High heels followed. I could walk very well in heels. I?ve progressed and now dress completely but heels and hose remain my #1?s. I, often underdress in all forms of lingerie...panties daily.

[Cheryl T]

No, for me it was lingerie.
However, I do have a particular love of shoes as my wife would atest.

[CayleeMarie]

It wasn't shoes for me either... since I have cross country skis for feet, shoes are the last thing I obtained to complete the wardrobe. My hook was lingerie.

[AmyVanessa]

With me it was lingerie, particularly bras.
Then shoes.

[Dani0948]

When I was about 9 or 10, I frequently played with my two younger sisters. Our next door neighbor gave us some of her old high heeled shoes for dressup. The shoes were a little big for my sisters, but fit me perfectly. I recall playing dressup quite frequently until I outgrew the shoes :(

[Karmen]

For me started with pantyhose and shoes at the same time. Luckily when I started to try on women's clothes, I had about the same feet size as my mom, so I was able to wear my mom's old high heel sandals she didn't wear any more and were stashed away in a storage room. When my feet got bigger, I bought my first pair of heels and hide them in my room.

[Gaz]

Started with undies for me as well, but remember trying on some of my mum's shoes. I absolutely love the way a woman's leg looks in a pair of heels, but wasn't until I was gone and living on my own that I thought "hmm, maybe I should try a pair myself." Being in my 20s I ordered a ridiculous pair of thigh high (fake) leather boots with 5" heels that I could barely squeeze into (couldn't zip them up all the way) and almost broke my ankle in the first time I tried walking in them. Returned the next day.

Since then, have accumulated a ton of ill-fitting heels that I never wear. Out of my collection, I have about 5 pairs that actually fit me, and I can walk in with some comfort. The older I've gotten the more I've gone away from "stripper heels" and stilettos preferring things that are more chunky and sensible. (The joys of getting older!)

[Lindseynrva]

Bra was and still is my first love!

[jacques]

hello Julie Anne,
for me it started with tights because my hero when I was 8 was Robin Hood; I did not realise that "borrowing" my sister's tights was crossdressing!
But I do remember wearing and loving a pair of blue suede high heel boots that I bought when I was 16 and wore in the late "hippy era" with flared trousers and embroidered tee shirts; I now wonder if they had been put in the men's shoe section by mistake.
luv J

[Alexandra Collins]

It literally started with pantyhose for me, but was quickly followed by heels. Now it is all about heels (and hose) for me. When I get fully dressed, including makeup and wig, my outfit choices always start with thinking about the heels, everything else is an accessory to me, an excuse to wear heels. I went into some clothes stores once fully dressed, but wearing flats, and it was a thrill, but would have been much more fun if I'd been wearing heels.

To answer your question directly, it started with me wanting to wear specific pieces of clothing (heels and hose), but now also includes wanting to be able to do that outside in public, and when doing that, I only want to try to dress fully (including makeup/wig) so I'm not obviously seen as a man in a dress.

[Brenn]

Not sure if I stared with shoes, but wearing women's Keds were part of my initial foray into crossdressing. I now wear ballet flats as often as I can, and while i don't fully dress, they are still an important part of my wardrobe.

[mona lisa]

It started with pantyhose for me though heels were not too far behind.

[Tracii G]

Nope I have no clue what started it.
Don't have any fetishes either.
Online tests ?......... please do not believe any of those moronic things

[Gaz]

Not sure if I stared with shoes, but wearing women's Keds were part of my initial foray into crossdressing. I now wear ballet flats as often as I can, and while i don't fully dress, they are still an important part of my wardrobe.

Heya Brenn - I just checked out yer blog, some interesting reading there - but my wife will 100% take umbrage with your review of Rothys, she thinks they're the absolute greatest shoe on the planet, bar none!

[Asew]

For me it was dresses/skirts. But I really wanted to wear heels initially. But my sister and mom shoes did not fit me, I was too scared to buy them at the store, and I even tried to make high heels out of various things and they were never good enough to feel real. When I first accepted myself heels were the second thing I bought after a skirt :)

[dallasmann]

Bras came first for me, then I discovered shoes. Now I wear women's shoes daily, even in guy mode. I don't have a single pair of men's running shoes.

[rockerreds]

Yes, I bought a pair of mules at Madewell, which started the whole ball rolling, a dress from Madewell pushed me into serious trans territory.

[Vickie_CDTV]

Heels and then hose were my initial interests. I was fascinated with high heels. I think a fair number of crossdressers felt the same when they were young. fascination with heels is pretty common across generations (not sure if that is true for the under 30 dressers though.)

[Jessifox85]

It was never about shoes for me, it was always dresses at a younger age. As I got older I enjoyed hosery, but now alot of things that never attracted me to dressing are becoming my more favorite things. Hair for one. When I was younger I had great long hair, now I'm balding. So I like the way the hair feels on my shoulders. But shoes were never a concern scince I never go out, but I did get a pair of pumps the other week, my first pair of female shoes, a two inch heel, (already being over 6ft tall I I didint need much heel. I'm still learning how to operate them seeing how they didint come with an instruction manual. But it is exhilarating to hear that 'click' on the floor and my calves perk up when I walk. I'll definitely be buying another pair of shoes soon.

[~Joanne~]

Mine started with pantyhose, then came shaving and polish, then came heels....then....well, you know the rest lol

[MonicaPVD]

Somewhere around ten years old. Pantyhose. All down hill from there.

[Pumped]

I can not say for certain, as I remember dressing in my mom's undies when I was young, but my wife bought me a pair of high heels as a joke for Christmas a few years back and the dam burst from that point on. I had been buying her heels and some she couldn't wear for long, but that was ok as She didn't need to wear them long, or the clothing she had on too! She bought me a pair of heels and said it I liked them so much I could wear them too. I have a small collection of about twenty pairs now, and have had more in the past that got tossed as they wore out. Heels are definitely my hot button

[Amy MC]

For me it began with lingerie though I've always liked the look of a good pair of heels. Especially heeled boots. I look round the footwear dept In shops I get jealous of the choice on offer for women! A lot of them I like are either expensive or I can't get in my size! I'm a UK Size 9 wide fit!

[Alice_2014_B]

It seemingly started with high heels for me.

:)

[Brenn]

Heya Brenn - I just checked out yer blog, some interesting reading there - but my wife will 100% take umbrage with your review of Rothys, she thinks they're the absolute greatest shoe on the planet, bar none!

LOL! They are good flats, just not for me.

[Cynthia T]

I was alone at home, reading a cheap novel. At one point, one of the characters mentions high heels. Just that phrase started something in me. I went back to my sister's closet, found a pair of her heels, and put them on. That was it -- I haven't stopped since.

[Maid_Marion]

Started with Women's Nike Sneakers 30 years ago. I had a pair that turned pink after hiking Grand Canyon.

Last five pairs of shoes. Target black kitten heels, tried them on in the store. Cole Haan Stillettos, red 45mm, nude 75mm. Heeled booties. Heeled Oxfords.

Marion

[JoannaCD]

I was about ten when I put on a pair of my sisters riding boots. She had heel plates on them and i loved that sound which developed into a fetish and I had them on my shoes and boots. As I grew older the sound of clicking heels set me on point. Then I bought heels for myself. After I married I bought heels for my wife but always had a couple of pair stashed somewhere in the house. Now it's flats or boots with jeans most every day. Anyway, it started with shoes and it's never gone away.

[BobbiKay]

For me it was panties. Hose, too. I can remember being chastised for trying my grandmother's heels at an early age. So maybe there was some latent attraction. No particular shoe fetish, but lately I have been picking up targets of opportunity at thrift stores, where I do all of my shopping. Last night I found a pair of size 11 pink sneakers at the thrift store outlet store!

[Petra1]

Since I’m a breast man, bras are pretty much where I started over 40 years ago and they're still what I buy the most.

[Ressie]

No it didn't start with shoes for me. But I remember donning a pair of heels at a very young age when a few of the neighbor kids and I were kind of playing dress up! The heels were too big for me and I get that same feeling now when a pair of heels are kind of loose on my feet.

For me it was panties that really got me going.

[Michaelasfun]

Various types of shorts and cute belts for me. I enjoy shaving my legs and then of course showing them in summer, so I’ve collected a fair amount of shorts since. That being said, I have a fair amount of sandals to go with :D

[Judy-Somthing]

For me in the 60s at about five,
My parents had large parties and the women all in dresses so nice, makeup, and perfume would hug me and say I was so cute, I was hooked on women!
Loved the way they dressed and looked.
Then my sister dressed me up as a Ballerina and I've been dressing ever since!

[Forko23]

Oh, Judy! I so know just what you speak of. Those women looked fabulous and I wanted to be just like them
The only trouble was is that I didn?t understand at such a tender age that all of my dreams might not come true.
I still love the glamorous side of femininity though and I'm happy that I stayed in touch with and never totally
lost that part of myself. My weakness though was hosiery. My mom still talks about how I, as a baby, would crawl
to her and her friends, feeling their legs to see if they were wearing nylons. Thanks for bring back such happy memories.

[bridget thronton]

Big feet - took a while to find heels that fit so shoes were not first

[Taylor186]

In the 80s, at age thirty, I did buy a pair of black leather knee-high boots with 3 3/4" heels that supercharged my crossdressing journey . . . BUT . . .

My first crossdressing experience was at age five or six when I methodically tried to transform a bath towel into a "wrap" dress, long before Diane von Furstenberg made it a housewife's must-have. I was so transfixed by this process that I didn't hear my mom enter my bedroom. And, I was so naive about crossdressing (duh, I was really young) that when asked, I told my mom what I was doing. Then and there, I received my first education on what little boys are not to wear.

Of course, that didn't stop me.

A year or two later I found her bathing suit with a skirt attached. I had a lot of fun in that until one day it just disappeared from her bottom bureau drawer. Did she know? Nothing was said.

Many years of sporadic, piecemeal crossdressing ensued, and then I acquired those boots . . .

[kimberly c]

For me it started with lingerie, bra, panties, garter belts and thigh highs. Heels came later, but now I love a great pair of heels.

[elizabethjonescd]

Yes it was heels for me that I was first attracted to. I was 12 and it was the 70s. The first shoes were a pair of light blue sling backs with closed pointed toes. Heel height was only 3? but I enjoyed wearing them so much. The shoes led to pantyhose and then bras and panties and then dresses. Funny how I still remember those heels