Dressing with friends

[Bianca Star]

I recently replied in another thread that crossdressing is often a solitary thing. I know for many of us this is just part of being a CD, We start out dressing in secret, hoping we don't get caught and its remained that way ever since. This got me thinking tough. does anyone here have a "battle buddy"? You know that friend or friends that you hang out with and dress up. Lets hear from you.

Thanks

[KrissyTN]

No, but it would be wonderful if I could find one!

[Georgina]

I have two lady friends that I can hang out with while dressed. One is 25 and the other is 91. I know that I am so fortunate to have them as friends.

[docrobbysherry]

Yes! I have a best T girl buddy and we have been going nearly everywhere out together for many years.:hugs:

However, we have never actually dressed up together!:thumbsdn:

[April Rose]

Krista and I had a party at our house last week for 18 friends from the trans spectrum community. We both wore sparkly silver and black outfits. So , yes, more than one.

[Misty_cder]

I don’t have a CD friend that I hang out with. Communicate with several via email but none of us are geographically near each other. What I really would like to find is another couple where the SO is accepting so my wife could have someone to talk to that relates to being married to a crossdresser.

[JocelynJames]

I have been out dressed only 4x. 3 of those with my friend Samm , even to the fore mentioned get together at April Rose?s.
Samm would be that battle buddy, my ride or die?. If only occasionally

[Kris Burton]

I go out both solo and with friends. Solo is good, with a friend or friends is much better and more fun. Given schedules it's not often easy, but so worthwhile when you can.

[TheHiddenMe]

I'm a member of the St. Louis Gender Foundation, and we meet twice a month, once for lunch, once for dinner.

I also have five GG friends I have been out with, plus the husband of one of the five.

[cdinmd206]

I am very fortunate to have a lady friend who does not mind if I dress at her house. She has a semi secluded back yard and it is so nice to be dressed and sitting outside

[Jodi79]

I wish I had someone. I would love to go on a shopping outing with a GG to find and try on clothes together.

[Debs]

Im always out with my GG, we travel all over the uk. 345946

[LizMichelle]

Back in middle school and high school, never had friends that were crossdresser. I have two from my college years whom are crossdressers like me whom I have a great friendship with to this day with

[Brenda Freeman]

I have a few friends I meet up for dinner or an evening on occasion. Met them at a Tgirl event a few years back. Before that I was alone and struggled with all this. Finding friends has been a blessing. It is wonderful to have friends you can share your interests and feelings with who have shared the same anxiety and experiences. We are not alone!

[Michaela Jane]

I continue with this "hobby" on my own. My late wife wasn't very receptive, although as long as I didn't go beyond wearing panties under my man stuff, she tolerated it. I have been on my own for 9 years now, my biological kids are spread across the world so I never see them & they are not going to visit me. My step daughters live just up the road, one of those would not be happy if she knew the extent of my crossdressing, the other?..... I don't know, but since she painted my toe nails after a pedicure once, maybe she might be OK with it. Both my step daughters know that I often wear some of their late mothers clothes, like denim shorts & teeshirts, and they both seem to be OK with that. I am not brave enough to come out to them, but I think I would like a CD friendship, other than CD penpals with whom I correspond daily.

[JesseVF]

No buddies yet. Wish I had known about the Massachusetts group before moving to SoCal. That sounds ideal - glad you can enjoy those get togethers.

[Raychel]

My dressing is pretty much solitary

I had one instance several years in Georgia where I did meet up with some friends We all had a great time. Tons of laughs.
And I do have some real life friends. But we never meet up. Sadly most are thousands of miles away.

I have had message conversations with a couple of local people, but have not had the chance to meet up yet.

So basically it is just me with morning coffee.

[Suzie Petersen]

Good topic, Bianca, thanks!

It can seem like an impossible thing, getting through the front door the first time, but when you do it is just such a wonderful feeling to be "out" there.
Many of us older ones definitely grew up alone with this, many even believing we were the Only weird boy in the world who liked dressing like a girl. Internet and the shift in acceptance, or at least general tolerance, of different gender presentations has changed so many things for us. I do think younger people now see this differently and are much more open to dress as they like, and they obviously have a lot more resources and information available than I did.

Over the years, I have gotten to know a number of people and have met up with many of them, either just meeting one person or groups or people. Many years ago I was part of a live chat site and some of us eventually started getting together for fun weekends. It was always at someone's private house and was basically 2-3 day sleepovers. We would chat, share our stories, cook and eat together. Music and drinks in the evening, lots of fun. Sometimes we would venture out to a restaurant for dinner, or go to a club or even go do some tourist things.

I crashed for about 20 years and left that chat group and lost contact with almost everybody I knew. But, I saved my marriage so it was worth it for sure.

Many things changed for me during the last year, and I am now more actively dressing than ever before. My wife did a 180 and is now very accepting of my girl side. More about that some other time, and it is quite a story.

Aside from this forum, I am also a member of another forum and am also part of a smaller private group of ladies.
Last October, 6 of us got together for a long weekend at a hotel in Atlanta. We had a fantastic long weekend, shopping, lunching, upscale dining, having drinks at the hotel roof top bar or other places in town. Lots of laughs and sharing. We will be doing it again this year.
Later in October, my wife and I went to Vegas together for 4 days and had a fantastic time including at the pool every day in girl mode! Awesome.
But here at home, I do not have any other CD/TG friends close by so I go out on my own and do just regular things. Go for a hike in the mountains, biking, grocery shopping, clothes shopping. And I spend some days just at home in girl mode, sometimes alone and sometimes with my wife.

Another thing I did this year was go to the Keystone Convention. ~700 CD/TG women gathered for several days, and a ton of fun! Met Mykell and a few other people from here that I have known for years, and several from the other groups I mentioned.

So to the OP question of Do you have a "battle buddy" (love the expression btw!) No not really, but I have a number of friends around the country/world! Actually my "battle buddy" is my wife, really! After the dramatic change in her attitude last year, we often talk about all things girl/woman related, shop for clothes together, play with hair and makeup, and as mentioned, even sometimes have time together as two female friends. We are also planning the next girl vacation which I am really looking forward to.

I am hoping to find some local friends here soon and am currently actively working on that. It would be nice to be able to meet someone for lunch, or go for a hike or something. I have no interest in "getting together to dress" as such, but more in having someone I can socialize with in my female persona now and then.
I am also hopeful to some day become friends with some GG's and be able to socialize with them just like any another woman. That would be fantastic.

I know it might be scary, but I highly recommend getting out and meeting others. One of the annual conferences is a great option, and having friends "in real life" changes everything.

[Alanea]

I do not have a battle buddy, my dressing has mostly been solitary. I am still largely closeted, but would love to meet others or another crossdresser.
It seems as though most groups that get togeather or individuals do so in a public setting and I am not comfortable with that, I would not pass.
meeting with another crossdresser at a private residence would be my only option. I enjoy crossdressing and would love to share that and experiences with like minded others. Alanea Reder

[Cheryl T]

I did when I lived in NJ and belonged to a support group.
After meetings we'd go to the local diner. Any month with a 5th Saturday we'd all go to the diner for dinner and then the movies.
One of the gals and I were close. We'd video chat once a week and about every other month we'd go shopping to a different mall. We also went to Atlantic City and the casinos once. I miss her and those times. Wish I had a girl friend to do things with now.

[NatalieR]

I go out with my girlfriend, a cousin and a couple of GG friends in different combinations. I have become more comfortable sharing with people over the years. Being out in public has always been my desire over dressing by myself.

[DAVIDA]

My dressing is pretty much solitary

I had one instance several years in Georgia where I did meet up with some friends We all had a great time. Tons of laughs.
And I do have some real life friends. But we never meet up. Sadly most are thousands of miles away.

I have had message conversations with a couple of local people, but have not had the chance to meet up yet.

So basically it is just me with morning coffee.

I thought about that time myself Raychel.:daydreaming:
It was a good time and it's sad it only happened once with everyone there.
I am ready for your next visit. but I know times change and things get busy...or further apart.:straightface:

[steffigirl37]

Yes, a very good topic.

I will dress with my wife, who is also my friend, once or twice a month. Maybe once a week I will dress by my self. My wife doesn?t like to shop with me anymore, but I?ve become quite comfortable shopping by myself or online.

I think it would be fun to shop with another cd or make arrangements to dress together. But at this stage in life I don?t see that happening.

[Sandi Beech]

For the most part, my outings were at cities I went to for work and often with only with a couple of weeks notice. That made planned meet ups very difficult. The best alternative for me was going out to CD friendly clubs because it was always easy to meet people in such places.

Sandi

[Sallee]

I have been out with others several times and have met others at bars, usually gay bars and we were the only CDs in there. But we were left alone and had a wonderful time. I have dressed with other CDs several times and that was fun too Of course we then posed for pictures. It seems cding is a solitary, for the most part, endeavor.

[Geena75]

I have generally gotten dressed up at home, then go a meet up with someone. There was one time, about 3 years ago, I met up with a friend from the forum and we shared a hotel room over three days and two nights. It was wonderful. Being with someone makes it so much nicer.

[abby054]

So far, my battle buddies are all solely on line. I live in a remote small town. It is two hours driving to Spokane and six hours driving one way to Seattle or Portland or Boise. I am unwilling to live with the results of going out and about locally, so my dressing remains a solitary thing.

I grew up on a family where anything I said or did could be used against me, so I am naturally wary of anything that exposes my dressing to anyone I know in person. My battle buddies will be virtual for the foreseeable future.

[CarlaWestin]

Great question. I have a few battle buddies but they're only online or phone friends. You would think living in Vegas for 16 years would have cultivated a good shopping friend or two but due to work and DADT there just wasn't an opportunity.

[Meg]

I do not have anybody outside of this and another online forum who is a Battle Buddy. As with most of us, I would love to have a GG friend to share with. I am mostly closeted, but would love a good make over so as to present in public. Until then, I will cherish my time here. I find great comfort in knowing all of you online. Hugs, Meg

[Celee]

I would love to find a friend to dress with. Im not sure where to start looking though. If I did find someone to share dressing with Im sure it would take awhile to build up trust to share my secret with. Well I guess it will have to be solo for awhile more.

[countrygirl]

I wish. If anyone is in Richmond VA, I would love to connect.

[Traci H]

Years ago I decided I was going to attend a local meeting. I was ready to leave the house and my wife had a fit. God knows what goes on at those meetings right? She just did not want me to pursue meeting others for fear that I would go down some slippery slope. Thus it?s all very solitary for me. I would love to have coffee even with some other CDers Meeting dressed up would be fascinating for sure. It?s a lonely life in this mode otherwise.

[JulieC]

Lonely life indeed. And as well all know from here, if we see a sister in the wild we're not supposed to connect with them because it means we're showing they're not passing. <sigh>

[Lori31]

A girl can dream. But, unfortunately it is a solo hobby for me.

[GraceH]

Solo for me, too, for 70 of my 77 years. I envy those whose spouses support and encourage dressing, or have friends to go out with. Sigh.

[OrdinaryAverageGuy]

I wish, even if was just hanging around the yard and having a beer

[SaraLin]

I have ONE friend who doesn't care how I'm dressed. Either way, we're two friends spending time together.
It's strange (to me at least) just how "normal" the whole thing is when I'm with him, fully femme.
I'm just me - Sara, not a guy dressed up. It's wonderfully ordinary - if that makes any sense.

Unfortunately, I don't get to spend much time with him, and even less time as me.
My (l/w)ife dictates otherwise.

[CDMargret]

Yes. I have two battle buddies. One we have a get together, dress up and hang out. The other we have dinner at each others home and dress up. We also went to a fetish weekend hotel take over and dressed up at the events they had. Both our wives are ever so supportive and dressed up with us. Great times.

[BiancaEstrella]

In the days when all this was was crossdressing for me, I had friends who knew, and friends who knew that I got to spend time with because of their willingness to help me out, but none were other CDs. I'd have loved that! Nowadays my goal in life is to be the friend for a CD.

[Natalie5004]

Ok where in the central valley??

[Heather2die4]

For those who wish to join a group, many GLBTQ+ centers in large cities
have a CD support group. Also, the free website fetlife.com has CD
special interest groups. It's mostly a USA website though. As June is
Pride month and Pride festivals always welcome CDers to join the fun.

[Michaela Jane]

I wish. If anyone is in Richmond VA, I would love to connect.

I'm not in Richmond, but always open to ideas.

[sometimes_miss]

Nope, no one, just me. For perhaps a year long ago, there was a much younger women from work who I socialized with, at dinner one night she said she had something to tell me, as she thought I had romantic interest in her: She is gay. I chuckled a bit, and at first she got a bit angry until I told her about myself. So we went out together, enjoying many of the entertainment places in NYC. About a year later, though, her girlfriend finally got her visa, and my friend moved to the other side of the country. I miss her to this day, but her email address is gone, and all I can do, is wish her a wonderful life. For a year, at least, I had someone to talk to.

No men. I was abused by males growing up, and with the constant competitiveness that most men feel towards each other, double crossed at work and social situations, I have never trusted males at all; I always feel like they're trying to take advantage of me in some way, so I don't really have any friends who know about my crossdressing. To me, it would only give them information ammunition to use against me at some point, and having been the punching bag child while growing up, I refuse to ever let that happen again.

And so, here I am, alone again, naturally. Just like Gilbert O'Sullivan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU3ubk8u7dA

[Olivia J. Robinson]

What a beautiful concept. Makes a lot of sense to gather with like-minded ladies.
Truth be told, sounds like fun.
Can't say I have anyone like this in my life, currently. I am making connection with the local Drag community fairly soon, which sort of counts as first steps...I guess...

[Freddi]

The only person that I dress with and knows is my best friend who is also my wife. I can't see a reason to change that to be honest. I dress with her in fact as I browse this forum I'm sat in my yellow flowered summer dress and she in he PJ's. We're both happy enough with that.

[Jenn A116]

I'm not quite sure this qualifies as dressing with friends but it seems like it to me. Our CD group, FEM Florida, meets monthly. One of the members has a family member living with them that does not know. On meeting nights she, and her SO, comes to our house around mid-day. After chatting for a few hours, we both repair to separate showers/bedrooms to get ready for the night. About an hour before the meeting we finally see each other in girl mode. I'm always jealous of her looks!

Anyway, off we go to our meeting along with our SOs. The meeting could be a GNO or just in our private clubhouse. We are typically gone for several hours. After the meeting it's back to the house for a nightcap (still dressed) and more chatting. Finally about mid-night it's time to go to bed (they spend the night) and get our girl stuff off. The next morning we are back in guy mode for breakfast.